Past and Present: Human and Environment Interaction in Bampur Valley

The Bampur Valley is situated in the Iranian Baluchistan linking the Iranian
Plateau settlements with those in the Indus Valley (Shaffer, 1986:63). Prehistoric
settlements along the Bampur Valley were connected to the west through Chah-
Hussaini and the Jaz Murian Basin (Tosi, 1974a: 30). The valley, which links Central
Iran to Pakistan, is a natural highway (Tosi, 1974a: 30; De Cardi, 1970: 239). This
highway was connected to the west along the Bampur Valley, which drains into the
marshy Jaz Murian Basin (Mortazavi, Vol.1; 2006). The 2006 survey indicates that all
the ancient sites were located close to Damin River or along its tributaries (Mortazavi,
Past and Present). The river gets absorbed by its porous or penetrable bed and
appears irregularly like springs and Qanats or underground tunnels with vertical shafts.

This peculiar character of Damin River restricts agricultural activity in the region,
while the rocky foothills surrounding the Damin River further limit the agricultural activity
in the region supporting only small settlements both in the case of ancient sites and
modern villages (Mortazavi, Past and Present). Lack of water and cultivable land has
thus forced people to follow the local ancient livelihood based on animal husbandry and
horticulture (Mortazavi, Past and Present). The size of the ancient settlements and the
environmental factors indicate that people in the region had been engage with animal
husbandry and horticulture even during the Third Millennium BC (Mortazavi, Past and
Present).

The writer presents these ideas fairly. In several parts of the paper the writer
showed the relationship of the characteristic of the river and its effect on the lives of the
people in the region. Lack of water and cultivable land has thus forced people to follow
the local ancient livelihood based on animal husbandry and horticulture (Mortazavi, Past
and Present). In the text above, the writer presented how the lack of water and
cultivable land affected the livelihood of people in the area.

The strengths of this paper are the following, the writer presents ideas fairly and
clearly and its weaknesses are: this paper focuses only on the livelihood of the people
in the region it also needs a little historical fact so that when readers read the paper they
will not feel cheated because of the title in which they expect to have the history of the
place or region included. This paper to be better or complete must also contain history
or chronology of the people living in Bampur Valley to further explain the interaction of
people living in the valley but also for us readers to know how the culture of the people
adapted to the way of life in the region.

The theme or major theme of this article is how the people maximized the use of
their land to survive and develop the civilization of Bampur Valley as we know it today.
The Bampur Valley interestingly has two completely different environments or ecological
niches we favoured for human settlements; the highlands located between Kandavar
Mountain and Iranshars, and the lowlands between Inranshars and Jaz Murian Basin
(Mortazavi, Past and Present). In this text the author presented the main idea of the
article or the problem of the location of the region, which is not suitable for agricultural
activities. In the next sentences the author supports the first statement by adding facts
to make the first statement factual. The 2006 survey indicates that all the ancient sites
were located close to Damin River of along its tributaries (e.g., Mortazavi: Past and
present). In this sentence the author supports the first sentence or statement with facts
that describes the location of ancient sites in the Bampur Valley.

This peculiar character of Damin River restricts agricultural activity in the region,
while the rocky foothills surrounding the Damin River further limit the agricultural activity
in the region supporting only small settlements both in the case of ancient sites and
modern villages (Mortazavi, Past and Present). Lack of water and cultivable land has
thus forced people to follow the local ancient livelihood based on animal husbandry and
horticulture (Mortazavi, Past and Present). The size of the ancient settlements and the
environmental factors indicate that people in the region had been engage with animal
husbandry and horticulture even during the Third Millennium BC (Mortazavi, Past and
Present). In the statements above the author explains the livelihood of people which is
the effect of the peculiar character of the Damin River that restricts agricultural activity in
the region.

This work is a good choice for me to read because it provides information of how
ancient people survived, what is their livelihood and also I can learn something new by
reading works like this. I like reading this article or journal because I realize that there
are people who want to know what happened in the past so that they may apply the
things they learned to improve what we have now at the present. Whatever the
mistakes they did in the past, this will serve as warning for us, future generations to be
careful in everything that we do so that we will not repeat the mistakes our ancestors
have done.

I’m surprised to know the civilizations that existed in the Bampur Valley manage
to survive despite of the uncultivable land in the region they adapted to it and use their
land in animal husbandry and horticulture. I am delighted to learn that even during the
Third Millennium BC; people have been able to domesticate animals and learned how to
cultivate using gardens. This means that people during that period have already a
higher knowledge of things.

I can relate this material to my own life experience when I was asking something
to my Mother. I was asking how they live in her childhood days and she said that it was
hard to live in her time. Even by just asking her experience I can get a glimpse of
history, I learn moral lessons from her experiences and apply it to my life so I can avoid
getting into trouble and improve my life to be better.

:
Prepared By:

Brent Loyd G. Licayan

Czar Ian A. Alejandro

Joshua Shaun Belaza

8 - Jupiter

Submitted to:

Mr. Jonathan C. Are

Social Studies - 8