Home Region:  Pakistan (South Asia)

Kachi Plain - Pre-Urban Period

3200 BCE 2500 BCE

D G SC WF HS EQ 2020  pk_kachi_pre_urban / PkPreUr

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Preceding Entity: Add one more here.
4000 BCE 3200 BCE Kachi Plain - Chalcolithic (pk_kachi_ca)    [continuity]

Succeeding Entity: Add one more here.
2500 BCE 2100 BCE Kachi Plain - Urban Period I (pk_kachi_urban_1)    [continuity]

The Pre-Urban period in the Indus Valley, also known as the Early Harappan or Early Indus, started around 3200 and ended around 2600 BCE. Here we extend it to include the transitional century or so between the Early and the Mature Harappan. This period was characterized by the spread of farming communities across the Indus Basin, reaching as far as the Upper Ganga-Yamuna Doab in modern-day North India. Overall, this was not a period of great innovation, but precursors of writing appear to have emerged at this time, and, together with the appearance of seals and weights, these point to a shift in organizational complexity. [1]
Population and political organization
No population estimates could be found in the literature. There is also no clear picture of political organization at this time - seals have been found in relevant archaeological contexts, but the existence of a bureaucratic apparatus remains unlikely. [2]

[1]: (McIntosh 2008, 67-72) McIntosh, Jane. 2008. The Ancient Indus Valley. Santa Barbara; Denver; Oxford: ABC-CLIO. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/5P92SHE8.

[2]: A. Ceccarelli, personal communication to E. Cioni, February 2017.

General Variables
Social Complexity Variables
Social Scale
Hierarchical Complexity
Professions
Bureaucracy Characteristics
Law
Specialized Buildings: polity owned
Transport Infrastructure
Special-purpose Sites
Information / Writing System
Information / Kinds of Written Documents
Information / Money
Information / Postal System
Information / Measurement System
Warfare Variables (Military Technologies)
Religion Tolerance Coding in Progress.
Human Sacrifice Coding in Progress.
Crisis Consequences Coding in Progress.
Power Transitions Coding in Progress.

NGA Settlements:

Year Range Kachi Plain - Pre-Urban Period (pk_kachi_pre_urban) was in:
 (3200 BCE 2501 BCE)   Kachi Plain
Home NGA: Kachi Plain

General Variables
Identity and Location
Utm Zone:
42 R

Original Name:
Kachi Plain - Pre-Urban Period

Capital:
unknown

Of the very large Mature Harappan (urban) sites, only Harappa has a documented pre-urban population. [1] However, there is no evidence for the existence or whereabouts of a capital.

[1]: Gregory L. Possehl. Revolution in the Urban Revolution: The Emergence of Indus Urbanization. Annual Review of Anthropology, Vol. 19, (1990), p.270


Alternative Name:
Early Harappan

The Early Harappan phase can be divided geographically into four regions with roughly equivalent chronologies
Amri-Nal
Kot Diji
Damb Sadaat
Sothi-Siswal [1] The Early Harappan sites of the Amri-Nal tradition are found in southern Baluchistan; but despite the presence of Nal pottery at Merhgarh (doubtless because it is associated with seasonal herdsmen) the Kachi Plain is not included in the distribution or in any other Early Harappan culture. [2]

[1]: Gregory L. Possehl. The Indus Civilization. A Contemporary Perspective. Walnut Creek, Altamira, 2002, p. 40

[2]: Possehl 2002, p. 41


Temporal Bounds
Duration:
[3200 BCE ➜ 2500 BCE]
 

Including a transitional phase between the Early and the Mature Harappan [1]

[1]: McIntosh, J. The Ancient Indus Valley pp. 392-393. Santa-Barbara: ABC-Clio.


