Regional Adaptation and Labour Intensification in the Southern Domain: A Palaeopathological Study of Large Bovids in Gujarat

Angad Lamba* and Sharada Channarayapatna

The Harappan Civilisation, with its highly urbanised character, long-distance trade and an agro-pastoral economy, relied heavily on animal labour. Animal traction forms a significant component of Andrew Sherratt’s Secondary Products Revolution model, which links the production of surplus, inter-regional mobility, and social stratification to draught exploitation. While its role has been previously studied at the urban site of Harappa, the adoption and distribution of traction across the vast hinterlands remain unexplored. This paper examines the animal labour component of secondary product utilisation in the Harappan Period in Gujarat (Southern Domain), a region characterised by a distinctly diverse physiography and regional cultural manifestations, including Sindhi and Sorath Harappan. We analyse the zooarchaeological material from three key sites: Bagasara, Kanmer and Kotada Bhadali. They represent a diversity of functional and cultural affiliations from craft production centres to fortified regional centres. The methodology focuses on identifying pathological signatures in the lower limb bones of cattle (Bos sp.). We utilise a multiproxy approach, combining macro-pathological study and metrical analyses, to assess the intensity of traction activities. Notably, we introduce a novel experimental method based on micro-Computed Tomography (micro-CT) scanning to identify traction-induced trabecular reorientation and strengthening in specific skeletal regions. This study evaluates whether traction use in Gujarat represented a direct extension of urban economic systems or a strategy mediated by environment and site function. Preliminary results indicate that labour utilisation in the Southern Domain was not a uniform process but a spatially organised sub-regional strategy. These findings refine Sherratt’s model and present a holistic picture of the nuanced economic organisation of the Harappan Civilisation.