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Franke Ute, Baluchistan and the Borderlands. In: Encyclopedia of Archaeology,

ed. by Deborah M. Pearsall. © 2008, Academic Press, New York.
 Author's personal copy

ASIA, SOUTH/Baluchistan and the Borderlands 651

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ASIA, SOUTH

Contents
Baluchistan and the Borderlands
Buddhist Archaeology
Ganges Valley
India, Deccan and Central Plateau
India, Paleolithic Cultures of the South
Indus Civilization
Kashmir and the Northwest Frontier
Megaliths
Neolithic Cultures
Paleolithic Cultures
Sri Lanka

Baluchistan and the These regions formed, at times, a cultural landscape

Borderlands
Ute Franke, DAI, Berlin, Germany
ã 2008 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Glossary
Baluchistan An arid region located in the Iranian Plateau in
Southwest Asia and South Asia, between Iran, Pakistan, and
Afghanistan.
Indus Civilization The Indus Valley Civilization (c. 2600–1900)
was an ancient riverine civilization that flourished in the Indus
and Ghaggar–Hakra river valleys in what is now Pakistan and
northwest India.
urbanization The increase over time in the population of cities
in relation to the region’s rural population.
Introduction
Baluchistan is a huge landmass that extends from
western Pakistan into southeastern Iran and southern
Afghanistan and separates the open alluvial plains of
the Indian subcontinent from the Iranian Plateau
(Figure 1). It is the largest part of the Indo-Iranian
borderlands which also include parts of the North-
West Frontier Province, Kandahar, and Hilmand Pro-
vinces in Afghanistan, and Sistan/Baluchistan in Iran.
linked through traits such as architecture and artifact
styles, interpreted as evidence for exchange, shared
technologies, values, and ideas.
In Baluchistan, human development from the sev-
enth millennium BC onwards, from mobile food
hunters and gatherers to sedentary communities based
on farming and animal husbandry, has been uncov-
ered. Increasing levels of complexity in economy and
technology, social and political organization, accom-
panied by a population growth and settlement expan-
sion, fostered the development of villages, towns, and
cities and provided the basis for urbanization and state
formation. Throughout, this tradition maintained a
distinctive character, notwithstanding regional differ-
ences and changing patterns of interaction.
The purpose of this paper is to outline this devel-
opment, with a focus on Baluchistan. In order to
understand the preconditions and to assess its role,
we will first discuss the natural conditions that govern
human life and then look at the cultural communities
that formed the conceptual landscape.
Natural Environment
Baluchistan can be divided into three main landforms
plus a small coastal belt: (1) inland basins, (2) deserts,
and (3) mountains rising to 3500 m in the north.
Dissected by narrow river valleys, the mountains

Encyclopedia of Archaeology (2008), vol. 1, pp. 651-670

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652 ASIA, SOUTH/Baluchistan and the Borderlands

Bamyan KABUL
Mardan
Herat

Peshawar
ISLAMABAD

Birjand

Yazd Mundigak

Kandahar

Shahdad Quetta Multan

Kerman Shahr-i Sokhta

Nausharo
Zahedan
Bam Mehrgarh
Surab

Tepe Yahya
Jiroft
Sohr Damb/Nal

Bampur Mohenjo Daro

Khasab Jodhpur
Shimal Turbat
Ras al-Khaimah
Umm al-Quwain Lima
Ajman Shahi T., Miri Q.
Sharjah Hyderabad
Masafi
Dubai Fujairah
Mleiha Pasni Karachi
Gwadar
Sohar
Hill

Figure 1 Map of the region with sites. Ute Franke. Map: H. David. ã 2008 Dr. Ute Franke-Vogt. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights
reserved.

run in parallel north–south folds along the western population density that exceeds present figures attests
fringe of the Indus plain and turn west near the sea, the success of these adaptations.
making access to the Indus plain and the shore diffi- Baluchistan is rich in mineral resources (copper,
cult. The northerly movement of the Indo-Pakistani lead, zinc, barite), stones (gray chert, lime- and sand-
Plate and its collision with the Eurasian Plate shifted stone, alabaster, marble), and semiprecious stones
the coastline southward for up to 25 km during the (agate, vesuvianite-grossular, lapislazuli).
Holocene and lifted the whole shore.
These geographical barriers direct communications
and the hydraulic system. In the east, large perennial
History of Research
rivers, such as the Hab, Porali, and Hingol/Nal, drain
the mountain flow-off into the sea, while the western After an intensive post-war period of research in
river systems often discharge into deserts and salt pans. Baluchistan, the North-West Frontier Province, and
The mountains comprise several ecological zones elsewhere, work in Pakistan focused on the Indus
that vary greatly in terms of climate and availability plains (Sindh, Punjab) and its fringes (Gomal,
of soil and water. Climate is, in general, arid with Bannu). Virtually all archaeological information on
a precipitation of c. 100 mm yr
1 in the south and interior Baluchistan was collected between 1880 and
400 mm in the north. Agriculture depends on irriga- 1965. Surveys conducted by A. Stein, B. de Cardi,
tion and the availability of soils but less than 4% of W. A. Fairservice, R. Mughal, and others produced
Baluchistan is arable. The mountains are barren and regional data sets that to date form the basis for
valley floors built with gravel. Only in wider valleys settlement analyses, while soundings at Kile Ghul
did a fertile alluvium composed of silt and sand accu- Mohammad (hereafter: KGM), Quetta, and Anjira
mulate. In dealing with diversified ecological condi- provided a typological and comparative framework.
tions, flexible subsistence strategies were developed: R. Mughal’s restudy of this material supported the
while cultivars and domesticated animals remained concept that an Early Harappan horizon existed in
much the same throughout, their stake and supplemen- the Greater Indus Valley, thereby implying the au-
tary dietary measures varied. The need for irrigation tochthonous development of the Indus Civilization,
has prompted channel building at an early stage, but notwithstanding interaction.
the most remarkable human response to environmental Research carried out in Central Asia, Afghanistan,
conditions are the sophisticated dam systems (gabar- and southeastern Iran, particularly excavations at
bands) of southeastern Baluchistan. A prehistoric Mundigak (J.-M. Casal), Bampur (B. de Cardi),

