Badmal (Period IB)
Basic information
Sample name: Badmal (Period IB)

Sample aka: Badmal Asurgarh

Reference: P. Goyal, P. P. Joglekar, and P. K. Behera. 2014. The Iron Age faunal economy at Badmal, District Sambalpur, Odisha. Man and Environment 39(1):52-61 [ER 3652]
Geography
Country: India

State: Odisha



Coordinate: 21° 6' 22" N, 84° 3' 37" E
Coordinate basis: stated in text

Time interval: Holocene

Max Ma: 0.002642

Min Ma: 0.002511

Age basis: radiocarbon (uncalibrated)

Geography comments: "The site of Badmal ... is about eighty kilometres south-east of the district headquarters of Sambalpur, Odisha"
It is "situated on a rocky terrain in the upper reaches of a perennial stream known as Harihar Jhor, a tributary of the Mahanadi"
"Six calibrated radiocarbon dates from the Iron Age deposits are available: five from sub-period IB and one from sub-period IC"
The period IB calibrated dates range from 838 B.C. to 617 B.C. (from Behera et al. 2007)

Environment
Lithology: not described

Taphonomic context: human accumulation,settlement

Archaeology: bone tools,ceramics,metal tools,stone tools,other artifacts

Habitat comments: "The site covers an area of about 200 x 200 m and is bounded on four sides with an earth rampart ... with at least three entrance ways"
"Changes in the ceramic and other material correlates recovered during the excavation established two periods of occupation: Iron Age (Period I) and Early Historic (Period II).
"The Iron Age is divided into three sub-periods: IA, IB, and IC based on changes in the ceramic assemblage"
"During the Iron Age period the settlement was confined to a limited area, mainly towards the highest northern sector of the mound"
"Major findings of the Iron Age period include earthen wares of different types, terracotta artefacts, stone sling balls, iron objects, stone axe, and artefacts made on bones and antlers"
"A number of bones revealed evidence of human activity in the form of cut/butchering and charring marks"

Methods
Life forms: carnivores,rodents,ungulates,other small mammals

Sampling methods: quarry,screenwash

Sample size: 59 specimens

Sampling comments: "A number of animal skeletal fragments have been recovered from the Iron Age deposits. These have been retrieved by using both wet and dry sieve methods"
"The faunal material presented here was recovered from two trenches: Trench I and II"
"These trenches, measuring 3 x 3 m each, were located on the highest northern sector of the mound. Trench I was excavated to a depth of 260 cm"
A total of 641 animal skeletal fragments were analysed from these two trenches, of which only 441 could be identified (68.80%)"
"Period IB revealed the highest number of identified fragments (70.85%), while Period IC had the least (34.78%)".

Metadata
Sample number: 3834

Contributor: Benjamin Carter

Enterer: Benjamin Carter

Created: 2021-08-11 13:27:49

Modified: 2023-02-25 11:29:17

Abundance distribution
13 species
5 singletons
total count 59
geometric series index: 29.5
Fisher's α: 5.157
geometric series k: 0.7647
Hurlbert's PIE: 0.7718
Shannon's H: 1.9510
Good's u: 0.9170
Each square represents a species. Square sizes are proportional to counts.
Register
Bos indicus25
Bubalus bubalis7425 kg
plus 247 Bovinae indet. "Bos/Bubalus"
Capra aegagrus hircus222 kg browser-grazer
"Capra hircus"
Ovis aries141 kg
plus 40 Caprinae indet. "Capra/Ovis"
Canis lupus familiaris543 kg carnivore
"Canis familiaris"
Boselaphus tragocamelus2263 kg browser-grazer
Axis axis240 kg browser-grazer
Antilope cervicapra441 kg
Sus sp.7
Panthera pardus133 kg carnivore
Lepus nigricollis1
Hystrix indica113 kg browser
Urva edwardsii1
"Herpestes edwardsii"