Archaeology of Mehrgarh Neolithic site.pptx

This presentation is designed for graduate students, providing a basic introduction to the topic. Students are encouraged to consult the recommended books and articles for further details. This presentation is intended solely for academic purposes and is strictly for students. The pictures and maps included have been sourced from the internet, and the presenter is thankful to those sources; credit is given to all. This presentation is designed exclusively for academic purposes.

1. Mehrgarh Neolithic Dr. Virag Sontakke

2. Mehrgarh Mehrgarh lies at the foot of the Bolan Pass at the northern end of the Kacchi plain in Baluchistan Mehrgarh consist of a number of low archaeological mounds in the Kachi plain Located close to the mouth of the Bolan Pass. Located next to the west bank of the Bolan River, 30 kilometres from the town of Sibi. Kachi plain is known as the "breadbasket" of Baluchistan.  The Kacchi plain lies in the transition zone between the Indus plains and the Iranian plateau It is an alluvial fan produced by the erosive action of the Bolan River

3. Map of Mehrgarh showing the location of excavated areas in relation to the course of the Bolan River. After Cameron Petrie

4. The Site Covering an area of some 250 hectares, These excavations have been carried out on about six major mounds Most of the archaeological deposits are buried deep beneath accumulations of alluvium, although in other areas, ‘in situ’ structures can be seen eroding on the surface. The site was covered by alluvial silts until it was exposed following a flash flood in the 1970s. The French Archaeological Mission to Pakistan excavated the site for thirteen years between 1974 and 1986, and they resumed their work in 1996. 32,0001 artefacts have been reportedly collected over the large span of 25 years. 

5. Stratigraphy and Chronology I Neolithic (aceramic)   c.6500-5500 BC   Mound MR3 II    Neolithic (Ceramic)  c.5500-4500 BC   Mound MR4 III    Early Chalcolithic   c.4500-3500 BC   Mound MR2 IV-VII   Chalcolithic   c.3500-2500 BC   Mound MR1

6. Period I Neolithic    The earliest Neolithic evidence for occupation at the site has been identified at mound MR3, Comprises 7 m of stratified deposits  This period was semi-nomadic when people first started to cultivate crops. Earlier this period was subdivided into two sub-phases: Period IA: Aceramic Period IB: ceramic Now it’s merged into one as a Neolithic (Aceramic)

7. Period I: Agriculture The earliest period I levels are characterised by a barley-dominated agricultural economy. The grain’s impressions and charred remains were preserved in mud bricks.  Naked six-row barley (Hordeum vulgare) makes up more than 90 per cent of the seeds While domestic hulled six-row was also present. Another important crop was wheat.  Indian Jujube (Ber) and dates were also present in period I. 

8. Period I: Animals Wild sheep, goats, asses, blackbuck, nilgai, large deer, small deer, boar, water buffalo, cattle, and possibly elephants, were. The lower levels of Period I were dominated by bones of wild animals. Domestic The bones of domestic animals like goats, sheep and bulls with humps have been found. At at the end of period I, the bones of wild animals became fewer, and the bones of domestic animals increased 

9. Period I: Structures The earliest structures were predominantly made of mud or mud bricks. The house comprises small cell-like rooms Occupation deposits containing hearths, stone and bone tools. Jarrige et al.: Each of the mud brick structural occupation phases is likely to have been thirty to forty years in duration. J.-F. Jarrige : T here are clear similarities in craft products, architecture, and agricultural practices between Mehrgarh and the earliest Neolithic sites in the central and northern Zagros in Iran.

10. Buildings Most of the walls of these buildings were composed of two rows of hand-moulded mudbricks, arranged longitudinally. These long and narrow bricks measured 62 x 12 x 8 cm, with generally on their upper faces With a herringbone pattern and a mud-mortar in which they were set The earliest buildings (level 1), which rest directly on the natural soil, include a two-roomed building. The four-roomed buildings represent the most popular plan used by the inhabitants of Period I. The mud-brick walls are approximately 30 cm wide (two rows of bricks) and The average size of the structures is 5,50 by 3,75 meters.  Some floors made of packed and rammed earth were also covered with red ochre. C oatings of the external walls of several houses were coloured with red colour pigment.

11. Period I: Structures Traces of fireplaces were found inside/outside the rooms Dia: 40 and 60 cm Depth: 35 cm. Most of them contain heavily burnt pebbles Between houses, open spaces allowed an easy circulation. 

12. Period I: Items Ornaments of sea-shell, limestone, turquoise, lapis lazuli, and sandstone have been found Lapis lazuli from Badakshan shows good contact with those areas. One 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 South Asia. The lapidary industry seemed fairly well developed. Simple figurines of women and animals.

13. Period I The earliest inhabitants engaged in hunting, the cultivation of domesticated crops, and the keeping of domesticated animals. The period I of Mehargarh was partly contemporaneous with the earliest aceramic levels at the site of Kili Gul Muhammad, which is situated in the Quetta valley, at the other end of the Bolan Pass. The earliest occupation at the site might have begun c. 7000 BCE, or even earlier in the eighth millennium. The occupation at period I at Mehrgarh was not continuous in any one area of MR 3, and new structures appear to have then been found adjacent to older ones. The eighteen phases of period I occupation might thus reasonably be expected to span between 540 and 720 years.

