Abstract The Rakhigarhi site is the location of the ruins of an ancient megacity of the Harappan civilization and had not previously been investigated thoroughly. We tried to examine the physical and pathological traits of human skeletons (n = 37) from the cemetery at the site. In our study, a cranial index was calculated from one male skull (dolichocranic; index value = 65.78). The mean statures estimated by long bone length were 175.8 cm (male) and 166.1 cm (female). The indices of femoral diaphyseal shape were 79.8 (males) and 90.31 (females) for the platymeric index; and 113.78 (males) and 112.74 (female) for the pilasteric index. The dental health of the subjects appeared to be good as the overall prevalence of oral pathologies (caries and antemortem tooth loss) was generally low. Periosteal reactions were found in tibias and possible evidence of osteomyelitis was also observed in a femur. Some joint parts showed signs of osteoarthritis. Although various pathologies have been identified, we could not find any specific lesions suggestive of leprosy and tuberculosis in these skeletons. Although our study has added invaluable data to the existing information pool on the health and disease status of Harappan society, more accurate conjecture on the structure of Harrappan society based on bioarchaeological evidence will need additional research based on future excavations at Rakhigarhi cemetery.

Conclusion We examined the human skeletal series from Rakhigarhi cemetery to assess the physical and pathological traits of people from the mature Harappan period. Overall, the Harappan inhabitants of Rakhigarhi in this study seem to have been in general healthy. Some of our results accord well with previous reports (Nath et al., 2015; Lovell, 2016). Our investigation of Rakhigarhi cemetery provides invaluable information to unravel the health and disease conditions of the Harappan people. Ultimately, however, as only a small number of Harappan skeletons were recovered from these burial sites and have been examined so far, we must also consider that a wider area of this cemetery remains to be investigated further. To attain a level of knowledge that offers us a holistic understanding of the various aspects of Harappan society, additional bioarchaeological studies should be undertaken at other Rakhigarhi cemetery and grave sites in the future.

Appendix Index Region Description Femur platymeric Subtrochanter (Subtrochanteric anteroposterior diameter/Subtrochangeric mediolateral diameter) × 100 Femur pilasteric Midshaft (Anteroposterior midshaft diameter/Mediolateral midshaft diameter) × 100 Appendix 1 Calculation of diaphyseal shape indices in the femur Appendix 2 Three-dimensional reconstructed image for the calculation of the cross-sectioned lower part of the right femur

Acknowledgments This study was supported in part by a grant from the National Geographic Society (Asia 21-15), and Seoul National University Research Grant in 2015.

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