Copper axes point to an ancient culture story

Ancient tools: The copper axes, thought to belong to 2000 BC, from Sakatpur.

Archaeologists excited, as discovery may shine light on a 4,000-year-old Ganga-Yamuna culture

Six copper axes and some pieces of pottery discovered in Sakatpur of Saharanpur district in Uttar Pradesh could point to a separate culture that straddled the Ganga and Yamuna, coinciding with the Indus Valley Civilisation, say archaeologists.

The Archaeological Survey of India is excavating the site at Rampur Maniharan, hoping to discover more artefacts.

In fertile plains

When the Indus Valley civilisation flourished in what is today Punjab, Haryana and parts of Pakistan, a parallel culture is thought to have co-existed in the fertile plains between the Ganga and the Yamuna in western Uttar Pradesh.

The copper axes and pottery sherds found last week may be related to the Ochre Coloured Pottery (OCP) culture in the doab (plains) of the two rivers in the late Harappan period, around 2000 BC.

The Superintending Archaeologist, ASI (Agra circle) Bhuvan Vikrama, told The Hindu that going by what had been found, it could well be related to the OCP culture. OCP marked the last stage of the North Indian Copper Age. [...] The Hindu