Encyclopedia of Archaeology (2008), vol. 1, pp. 651-670

 Author's personal copy
Tepe Yahya (C. C. Lamberg-Karlovsky), Shahr-e
Sokhta (M. Tosi), and Shahdad (A. Hakemi), widened
cultural horizons and introduced new research per-
spectives. By 1970, the Indo-Iranian Borderlands had
emerged as a region with distinctive cultural patterns
and new models on human development and inter-
action were developed. Foreign fieldwork ended in
1978–79, but Iranian teams continued excavations
and both Afghanistan and Iran have reopened their
borders recently.
In Pakistan, the French Mission working in the
Kacchi Plain at the foot of Bolan Pass proved the
hypotheses of an indigenous cultural development in
Pakistan and particularly in Baluchistan to be truer
than anticipated. At Mehrgarh, Nausharo, Sibri, and
Pirak, a sequence from the aceramic Neolithic Period
through the first millennium BC excavated under
the direction of J.-F. Jarrige, produced new sets of
information that carried cultural complexes beyond
mere pottery styles and facilitated the development of
a wider chronological scheme (Figure 2). In southern
Figure 2 Mehrgarh: Bolan section with Neolithic levels (with
J.-F. Jarrige, M. Tosi and M. Vidale). Photo: Ute Franke 1983.
ã 2008 Dr. Ute Franke-Vogt. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights
reserved.
Encyclopedia of Archaeology (2008), vol. 1, pp. 651-670
ASIA, SOUTH/Baluchistan and the Borderlands 653
Baluchistan, work was more limited and only now is
the region gaining its proper place in history, mainly
through the French Mission working in Makran since
1985 (R. Besenval, Miri Qalat, Shahi Tump, Dasht
plain) and the German Mission to central (Sohr
Damb/Nal) and southeastern Baluchistan, established
in 1996–97.
This research is now gradually facilitating the
building of models of past life on a more solid footing,
but it also reveals the limits of such an endeavor: too
many areas remain unexplored, too much informa-
tion is inadequately published, and too many ques-
tions cannot be answered by the old data. However,
no matter how much further information is needed,
Baluchistan is crucial for understanding cultural
development within the Indo-Iranian Borderlands
until the abandonment of settled life in the second
millennium BC and for assessing its role in the wider
interaction spheres: was it a border, frontier, or an
intermediary?
The Cultural Landscape through Time
Considering the geographical barriers described, the
question arises as to whether they went along with
cultural isolation. At a first glance, the number of
archaeological assemblages, mostly pottery, supports
this idea. The wide distribution of certain styles, how-
ever, points to a different direction. Its implications
are difficult to assess since unlike ‘imported’ exotic
commodities and materials, such as sea shells, semi-
precious stones, and metals which were exchanged,
looted, or paid as tribute, and even unlike the copying
of new technologies, the adaptation of pottery
designs, figurines, or other artifact styles inherits a
semantic dimension which is difficult to assess (see
Pottery Analysis: Stylistic).
With regard to the amount and nature of archae-
ological data, we have to define descriptive units.
The Balochistan Tradition is the overarching geo-
graphically and temporally continuous heuristic sys-
tem composed of multilinear archaeological entities
which are linked in space and time. ‘Eras’ are devel-
opmental stages, such as food-producing and region-
alization. A ‘phase’ combines a number of cultural
complexes within a broadly defined region and time
trajectory. ‘Cultural complexes’ or ‘horizons’ are
recurrent configurations of features within archaeo-
logical assemblages, at present mostly pottery styles.
Per definitionem they reflect human abilities, re-
quirements, stylistic, and technological choices and
preferences, but are not a priori considered to repre-
sent particular social or even ethnic groups. Their
 Author's personal copy
654 ASIA, SOUTH/Baluchistan and the Borderlands
distribution patterns form the cultural landscape and
outline ‘mental’, or conceptual, maps. Recent re-
search has shown that these styles and horizons are
still badly defined and dated which makes the recon-
struction of these processes through time and the
assessment of interaction and its impact on develop-
ment difficult. Accordingly, we refrain from merging
styles and horizons into larger units that have little
analytical value, but rather discuss the smaller entities,
paying tribute to regional stylistic diversity notwith-
standing shared features.
Early Food Producing Era: First Settlements
(Mehrgarh I, II, KGM I, II, Anjira I, II, Miri I?)
After around 7000 BC in northern Baluchistan, mo-
bile hunters and gatherers had gradually settled down.
The adaptation of einkorn, emmer, wheat, and barley
as staple crops, and a successful animal husbandry
(cattle, goat, sheep), facilitated the development
and growth of villages (see Animal Domestication;
Plant Domestication). Mehrgarh is the type site for
understanding the formation of a tradition that was to
last for nearly seven millenniums (Figure 2). Seven-
meter high deposits and nine building levels for the
Neolithic Periods reveal alternating shifts of the habi-
tation and cemeteries over a long time. Altogether, 77
well-planned houses with two, four, and later six
rooms and separate communal storage facilities were
excavated (Figures 3 and 4). 320 burial chambers
contained ochre-covered bodies of all sexes and age
classes (Figure 5). On 11 out of 225 examined bodies,
signs of ancient dentistry were found. Elaborate shell,
stone, and copper ornaments, lithic objects, sometimes
bitumen baskets, human figurines, and goat sacrifices
accompanied the dead. While in Period I, heat-treated
steatite, turquoise and lapis lazuli beads, and shell
bangles probably arrived as finished objects, several
workshops and wasters indicate an intensive local
production during Period II, marking the beginning of
technologies that remained characteristic throughout
time. Pottery appears for the first time in Period II,
along with stone vessels, but it is in Period III that
these technologies were greatly advanced.
Incipient farming and animal husbandry, and the
first introduction of pottery were also noted at KGM
near Quetta and, albeit at a later stage, further south
at Anjira. The oldest settlements in southeastern
Baluchistan date to the later fifth millennium. While
in northern Baluchistan an interaction network
developed, the picture in Makran is different. The
lowermost aceramic levels at Shahi Tump I and a
few other sites are, if at all, related to the Iranian
Plateau. The faunal material indicates a change in
Encyclopedia of Archaeology (2008), vol. 1, pp. 651-670
subsistence strategies after Period I, and further re-
search will show whether this site belongs to the Early
Food Producing Era.
Incipient Regionalization: The Expansion
of Settlements. The Kile Ghul-Mohammad/Togau
Horizon (Mehrgarh III, KGM III, Anjira II, Sohr Damb
I?, South Eastern Baluchistan I, Makran: Miri I?, II,
Mundigak I–II)
The time of Mehrgarh III (late fifth and early fourth
millennium) was marked by a considerable rise in
the number of settlements in northern Baluchistan.
Many were new foundations, indicating a population
growth that reflected the success of subsistence
economies. Settlements now also appeared in central
and southeastern Baluchistan (Adam Buthi, Niai
Buthi). Some sites are small (<1 ha), others, including
Sheri Khan Tarakai in the Bannu Basin, are 16–21 ha
large. At Mehrgarh, Period III pottery (Figure 6)
was scattered over about 100 ha, but the area was
probably not inhabited at the same time.
This development was accompanied by a marked
increase in the manufacture and varieties of goods
produced. The raw materials processed in a bead
workshop in Mehrgarh III include resources that are
not locally available, such as turquoise, lapis lazuli,
agates, jasper, marine shells, and copper. Despite an
increased production, the number of grave goods
decreases further, particularly in male burials, a shift
that, along with the absence of ochre treatments and
partial or secondary burials, reflects a change in the
conception of death and afterlife.
The introduction of the potter’s wheel and high
temperature updraft kilns predate the first appearance
in Central Asia by almost 1000 years. Large quantities
of a very well-fired, thin-walled, red-slipped and
black-painted pottery were now produced. These
KGM, Togau, and related types are truly amazing in
terms of technology. Their distribution extends from
northern and central to southeastern Baluchistan,
the Bannu Basin, Mehrgarh, Mundigak I, and Amri
in southern Sindh. One motif of the Togau paint-
ing style as defined by B. de Cardi characterizes stylis-
tic development from c. 4000 BC to the mid-third
millennium: a row of stylized caprids (Togau A), sub-
sequently reduced to the forepart (Togau B), a hook
(Togau C, D) and, in southeastern Baluchistan, to a
mere stroke (Togau E). Recent excavations at Sohr
Damb/Nal have shown, however, that its use as a
chronological marker is problematical.
The tombs of Period I at Sohr Damb contain
remains of multiple fragmentary burials, accompa-
nied by pottery vessels, carnelian, agate, lapis lazuli,
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ASIA, SOUTH/Baluchistan and the Borderlands 655