Political and Cultural Relations
Suprapolity Relations:
unknown [---]

The settlements and artefacts from this period suggest increasing complexity, although it is not clear what sort of polity (or polities) were present. It is likely that there was a form of centralised authority, based on the complexity of urban planning, but whether this was a chiefdom or incipient state is debated. [1]

[1]: Rita Wright: The Ancient Indus: Urbanism, Economy and Society; Cambridge: CUP, 2010, pp. 79-105


Supracultural Entity:
Indus Civilisation

Succeeding Entity:
Kachi Plain - Urban Period I

Relationship to Preceding Entity:
continuity

Succeeding Entity:
2500 BCE 2100 BCE Kachi Plain - Urban Period I (pk_kachi_urban_1)    [continuity]  
 
Preceding Entity:
4000 BCE 3200 BCE Kachi Plain - Chalcolithic (pk_kachi_ca)    [continuity]  
 

Degree of Centralization:
quasi-polity

The settlements and artefacts from this period suggest increasing complexity, although it is not clear what sort of polity (or polities) were present. It is likely that there was a form of centralised authority, based on the complexity of urban planning, but whether this was a chiefdom or incipient state is debated. [1]

[1]: Rita Wright: The Ancient Indus: Urbanism, Economy and Society; Cambridge: CUP, 2010, pp. 79-105


Language
Linguistic Family:
unknown

Language:
unknown

Language is unknown, and there would certainly have been regional/chronological variations. [1]

[1]: Gregory L. Possehl. Indus Age: The Beginnings. New Delhi, 1999, p.721


Religion

Social Complexity Variables
Social Scale
Population of the Largest Settlement:
[1,100 to 4,600] people

Assuming 50-200 inhabitants per hectare. Quetta Miri was about 23 ha [1] [2] .

[1]: (Possehl 2002, 44) Gregory Possehl. 2002. The Indus Civilization. Delhi: Published on behalf of Indian Archaeological Society [by] B.R. Pub. Corp.

[2]: New Delhi: distributed by D.K. Publishers’ Distributors, 1980.


Hierarchical Complexity
Settlement Hierarchy:
[2 to 3]

levels. [1] [2]
1. Large settlementFor example, Quetta Miri (23 ha) and Mundigak (9 ha).
2. Possible medium-sized ’producer’ settlements
3. Small settlements
Worth noting: "Some settlements show signs of specialization in particular crafts or other industrial activities, such as the procurement of raw materials. For example, huge quantities of figurines were produced at Mehrgarh in this period, suggesting mass production. Lewan, a village in the Bannu Basin in northern Baluchistan, specialized in the production of stone tools, including querns, axes, and hammers, which were traded over a wide area. A degree of specialization had begun earlier, for example at Mehrgarh, but it was becoming more pronounced in this period." [3]

[1]: (Possehl 2002, 44) Gregory Possehl. 2002. The Indus Civilization. Delhi: Published on behalf of Indian Archaeological Society [by] B.R. Pub. Corp.

[2]: New Delhi: distributed by D.K. Publishers’ Distributors, 1980.

[3]: (McIntosh 2008, 69)


Religious Level:
1

1. Ritual specialist
In the broader Early Harappan tradition there is evidence that there were priests, and Kenoyer refers to "ritual specialist". However, Possehl says there is no evidence for a state religion. [1] [2]

[1]: Kenoyer, Jonathan Mark, ‘The Indus Valley Tradition of Pakistan and Western India’, Journal of World Prehistory, 5 (1991), 370

[2]: Gregory L. Possehl. The Indus Civilization. A Contemporary Perspective. Walnut Creek, Altamira, 2002, p. 6.


Military Level:
[0 to 1]

levels. Kenoyer writes that there is no evidence of the existence of an army even during the period 2600 BCE - 1900 BCE [1]

[1]: Jonathan Mark Kenoyer. ’Uncovering the keys to the Lost Indus Cities’, Scientific American, vol. 15, no. 1, 2005, p. 29.


Administrative Level:
[1 to 2]

levels.


Professions
Professional Soldier:
absent

Inferred from Jonathan Kenoyer’s claim that there is no evidence of the existence of an army even during the period 2600 BCE - 1900 BCE [1]

[1]: Jonathan Mark Kenoyer. ’Uncovering the keys to the Lost Indus Cities’, Scientific American, vol. 15, no. 1, 2005, p. 29.


