Man and Animal Relationship in Early Farming Communities of Western India, with Special Reference to Inamgaon

The objective of this study is to discover the man-animal relationship in the ancient past, especially among the early farmers of western India. The main focus of the work is the study of faunal remains retrieved from the Chalcolithic site of Inamgaon, district Pune in Maharashtra, at present housed in the Archaeozoology laboratory of the Deccan College, Pune. The whole of the material is analysed both qualitatively and quantitatively by using improved archaeozoological techniques. The results of this study are then compared with the other Chalcolithic sites of Maharashtra from which faunal remains have already been studied, such as Kaothe, Daimabad, Walki, Nasik, Nevasa, Apegaon, Tuljapur garhi and Adam. This examination throws light on the mode of exploitation of both domestic and wild animals in relation to the functional aspects of the Chalcolithic culture.