A B C D E F G H I J A B C D E F G H I J A B C D E F G
5 5
6 6
7 7
8 8
9 9
10 AF AG 10
1 M N O 1

2 2
3 3
4 4
5 5
6 6
7 7
8 8
9 MR.03 9
North
10 10
1 1
2 2
3 3
4 4
5 5

Cliff 1997

Cliff 1985
6 6
I
7 7
8 8
MR.03
9 South 9
10 LC D 10
IIA
1 KB A 1
2 2
3 3
4 N 4
5 5
6 6
7 7
8 8
9 9
10 10
1 JI 1
2 2
3 3
4 IIB 4
m 5 25 50 Period I (Levels 1−9)
5 Period IIA 5
Period IIB 6
6
7 7
A B C D E F G H I J A B C D E F G H I J A B C D E F G
Figure 3 Mehrgarh, Plan of MR3 Periods I-IIB. Courtesy, French Mission to Mehrgarh, C. Jarrige. ã 2007 Dr. Ute Franke-Vogt.
Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Encyclopedia of Archaeology (2008), vol. 1, pp. 651-670

 Author's personal copy

656 ASIA, SOUTH/Baluchistan and the Borderlands

Figure 4 Mehrgarh, view of houses (MR3, levels 4–9). Courtesy, French Mission to Mehrgarh, C. Jarrige.

Figure 5 Mehrgarh IB: burial , with basket. Courtesy, French Mission to Mehrgarh, C. Jarrige.

and steatite beads, shells with red pigment, grinding

Figure 6 Mehrgarh: bowl from Period III. Courtesy, French
Mission to Mehrgarh, C. Jarrige.
stones, and stone weights (Figure 7). Togau D bowls
are standard inventory, but they are associated with
Togau A–C and even Togau E bowls, KGM, and Kechi
Beg (hereafter: KB) vessels (Figures 8 and 9), styles pre-
viously considered to represent development through
time. The use of white pigment provides a link to
the Bannu Basin and Punjab, but the chronological
frame for this ware is not well established. C14 dates
are not yet available, but parallels with Mehrgarh
III–IV and Miri II–IIIa point to a date from c. 3800
to 3300 BC. The dancers on the small bowl from
Sohr Damb (Figure 10) have a close parallel at Mehr-
garh III, but also resemble the Sialk III painting
style from the Iranian Plateau (late fifth/early fourth
millennium BC).

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ASIA, SOUTH/Baluchistan and the Borderlands 657

Figure 7 Sohr Damb/Nal: tomb 739/740, Period I. DAI, Eurasien, Ute Franke. ã 2008 Dr. Ute Franke-Vogt. Published by Elsevier Inc.
All rights reserved.

Figure 8 Sohr Damb/Nal: pottery from tomb 711, Period I. DAI, Eurasien, Ute Franke. ã 2008 Dr. Ute Franke-Vogt. Published by
Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

In Makran, the settlement and cemeteries of Miri
Period II date to the first half of the fourth millennium
BC (Figure 11). The bodies were treated with ochre,
buried on a mat or wrapped in cloths. Grave goods
include stone and a remarkable variety of metal
objects, for example, axes, spearheads, mirrors, and
tools, some of them made of pure copper. The use
of almandine garnet for bead making indicates ad-
vanced craftsmanship since it is a very hard material
to work and elsewhere attested only at Mehrgarh III.
Likewise exceptional are objects made from sea
shells and fish bones (Figure 12). The graves have
no pottery, but the assemblage from the habitation
is still rather isolated from the rest of Baluchistan.
Terracotta bulls with and without humps match the
faunal record that shows a predominance of cattle
and caprines. This occupation is compared to chal-
colithic Iran, Susa I, Tall-I Bakun, Sialk II, Tappe
Hissar IA-C, and Susa I, while links to Tappe Yahya
V are few.
The wide distribution of objects, goods, and
technologies witnesses the movement of people
through a large area. Whether styles traveled with
or without their semantic value is open to question.

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658 ASIA, SOUTH/Baluchistan and the Borderlands

Figure 9 Sohr Damb/Nal: KB beakers from tomb 740, Period I. DAI, Eurasien, Ute Franke. ã 2008 Dr. Ute Franke-Vogt. Published by
Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Figure 10 Sohr Damb/Nal: Bowl with ‘dancers’, Tr. IIIb, l. 749, Period I. DAI, Eurasien, Ute Franke. ã 2008 Dr. Ute Franke-Vogt.
Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Notwithstanding expanding interaction, differences
in style, economy and, for example, burial customs
imply persistent local patterns.
Widening Horizons in a Patterned Landscape
(Mehrgarh IV–VI, KGM IV/Damb Sadaat I–II, Anjira
II–III, Sohr Damb I–II, South Eastern Baluchistan II,
Makran Miri IIIa, Shahr-e Sokhta I, Tappe Yahya
IVC, Mundigak II–III)
The subsequent period corresponds to Mehrgarh
IV–VI, dated to c. 3500 – 2900/2800 BC. At the
beginning of this time, the habitation was moved for
the last time. A significant change was the abandon-
ment of communal in favor of individual storages
within now larger houses. Irrigation channels facili-
tated an intensified cultivation of wheat and other
plants needed to feed a growing population. The
shift from cattle to sheep and goat keeping possibly
indicates the integration of larger grazing areas and
wider seasonal movements of people.
At Sohr Damb/Nal, Period II is marked by many
changes. The typical Period I pottery is replaced by
the buff Nal ware, although highly fired, black-
slipped KB white-on-dark slip bowls, which form
c. 15% of the inventory, reveal that firing technology
survived a hiatus evident in stratigraphy, architecture,
and burial customs. These vessels carry the earliest
graphemes known in this region, one or two engraved
or painted in white signs. The houses are small, but

