Banga village, on the outskirts of Jatni, was chock-a-block with people who wanted a glimpse of the skull of the adult human skeleton - belonging to Chalcolithic age - that was dug out on Sunday noon.
Last week, a team led by Prof Kishore Kumar Basa of the department of Anthropology, Utkal University, and Prof R K Mohanty of Deccan College, Pune, stumbled upon the human skeleton dating back to nearly 3,500 years while undertaking excavations at a site south of Banga village near Harirajpur.
“Till Saturday, we had excavated the clavicle portion of the skeleton and today its skull was exposed. The skeleton is approximately 5.7 feet, but we are not able to find its feet. It might have been decomposed as we found some small bones from near the feet portion of the skeletal frame,” said Prof Basa. It is the second human skeleton recovered so far from archeological sites in Odisha, the first being that of a headless child, found in Golabai site in Khurda district during an excavation 20 years back.
Besides the human skeleton, some remnants of an ancient civilisation of copper stone age including charred animal bones, pottery, stone artefacts, copper fragments and living floors were found from the spot.
“While the discovery throws light on the formative phase of early farming communities in coastal Odisha, it is interesting to note that the site where the excavations are being carried out now is surrounded on all its four sides by a water body,” said Prof Basa, adding that this might be a pointer to the fact that the water body was used for agriculture, domestic purposes and perhaps acted as a moat. “Moats are artificial creations, but this water body is a natural one and perhaps acted as a deterrent for any animal or human from entering the habitation that existed,” the anthropologist added.
The habitation existed 1,000 years prior to the establishment of the fortified city of Sishupalgarh, which was an urban centre. “This site is an example of the rural centre that existed in the area,” he said.