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Home , Ali Kosh, Neolithic Revolution

Ancient Sindh, 11, 2010-11: 7-16

QASID H. MALLAH AND M. ASLAM MEMON

THE FIRST OF PAKISTAN AND JEITUN TURKMENISTAN: ARCHAEOLOGICAL HISTORY OF COMMERCE AND COMMUNICATION

INTRODUCTION The history of f Indus farmers starts from the times when earliest moved out of and spread in every corner of the World. For reaching to the South and , they must have crossed several types of landforms and moved at great distances, for example, from to covered almost 16000 km and it might have taken thousands of generations but their living pattern and material remained the same thus carries the similar definitions and descriptions of their cultural assemblage. The early culture(s) comprises of heavy duty like hand , scrapers and core. During upper Palaeolithic period reduction in size happened and new tool repertoire was produced from Core and flake. The of these people was dependant on wild animals.

It was period when a turning point in happened in which tool size was decreased at greater extent and hence micro tools were prepared and subsistence pattern was supplemented with gathering edible fruits in addition to hunting. Most importantly, they started to return at one place, for instance, Aq Kupruk in Afghanistan and Sanghao in Pakistan, were occupied continuously for residential purpose.

Soon after a new happened simultaneously at various specific places of the world; known as in which of , animals; utilization exotic resources of producing cultural items and villages appeared everywhere for instance , Indus and Turkmenistan. After long journey of human cultural experiences, now the economy was based on farming and commerce. The earliest among all was the settlement of in (Pre- Neolithic around 8350-7350 BCE where hunting was supplemented by planting () and barely (two row hulled) further east at the site of (southwest of ) from 8000-6500 BCE the dependence on wild resources gradually shifted to domestic plants and animals (Kenoyer 1998:35). At Mehrgarh from 7000 BCE and at Jeitun 6000 BCE people started living at one place in the plain areas under

 Department of Archaeology, Shah Abdul Latif University, Khairpur  Department of Commerce, Shah Abdul Latif University, Khairpur

7 artificially constructed houses with degree of planning to face the severity of climate and any other danger.

The villages of farming communities were made of mud and mud bricks with roofs covered with wooden thatch and mud plaster. They had multi roomed houses in rectangular shape with storage facilities. The open space near to house was used for burial purpose. In material culture they contained utilitarian items made of stone, and terracotta; for body decoration and cult the objects were made from exotic commodities like semiprecious stone, and shell.

These forming communities gave birth to the Indus which is amongst ancient of the World indigenously flourished within territorial boundaries of South Asia. It also has deep roots into the earliest period of Human History –the Stone Age. After crossing through huge journey of Stone Age, it was during new era of modernization known as „Neolithic period‟ in which Indus valley people exclusively relied on their own by building houses, domesticating animals and plants and understanding working of essential commodities like clay, shell, and semiprecious stones. In addition to several faunal species (domesticated and wild), the wheat, , date and Jujube became vital part of subsistence. People became farmers and enough was produced and stored in storage pits for the consumption throughout the . The evidences of early have occurred at several earliest settlements of Indus Valley, for instance, Mehrgarh, Kalibangan, Harappa and others. Around 2800 BCE, Indus valley people established towns and intensified activities by introducing new crops, and control over the . About 2600 BCE, this cultural complexity resulted in prosperous mega urban centers with complex mechanism of town planning and all facilities of lavishness. At this time civilization spread over 186000 square kilometers covering entire Pakistan and parts of . The , , , , gram, sesame, mustard, cotton, and melon were added as a staple food in the list of previous cultivated crops. The yield was stored in huge not only consumption for a single family but for entire . After seven hundred of this luxuriousness, it was fallen apart around 1900 BCE at the level of small local cultural entities showing poorness in all avenues of . Nevertheless, some traditions continued and still exist in the till today. The farmers provided nutritional grains, meat, animals for transportation and consequently the urban centers became hub of commercial activities. Hence, this paper will provide (a) archaeology of Indus farmers and farming, and (b) their relations with the farming communities in the Central Asia particularly in Jeitun cultural complexes.

THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF TURKMENISTAN FARMERS Turkmenistan has long historical progression –beginning from Neolithic continue into Late . Jeitun is the best type site for having credit of Neolithic culture. The other settlements, like, Chakmakli-Depe and Mondjukli for Pre-Anau culture; Anau for Anau 1A culture and Namazga represent the and Bronze .

8 In south Turkmenia , around 6000 BCE, the Mesolithic hunter gatherer reduced relying on the game and started domestication of plants and animals for which scholar define the “” in which hunter gathers became first farmers. These first farmers settle down at the place known with a name of Djeitun Depe and signifies as most developed Neolithic culture.

