Correlating Asthidosha and Rickets: A Cross-Disciplinary Study of Inamgaon Urn Burials (c.1400-700 BCE)

Sakshi Khera

The transition to the Late Jorwe phase in the Deccan Chalcolithic represents a critical juncture of environmental and social stress in prehistoric South Asia. While bioarchaeological data from sites such as Inamgaon and Nevasa reveal a staggering children's mortality rate- around 70% in specific horizons, the lived experience of this vulnerable population is absent from the historical narrative. This paper uses an interdisciplinary ‘text to bone’ study to investigate whether the clinical descriptions of paediatric wasting in ancient Indian medical texts reflect the biological realities documented in archaeological records. Central to this study is the correlation between skeletal manifestations of metabolic stress, such as rickets, scurvy, and porotic hyperostosis, and the Sanskrit medical category of Phakka Roga, as defined in the Kashyapa Samhita. By analysing the specific sutras describing Ksheeraja and Garbhaja wasting, I argue that the symptoms of ‘shrunken limbs’ and ‘thickened joints’ recorded in the texts are precise historical observations of the Vitamin D and micronutrient deficiency evidenced in the Inamgaon burials. Moving beyond the isolated pathologies, this study examines the ‘bioculture landscapes’ through the high density of intra-mural urn burials. I propose that the detailed classification of Phakka Roga in the early paediatric text was not merely a theoretical exercise, but a pragmatic sociocultural response to a persistent biological crisis triggered by increasing aridity and nutritional scarcity. By aligning the lexicon of Ayurvedic diagnosis with paleopathological data, this paper transforms our understanding of how ancient populations in the tropical Indo-Pacific perceived and navigated the challenges of community health and environmental adaptation.