Plant economy from Early Iron Age site of Malli, Gondia district, Maharashtra, India

This study presents the plant economy reconstructed based on an analysis of charred plant remains from an Early Iron Age site, Malli, in Gondia district, Maha­rashtra, India. A radiocarbon date of 3400 ± 100 cal bp was obtained from a wood charcoal sample. Agricul­tural crops identified included Oryza sativa subsp. indica, Oryza cf. rufipogon; millets like Brachiaria ramosa, Echinochloa cf. colona, Paspalum scrobiculatum, Setaria italica and Setaria sp.; pulses such as Lablab purpureus, Lathyrus sativus, Macrotyloma uniflorum, Vigna mungo, Vigna radiata, grains of Vigna sp. and oilseeds of Brassica cf. juncea. The remains of wild and weedy taxa were also recovered, including seeds of Commelina sp., Cyperus sp., Elaeocharis sp., Scirpus sp., Scleretia sp., Fimbristylis sp., Solanum sp., Ischaemum rugosum and Indigofera cf. Linifolia. Fruit stone fragments of Zizi­phus sp., along with tree species, include Bombax sp. and Ficus sp. The Malli was part of the agricultural mounded settlement group that existed during the Early Iron Age period in the Upper Wainganga Valley. This archaeobotanical dataset provides evidence of the typical summer crop pattern facilitated by wet environmental conditions