Bioanthropological Analysis of cremains from the Megalithic site of Obra, Jharkhand

Abstract (English)

This paper is based on cremains from the Megalithic site Obra, District Chatra, Jharkhand by focusing on the death and burial rituals. The site was excavated in 2020 by Archaeological Survey of India,Bihar circle, under the directorship of Dr. Dehuri. There were 3 localities in the site of Obra, among which locality IA was excavated, 21 menhirs were reported from this locality. From the excavation of locality IA, 47 pots were collected. For this study 14 individuals were studied (one individual per pot).Absolute dating has not been done yet for this site, but through relative dating the site can be put inbetween megalithic to early historic period.Data have been collected from archives, ethnographic surveys, journals, interviews, lab work and published reports. This paper points out the after-death rituals (Birkhod) and the crematory practices of the megalithic people by drawing a comparison from the recent practices in the Munda and Asur tribe through a comprehensive ethnographic survey. This paper also estimates the maximum pyre temperature reached during the cremation through various methods. The maximum pyre temperature was observed to be above 500°C for most of the individuals. The bones were mostly calcied, bad deformed and white in color with very little exception.