Riverine Civilizations and Ecological Adaptation: An Archaeological Perspective on Water Management in Ancient India

Abstract

Ancient Indian civilizations developed in close association with river systems, and their material remains reveal a sustained engagement with hydrological uncertainty through planned water management. This paper examines archaeological evidence of water harvesting, storage, and distribution across the Indus-Saraswati civilization, the Gangetic plains, and peninsular river valleys, situating these practices within a framework of ecological adaptation. Drawing on excavation reports and archaeological scholarship on sites such as Dholavira, Mohenjo-daro, Lothal, and the tank-irrigated landscapes of South India, the paper argues that water management in ancient India was not a peripheral technical activity but a central organizing principle of settlement, subsistence, and social organization. It further considers the relationship between climatic change, particularly the weakening of the monsoon and the desiccation of the Saraswati system, and the transformation or decline of riverine settlements. The paper concludes by reflecting on the continued relevance of indigenous water-management knowledge for contemporary environmental planning in water-stressed regions of India.