Taradih Bihar Neolithic Settlement
Taradih Gaya Neolithic Mound · Taradih Bodh Gaya Neolithic
Neolithic 2100–1600 → Chalcolithic 1600–1000 BCE·South Bihar Neolithic — Taradih facies (Magadha Neolithic)·🇮🇳 Bihar, Gaya District, Taradih village 3 km south of Bodh Gaya on Falgu River (Niranjana), Magadha plateau foothills, India
About
About Taradih Bihar Neolithic Settlement
Taradih Bihar Neolithic Settlement — Neolithic settlement (2100–1000 BCE) 3 km south Bodh Gaya on Falgu River, excavated 1991–94 by A.K. Prasad (Magadha University, Bodh Gaya Circle). Taradih revealed Neolithic III cord-impressed and burnished red ware with microliths and ground stone celts → Chalcolithic Black-and-Red → Early Historic NBPW with Buddha relic area. Proximity to Bodh Gaya makes Taradih Magadha Neolithic antecedent to Buddhist heartland. Post-hole houses, hearths, and barley–rice phytoliths prove southern Bihar farming before urban Magadha. Stratified 2.8 m deposit on Falgu alluvium.
Why it mattersMagadha Neolithic type-site — Falgu farming antecedent directly below Bodh Gaya Buddhist genesis
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Magadha Neolithic→Buddhist urban continuity at Bodh Gaya?
Theories
- 01Falgu as Magadha neolithic corridor model
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- c.2100 BCE Neolithic Taradih I
- Period
- Neolithic 2100–1600 → Chalcolithic 1600–1000 BCE
- Culture
- South Bihar Neolithic — Taradih facies (Magadha Neolithic)
- Builders
- Magadha Neolithic farmers prefiguring Buddhist Magadha
- Purpose
- Falgu alluvium farming hamlet antecedent to Bodh Gaya Buddhist nucleus
- Excavation
- Excavated
c.2100 BCE
Neolithic cord-impressed hamlet on Falgu
c.1600 BCE
Chalcolithic Black-and-Red with copper
1991–94
Prasad excavations link Magadha Neolithic to Bodh Gaya
On the ground
Structures & features
24.6900° N · 84.9900° E · 110 m · 2 mapped features
Northern Post-Hole House Cluster
settlementNeolithic post-hole houses with cord-impressed floors on northern Falgu terrace
24.6910° N · 84.9910° ESouthern Chalcolithic Hearth Line
hearthBlack-and-Red hearth row and microlith scatter on southern mound toe
24.6890° N · 84.9890° E