Professional Priesthood:
present

In the broader Harappan tradition there is evidence for priests, and Kenoyer refers to "ritual specialist". [1]

[1]: Avari, Burjor, India: The Ancient Past: A History of the Indian Sub-Continent from C. 7000 BC to AD 1200 (London: Routledge, 2007), p.48; Kenoyer, Jonathan Mark, ‘The Indus Valley Tradition of Pakistan and Western India’, Journal of World Prehistory, 5 (1991), 370


Professional Military Officer:
absent

Inferred from Jonathan Kenoyer’s claim that there is no evidence of the existence of an army even during the period 2600 BCE - 1900 BCE [1]

[1]: Jonathan Mark Kenoyer. ’Uncovering the keys to the Lost Indus Cities’, Scientific American, vol. 15, no. 1, 2005, p. 29.


Bureaucracy Characteristics
Specialized Government Building:
absent

Merit Promotion:
absent

Full Time Bureaucrat:
absent

Examination System:
absent

Law
Professional Lawyer:
absent

In the context of the broader Harappan tradition there are no deciphered textual records suggesting the presence of a legal code. [1]

[1]: Burjor Avari. India: The Ancient Past. A History of the Indian sub-continent from c.7000 BC to AD 1200. Oxon, 2007, p.51


Judge:
absent

In the context of the broader Harappan tradition there are no deciphered textual records suggesting the presence of a legal code. [1]

[1]: Burjor Avari. India: The Ancient Past. A History of the Indian sub-continent from c.7000 BC to AD 1200. Oxon, 2007, p.51


Formal Legal Code:
absent

In the context of the broader Harappan tradition there are no deciphered textual records suggesting the presence of a legal code. [1]

[1]: Burjor Avari. India: The Ancient Past. A History of the Indian sub-continent from c.7000 BC to AD 1200. Oxon, 2007, p.51


Court:
absent

In the context of the broader Harappan tradition there are no deciphered textual records suggesting the presence of a legal code. [1]

[1]: Burjor Avari. India: The Ancient Past. A History of the Indian sub-continent from c.7000 BC to AD 1200. Oxon, 2007, p.51


Specialized Buildings: polity owned
Market:
present

"There is plentiful evidence of internal trade within and between the regions of the Early Indus period" [1] .

[1]: (McIntosh 2008, 77)


Irrigation System:
present

Period II: variety of barley used "could be grown only in the irrigated fields, it implies and improved method of farming in the Kachi plains." [1] In the broader Harappan context, water control technology began during the Amri-Nal period. This included the use of small shallow ditches to guide water onto a flat area, and investment in some kind of bunding - a low earthen wall or a gabarband. [2]

[1]: (Ahmed 2014, 321)

[2]: Gregory L. Possehl. Indus Age: The Beginnings. New Delhi, 1999, p.619


Food Storage Site:
present

“By Periods VI and VII, Mehrgarh had clearly entered a new phase in its development. In Periods VI and VII, Mehgarh took on the configuration of a large village or town with streets and lanes and clustered residential areas. The communal storage in compartmented buildings of former periods was replaced by storage rooms, now securely located within individual houses." [1]

[1]: Wright, R. P. (2010) The Ancient Indus: urbanism, economy and society. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press. p53


Drinking Water Supply System:
unknown

Transport Infrastructure
Road:
unknown

Port:
absent

Inland site would not have had a port.


Canal:
unknown

Bridge:
unknown

Special-purpose Sites
Mines or Quarry:
unknown

Information / Writing System
Written Record:
absent

Possehl states that there was no writing before the urban phase in the Indus valley. [1]

[1]: Gregory L. Possehl. The Indus Civilization. A Contemporary Perspective. Walnut Creek, Altamira, 2002, p. 51.


Script:
absent

Possehl states that there was no writing before the urban phase in the Indus valley. [1]

[1]: Gregory L. Possehl. The Indus Civilization. A Contemporary Perspective. Walnut Creek, Altamira, 2002, p. 51.


