Indus Priest King
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~Pakistan: A Peoples History~
Part III: Mehrgarh - Early Farming, Herding & Proto-Dentistry
Mehrgarh is a Neolithic (stone age) site settled by semi-nomadic people between 7000 BC to 2500 BC. It is noted for being the earliest site of farming, herding and dentistry in Central and South Asia. Mehrgarh is found near Dhadar by the Bolan Pass in Balochistan. Several similarities have been noted in the Neolithic sites from eastern Mesopotamia and the western Indus Valley and suggests evidence of a "cultural continuum". But given the originality of Mehrgarh, it may have had an earlier local background.
Mehrgarh consists of 5 distinct periods:
Period I (7000 BC-5500 BC)
Semi-nomadic people began settling in Mehrgarh during this period. Simple mud buildings with four internal subdivisions were built, which provided homes as well as shelter for animals and stockpiling harvests. Period I shows the earliest evidence of farming in the region, using wheat & barley. It also shows the earliest evidence of herding in the region, using sheep, goats & cattle. Numerous burial graves have been found around Mehrgarh. Often times baskets, tools, beads, bangles, pendants and occasionally animal sacrifices are found in the graves. Ornaments of sea shell, limestone, turquoise, lapis lazuli and sandstone have also been found. Sea shells from the Makran coast and lapis lazuli from Badakshan shows good contact and trade surrounding regions. A single 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 Central and South Asia. Periods I, II and III are contemporaneous with another stone age site called Kili Gul Mohammed. Period I is also noted for being "aceramic" (without the use of pottery). Archaeologists studying the remains of two men from Mehrgarh made the discovery that the people of the Indus Valley Civilization had knowledge of proto-dentistry from the early Harappan periods. 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 7500 to 9000 years ago. These findings provide evidence for a long tradition of a type of proto-dentistry in an early farming culture."
Period II (5500 BC–4800 BC) and Period III (4800 BC–3500 BC)
Period II and Period III were noted for being ceramic. 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 red ochre cover 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, once again from Badakshan. Periods II and III are also contemporaneous with an expansion of the settled populations of the borderlands at the western edge of the Indus Valley, including the establishment of settlements like Rana Ghundai, Sheri Khan Tarakai, Sarai Kala, Jalilpur and Ghaligai.
Periods IV, V and VI (3500 BC-3000 BC)
Evidence suggests during these periods, Mehrgarh began falling in importance and the population began decreasing.
Period VII and VIII (2600 BC-2000 BC)
Evidence suggests during these periods, Mehrgarh was largely abandoned in favour of the larger and fortified town of Nausharo, located a few kilometers away, By this time the Indus Valley Civilization was in its middle stages of development.
Mehrgarh was discovered in 1974 and was excavated continuously between 1974 and 1986, and again from 1997 to 2000. Mehrgarh is now seen as a precursor to the Indus Valley Civilization. According to Ahmad Hasan Dani, professor emeritus of archaeology at Quaid-e-Azam University in Islamabad, "discoveries at Mehrgarh changed the entire concept of the Indus civilization [...] There we have the whole sequence, right from the beginning of settled village life."
Part III: Mehrgarh - Early Farming, Herding & Proto-Dentistry
Mehrgarh is a Neolithic (stone age) site settled by semi-nomadic people between 7000 BC to 2500 BC. It is noted for being the earliest site of farming, herding and dentistry in Central and South Asia. Mehrgarh is found near Dhadar by the Bolan Pass in Balochistan. Several similarities have been noted in the Neolithic sites from eastern Mesopotamia and the western Indus Valley and suggests evidence of a "cultural continuum". But given the originality of Mehrgarh, it may have had an earlier local background.
Mehrgarh consists of 5 distinct periods:
Period I (7000 BC-5500 BC)
Semi-nomadic people began settling in Mehrgarh during this period. Simple mud buildings with four internal subdivisions were built, which provided homes as well as shelter for animals and stockpiling harvests. Period I shows the earliest evidence of farming in the region, using wheat & barley. It also shows the earliest evidence of herding in the region, using sheep, goats & cattle. Numerous burial graves have been found around Mehrgarh. Often times baskets, tools, beads, bangles, pendants and occasionally animal sacrifices are found in the graves. Ornaments of sea shell, limestone, turquoise, lapis lazuli and sandstone have also been found. Sea shells from the Makran coast and lapis lazuli from Badakshan shows good contact and trade surrounding regions. A single 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 Central and South Asia. Periods I, II and III are contemporaneous with another stone age site called Kili Gul Mohammed. Period I is also noted for being "aceramic" (without the use of pottery). Archaeologists studying the remains of two men from Mehrgarh made the discovery that the people of the Indus Valley Civilization had knowledge of proto-dentistry from the early Harappan periods. 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 7500 to 9000 years ago. These findings provide evidence for a long tradition of a type of proto-dentistry in an early farming culture."
Period II (5500 BC–4800 BC) and Period III (4800 BC–3500 BC)
Period II and Period III were noted for being ceramic. 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 red ochre cover 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, once again from Badakshan. Periods II and III are also contemporaneous with an expansion of the settled populations of the borderlands at the western edge of the Indus Valley, including the establishment of settlements like Rana Ghundai, Sheri Khan Tarakai, Sarai Kala, Jalilpur and Ghaligai.
Periods IV, V and VI (3500 BC-3000 BC)
Evidence suggests during these periods, Mehrgarh began falling in importance and the population began decreasing.
Period VII and VIII (2600 BC-2000 BC)
Evidence suggests during these periods, Mehrgarh was largely abandoned in favour of the larger and fortified town of Nausharo, located a few kilometers away, By this time the Indus Valley Civilization was in its middle stages of development.
Mehrgarh was discovered in 1974 and was excavated continuously between 1974 and 1986, and again from 1997 to 2000. Mehrgarh is now seen as a precursor to the Indus Valley Civilization. According to Ahmad Hasan Dani, professor emeritus of archaeology at Quaid-e-Azam University in Islamabad, "discoveries at Mehrgarh changed the entire concept of the Indus civilization [...] There we have the whole sequence, right from the beginning of settled village life."
and consisted only small empires well within influence of greater civil society. Make whole Pakistan read Vedas and you see they will open borders 