Encyclopedia of Archaeology (2008), vol. 1, pp. 651-670

 Author's personal copy
Figure 11 Shahi Tump Tr. IV, period II architecture. Courtesy,
French Mission to Makran, R. Besenval.
Figure 12 Shahi Tump, period II, mother-of-pearl fish. Cour-
tesy, French Mission to Makran, R. Besenval.
well equipped with kitchen utensils and installations
for food preparation. Among these tools, simple bull
clay figurines and personal ornaments are most fre-
quent. The tombs contain just one skeleton in a flexed
position, and the grave goods comprise of only a few
pottery vessels and personal ornaments. The same
Encyclopedia of Archaeology (2008), vol. 1, pp. 651-670
ASIA, SOUTH/Baluchistan and the Borderlands 659
tendency toward lower-status objects in tombs was
observed at Mehrgarh III. The only later cemetery
found at that site was devoted to infants and had
almost no grave goods.
In Makran, the Shahi Tump Period IIIa, dated to
3500–3000 BC, yielded a rich funerary culture with
pottery, shell containers with ochre, stone vessels,
beads, and copper seals, associated here, as elsewhere,
predominantly with female bodies, and a 15 kg cop-
per weight inlaid with shell and carnelian, similar in
shape to stone weights from Sohr Damb/Nal Period I
(Figure 13). The appearance of Togau and Bichrome
sherds and the use of white pigment reflects links with
the rest of Baluchistan. Still, comparisons with sites in
Iran (Susa IIIa, Sialk IV.2, Tall-e Iblis IV–VI) are stron-
ger. Shell bangles with a ridged decoration have almost
identical counterparts in a late fourth/early third mil-
lennium tomb at Sarazm in Tadjikistan. Forty thousand
heat-treated steatite beads made with a technology
known in Baluchistan since early Mehrgarh were also
found in that tomb, showing that interaction started
earlier and was much more extensive than previously
thought. At the same time, the discovery of beveled-rim
bowls from layers just above manifests the presence of
features that hallmark the proto-Elamite horizon in
Iran (see below).
The expansion of settlements, their further growth
in number and size, the emergence of monumental
architecture, perimeter walls, platforms, seals, and
first graphemes, advanced technical diversity and
craft specialization indicates an increasing economic,
cultural, and social complexity. A similar develop-
ment is witnessed in the eastern lowlands, where the
spread of certain pottery types and other features –
first the Hakra and Ravi wares in Punjab and, from
c. 3000 BC onward, of the Kot Diji horizon –
indicates an increased mobility between the highlands
and the plains.
Another hallmark of this time is the appearance of
a large variety of pottery styles, such as KB, Togau
C/D, Quetta, Nal, and gray wares. They link Baluchi-
stan (Kacchi Plain, Quetta, Zhob, Loralai, Pishin,
central and southern Baluchistan) with the Bannu
Basin, Sindh, and beyond. Yet, the lack of stratified
assemblages that are large enough to account for
functional variation, hampers patterning their tem-
poral and spatial distribution, a preposition to the
formulation of generic relationships.
The ‘Kechi Beg horizon’ comprises a number of
pottery styles discovered by Fairservis and de Cardi
between Quetta and Kalat, and subsequently at
Mehrgarh. Three of the nine wares are considered to
be horizon markers. KB black-on-buff slip (MR V)
shares many motifs with KB bichrome that has a very
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660 ASIA, SOUTH/Baluchistan and the Borderlands

Figure 13 Shahi Tump, period IIIa: burial with copper weight. Courtesy, French Mission to Makran, R. Besenval.

delicate black design and a red band or infill painted

on buff (Figure 9) , while the additional use of white is
only attested at Mehrgarh (Figure 14). At Mehrgarh
(IV, V) and KGM (IV) it occurs stratigraphically later
than KGM and Togau A–C pottery, but these types
overlap at Surab (Surab II.i ¼ Anjira III). Despite dif-
ferences in fabric, the fine brush painting and patterns
such as hatched lozenges and ‘ladders’ link this pottery
with Amri Period I in Sindh. The typological and chro-
nological range of this type is not defined well enough
to understand its genesis and spread, not to speak
of regional variants and their development through
time. At Sohr Damb, it co-occurs with KGM-pottery
in Period I, but is absent in Period II, although KB
white-on-dark slip vessels are common, indicating
that not all KB types are contemporary.
Although, as discussed above, the Togau C/D ‘bowls’
with the stylized hook pattern appear already in Sohr Figure 14 Mehrgarh, period V, polychrome beakers. Courtesy,
French Mission to Mehrgarh, C. Jarrige.
Damb Period I, they are nevertheless a significant
marker of the early third millennium sites. They were
found at Mehrgarh V–VI, at most sites in central and
southeastern Baluchistan (Anjira II–III, Balakot IA/B), figurative and floral motifs, simple linear designs,
in the piedmont area in eastern Sindh, at Amri I, and and unpainted vessels. It is the hallmark of a horizon
Miri Qalat IIIa. Most probably, this ware originated that extended as far as Gumla II, Namazga III (hand-
in the central highlands and spread from there to, for made), Mundigak III, and Shahr-e Sokhta I. The use
example, Kirthar Piedmont. There, it co-occurs with of red and yellow pigments noted at Namazga and
Nal and late Quetta pottery, but it was not found at Shahr-e Sokhta is unknown in Quetta, but provides a
the Quetta sites and Sohr Damb II. link to polychrome Nal pottery.
The ‘Quetta horizon’ as defined by Piggott and Simple lines and the bracket motif are hallmarks of
Fairservis is marked by a buff or red ware painted the later stages (late Quetta, late Damb Sadaat III ¼
in black with a fine brush with complex geomet- Sadaat). Although the criteria for a proposed stylistic
ric patterns based on black–white contrasts and development from Damb Sadaat I–III are far from
arranged in friezes that cover large parts of the body clear and the excavations at that site were small, in
(Figures 15–17). This ‘geometric’ pottery occurs at Mehrgarh typical Quetta ware appears in Period VI
Damb Sadaat in Periods II and III, together with and late Quetta pottery in Period VII/Nausharo IA–C,