Phonetic Alphabetic Writing:
absent

Possehl states that there was no writing before the urban phase in the Indus valley. [1]

[1]: Gregory L. Possehl. The Indus Civilization. A Contemporary Perspective. Walnut Creek, Altamira, 2002, p. 51.


Nonwritten Record:
unknown

Possehl states that there was no writing before the urban phase in the Indus valley. [1]

[1]: Gregory L. Possehl. The Indus Civilization. A Contemporary Perspective. Walnut Creek, Altamira, 2002, p. 51.


Non Phonetic Writing:
absent

Possehl states that there was no writing before the urban phase in the Indus valley. [1]

[1]: Gregory L. Possehl. The Indus Civilization. A Contemporary Perspective. Walnut Creek, Altamira, 2002, p. 51.


Mnemonic Device:
unknown

Possehl states that there was no writing before the urban phase in the Indus valley. [1]

[1]: Gregory L. Possehl. The Indus Civilization. A Contemporary Perspective. Walnut Creek, Altamira, 2002, p. 51.


Information / Kinds of Written Documents
Scientific Literature:
absent

Possehl states that there was no writing before the urban phase in the Indus valley. [1]

[1]: Gregory L. Possehl. The Indus Civilization. A Contemporary Perspective. Walnut Creek, Altamira, 2002, p. 51.


Sacred Text:
absent

Possehl states that there was no writing before the urban phase in the Indus valley. [1]

[1]: Gregory L. Possehl. The Indus Civilization. A Contemporary Perspective. Walnut Creek, Altamira, 2002, p. 51.


Religious Literature:
absent

Possehl states that there was no writing before the urban phase in the Indus valley. [1]

[1]: Gregory L. Possehl. The Indus Civilization. A Contemporary Perspective. Walnut Creek, Altamira, 2002, p. 51.


Practical Literature:
absent

Possehl states that there was no writing before the urban phase in the Indus valley. [1]

[1]: Gregory L. Possehl. The Indus Civilization. A Contemporary Perspective. Walnut Creek, Altamira, 2002, p. 51.


Philosophy:
absent

Possehl states that there was no writing before the urban phase in the Indus valley. [1]

[1]: Gregory L. Possehl. The Indus Civilization. A Contemporary Perspective. Walnut Creek, Altamira, 2002, p. 51.


Lists Tables and Classification:
absent

Possehl states that there was no writing before the urban phase in the Indus valley. [1]

[1]: Gregory L. Possehl. The Indus Civilization. A Contemporary Perspective. Walnut Creek, Altamira, 2002, p. 51.


History:
absent

Possehl states that there was no writing before the urban phase in the Indus valley. [1]

[1]: Gregory L. Possehl. The Indus Civilization. A Contemporary Perspective. Walnut Creek, Altamira, 2002, p. 51.


Fiction:
absent

Possehl states that there was no writing before the urban phase in the Indus valley. [1]

[1]: Gregory L. Possehl. The Indus Civilization. A Contemporary Perspective. Walnut Creek, Altamira, 2002, p. 51.


Calendar:
absent

Possehl states that there was no writing before the urban phase in the Indus valley. [1]

[1]: Gregory L. Possehl. The Indus Civilization. A Contemporary Perspective. Walnut Creek, Altamira, 2002, p. 51.


Information / Money
Token:
present

Presumed present for the trade of foreign materials (including lapis lazuli, calcite and steatite for bead production). [1]

[1]: Jarrige, J. F. (2008). Mehrgarh neolithic. Pragdhara, 18, 135-154. p145


Precious Metal:
unknown

Copper was present from Mehrgarh III [1] , but may not have been used as ’money’.