It is situated in desert ecology not far from hilly sequence Kopet Dagh situated about 36 km from Ashgabat, the capital city of Turkmenia, on top of a low sandy hill on the southern edge of the Kara Kum desert.

The archaeological research has shown that first farmers of Djeitun consists of nuclear families (mother, father and children only) lived in single room houses with a large room. Every family was engaged individually in the producing necessary stone implements for processing of skin, wood working and preparing food (Masson and Sarianidi 1972: 44-45 as cited by Asthana 1985: 32)

The houses of Jeitun farmers were made of cylindrical mud bricks and stone wherever it was easily available in adjacent locality. The houses walls and floor has a lime plastered. Their material culture is characterized by handmade plain and painted pottery ( a pale-red and coarse gritty textured handmade, and painted with red); terracotta human and animal figurines; geometric microlithic made of such as blades, blades, polished stones axes, bone tools, beads of turquoise and other semi precious stones, bone and sea shells, and (Asthana 1985:32)

They cultivated crops of barley ( disticum) and wheat (triticum vulgare, Triticum compactum) and breeding was equally important for these people – , and dog were favored. Hunting continued side by side though it decreased in time as indicated by decreasing quantity of wild animal bones(Asthana 1985: 33).

After initial developments of Djeitun period; this culture was fully developed as witnessed at several sites including Namazga Depe, Altin Depe and Geoksyur dated as 3600-1500 BCE in south Turkmenia and bracketed into two broader cultural phases as Chalcolithic dated as 3600 -3000 BCE and Bronze age 3000-1500 BCE. The Namazga received more attention for its all 1 to VI periods. The essential points are repeated here Namazga –I had single room houses plastered with mud plaster and painted with red ocher. The cultural assemblage consisting on objects made of stone, metal and terracotta of period I continued in subsequent periods. It was Namazga II people whose economy was solely based on the agriculture; increased and reliance on wild game was decreased. Generally during this period with cultural complexity seen, for instance, elaborate burials with necklaces, bracelets, beads etc. (Asthana 1985: 39). At this stage the cultural contact were not as elaborated but some trends in ceramics, terracotta figurine, and lithic assemblage formed large cultural geographical unit that constitutes central Asia, northwestern Iran Afghanistan and Baluchistan where people have moved frequently(Asthana 1985: 39). Town planning with adequate internal

9 arrangements having courtyard, storage, and dustbin became hallmark of the period III of Namazga cultural phase as documented at Kara Depe (Masson 1960 as cited by Asthana 1985: 41).

During the Bronze age, the of Turkmenia aggregated at one place started complex socio-economic system, lived into large towns with fortification walls with monumental structures as defined characteristics of “beginning of urbanism” where temples and large houses having toilet boxes appeared all over the land of southern Turkmenia with emphasis on material culture as the technology of copper smelting, pottery, stone and terracotta seals. The Namazga IV depicts fauna, flora, birds and geometric designs as pottery painting scheme. The natural scenes like birds and among the trees are painted. A huge variety in daily use pottery items, diversity in metal objects and variety in exotic semiprecious stones like turquoise, lapis lazuli, carnelian tin silver objects was also present. The Namazga V phase is distinct having with massive structures, multi-roomed buildings, narrow streets, craftsmen area kiln for advanced metal technology (Masson and Sarianidi 1972 as cited by Asthana 1985: 45). These commodities and living pattern not only explained their lavish life style but an interaction with outside world.

THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF INDUS FARMERS The history of first farmers can be associated with Mehrgarh which can be further linked with the presence of Upper people whose remains are scattered in the rugged hilly sequence of Baluchistan for instance near Warchah (Mallah 2007 personal observations) and the Mesolithic cultural deposition of Sanghao cave (Ranere 1982: 124- 144). Both types of remains have suggests that people were present in the region exploiting subsistence resources much earlier than existence of first villages. The Mesolithic cultural deposition of Snaghao cave indicates reduced mobility and return to the same place every day for residential purpose. Which finally lead towards sedentisim as we see first Neolithic villages appeared all along the Baluchistan hills and northern hills, Indus alluvial plains and eastern deserts. The majority of those villages appeared in Baluchistan having traces of first with limited cultivation and pastoralist activities and later on greater reliance on domestic flock and agriculture and hence those Neolithic villagers became first farmers of region residing at Kili Gul Mohammad I-II in Quetta region, Rana Ghundai Ia and Sur Jangal I in Loralai and Mehrgarh just name a few. The history of cultural change and development of these villages and others are explained into different stages as Walter A. Fairservis Jr. (1979) describes five stages of development for instance (a) Pastoralism with limited cultivation; (b) Development of Cultivation and Pastoralism: beginnings of regionalization; (c) Fully developed sedentary village life: regionalization but interregional contacts; (d) the period of and (e) Economic decline and central abandonment of Indo-Iranian borderland by farmers of developed villages (Fairservis1979). This scheme was actually for the explanation of Indus valley civilization that carried the chapters of first farmers as . How these farmers lived and what their economy was based on is described through tremendous archaeological literature, nevertheless, the preview is necessary to provide here.

