Who among the following archaeologists was the first to identify similarities between a pre-Harappan culture and the mature Harappan culture ?

Amalananda Ghosh was the first archaeologist to identify similarities between a pre-Harappan culture and the mature Harappan culture. In 1951-1953, while excavating the Sothi-Siswal sites in Rajasthan, he observed that the pottery and material culture of the Sothi site (pre-Harappan) shared significant commonalities with the mature Harappan phase. This discovery was pivotal in establishing the indigenous evolution of the Indus Valley Civilization, moving away from the theory of sudden emergence. While Daya Ram Sahni and Rakhaldas Banerji were instrumental in discovering Harappa and Mohenjodaro respectively [1], and Sir John Marshall oversaw the formal announcement of the civilization, it was Ghosh who specifically bridged the gap between the early and mature phases. His work at Kalibangan further solidified the understanding of this cultural continuity .

Sources

1. [1] THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY PART I, History CLASS XII (NCERT 2025 ed.) > Chapter 1: Bricks, Beads and Bones > Major Developments in Harappan Archaeology > p. 25