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 Author's personal copy
Figure 15 Mehrgarh, period VII, Quetta ware. Courtesy French Mission to Mehrgarh, C. Jarrige.
Figure 16 Mehrgarh, period VII, Quetta ware. Courtesy, French
Mission to Mehrgarh, C. Jarrige.
a distribution that supports this scheme. At Sohr Damb
II, few typical ‘Quetta’ sherds were found, but Sadaat
types are common in Period III (Figure 18, lower left).
The bracket motif is particularly common in south-
eastern Baluchistan, where it overlaps with Early Har-
appan wares. A date into the later third millennium
can thus be ruled out.
Since its discovery just after 1900, ‘Nal pottery’ has
been divided into an earlier polychrome ware,
marked by the application of yellow and turquoise
after firing in addition to black and red, and a later
monochrome series. Both share complex geometric
patterns characterized by multiple contour lines, geo-
metric designs with stepped borders, arranged in
friezes and metopes, but the designs are more elabo-
rate on the polychrome vessels (Figure 19). Realistic
or abstract figurative motifs such as felines, bulls,
birds, and hybrid creatures, and floral ornaments
are also common (Figure 20). Despite the occurrence
of repetitive designs, their composition and execution
reveals many individual traits, and hardly two pieces
are identical in detail, betraying artistic freedom and
craft specialization of the potters, and probably a
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ASIA, SOUTH/Baluchistan and the Borderlands 661
highly symbolic meaning. Some of these motifs and
structural principles can be seen on Quetta ware, but
the polychromatic nature, the particular addition of
structural elements into complex patterns, and the
figurative motifs underline its originality.
Recent excavations at Sohr Damb/Nal, where this
pottery occurs exclusively in Period II, have finally
placed it into a cultural and chronological context.
As a result, the notion of the polychrome ware as
older and of its use a funerary ware has to be aban-
doned: it was found in vast numbers in domestic
contexts, along with monochrome pottery. It appears
fully fledged in Period II, but stylistic evolution is
apparent. The discovery of a late Nal assemblage
in 2006, marked by the lack of turquoise, a more
careless execution and the use of a wider brush, con-
firms this impression. The new motifs and design are
closely linked to Mehrgarh VII, Balakot, and other
sites of the late Early Harappan Period in south-
eastern Baluchistan.
Nal pottery, or similar types, occur at Mehrgarh
VI, Miri Qalat IIIa-b (Figure 21), Shahr-e Sokhta I–II
(Figure 22), Tappe Yahya IVC1, and in the Kandahar
region, where it was probably intrusive. Considering
this wide distribution, its lack at the nearby Quetta
sites, and vice versa, indicates the persistence of dis-
tinctive cultural zones. A similar pattern is reflected
by painted gray wares. The Faiz Mohammad and the
Emir Gray Ware share the distinctive technology of
high temperature firing in a reduced atmosphere, but
have distinctive shapes and motifs, and are rather
localized with exclusive distribution patterns, not-
withstanding overlaps. While the Emir Gray Ware
predominates in the southwest, Shahr-e Sokhta I-III,
Tappe Yahya VA–IVB5 (few), and Makran (Miri IIIb),
the former was mainly found at Mehrgarh VI–VII and
from Quetta to Surab, but rarely further south. At
Sohr Damb, one vessel was found in a Period II tomb,
carrying a pattern identical to that on a buff ware
pot from Mehrgarh VII (Figures 16 and 17). The
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662 ASIA, SOUTH/Baluchistan and the Borderlands

Figure 17 Sohr Damb/Nal, period II: gray ware beaker, tomb 768. DAI, Eurasien, Ute Franke. Photo: A. Lange.

Figure 18 Sohr Damb/Nal, period III, pottery from Trench 9. DAI, Eurasien, Ute Franke. ã 2008 Dr. Ute Franke-Vogt. Published by
Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

co-occurrence of both gray ware types at Mundigak
III–IV.1 revealed continued links of this site with both
regions.
These patterns reflect the presence of two larger
cultural regions within Baluchistan, a southern one
which has connections with northern Baluchistan,
but is also still oriented toward Iran, and a northern
one that extends from Khuzdar to the Kachi plain and
has affinities with southern Afghanistan and the west-
ern fringes of the Indus plains. Before we discuss
the final centuries predating the rise of the Indus
Civilization, we will have a look at southeastern Iran,
where these horizons intermingled and urban centers
developed.
Baluchistan and Its Neighbors: Shifting
Relations
The third millennium BC is a time of strong cultural
dynamics, evident in archaeological record from

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 Author's personal copy
Figure 19 Sohr Damb/Nal, period II: polychrome pottery from Trench II. DAI, Eurasien, Ute Franke. ã 2008 Dr. Ute Franke-Vogt.
Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Figure 20 Sohr Damb/Nal, period II: polychrome pottery from
Trench II. DAI, Eurasien, Ute Franke. ã 2008 Dr. Ute Franke-Vogt.
Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Figure 21 Makran Miri IIIb: polychrome bowl. Courtesy, French
Mission to Makran, R. Besenval.
Encyclopedia of Archaeology (2008), vol. 1, pp. 651-670
ASIA, SOUTH/Baluchistan and the Borderlands 663
Sistan, Afghanistan, Tadjikistan, and Turkmenistan.
In southeastern Iran, urbanity emerged around
3000 BC. In addition to borderland interactions, the
appearance of proto-elamite features, such as inscribed
tablets, seals, and sealings, as well as diagnostic pot-
tery types (beveled-rim bowls, nose-lug jars, Djemdat
Nasr pottery types) signals that political entities in
Khuzestan and Fars extended their economic and
political interest to the east, as far as Shahr-e Sokhta
(I), Tappe Yahya (IVC2), and even Miri Qalat (late
Period IIIa, beveled-rim bowls only). Whether the
moving force behind this development was economic
and/or political, it marks the beginning of a new, very
dynamic era in human interaction at the very beginning
of the third millennium BC.
Shahr-e Sokhta, located in an inland basin in Iran–
Sistan at a seasonal lake, is the central place in a
settlement chamber that was occupied for more than
1000 years. It has 11 phases divided into four peri-
ods. Starting from a 10–15 ha site around 3000 BC
(Period I.10–9, then destruction), it reached c. 115 ha
during Periods II (Phases 8–5) and III (Phases 4–2)
when it developed into an urban center with monu-
mental architecture, nucleated residential areas, crafts-
men’s quarters with alabaster, semiprecious stone and
metal workshops, a 20 ha graveyard, and a hinterland
with more than 75 sites.
At Shahr-e Sokhta Period I, a strong affinity with
Central Asia and Baluchistan is present alongside
these western elements: 40% of the painted pottery
at Shahr-e Sokhta carry geometric patterns that
also characterize Namazga III, Mundigak III, and
the Damb Sadaat II horizon in the Quetta Valley.
Human figurines and compartmented seals confirm
these links and indicate that this style was more
integrated into the local repertoire than the western
features. Nal pottery occurs in Periods I and II and is
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664 ASIA, SOUTH/Baluchistan and the Borderlands