10 As explained earlier that the villages of farming communities were made of mud and mud bricks with roofs covered with wooden thatch and plastered. They had multi roomed houses in rectangular shape with storage facilities. The open space near to house was used for burial rifuals. As a part of material culture for daily use the items were made of stone, and terracotta; for body decoration and cult the objects were made from exotic commodities like semiprecious stone, and shell.

The confirmation of cultivation of crops is made through archaeological remains of impressions of the grains and charred seeds of two-row hulled barley (Hordeum distichum), six row barely (H. vulgare) (Triticum monococcum), emmer (T dicoccum) and wheat (T. or T aestivum). The farmers also utilized available fruits for instance jujube (Zizyphus jujube) and dates (phoenix dactylifera). The farmers also kept herds of animals like (Bos Indicus), goat (Capra hircus), and sheep (Ovis aries).

Hunting activity was continued as the wild goat (Capra aegagrus), sheep (Ovis orientalis) deer (Cervus duvauceli) gazelles (Gazella dorcas) and (Sus scrofa) were preferred game.

Among all earliest villages the Mehrgarh is best documented; excavation started in 1974 and was completed in 1985. The data was collected and analyzed by several scholars of Indus Archaeology. As summary of results a total of seven periods were recorded and the earliest one was pre-ceramic Neolithic dated as 7th BCE with hallmark of cultivation, hunting, and domestication of animals.

The material culture of incipient farmers included stone implements inherited from earlier cultural phase, beads made of exotic material like lapis and turquoise and the metal object like copper cylindrical bead. The pots were made from mixture of bitumen and clay coated around the . Nevertheless, manufacture of bricks and figurines of animals and human not only enriched their material culture but showed the beginning of comprehending plastic properties of clay which finally helped them to produce pottery without mixing bitumen.

During period II dated sixth and fifth millennium BCE, the farmers of Mehrgarh dropped using , the blades continued and drills appeared first time. From the blades were made through fixing in bitumen. Pottery was produce at large scale. Beads of semi-precious stones were manufactured locally and shell beads were made for first time as well. The metal i.e. copper was not processed locally as only two finished objects one ring and a bead was documented which may have been brought from outside.

Around 4000BCE, the farming community of Mehrgarh was engaged into different crafts for instance bead manufacturing, metal smelting and terracotta objects producing and shell working.

11 The green jasper drills were used to produce beads from lapis lazuli, turquoise, and carnelian. The discovery of crucibles for melting copper authenticated activity conducted locally. Pottery was now common, daily use items produced at large scale and decorated with different fauna, flora and geometric motifs. Black, red and buff colors were used for decoration. Bone needles and awls were also found.

After 500 years (3500 BCE), during fourth phase of cultural development the farmers were living a life having bountiful material culture and large houses. The essential commodities including crop production was stored into thrown big jars. Their pottery items were produced into different size and shape and were decorated with multiple colors and motifs. The decoration of object, besides geometric motifs, it was more inclined towards depicting nature for instance, vegetal designs of flowers, pipal leaf etc and fish. The farmers of Mehrgarh were now first time using stamp seals made of bone and terracotta probable to show the identification and ownership of personal property.

During third millennium BCE the phenomenon was changed as pottery objects were produced at large scale and the terracotta human figurine became prominent with fantastic physical expressions; female having elaborated breasts, braided hair and multi- strand necklace holding a baby; while male with turban, elongated hairs dropping on shoulders, pendent in neck and noticeable male organ; the male and female both probably signify and manifest cultural identity as elite status and cult of fertility. A variety in hairstyles and ornaments is documented. This was the time of abundance as the rooms and yards were full of storage jars, complete pots, grinding stones, pestles, and mortars. The foreign decorative elements were adopted for example the „Black-on-buff‟ ware of Geoksyur of South Turkmenia. Plenty was produced and consumed. Perhaps, some family members of the farmers were engaged into activity with other contemporary communities. The beads of lapis Lazuli, turquoise were locally manufactured. The seals were in circular shape made from terracotta, stone and chlorite one of them having bull figure. At this time when numerous towns appeared all over the Indus plains where a pottery ware known as Kot Dijian appeared with new and distinct features.

