Archaeology & Prehistory
Kalibangan: the world's earliest ploughed field
c. 2800 BCEIndus Valley CivilisationKalibangan (Rajasthan)Rajasthan
2,800 BCE
Preserved criss-cross furrow marks - the earliest attested ploughed field yet found - plus fire altars.
- Dated
- 2,800 BCE
- As scholars put it
- c. 2800 BCE
- Originator
- Indus Valley Civilisation
- Source text
- Kalibangan (Rajasthan)
- Region
- Rajasthan
- Discipline
- Archaeology & Prehistory
- Evidence
- Documented
- Confidence
- High
- Verification
- Verified-web
Meanwhile in the West
Ploughing developed in several early farming cultures.
Fair to say
The 'fire altars' interpretation (ritual vs. domestic) is debated.
Path to modern innovation
Shows a field-cropping system still recognisable today (two crops at right angles).
Transmission
Direct physical evidence of Bronze-Age agriculture.
References
- 1B. B. Lal
- 2ASI reports
Further reading
Corrections and additional sources: edit IND-167 on GitHub.