14. Period I: Burials A total of 318 graves have been exposed, from level 1 to level 9. 179 have yielded grave goods. Graves containing single or multiple inhumations of adult and subadult individuals. Burials often contained young goats and/or a range of artefacts Burial Goods : baskets, stone, bone tools, beads, bangles, pendants, and occasionally animal sacrifices, Items like marine shell, lapis lazuli, and turquoise were found Male graves contain more goods. In April 2006, 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 . Eleven drilled molar crowns from nine adults show a long tradition of a type of proto-dentistry 

15. Plan of Burial 287, Mehrgarh period I. After Cameron Petrie

16. Period II Period II is also Neolithic It is a ceramic phase. The period is also subdivided into three sub-phases- Period IIA Period IIB Period IIC The chronology: c. 6000- 4500 BCE ( Jarige ) Revised 14 C dates period II A to c. 5470–4700 cal BCE, and period II B to c. 4700–4000 cal BCE. This period is the final stage of the Neolithic period at Mehrgarh .

17. Period II Period II is at site MR4 Evidence of pottery begins from Period II. The first substantial mud-brick buildings, A marked development of the agricultural Subsistence economy of the settlement’s inhabitants. Much evidence of manufacturing activity has been found, and more advanced techniques were used. This phase is generally regarded as having the earliest evidence for ceramic production in South Asia It can be contemporary with Lahuradewa in the central Ganga.

18. Period II: Pottery Fragments of small number of handmade bowls and jars made using chaff-tempered clay Shapes : bowls and basins, It is handmade, low-fired ceramic So-called SSC, Sequential Slab Construction technique Similar pottery was seen at Kili Gul Muhammad (Burj Basket-Marked ware) BBMW: For this technique, potters used baskets as a mould, and vessels were often coated with a clay slip to hide basket impressions. This feature distinguished it in the early phases of South Asian ceramic history According to Vandiver, few fragments of vessels in the form of early, coarse, chaff-tempered pottery were found in the earliest Ceramic phase deposits previously classified as Period IB, now termed Period IIA.

19. Period II 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 red ochre cover on the body. The number 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. 

20. Period II Period II, witness an increase in the size of the settled area Houses are still relatively small and compartmented. The burials of period II A were also associated with a mud-brick wall or platform Grave goods included stone tools, ceramic vessels, red ochre, and strings of beads made from marine shell, turquoise, lapis lazuli, and other non-local stones.

21. Period II: Agriculture Complete replacement of the wild animal Domestic Cattle 50% Meadow: progressive increase in the numbers of cattle and the synchronous decrease in their size provides robust support for a local domestication at Mehrgarh .

22. Period II B: Pottery There were notable changes in the types of ceramics in II B. Fine ware with little chaff temper and a fine paste that has been fired to a higher temperature was introduced Also, coarse ware vessels were found. By the end of period II B, the ceramic vessels began to be decorated with simple motifs In Period I, I used microliths, which were made either on blades or on flakes. Some Neolithic tools were found in Period I They also used bone tools, such as needles and awls.

23. Period II: Pottery Pottery has been found from Period II at Mehrgarh . Initially, there was a limited number of potteries, but later, during Period IIB, the number increased. From that time, the potteries became much finer with vessels shaped or rounded with a dabber. They were made with a mixture of straw and clay, pressed by hand. Shapes: fragments of bowls, flat circular dishes etc. Seeds of cotton have been found in period II

24. Structures The excavations have mostly exposed a large number of quadrangular buildings Storehouses were found These buildings were divided geometrically into narrow compartments. Some of these buildings, which have been raised several times, have a height of 3 meters.  Filled with a huge quantity of imprints of cereals, mostly barley (Hordeum vulgare). Four types, i.e. two-roomed, Four-roomed, six-roomed and ten-roomed houses. Generally, the houses were made of mud bricks. The bricks were long and narrow. It measured 62 cm × 12 cm × 8 cm. The walls of the rooms were approximately 30 cm wide. Evidence for the construction of storage structures for grain

25. Mehrgarh Period III Period II Date: 5500-4800 BCE Ceramics Wheel turned with Painted designs TC seal Date: 4800-3500 BCE Fine pottery Refined ornaments Copper

26. Mehrgarh Period IV: 3500-3250 BCE Period V: 3250-3000 BCE Period VI: C. 3000 BCE Period VII: 2600-2000 BCE: Similar to IVC

27. Discussion Presents the earliest evidence for sedentary occupation, agriculture, and pastoralism in South Asia Oldest known cotton in the Indian subcontinent. Independent origin of Mehrgarh .  The inhabitants of Mehrgarh played a major role in the origins of farming practices in South Asia,  The domestication of the zebu, along with the development of a range of technological innovations in pottery production, lapidary craft, and metalworking, ultimately had a dramatic impact on the Indus plains and the Indo-Iranian borderlands.