A Study of Harappan Shell Ladle: Disappearance, Function, and Culinary Possibilities

Arpita Biswas

Shell ladle a spoon/container like object with a handle to hold and a cuplike structure have been reported from a few Mature Harappan sites (c. 2500–1900 BCE) such as Chanhudaro, Lothal, etc. It was basically made from Chicoreus ramosus species of shell although Turbinella pyrum was also used. The role of Shell ladles probably ranged from a utilitarian to a ritualistic purpose. According to some scholars, it was used as utilitarian objects (Bhan 1992). It could be used for cooking, or storing food, as well as it could be also used for keeping sacred water. This paper studies the technological and cultural transition of the Harappan shell ladle whose use appears to decline with the end along with Mature Harappan Phase. By analysing existing archaeological evidence and ethnographic parallels, the research explores the culinary functions of shell ladles within Harappan society and investigates how in later period, alternative materials gradually replaced them and made these extinct from the society. The study focuses on the probable functions of these ladles drawing ethnographical parallel with contemporary communities, as even in today Sankh or T. pyrum is used in modern Hindu societies to keep sacred water. This paper further discusses why in some tribal societies use ladles in their daily kitchen life in the form but divergence in material choices? This paper advances the convincing prospect that shell ladles constituted integral components of culinary practice rather than serving solely as ritualistic apparatus.