Mehrgarh

Mehrgarh is a major Neolithic archaeological site located on the Kacchi Plain of Balochistan in modern-day Pakistan. Positioned near the Bolan Pass and to the west of the Indus River, the site lies between the present-day cities of Quetta, Kalat, and Sibi. It is one of South Asia’s earliest known centres of agriculture, herding, and settled village life, and it represents a crucial stage in the cultural development that later culminated in the Indus Valley Civilisation.
Discovered in 1974 by the French Archaeological Mission led by Jean-François Jarrige and Catherine Jarrige, Mehrgarh was excavated continuously from 1974 to 1986 and again between 1997 and 2000. Archaeologists have identified at least six mounds, uncovering over 32,000 artefacts that document millennia of human activity and technological innovation.

Early Settlement and Cultural Development

The earliest known settlement at Mehrgarh is dated between 7000 BCE and 5500 BCE, representing one of the oldest farming communities in South Asia. This initial occupation consisted of a cluster of small, mud-brick houses situated in the north-eastern part of the site. The earliest inhabitants cultivated barley and wheat and herded animals such as cattle, sheep, and goats. Their subsistence strategies, craft traditions, and settlement structure are regarded as foundational elements of the region’s later Neolithic and Chalcolithic cultures.
Mehrgarh provides some of the earliest evidence in the subcontinent for agricultural practices that show parallels with the Neolithic cultures of the Near East. Comparable features include domesticated wheat varieties, the use of pottery, early farming techniques, and certain artefact styles. These similarities have generated scholarly debate regarding the origins and development of South Asian agriculture.

Near Eastern Connections and Independent Development

A central academic discussion concerns whether agriculture and settled life at Mehrgarh were directly influenced by Neolithic cultures of the Near East or whether they emerged independently. Certain domesticated crops found at the site, particularly wheat, are linked to wild varieties native to the northern Levant and southern Turkey. This has led some scholars to argue for an early cultural exchange or migration route into the Indus region.
Similar pottery techniques, such as sequential slab construction, and specific burial postures observed at Mehrgarh also resemble those at Neolithic sites including Ali Kosh in the Zagros Mountains, Teppe Zagheh on the Qazvin Plain, and Jeitun in Turkmenistan. Clay figurines from Mehrgarh have artistic affinities with those from early Iranian and Central Asian sites, suggesting the presence of a broader regional sphere of cultural interaction.
However, Jean-François Jarrige emphasised that Mehrgarh displays substantial originality, proposing that its development cannot be reduced to passive adoption of Near Eastern traditions. He argued that while external influences may have contributed to the exchange of particular crops and technologies, the site’s cultural trajectory shows distinct, locally rooted innovation.

Genetic and Population Perspectives

Studies integrating archaeological evidence with biological anthropology offer additional perspectives on population continuity and change. Research on dental morphology by John Lukacs and Brian Hemphill indicates a degree of cultural continuity from the Neolithic to the Chalcolithic phases of the site, but also suggests that the Chalcolithic population differs significantly from its Neolithic predecessors. This pattern has been interpreted as evidence of moderate levels of gene flow into the region.
Genetic studies further support the complexity of demographic processes in ancient South Asia. Analyses of West Eurasian mitochondrial and Y-chromosomal lineages in the subcontinent indicate multiple episodes of interaction and migration rather than a simple one-way agricultural expansion from the Near East. These findings point towards various routes of population movement through Iran, Afghanistan, and the north-western regions of the subcontinent.

Material Culture and Craft Traditions

Mehrgarh exhibits a rich assemblage of artefacts reflecting technological skill and social organisation. These include:

• Pottery vessels made using early construction techniques
• Clay figurines, often interpreted as connected to ritual or domestic practices
• Semi-precious stone beads, demonstrating early lapidary skills
• Granaries and fire pits, suggesting communal storage and food-processing structures

Some artefact types, such as burnt-pebble hearths and large storage facilities, mirror features at contemporary Mesopotamian sites, showing that similar functional responses to environmental and subsistence challenges appeared across widely dispersed regions.

Regional Networks and Cultural Spread

The geographical terrain separating the Near East from the Indus region—comprising plateau landscapes, mountain ridges, and deserts—posed significant environmental challenges for early communities. Despite this, trade and interaction were possible through corridors such as the route south of the Caspian Sea, an early precursor to sections of the Silk Road. Archaeological evidence along the Great Khorasan Road indicates that exchange networks were functioning by the fourth millennium BCE, providing channels for the movement of materials, ideas, and possibly people.
Such networks may explain shared ceramic traditions, architectural forms, and figurine styles observed across early Neolithic sites extending from the Zagros Mountains to the western Indus Valley.

Interpretation and Later Cultural Significance

Mehrgarh forms a crucial link in understanding the emergence of civilisation in South Asia. The site bridges the developmental gap between early farming communities and the complex urban societies of the later Indus Valley Civilisation. It demonstrates the region’s long-term cultural evolution, including innovations in agriculture, craft production, settlement planning, and symbolic expression.
While debates continue regarding the degree of Near Eastern influence and the nature of population movements, Mehrgarh’s archaeological record clearly illustrates a dynamic interplay of local development and external contact. Its importance extends beyond regional prehistory, contributing to global discussions on the origins of agriculture, the spread of early technologies, and the formation of complex societies.