Distinguishing Change in the Subsistence and the Material Records: The Interplay of Environment and Culture

Abstract

By the end of the second millennium B.C., localized subsistence strategies with different dietary practices had shifted to a more standardized system over a large area in northwestern South Asia. At the same time and in the same area, the material and settlement record implies that the centralized and well-integrated culture of the Indus Civilization was breaking down into a less integrated system with a greater emphasis on local cultural units. How do these processes interrelate? Some answers may come from analyzing the environmental limitations of this area, changes in the pattern of species being exploited, and the impact of humans on their habitat over time.