Figure 22 Chronological chart. Ute Franke. ã 2008 Dr. Ute Franke-Vogt. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
 Author's personal copy
probably intrusive, but its patterns were copied to
local shapes.
Following a destruction, new pottery types and
simple figurative motifs appear in Period II, especially
the pear-shaped beaker that remains a diagnostic
type throughout the sequence. Simple geometric pat-
terns continue, but the complex Quetta pottery is
not present any more. However, an increasing number
of compartmented seals and certain pottery types (e.g.,
imported Faiz Mohammad Gray pottery (SiS III,5b-4))
reveals that links with Central Asia (Namazga IV) and
Baluchistan continued. Many features of the pottery
from Period III.5 to 2 and Rud-e Biyaban 2 are also well
known from Mundigak IV.1–3, northern (Mehrgarh
VIIA-C, Nausharo IA-D, Sohr Damb III) and southern
Baluchistan (Miri IIIc), linking these sites just before
the formation of the Indus Civilization.
In Period IV.1, the site was already small and ur-
banity had come to an end. Pottery from the Burnt
Building shows close links with Bampur V/VI, Miri
IIIc, and across the Persian Gulf. The latter region
actually owes its pottery tradition to Sistan, and Potts
has recently suggested that both formed the ancient
kingdom of Marhashi, a land referred to in Mesopo-
tamian cuneiform documents after 2400 BC. Follow-
ing another destruction and a gap before Phase 0, it
was abandoned at c. 1800 BC.
Tappe Yahya, a mound in the Soghun Valley close
to the Bampur Valley and Makran, is a small, but
important site. Period V dates to the fifth millennium
BC, Periods IVC–A to c. 3000 – 1900 BC, following a
gap of unknown length. In Period IVC2, the proto-
elamite horizon is present, but it lacks the strong
Namazga III/Quetta affiliation of Shahr-e Sokhta I.
It has rather become known for its production of
intercultural-style chlorite vessels, a commodity in
high demand in Early Dynastic II and III Mesopota-
mia, although – with a peak of production at the very
end of Period IVB – the workshops were rather late.
Period IVB is, in general, contemporary with the
Indus Civilization and Shahr-e Sokhta III-IV.
The relative isolation of Tappe Yahya has become
even more apparent through the discovery of the
Jiroft civilization. Following illegal excavations, re-
cent research brought to light a large city, Konar
Sandal, center to more than 200 settlements and
cemeteries, which contained hundreds of elaborately
carved and inlaid chlorite vessels with a figurative
iconography amalgamates local, Central Asian, elam-
ite, and Mesopotamian features. Along with seals
and sealings, pottery and alabaster vessels, as well
as metal artifacts, they represent a highly symbolic
iconography, superb craft specialization, and wealth.
Konar Sandal dates back to the earlier third millennium
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ASIA, SOUTH/Baluchistan and the Borderlands 665
BC, but the majority of objects belong to the second
half of the millennium. Whether Jiroft is the ancient
kingdom of Aratta, mentioned in the Sumerian cunei-
form texts, or ancient Marhashi, the discovery of
this civilization is certainly crucial for understanding
political, cultural, and economic relations and devel-
opments.
Two hundred kilometers further north a similarly
profuse culture was discovered at Shahdad. Little is
known about the earliest occupation with an exten-
sive copper working area and bead workshops (late
fourth and early third millennium BC), but objects
from almost 400 tombs mirror a highly advanced
complex society with a profuse art and iconography
that reflect its integration into the horizon that during
the second half of the third millennium BC linked
Susa, Sistan (Yahya IVB, Shahr-e Sokhta IV, Jiroft,
Bampur V–VI), southern Baluchistan (Miri IIIc–IV,
Mehi), the Arabian Peninsula (e.g., Tell Abraq, Hili
Tomb A), Central Asia (Namazga IV–V, Mundigak
IV.2–3, BMAC), and northern Baluchistan (Quetta
hoard, Sibri, Mehrgarh VIII).
With the rise of the Indus Civilization after 2600 BC,
a centralized state emerged in the Indus Valley
that extended its sphere of interest to the resource-
rich areas in Afghanistan, Baluchistan, and Oman.
The cuneiform documents reflect episodes of contact
and conflict between Agade Meluhha, and the lands
in between, but archaeological traces are rare, both in
southeastern Iran and at the Indus, notwithstanding
mutual links with southern Baluchistan (Miri Qalat
IIIc–IV, Kulli). Considering the large-scale exposures
at Shahr-e Sokhta, in Jiroft, Shahdad, and in the Indus
Valley, this negative evidence cannot be adduced to
the randomness of the archaeological record. It rather
evokes the picture of directed encounters, at least as
far as the Indus Civilization is concerned.
While the comparative chronology of the horizon
that links Shahr-e Sokhta (Phases 5–1), Miri Qalat
IIIb–IV, Mundigak IV, Mehrgarh VIIB–C, Nausharo
IB–D, and Sohr Damb III is relatively well estab-
lished, the absolute chronological framework of this
particular time, and thus that of the end of urbaniza-
tion, is controversially discussed, with implications
on questions such as which entities participated in
these cross-cultural relations, what impact did that
have on their development, and how long did these
cities exist. If the end of the urban phase at Shahr-e
Sokhta dates to the late third millennium BC, as
suggested by the Italian mission, it overlapped with
the Indus Civilization and the Akkadian empire. If
dated to the mid-third millennium, as suggested by
the French Missions, this horizon ended at the very
beginning of the Indus Civilization, and thus before
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666 ASIA, SOUTH/Baluchistan and the Borderlands

the rise and expansion of the Akkadian empire. The –

rather few – radiocarbon dates from Shahr-e Sokhta
are not very helpful, despite the recent reassessment.
However, new evidence from Baluchistan, particular-
ly Miri Qalat IIIc–IV and Sohr Damb III–IV, throws
new light on this question, in favor of the later dating
(Figures 23–26).

Figure 23 Miri Qalat IIIC: incised gray ware. Courtesy. French

Mission to Makra, R. Besenval. ã 2008 Dr. Ute Franke-Vogt.
Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Figure 25 Miri Qalat IV: black slipped Indus jar. Courtesy,

French Mission to Makran, R. Besenval.

Figure 26 Sohr Damb/Nal, period III, necklace from Trench IX.

