Burial Practices

• The burials in the Harappan period were not all in brick or stone lined rectangular or oval pits. The body was usually interred clothed shrouded or in a wooden coffin in the north south direction in a straight direction. It was important that the body did not come into contact with the ground. The only evidence of wooden coffins is the presence of a wooden stain in the body of the corpse.
• The bodies of the individuals were usually buried with their jewelry which usually consisted of bangles made from shell, steatite beads, etc, and the men usually wore earrings.
• Copper mirrors have been found only amongst the bodies of the females which show a specificity of grave goods by gender.
• The burials at Kalibangan, the other large burial site are of three types:

Type 1 – the bodies were buried in a supine position similar to R-37 with skeletal remains.

Type 2 – pot burials in circular pits.

Type 3 – Large pots which were found interred in rectangular or circular pits with no skeletal remains.

• A few unique burials were found in the grave sites of Lothal, Ropar, and Rojdi