[1]: Petrie, C. A. (in press) Chapter 11, Case Study: Mehrgarh. In, Barker, G and Goucher, C (eds.) Cambridge World History, Volume 2: A World with Agriculture, 12,000 BCE - 500 CE. Cambridge University Press: Cambridge


Paper Currency:
absent

Indigenous Coin:
absent

Foreign Coin:
absent

Information / Postal System
Postal Station:
absent

General Postal Service:
absent

Courier:
absent

Information / Measurement System

Warfare Variables (Military Technologies)
Fortifications
Wooden Palisade:
absent

Inferred lack of substantial circumvallation. [1] The data for fortifications is inferred. Possehl states that before the Urban phase (i.e. 2600 BCE) for only 3 sites out of 463 Pre-Urban sites the archaeological evidence could potentially be interpreted as having some sort of substantial circumvallation. [1]

[1]: (Gregory L. Possehl. ’Revolution in the Urban Revolution: The Emergence of Indus Urbanization’, Annual Review of Anthropology, vol. 19. (1990), p. 271)


Stone Walls Non Mortared:
absent

Inferred lack of substantial circumvallation. [1]

[1]: (Gregory L. Possehl. ’Revolution in the Urban Revolution: The Emergence of Indus Urbanization’, Annual Review of Anthropology, vol. 19. (1990), p. 271)


Stone Walls Mortared:
absent

Inferred lack of substantial circumvallation. [1]

[1]: (Gregory L. Possehl. ’Revolution in the Urban Revolution: The Emergence of Indus Urbanization’, Annual Review of Anthropology, vol. 19. (1990), p. 271)


Settlements in a Defensive Position:
absent

Inferred absent from lack of evidence of significant warfare.


Modern Fortification:
absent

Inferred lack of substantial circumvallation. [1]

[1]: (Gregory L. Possehl. ’Revolution in the Urban Revolution: The Emergence of Indus Urbanization’, Annual Review of Anthropology, vol. 19. (1990), p. 271)


Moat:
unknown

Fortified Camp:
absent

Inferred lack of substantial circumvallation. [1]

[1]: (Gregory L. Possehl. ’Revolution in the Urban Revolution: The Emergence of Indus Urbanization’, Annual Review of Anthropology, vol. 19. (1990), p. 271)


Earth Rampart:
absent

Inferred lack of substantial circumvallation. [1]

[1]: (Gregory L. Possehl. ’Revolution in the Urban Revolution: The Emergence of Indus Urbanization’, Annual Review of Anthropology, vol. 19. (1990), p. 271)


Ditch:
unknown

Complex Fortification:
absent

Inferred lack of substantial circumvallation. [1]

[1]: (Gregory L. Possehl. ’Revolution in the Urban Revolution: The Emergence of Indus Urbanization’, Annual Review of Anthropology, vol. 19. (1990), p. 271)


Long Wall:
absent

Military use of Metals
Steel:
absent

Inferred as occurred later [1] .

[1]: ( Darvill, Timothy. "steel." In The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Archaeology. : Oxford University Press, 2008. )


Iron:
absent

Inferred as occurred later [1] .

[1]: ( Darvill, Timothy. "iron." In The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Archaeology. : Oxford University Press, 2008. )


Bronze:
absent

.


Projectiles
Tension Siege Engine:
absent

Inferred as occurred later [1]

[1]: ( DeVries, Kelly. "siege engines." In The Oxford Companion to Military History. : Oxford University Press, 2001. ).


Sling Siege Engine:
absent

Inferred as occurred later [1]

[1]: ( DeVries, Kelly. "siege engines." In The Oxford Companion to Military History. : Oxford University Press, 2001. ).


Sling:
absent

Not mentioned in detailed descriptions/lists of finds from Mehrgarh. "War technology is not well represented" before the Indus period. [1]

[1]: (Kenoyer 1991: 347) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/A7DS8UKX.


Self Bow:
absent

Not mentioned in detailed descriptions/lists of finds from Mehrgarh. "War technology is not well represented" before the Indus period. [1]

[1]: (Kenoyer 1991: 347) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/A7DS8UKX.


Javelin:
absent

Not mentioned in detailed descriptions/lists of finds from Mehrgarh. "War technology is not well represented" before the Indus period. [1]

[1]: (Kenoyer 1991: 347) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/A7DS8UKX.