Figure 24 Miri Qalata IV: painted black-on-red Indus ware. DAI, Eurasien, Ute Franke. Photo: A. Lange ã 2008 Dr. Ute
Courtesy. French Mission to Makran, R. Besenval. Franke-Vogt. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Encyclopedia of Archaeology (2008), vol. 1, pp. 651-670

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ASIA, SOUTH/Baluchistan and the Borderlands 667

Figure 27 Sohr Damb/Nal, period III and IV (2nd from right, lower row), pottery from Trenches IV and IX. DAI, Eurasien, Ute Franke.
Photo: A. Lange. ã 2008 Dr. Ute Franke-Vogt. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The Early Harappan Horizon: Prelude to Civilization

(Mehrgarh VIIA-C, Nausharo I, Damb Sadaat III,
Anjira IV–V, Sohr Damb III, southeastern
Baluchistan, Makran Miri IIIb–c, Shahr-e Sokhta
II–III, Tappe Yahya IVC-B?, Bampur I–IV, Mundigak
IV.1–3)

Although some of the cultural horizons described

above continued to exist to c. 2600/2500 BC, these
centuries also witnessed the appearance of new styles,
technologies, and an increasingly complex economic,
social, and political organization, just before the rise
of the Indus Civilization around 2600/2500 BC. This
development is very clear in the Indus plains, especial-
ly in Punjab (see Asia, South: Indus Civilization). The
gradual replacement of Balochi features at Harappa
2 (2800–2600) and the appearance of Kot Diji traits,
the major Early Harappan lowland cultural com-
plex, in Baluchistan and the borderlands seems to
signal the expansion of this horizon. However, as
already noted by Mughal, some ‘Kot Dijian’ features
are known from Mehrgarh V and Siah Damb II.i,
that is, from levels that predate the type site and
Harappa 2. Therefore, these discriminatory cultural
traits also need to be better defined and dated before
the directions of ‘movements’, and their implications,
can be assessed.
At Mehrgarh VIIA–C and Anjirah IV, Nal and Faiz
Muhammad Gray wares are still present, but not
Togau D pottery. Sadaat ware, mainly represented
by the bracket and simple linear designs, is now wide-
ly distributed. Mehrgarh was abandoned after Period
VIIC, but occupation continued at the nearby site
Nausharo to the Indus Period and beyond (Nausharo
Figure 28 Sohr Damb/Nal, period III, bowl from Trench 1. DAI,
Eurasien, Ute Franke. ã 2008 Dr. Ute Franke-Vogt. Published by
Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
I–IV). In Period IC, the gradual replacement of
Balochi through Kot Dijian features was also noted,
foreshadowing the integration of the site by the Indus
Civilization in Period II, after a short transitional
period (ID). A similar development was observed at
Miri Qalat, where in Period IIIc new technological
and stylistic features were introduced (Figure 24).
Many of the new and old elements continued into
Period IV, marked by the arrival of a Harappan occu-
pation (Figures 25 and 26). Typical for the former
horizon are flat basins, painted pipal and fish
patterns, dishes with raised cordons and painted wavy
lines, as well as incised, burnished, and painted gray
wares (Figure 23). This horizon links Mundigak IV, late
Quetta, Nausharo IC–D, Miri Qalat IIIb–c, Shahr-e
Sokhta III.5–2, and now also Sohr Damb III.

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668 ASIA, SOUTH/Baluchistan and the Borderlands

Figure 29 Sohr Damb/Nal, period III, cylindrical pot with caprides, Trench I. DAI, Eurasien, Ute Franke. Photo: A. Lange. ã 2008 Dr. Ute
Franke-Vogt. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

There, Period III marks the building of a new settle-

ment at a time when the previous buildings were
already in ruins and covered with sand or ashes. Six-
meter high deposits revealed four building phases. The
architecture, artifact styles, and technology once more
reflect many changes. Tombs have not yet been found,
but the houses and rooms grew larger, walls were
more solid, with a foundation of gravel and beams.
In the largest building, the Burnt Building (AK6),
hundreds of vessels and objects, such as grinding
stones, pestles, tools for leather working and potting,
unbaked and baked clay figurines, mostly of humped
bulls, and beads were found (Figure 27). Miniature
clay vessels, crucibles, and moulds as well as lead
cores indicate metal working, but finished objects
are rare. The Nal pottery is replaced by more simple
and plain shapes and motifs. Pear-shaped storage jars
with linear decoration, similar to Complex A pottery
from Quetta, footed beakers, s-shaped vases and shal-
low bowls reveal a change in pottery technology: bod-
ies are more thick, lower bodies often molded and
bases string-cut (Figure 28). Designs include linear
and simple geometric patterns, pipal leaves, bulls
(Figure 29), and caprines, which have identical coun-
terparts in Mundigak IV.1 (Figure 30). The few sur-
viving Nal motifs, most prominently the omega, are
present in a ‘degenerated’ form (Figure 31). Stylistic
development is present, but a great deal of variability Figure 30 Sohr Damb/Nal, Period III, stand from hoard, ‘degener-
is related to spatial distribution and function. ated’ Nal motif. DAI, Eurasien, Ute Franke. Photo: A. Lange. ã 2008
Dr. Ute Franke-Vogt. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From Sohr Damb III, 59 radiocarbon dates that are
relevant to the chronological problems discussed
above are available now from well-stratified deposits.
They show a clear cluster from c. 2700 to 2400 BC, hallmark of southern Baluchistan during the later
leaving no doubt that the terminal phase of Period III third millennium BC.
falls to the very early rather than the later Indus The Kulli Complex developed as a regional style
Period (Figure 22). This date also leaves room for around 2600 BC and was later marked by a strong
the subsequent Period IV, a very eroded occupation Harappan ‘touch’, which reflects the westerly expan-
which belongs to the Kulli–Harappan horizon, the sion of this civilization and its merger with local

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ASIA, SOUTH/Baluchistan and the Borderlands 669

Figure 31 Table showing shared artifact styles during the second half of the third millennium BC. Ute Franke. ã 2008 Dr. Ute Franke-
Vogt. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

traditions after 2400 BC. This dating is supported by Conclusion

C14 dates which range from 2500 to 2300 BC. This
It has become evident that human development is
evidence also corresponds well with the sequence and
manifested in Baluchistan from the seventh millenni-
dates from Nausharo, where the transitional horizon
um onward. While this development was, in general,
ID is followed by an earlier (Period II) and a later
continuous, regional differences and changes in the
Indus settlement (Period III). At Miri Qalat, the early
material culture through time were present. The
date of the Indus occupation (Period IV), which
emerging picture does not reflect a ‘monocultural’
shares many local features with Period IIIc, is mainly
region, but a patterned landscape, marked by the
based on stylistic criteria. The assemblage from Miri
appearance and disappearance of particular cultural
Qalat IV reveals that local and Kulli features were
styles. Looking at the cycles of growth, expansion,
absorbed and that a style is present during the second
and abandonment, it becomes clear that in cultural
half of the third millennium was found not only at
terms, prehistoric Baluchistan was neither a border
Bampur, Shahdad, Jiroft, Susa, northern Baluchistan,
nor a frontier, but a dynamic interaction zone. Never-
Bactria, and on the Arabian Peninsula, but also
theless, the communities that made the processes
at Shahr-e Sokhta IV, then already a small site
described above happen did not become integrated
(Figure 22). In short, the review of the evidence indi-
into a large scale, coherent entity, notwithstanding
cates that the horizon attested to at Sohr Damb III,
the fact that smaller regions, such as southeastern
Nausharo IC–D, Miri IIIc, and Shahr-e Sokhta III
Baluchistan and Sindh Kohistan, were closely inter-
dates to the time that ended just when or shortly
related during the early third millennium BC. One
after the Indus Civilization began to rise.
likely reason why a large-scale merger did not happen
After 1900 BC, the political constellations changed
probably is the rugged topography. The importance
again. Magan lost its importance as supplier of copper
of terrain as determining factor becomes clear when
to Mesopotamia, the Indus Civilization disintegrated
we look at the region’s more recent history. As in
as a centralized state, and large regions in southeastern
Afghanistan, expanding conquerors and empires, be
Iran, Baluchistan, and Sindh were abandoned for
it Dareios or Alexander the Great, nomadic tribes
almost 1000 years for reasons as yet unknown.

