Ethnoarchaeological Perspectives of Prehistoric Settlement Patterns of South-Central Ganga Valley

Despite the early beginnings of agriculture in the Ganga plains and the Belan valley in northern India, the hunting-gathering way of life has not completely disappeared from the region. Communities like the Musahars live almost entirely by small-game hunting and gathering, whereas others like the Kols combine hunting-gathering with some agriculture, and the Mallah with fishing and agriculture. Here Shahida Ansari reconstructs the lifeways of the Prehistoric inhabitants of this region though the study of the settlements of these three contemporary communities. The author places a particular emphasis on the relationship between subsistence practices, economic activities and mode of the disposal of the dead.