MEHRGARH SITE: HISTORY

MEHRGARH SITE: HISTORY

NEWS: Indus Valley farming started later than thought, radiocarbon study shows

WHAT’S IN THE NEWS?

The Mehrgarh archaeological site in Balochistan, Pakistan, is one of South Asia’s earliest farming settlements, recently re-dated to around 5200 BCE using AMS technology. It provides critical evidence of early agriculture, domestication, pottery, and social structures preceding the Indus Valley Civilization.

Context

  • A new radiocarbon study using advanced Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (AMS) dating technology has revised the timeline of the Mehrgarh farming settlement.
  • Earlier believed to date back to around 8000 BCE, the new study suggests the settlement began around 5200 BCE, refining our understanding of early agricultural societies in South Asia.

Mehrgarh: General Overview

  • Mehrgarh is a highly significant Neolithic archaeological site that provides a crucial link between pre-agricultural societies and the later urban civilizations of South Asia.
  • It is located at the mouth of the Bolan Pass, a critical corridor in present-day Balochistan province of Pakistan, connecting the Iranian Plateau with the Indus Valley.

Discovery of Mehrgarh

  • The site was discovered in 1974 by French archaeologists Jean-François Jarrige and Catherine Jarrige during systematic excavations.
  • Since its discovery, Mehrgarh has been recognized as one of the oldest known farming and pastoralist settlements in South Asia, predating the Indus Valley Civilization by several millennia.

Importance of Mehrgarh in South Asian Prehistory

  • Mehrgarh represents one of the earliest transitions from a hunting-gathering economy to farming and a settled village life.
  • It offers rich insights into the pre-Harappan cultural phases that ultimately led to the mature urbanism of the Indus Valley Civilization.
  • Pottery designs, burial customs, and settlement patterns in Mehrgarh show clear cultural continuities with later Harappan traditions, highlighting evolutionary rather than abrupt civilizational development.

Key Features and Achievements at Mehrgarh

  • Agriculture and Domestication:
  • Mehrgarh provides the earliest evidence for the domestication of wheat and barley crops in the region.
  • Animal domestication included cattle, sheep, and goats, indicating the beginning of organized pastoralism.
  • Early Irrigation Practices:
  • Although direct irrigation channels are not fully preserved, environmental reconstructions and settlement patterns suggest the early use of simple irrigation methods to support agriculture.
  • Pottery Development:
  • Early Mehrgarh pottery was handmade with simple geometric designs.
  • Over time, potters transitioned to wheel-made ceramics with intricate painted motifs, showing advancements in technology and aesthetics.
  • Tool-Making Technology:
  • The community used polished stone tools, bone tools, and early metal artifacts, indicating technological progress.
  • Tools were used for farming, food processing, and construction, supporting a diversified economy.
  • Bead-Making and Early Metallurgy:
  • Evidence from workshops suggests that bead-making using semi-precious stones like lapis lazuli was a specialized craft.
  • Early copper smelting activities at Mehrgarh mark the beginning of metallurgy in the Indian subcontinent.
  • Architecture and Housing:
  • Houses at Mehrgarh were constructed using sun-dried mud bricks, showing early architectural planning and durable building techniques.
  • Structures included granaries and storage facilities, reflecting surplus food production and the beginnings of economic differentiation.
  • Social and Ritual Practices:
  • Burials at Mehrgarh included grave goods such as ornaments, tools, and pottery, indicating emerging social stratification and ritualistic burial practices.
  • Burial customs suggest belief systems involving afterlife considerations and possibly ancestor worship.
  • Earliest Use of Cotton:
  • The site has yielded evidence for the earliest known use of cotton in the Old World, revolutionizing perspectives on early textile production and trade.

Significance of Mehrgarh in World History

  • Mehrgarh is considered one of the global cradles of early agriculture, alongside sites like Jericho (in present-day Palestine) and Çatalhöyük (in present-day Turkey).
  • It demonstrates independent development of farming, rather than diffusion from the Near East, thereby underscoring South Asia's indigenous contribution to global Neolithic cultures.

Source: https://www.nature.com/articles/d44151-025-00060-y