Encyclopedia of Archaeology (2008), vol. 1, pp. 651-670

 Author's personal copy
670 ASIA, SOUTH/Buddhist Archaeology
from the north, or the British army, had their hold
on Baluchistan because it was important as a tres-
pass. But they never ruled it for long – and they left
very few archaeological traces. Whenever possible,
preference was given to the maritime route and
waterways, or the open plains. Only then, it was
considered a barrier and it never regained the eco-
nomic and cultural prosperity of its prehistoric past
when it was a center in its own right which partici-
pated in and contributed to regional development
processes.
See also: Animal Domestication; Asia, South: Buddhist
Archaeology; India, Deccan and Central Plateau; India,
Paleolithic Cultures of the South; Indus Civilization;
Kashmir and the Northwest Frontier; Megaliths; Neolithic
Cultures; Paleolithic Cultures; Sri Lanka; Asia, South-
east: Pre-agricultural Peoples; Pottery Analysis: Stylis-
tic; Plant Domestication; Spatial Analysis Within
Households and Sites.
Further Reading
Besenval R (1997) Entre le Sud-Est iranien et la plaine de I’Indus: le
Kech-Makran. Recherches archéologiques sur le peuplement
ancien d’une marche des confins indo-iraniens. Arts Asiatiques
52: 5–36.
Besenval R (2005) Chronology of Kech-Makran. In: Jarrige C (ed.)
South Asian Archaeology 2001. Paris: ADPF Éditions Recherche
sur les Civilisations.
Fairservis WA (1975) The Roots of Ancient India. Chicago: Uni-
versity of Chicago Press.
Franke-Vogt U (2000) The Archaeology of Southeastern Balochi-
stan. http://www.harappa.com/baluch.
Franke-Vogt U (2005) Sohr Damb/Nal, Baluchistan, Pakistan.
Ergebnisse der Grabungen 2001, 2002 und 2004. In: Archäolo-
gische Mitteilungen aus Iran und Turan Band. 35–36, 2003–
2004, 83–141.
Hakemi A (1997) Shahdad – Archaeological Excavation of a
Bronze Age Center in Iran. Rome: IsMEO.
Jarrige C, Jarrige J-F, Meadow RH, and Quivron G (eds.) (1995)
Mehrgarh Field Reports 1975 to 1985 – From the Neolithic to
the Indus Civilization. Karachi: Dept. of Culture and Tourism,
Govt. of Sindh, and the French Foreign Ministry.
Kenoyer JM (1991) The Indus Valley Tradition of Pakistan and
western India. Journal of World Prehistory 5/4: 331–385.
Mughal MR (1971) The Early Harappan Period in the Greater
Indus Valley and Northern Baluchistan (c. 3000–2400 BC).
PhD Dissertation, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA.
Possehl GL (1999) Indus Age. The Beginnings. New Delhi: Oxford
and IBH.
Potts DT (2001) Excavations at Tepe Yahya, Iran, 1967–1975:
The Third Millennium. Cambridge, MA: Peabody Musuem
Press.
Potts DT (2005) In the beginning: Marhashi and the origins of
Magan’s ceramic industry in the third millennium BC. Arabian
Archaeology and Epigraphy 2005 16: 67–78.
Salvatori, S, Vidale, M (1997) Shahr-e Sokhta 1975–1978: Central
Quarters Excavation. Rome.
Encyclopedia of Archaeology (2008), vol. 1, pp. 651-670
Shaffer JG (1992) The Indus Valley, Baluchistan and Helmand
traditions: Neolithic through Bronze Age. In: Ehrich R (ed.)
Chronologies in Old World Archaeology 3rd edn., pp. 441–464.
Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Tosi M (ed.) (1983) Prehistoric Sistan. Rome: IsMEO.
Wright RP (1984) Technology, Style and Craft Specialization:
Spheres of Interaction and Exchange in the Indo-Iranian Border-
lands, Third Millennium B.C. Ph.D. Dissertation. Ann Arbor.
Buddhist Archaeology
Janice Stargardt, University of Cambridge,
Cambridge, UK
ã 2008 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Glossary
aksara A letter in one of the Indian systems of writing, it may
combine the values of consonant and vowel.
ayaka A platform projecting from the base drum of the stupa
at or near the cardinal points, facing the gateways in the stupa
railing. Especially common in Southeast India. Also – pillars,
inscribed and or decorated pillars installed on the ayaka
platforms.
bodhisattva Variously, a being destined to be a Buddha in
a future existence; an enlightened being [Buddha] who
delays his extinction to help other beings progress towards
that state.
chakravartin Literally lord of the wheel (of the law), that is,
world ruler.
chattra Umbrella, with multiple tiers a symbol of status : 1–3 for
a minister, 7 for a king, 9–11 for a chakravartin, an infinite
number for a Buddha.
dakshinapatha The southern trade route leading from the
Ganges–Yamuna basin into the Deccan.
dhamma [also dharma] Literally law, symbolized by a
many-spoked wheel, but in Buddhism denotes the whole
system of Buddhist thought and rules for righteous living.
harmika Quadrangular structure on top of stupa dome and
below the umbrella or spire.
karma Sum of actions and inactions influencing the states of
rebirth of all beings.
Nibbana [also Nirvana] State of extinction after death when
the chain of rebirth is broken; attainable only by enlightened
beings – Buddhas and bodhisattvas.
sangha The community of monks in both Buddhism and
Jainism.
samsara The cycle of existences, of births and rebirths.
sikhara A tower of multiple stories and bearing architectural
ornaments on each storey in a diminishing scale, developed as the
superstructure of Buddhist temples in the second half of the first
millennium CE.
sima Boundary of the consecrated land of a Buddhist
establishment, that is, of an individual monument or a complex
of associated structures.
triratna Literally three jewels, in Buddhism, the Buddha,
dhamma, sangha.
uttarapatha The northern trade route leading from the
Ganges–Yamuna basin to the Indus Valley and Afghanistan.