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History
Isolated remains of Homo Erectus in has
been found indicating
that Pakistan might
have been inhabited
since atleast the
Middle Pleistocene
era. The precise date
of these remains is
unclear, and archaeologists
put it anywhere between
200,000 to 500,000
BCE. The fossils are
the earliest human
remains found in South
Asia. Modern humans
arrived from Africa
after their evolution
about 70,000 to 31,000
years ago and settled
in South Asia.
The evidence from the excavations at
Mehrgarh, Balochistan,
has demonstrated that
the north-western
part of the Pakistan
had reached a neolithic,
i.e. settled agricultural
stage, by the 9,000
BCE. Here it may also
be emphasized that
the Mehrgarh neolithic
complex stands in
marked contrast to
that of western Asia.
For example, whereas
in the West Asian
neolithic there is
the domination of
sheep and goat amongst
the domesticated animals
and of wheat amongst
the cultivated cereals,
in the Mehrgarh context
the cattle dominated
over other animals
and barley over other
cereals. Thus, the
Mehrgarh neolithic
has its own identity,
having no generic
relationship with
its West Asian counterpart.
In other words, the
Mehrgarh people were
the “the sons of the
soil”.
The Mehrgarh declined about the same
time as the Indus
Valley Civilization
only 200 Kilometers
south east was developing.
It has been surmised
that the Mehrgarh
residents migrated
to the fertile Indus
River valley as Balochistan
became arid over time.
The Elamo-Dravidians
invaded from the Iranian
plateau and settled
in the Indus valley
around 4000 BCE. The
main site of the Indus
Valley Civilization
in Punjab was the
city of Harappa
and Moen and Moenjo
Daro in Sindh.
Mehrgarh (Mehrgahr, Merhgarh or Merhgahr)
in Balochistan province
of Pakistan was an
ancient settlement
and is one of the
most important sites
in archaeology for
the study of the earliest
neolithic settlements
in South Asia. The
archealogical sites
are located in the
Kachi ( Kacchi or
Katchi) plain near
the Bolan Pass, to
the west of the Indus
River valley and between
the present-day cities
of Quetta, Kalat and
Sibi.
Mehrgarh is sometimes cited as the earliest
known farming settlement
in South Asia, based
on archaeological
excavations from 1974.
The earliest evidence
of settlement dates
from nearly 9,000
BCE. It's also cited
for the earliest evidence
of pottery in South
Asia. Archaeologists
divide the occupation
at the site into several
periods. Mehrgarh
declined around 3,500
BCE at the same time
that the Indus Valley
Civilisation was being
established only two
hundred kilometers
south east from Mehrgarh.
It is concievable
that the Mehrgarh
culture expanded to
the fertile Indus
river valley and gave
rise to the Indus
Valley civilization.
The earliest stage of Mehrgarh predates
the Indus Valley Civilization
by nearly 3,000 years.
The chalcolithic people of Mehrgarh also
had contacts with northern
Afghanistan, north eastern
Iran and even with the southern
part of central Asia.
Mehrgarh Period I
Mehrgarh Period I 8000-5500 BCE, was
neolithic and aceramic (i.e.,
without the use of pottery).
The earliest farming in
the area was developed by
semi-nomadic people using
plants such as wheat and
barley and animals such
as sheep, goat and cattle.
The settlement was established
with simple mud buildings
with four internal subdivisions.
Numerous burials have been
found, many with elaborate
goods such as baskets, stone
and bone tools, beads, bangles,
pendants and occasionally
animal sacrifices, with
more goods left with burials
of males. Ornaments of sea
shell, limestone, turquoise,
lapis lazuli, sandstone
and polished copper have
been found, along with simple
figurines of women and animals.
A single ground stone axe
was discovered in a burial,
and several more were obtained
from the surface. These
ground stone axes are the
earliest to come from a
stratified context in the
South Asia.
Mehrgarh Period II and Period III
Mehrgarh Period II 5500-4800 BCE and
Merhgarh Period III 4800-3500
BCE were ceramic neolithic
(i.e., pottery was now in
use) and later chalcolithic.
