ODISHA, INDIA—According to a report in The Hindu, traces of a settlement, with a circular fortification made of mud and a water management system, have been uncovered in the village of Durgadevi, which is located near India’s eastern coast, by a team of researchers from the Odisha Institute of Maritime and South East Asian Studies (OIMSEAS). Archaeologist Sunil Kumar Patnaik of OIMSEAS said the team found the remains of a circular dwelling with a rammed earth floor containing black-on-red painted pottery, black slipped ware, red slipped ware, and copper objects dated to the Chalcolithic period (2000–1000 B.C.). “People were mostly leading a settled life and had started agriculture, and domestication of animals and fishing,” Patnaik said. Iron Age (1000–400 B.C.) artifacts, including nails, arrowheads, a crucible, and slag, are the first to be found in the area. Red ware, terracotta ear studs, bangles, beads, and conical objects reflect the shift to trade and urbanization in the Early Historic Period (400–200 B.C.), when the fortifications were built, he added. To read about an early Buddhist monastery in the eastern state of Jharkhand, go to "Buddhist Retreat."
