Understanding Asur Sites and Process of Urbanisation in the South Chotanagpur Region, Jharkhand

Lalit Aditya

Asura is a major primitive tribe of the state. This tribe is responsible for iron smelting and some early historic settlements of central Jharkhand. It is very difficult to say anything certain about the origin story of the Asur. We find many references to people referred to as Asur in different texts. There are a few references to their geographical habitat. Based on current knowledge, their present habitat area is within the state boundary of Jharkhand. There are archaeological sites assigned to early historic times, which are locally associated with the Asur tribes. The possibility of the earliest urbanisation in the region remains to be explored. Evidence of the second urbanisation needs to be examined, as it is not yet established whether it was an urban or rural settlement. The most well-known site, where excavations have been conducted, is Saridkel. The excavator suggested the existence of urbanised settlers, indicated further by the presence of a defensive wall along the settlement and intensive building activities. Another site named Kunjla also represents a similar iron-using culture over a limited period. Based on current sources, these remains belong to the early historic phase. According to A. Ghosh, who explored the Khunti subdivision, Kushan coins and a significant amount of iron slag indicate that the houses belonged to people who came to the region in the early centuries to exploit local iron ore. The prospects and importance of the archaeology and history of this understudied region are yet to be fully recognized. This research delves into the past through material culture to understand the settlement, subsistence, and landscape of people in the study area. Efforts to explore and assess the role of copper and iron in the development of these early historic centres have been made.