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This, he says from the study of the tools. He has found such tools from the Bhukhi river of Nakhatrana taluka. He does acknowledge the fact that no skeletal remains have been found to substantiate this.
We know very little about the long span of thousands of years from the entry of man to Kutch till he started building his houses. No one has done an in-depth study of this subject. I have located some megalithic sites with typical stone circles and Menhir in Kutch and found Stone-age tools from these sites. However until these sites are explored and excavated, we cannot say anything about them with certainty.
Though the period prior to civilization was dark, the dawn of civilization was very bright. Evidences show that Kutch had flourishing cities and industrious villages during the period of Indus valley civilization i.e. 2000 years BC. The archeologists have excavated major city of Dholavira, one of the two largest settlements of that period. The recent preliminary work on the site of Kuran in the foothills of Karo dungar (the Black hills) has yielded sufficient material to indicate that this also can be a major Indus valley site. Numbers of other sites studied are Deshlpur Guntali near Nakhatrana, Pabumath near Suvai in Rapar taluka and Shikarpur near Shamkhiyali. Some evidences were also found from Netra village of Abadasa taluka. Unlike Dholavira these sites are believed to be small rural sites. Mrs. Namrata Pramanic of ASI who is working on the Kuran site believes that Kuran was an Indus valley township and there were smaller settlements in the vicinity. 8
Satellite surveys have indicated the possibilities of number of settlements on both the sides of the great Rann of Kutch i.e. on Indian as well as Pakistani side. The exploration and excavation of Kuran was under taken after the satellite data indicated the possibility of a settlement. This work is a part of exploring the Lupt(Disappeared) Sarasvati River.
Many archeologists have preferred to call this civilization as Saraswati civilization. However I prefer the term Indus valley civilization. I believe that Indus valley civilization is not a place denoting term but denotes an epoch in the clock of history. I consider it as a time denoting term. The reason to believe this is, although these settlements were geographically widely separated from each other, there were marked similarities in the cultural architectural and social behavior. This, perhaps, was the beginning of the concept of the indivisible Indian Nation. Our cultural unity, thus, is 5000 years old.
The proximity of Sindh and the ease of reaching Kutch from Sindh crossing the great Rann and some archeological evidences allow us to think that the Indus valley man came to Kutch from Sindh. And that too perhaps in the pre harrapan or very early harrapan period. The similarity between pottery of early settlements of Kot Di Ji and Deshalpur Guntali is a testimony of this.10 They might have even come thru the sea route as they had a well-developed maritime activity.11 Some crossed the little rann (the part of rann to the east of Kutch) and migrated to Saurashtra. 12
6
7 8 9 10 11 12
Itihas ni purva bhumica vol.1page no 78 H.D.Sankalia R.S.Bisht Puratatva no.20 1989/90page 71 As reported by the local news paper, Kutch Mitra Hasmukh Sankalia, Itihas ni purva bhumica Hasmukh Sankalia, Itihas ni purva bhumica Chitalvale, superintending archeologist Gujarat State, Gujarat Ma Sindhu Ghati Ni Sabhyata Chitalvale, superintending archeologist Gujarat State, Gujarat Ma Sindhu Ghati Ni Sabhyata
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