Much evidence of manufacturing
activity has been found
and more advanced techniques
were used. Glazed faience
beads were produced and
terracotta figurines became
more detailed. Figurines
of females were decorated
with paint and had diverse
hairstyles and ornaments.
Two flexed burials were
found in period II with
a covering of red ochre
on the body. The amount
of burial goods decreased
over time, becoming limited
to ornaments and with more
goods left with burials
of females. The first button
seals were produced from
terracotta and bone and
had geometric designs. Technologies
included stone and copper
drills, updraft kilns, large
pit kilns and copper melting
crucibles. There is further
evidence of long-distance
trade in period II: important
as an indication of this
is the discovery of several
beads of lapis lazuli -
originally from Badakshan.
Mehrgarh Period VII
Somewhere between 2600 and 2000 BCE,
the city seems to have been
largely abandoned, which
is the time of the Indus
Valley Civilisation.
The evidence from the excavations at
Mehrgarh, Balochistan, has
demonstrated that the north-western
part of the Pakistan had
reached a neolithic, i.e.
settled agricultural stage,
by the 7,000 BCE. Here it
may also be emphasized that
the Mehrgarh neolithic complex
stands in marked contrast
to that of western Asia.
For example, whereas in
the West Asian neolithic
there is the domination
of sheep and goat amongst
the domesticated animals
and of wheat amongst the
cultivated cereals, in the
Mehrgarh context the cattle
dominated over other animals
and barley over other cereals.
Thus, the Mehrgarh neolithic
has its own identity, having
no generic relationship
with its West Asian counterpart.
In other words, the Mehrgarh
people were the “the sons
of the soil”.
Further, there is a continuous story
from the succeeding chalcolithic
level onwards, taking us
through various evolutionary
stages to the Early Harappan
from which there emerged
the Harappan Civilization
itself, around the middle
of the third millennium
BCE. Again, after a thorough
study of the human skeletal
remains, Hemphill and his
colleagues (1991) have shown
that there was a biological
continuity right from 4500
BCE to 800 BCE. A question
may now be posed: “What
language did these chalcolithic
people speak?” Though the
Harappan script has not
yet been deciphered, in
spite of so many tall claims,
we have yet another way
of tackling the issue.
Dentistry in Mehrgarh
Tiny holes found in teeth suggest even
prehistoric man may have
had to fear the dentist's
drill.
Remains found at Mehrgarh
show dental decay may have
been treated 8,000-9,000
years ago. It is some of
the earliest evidence of
dentistry. Archaeologists
discovered perfect tiny
holes in two molar teeth
from the remains of different
men. The people of that
time and area were extremely
sophisticated. They cultivated
crops and made intricate
jewellery from shells, amethysts
and turquoise.
History Most of the ruins at Mehrgarh are buried
under alluvium deposits,
though some structures could
be seen eroding on the surface.
Currently, the excavated
remains at the site comprise
a complex of large compartmental
mud-brick structures.
Function of these subdivided
units, built of hand-formed
plano-convex mud bricks,
is still not clear but it
is thought that many were
used probably for storage,
rather than residential,
purposes. A couple of mounds
also contain formal cemeteries,
parts of which have been
excavated.
Although Mehrgarh was abandoned by the
time of the emergence of
the literate urbanized phase
of the Indus civilization
around Moenjodaro, Harapa,
etc., its development illustrates
the development of the civilization's
subsistence patterns, as
well as its craft and trade.
Mr Jarrige said that many beautiful ceramics
had been found at the site
in Balochistan and were
believed to be of the era
as early as eighth millennium
BC. The French archaeologist
said that studies suggested
that the findings at Mehrgarh
linked this area to the
Indus civilization.
There are indications that bones were
used in making tools for
farming, textile, and there
are also evidences of the
use of cotton even in that
period. Mr Jarrige pointed
out that the skeletons found
at the site indicated that
the height of people of
that era was larger than
that of the later period.
He said that the architecture at that
time was well developed.
Rice was the staple food
for those people and there
were also indications of
trade activities.
Page last updated:
Thursday, April 03, 2008 12:30:15 -0400
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