One of the most important Neolithic (7000 BCE to c.

2500 BCE) sites in archaeology,

lies on the "Kachi plain" of now Balochistan, Pakistan. It is one of the earliest sites

with evidence of farming (wheat and barley) and herding (cattle, sheep and goats) in

South Asia."

Mehrgarh is located near the Bolan Pass, to the west of the Indus River valley and

between the now Pakistani cities of Quetta, Kalat and Sibi. The site was discovered in

1974 by an archaeological team directed by French archaeologist Jean-François

Jarrige, and was excavated continuously between 1974 and 1986, and again from
1997 to 2000. The earliest settlement at Mehrgarh—in the northeast corner of the 495-

acre (2.00 km2) site—was a small farming village dated between 7000 BCE to

5500 BCE and the whole area covers a number of successive settlements.

Archaeological material has been found in six mounds, and about 32,000 artifacts

have been collected.

Lifestyle and Technology

Early Mehrgarh residents lived in mud brick houses, stored their grain in granaries,

fashioned tools with local copper ore, and lined their large basket containers

with bitumen.

They cultivated six row barley, einkorn and emmer wheat, jujubes and dates, and

herded sheep, goats and cattle. Residents of the later period (5500 BCE to 2600 BCE)

put much effort into crafts, including flint knapping, tanning, bead production,
and metal working. The site was occupied continuously until about 2600 BCE.

Mehrgarh is probably the earliest known center of agriculture in South Asia.

In April 2006, it was announced in the scientific journal Nature that the oldest (and

first early Neolithic) evidence in human history for the drilling of teeth in vivo (i.e. in

a living person) was found in Mehrgarh.

Archaeological Significance

Mehrgarh is now seen as a precursor to the Indus Valley Civilization. "Discoveries at

Mehrgarh changed the entire concept of the Indus civilization," according to Ahmad

Hasan Dani, professor emeritus of archaeology at Quaid-e-Azam

University, Islamabad, "There we have the whole sequence, right from the beginning

of settled village life." According to Catherine Jarrige of the Centre for

Archaeological Research Indus Baluchistan at the Musée Guimet in Paris:

"…the Kachi plain and in the Bolan basin (are) situated at the Bolan peak pass, one of
the main routes connecting southern Afghanistan, eastern Iran, the Balochistan hills
and the Indus River valley. This area of rolling hills is thus located on the western
edge of the Indus valley, where, around 2500 BCE, a large urban civilization emerged
at the same time as those of Mesopotamia and the Ancient Egypt. For the first time in
the Indian Subcontinent, a continuous sequence of dwelling-sites has been established
from 7000 BCE to 500 BCE, (as a result of the) explorations in Pirak from 1968 to
1974; in Mehrgarh from 1975 to 1985; and of Nausharo from 1985 to 1996."

The chalcolithic people of Mehrgarh also had contacts with contemporaneous cultures

in northern Afghanistan, northeastern Iran and southern central Asia.

Periods of Occupation

Archaeologists divide the occupation at the site into several periods.

Mehrgarh Period I

Mehrgarh Period I 7000 BCE–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, goats and cattle. The settlement was established with simple mud buildings

and most of them had 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 have been

found, along with simple figurines of women and animals.

Sea shells from far sea shore and lapis lazuli found far

in Badakshan, Afghanistan shows good contact with those areas. A single

ground stone ae 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. Periods I, II and III are contemporaneous with another site called Kili

Gul Mohammed.

In 2001, archaeologists studying the remains of two men from Mehrgarh made the

discovery that the people of the Indus Valley Civilization, from the early Harappan

periods, had knowledge of proto-dentistry. Later, in April 2006, it was announced in

the scientific journal Nature that the oldest (and first early Neolithic) evidence for the

drilling of human teeth in vivo (i.e. in a living person) was found in Mehrgarh.
According to the authors, their discoveries point to a tradition of proto-dentistry in the

early farming cultures of that region. "Here we describe eleven drilled molar crowns

from nine adults discovered in a Neolithic graveyard in Pakistan that dates from 7,500

to 9,000 years ago. These findings provide evidence for a long tradition of a type of

proto-dentistry in an early farming culture."

Mehrgarh Period II & III

Mehrgarh Period II 5500 BCE–4800 BCE and Merhgarh Period III 4800 BCE–3500

BCE were ceramic Neolithic (i.e., pottery was now in use) and later chalcolithic.

Period II is at site MR4 and period III is at MR2 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 Periods II and III are also contemporaneous

with an expansion of the settled populations of the borderlands at the western edge of

South Asia, including the establishment of settlements like Rana Ghundai, Sheri Khan

Tarakai, Sarai Kala, Jalilpur, and Ghaligai.

Mehrgarh Periods IV, V and VI

Period IV was 3500 to 3250 BCE. Period V from 3250 to 3000 BCE and period VI

was around 3000 BCE. The site containing Periods IV to VII is designated as MR1.

Mehrgarh Periods VII

Somewhere between 2600 BCE and 2000 BCE, the city seems to have been largely

abandoned in favor of the new nearby settlement of Nausharo when the Indus Valley

Civilisation was in its middle stages of development.

Mehrgarh Periods VIII

The last period is found at the Sibri cemetery, about 8 KM from Mehrgarh.
Human Figurines

The oldest ceramic figurines in South Asia were found at Mehrgarh. They occur in all

phases of the settlement and were prevalent even before pottery appears. The earliest

figurines are quite simple and do not show intricate features. However, they grow in

sophistication with time, and by 4000 B.C., begin to show the characteristic hairstyles

and prominent breasts. All the figurines up to this period were female. Male figurines

appear only from period VII and gradually become more numerous. Many of the

female figurines are holding babies, and were interpreted as depictions of "mother

goddess". However, due to some difficulties in conclusively identifying these

figurines with "mother goddess", some scholars prefer using the term "female

figurines with likely cultic significance".

The last period is found at the Sibri cemetery, about 8 KM from Mehrgarh.The oldest

ceramic figurines in South Asia were found at Mehrgarh. They occur in all phases of

the settlement and were prevalent even before pottery appears. The earliest figurines

are quite simple and do not show intricate features. However, they grow in

sophistication with time, and by 4000 B.C., begin to show the characteristic hairstyles

and prominent breasts. All the figurines up to this period were female. Male figurines

appear only from period VII and gradually become more numerous. Many of the

female figurines are holding babies, and were interpreted as depictions of "mother

goddess". However, due to some difficulties in conclusively identifying these

figurines with "mother goddess", some scholars prefer using the term "female

figurines with likely cultic significance".

Pottery

Evidence of pottery begins from Period II. In period III, the finds becomes much more

abundant as the potter's wheel is introduced, and they show more intricate designs and

also animal motifs. The characteristic female figurines appear from Period IV and the

finds show more intricate designs and sophistication. Pipal leaf designs are used in

decoration from Period VI. Some sophisticated firing techniques were used from

Period VI and VII and an area reserved for the pottery industry has been found at
mound MRI. However, by Period VIII, the quality and intricacy of designs seems to

have suffered due to mass production, and due to a growing interest in bronze and

copper vessels.