Faunal remains from Late Harappan Phase at Mitathal, Bhiwani District, Haryana

The modern village of Mitathal is located roughly 12 km to the southwest in the tehsil and district of Bhiwani. The ancient site (28° 53’ 31”N and 76° 10’ 8”E), with the same name, is situated approximately 1.5 km southeast of the district headquarters of Bhiwani. The site was earlier reported and subsequently excavated by Suraj Bhan in the 1960’s. Two ancient habitation mounds separated by a narrow gully were present. A vertical excavation, primarily comprising an index trench, was conducted in the centre of the main so-called citadel mound for just one season in April 2007 jointly by the Research Institute for Humanities and Nature, Kyoto, Deccan College, Pune, and, M.D. University, Rohtak. The aim was to reanalyze and revise the layers and the cultural and ceramic sequence of the site with a regional perspective. Only four layers were confi rmed and some interesting features like a furnace were exposed. The index trench yielded a considerable quantity of animal bones and a few molluscan shells. The faunal material (n=674) from this trench was classifi ed, examined, photographed and quantitatively analyzed at the Archaeozoology Laboratory at Deccan College, Pune, following the well-established internationally standardized procedure. The faunal assemblage, it was found, displayed expected diversity akin to other Harappan sites in the region. It consisted of skeletal elements of several vertebrates as well as many invertebrates. Mammals identifi ed at Mitathal included cattle, buffalo, sheep, goat, pig, dog, and a wide spectrum of wild animals such as the wild pig, deer, antelope, porcupine, rodents and hare. The non-mammalian animals included birds, fi shes and molluscs.