The Kot Dijian followed first urban centers having mega structures with excellent town planning arrangements of industrial units, storage and administration. At this time society was completely changed into class system. Every city was amidst the agricultural fields, rivers, forests that occupied and exploited by farming and pastoralist communities, fishers, and bands of hunter gatherers (Kenoyer 1998: 50).

The farmers were feeding the , they were cultivating two crops ie Rabi and Kharif. The rabi or spring harvested crop is planted in the fall and watered by winter rains. The kharif is planted in summer during monsoon and harvested in fall. The major grain crops like wheat and barley were planted in the fall and harvested in early summer. The other crops of this season were, sesamum, peas, vegetables, and perennial cotton (Kenoyer 1998: 163).

12 The Kharif crop including cotton, mustered, sesamum, dates, melon, peas, rice, and various millets were grown. The discovery of terracotta plow from Banawali (Bhisht 1982:113-24) and plowed field from Kalibangan (Thaper 1973;85-104) indicated the procedures of cultivation that a plow pulled by draft oxen may have been used (Kenoyer 1998: 50). This type of cultivation procedure is still prevailing in traditional farmers of Sindh and other communities of Pakistan.

The discovery of terracotta animals figurines, faunal motifs on the pottery and bones from archaeological context have provided sufficient information on the domesticated animals and wild species; the cattle, buffalo, sheep, and goat were most common domesticated animals. The herds of wild blackbuck, gazelle, antelope and wild boar were common hunted species. The dog appears as pet animal as well (Kenoyer 1998:164-66). The elephant, rhinoceros, lion, tigers, were not included in their diet but might have been symbolized as socio-religious and/or administrative identity. The complex system of double cropping agriculture produce tremendous surplus that was need to the cities and their residents who were engaged in other craft activities as well.

Maurizio Tosi (1977) viewed those villages in relation with other communities living in western regions of Iran, Afghanistan up to Southern Turkmenia and the Atrek plain, with the largest sites on the northern piedmont of Kopet Dagh at Namazga and Altyn-depe. Tosi assumed that each of these political units had interacted and established links with the Indus civilization as indicated by the presence of etched carnelian beads, ivory, Xancus pyrum L. shells, inscribed seals and other diagnostic elements of the Harappan Cultures all over eastern Iran (Tosi 1977). There are some exotic items not available in Indus land and authenticate such interaction contact and are discussed hereafter.

THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF TRADE AND INTERACTION BETWEEN TURKMEN AND INDUS FARMERS The archaeological investigation shows that around 30000-10000 BP, the people have moved in the rocky piedmonts, highlands and the regions where subsistence was available. These wandering bands carried cores and blades for use during the seasonal travels across the stone less alluvial plains. In 1960, Louis Dupree discover and documented two cave sites and an open-air site at Aq Kupruk in Northern Afghanistan. In 2007, Qasid H. Mallah found five upper Palaeolithic manufacturing workshops in the south of War Chah railway station in Baluchistan along the rain-feed rivulet. These examples and numerous other archaeological sites suggest that during Middle and upper Palaeolithic period the hunter went after the wide range of game and were most successful with hunting of wild mountain goat sheep and possibly cattle. People moved highland to plains during summer and cold winters. This pattern was also perceived in and around Zagros Mountain (Iran and Iraq) in the Levant ( and Palestine). Some hunting bands returned to the same localities each year for example the Sanghao cave in NWFP (Ranere 1982). Sanghao cave is contemporary with cave sites in Afghanistan (Dupree 1972, Dupree et al 1970 as cited by Ranere 1982) , Iran(Coon 1951 as cited by Ranere 1982), Iraq (Solecki 1963 as cited by Ranere 1982) and Turkmenia (Movius 1974 as cited by Ranere 1982). The systematic patterns of exploiting

13 specific kind of fauna and flora during Mesolithic period lead them towards domestication. At the settlement of Jericho in Levant (Pre-pottery Neolithic A around 8350-7350 BCE hunting was supplemented by planting wheat (emmer) and barely (two row hulled) further east at the site of Ali Kosh (southwest of Iran ) from 8000-6500 BCE the dependence on wild resources gradually shifted to domestic plants and animals (Kenoyer 1998:35). At Mehrgarh from 7000 BCE and at Djeitun 6000BCE people started living at one place in the plain areas. Establishing villages at one place does not mean that people stop moving in search of good pasturage but it continued and pastoralist went to the great distances for instance , some of the Bedouin move in search of best grasses from 1200 to 700 miles and spend a winter and spring season. As enough rain is fallen and winter grasses started to sprout; the Bedouin nomads settle their camps. Each family made individual short moves every few days seeking the best . The women make arrangement regarding the tents and household items. They load the baggage on pack animal(s) with the goat‟s hair tent tapestry and rugs, sacks of rice and dates, pots and clothing (Bahmanbegui and Cole 1971). These examples suggest that people can go at greater distances not only to exploit the resources but meet and interact with those who are already living there. The archaeologists agree that nomads bring exotic items to distant settlements such as the items like lapis lazuli, Turquoise, found from pre-pottery Neolithic through the different periods of Chalcolithic to early bronze age at Mehrgarh definitely place this area in the prehistoric culture interaction zone (Asthana 1982:50).

Namazga III pottery has been found at Mundigak III, Shahr-i-Sokhta I, Meharh VI-VII and Damb Sadaat II-III. The Quetta ware and Geoksyurian ware for instance chequered panels, various types of crosses, the T-shaped motif, the sun symbol and motifs (Mason 1962).

Maurizio Tosi has highlighted the similarity between Kechi beg pottery and Namazga III pottery, his studies are based on only few examples of sherds (Tosi, 1969:283-286).

The pots found from Mundigak site in Afghanistan shows mountain goat motif from Namazga and pipal leaf from Indus Valley. The presence of motif from two different regions at one place suggests the amalgamation of two cultures and the route from Indus valley to Turkmenistan. Where other commodities like lapis, turquoise and shell also arrived.

The studies show that the first time people moved out from south Trukmenia and reached southern Afghanistan, Siestan and northern Baluchistan- the Quetta- Baluchistan region, mainly during Namazga III times. The Turkmenian influence on Mehrgarh was coexisting while at Damb Sadat the Turkmenia influence was overpowered the local element (Asthana 1982:43).

The geometrical designs on pottery from Gumla II recall Namazga III, Mundigak III and Damb Sadat II-III and clearly reveal Turkmenian influence (Asthana 1982:99)

14 The interaction continued into historic period as well for instance Kanishka-I (a king of great Kushan phase dated 60 -256 ACE); hold territory up the Merve Turkmenistan in west and Mathora in India (Ali &Qazi 2008:8). This also suggests that the interaction among the people of Turkmenistan and Pakistan continued even up to the historic times.

SUMMARY The Farming was everlasting revolutionary step in human history after which all factors in cultural complexity occurred in earliest . The major earliest cultural centers were Mesopotamia 8000 BCE, Indus 7000 BCE and Turkmenistan 6000 BCE where within two thousand years the societies were completely changed and reached at the level of having urban centers scattered all over to their given region(s). Commodities were now more unique to any cultural complex but were traded and exchanged. During earliest stages, the role of nomads and pastoralists cannot be ignored who traveled at larger distances and interacted with contemporary communities. Their interaction became so vital that not only the commodities were traded but the decorations on cultural items was mixing and intermingling for instance pottery found from Mundigak site in Afghanistan shows mountain goat motif from Namazga Turkmenistan and pipal leaf from Indus Valley. The presence of decorative motif from two different regions at one place suggests the amalgamation two cultures and the route from Indus valley to Turkmenistan. The other commodities like lapis, turquoise and shell also arrived. It was the role of first farmers who not only provided grains to feed the people but paved strong everlasting bases for further development of human being in this world we call Earth.

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15 MASON,V.M. 1962, South Turkmenia‟s analogies with Baluchistan, southern Afghanistan, Sovyetskaya Arkheologia, vol.2.

RANERE, ANTHONY J.1982, Human Occupation in Northwest Pakistan during Late . In Anthropology in Pakistan: Recent Socio-Cultural and Archaeological perspective. Edited by Stephen Pastner and Louis Flam. South Asia Occasional Papers and Theses South Asia Program, Cornell University.

TOSI, MAURIZIO 1969, Excavation at Shahr-i-Sokhta. Preliminary report on second Campaign , Set- Dec. 1968 East and West 19:283-386.

TOSI, MAURIZIO 1977, The Proto-urban cultures of Eastern Iran and the Indus civilization, notes and suggestions for Spatio-temporal Frame to study the early Relations between India and Iran. In South Asian Archaeology Vol.1 edited by Maurizio Taddei – Naples 1979.

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AUTHORS‟ ADDRESS: DR. Q.H. MALLAH, Professor, Department of Archaeology, Shah Abdul Latif University, Khairpur (SINDH-PK) Email: [email protected] DR. M. ASLAM MEMON, Professor, Department of Commerce, Shah Abdul Latif University, Khairpur (SINDH-PK) Email:

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