Handheld Firearm:
absent

Inferred as occurred later [1]

[1]: ( DeVries, Kelly. "matchlock." In The Oxford Companion to Military History. : Oxford University Press, 2001. ).


Gunpowder Siege Artillery:
absent

Inferred as occurred later [1]

[1]: ( DeVries, Kelly. "cannon" In The Oxford Companion to Military History. : Oxford University Press, 2001. ).


Crossbow:
absent

Inferred as occurred later [1]

[1]: ( DeVries, Kelly. "crossbow." In The Oxford Companion to Military History. : Oxford University Press, 2001. ).


Composite Bow:
absent

Inferred as occurred later [1]

[1]: ( DeVries, Kelly. "bow." In The Oxford Companion to Military History. : Oxford University Press, 2001. ).


Atlatl:
absent

New world weapon.


Handheld weapons
War Club:
absent

Not mentioned in detailed descriptions/lists of finds from Mehrgarh. "War technology is not well represented" before the Indus period. [1]

[1]: (Kenoyer 1991: 347) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/A7DS8UKX.


Sword:
absent

Not mentioned in detailed descriptions/lists of finds from Mehrgarh. "War technology is not well represented" before the Indus period. [1]

[1]: (Kenoyer 1991: 347) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/A7DS8UKX.


Spear:
absent

Not mentioned in detailed descriptions/lists of finds from Mehrgarh. "War technology is not well represented" before the Indus period. [1]

[1]: (Kenoyer 1991: 347) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/A7DS8UKX.


Polearm:
absent

Not mentioned in detailed descriptions/lists of finds from Mehrgarh. "War technology is not well represented" before the Indus period. [1]

[1]: (Kenoyer 1991: 347) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/A7DS8UKX.


Dagger:
absent

Not mentioned in detailed descriptions/lists of finds from Mehrgarh. "War technology is not well represented" before the Indus period. [1]

[1]: (Kenoyer 1991: 347) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/A7DS8UKX.


Battle Axe:
absent

Not mentioned in detailed descriptions/lists of finds from Mehrgarh. "War technology is not well represented" before the Indus period. [1] ground stone axe found in burial (Ahmed 2014, p. 316). - was this a battle axe? In one exceptional burial, a polished stone axe and three flint cores were placed in a basket and lay near the skull of the deceased. Sixteen blades from the same core were set in parallel rows along the spinal column [2]

[1]: (Kenoyer 1991: 347) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/A7DS8UKX.

[2]: (Jarrige et al. 1995: 246)


Animals used in warfare
Horse:
absent

Inferred due to lack of evidence of warfare [1]

[1]: (Kenoyer 1991, p. 347)


Elephant:
absent

Inferred due to lack of evidence of warfare [1]

[1]: (Kenoyer 1991, p. 347)


Donkey:
absent

Inferred due to lack of evidence of warfare [1] (From the ’Historical Dictionary of Ancient India’) Amri, mid-4th millennium BCE onward: "There is evidence for the domestication of cattle, sheep, goat, and donkey." [2]

[1]: (Kenoyer 1991, p. 347)

[2]: (Roy ed. 2009, 17) Kumkum Roy. ed. 2009. Historical Dictionary of Ancient India. The Scarecrow Press, Inc. Lanham.


Dog:
absent

Inferred due to lack of evidence of warfare [1]

[1]: (Kenoyer 1991, p. 347)


Camel:
absent

Inferred due to lack of evidence of warfare [1]

[1]: (Kenoyer 1991, p. 347)


Armor
Wood Bark Etc:
unknown

Evidence of armor made from organic materials has not been recovered from Mehrgarh.


Shield:
absent

Scaled Armor:
absent

Plate Armor:
absent

Limb Protection:
absent

Leather Cloth:
unknown

Evidence of armor made from organic materials has not been recovered from Mehrgarh.


Laminar Armor:
absent

Helmet:
absent

Chainmail:
absent

Breastplate:
absent

Naval technology
Specialized Military Vessel:
absent

Small Vessels Canoes Etc:
absent

Merchant Ships Pressed Into Service:
absent


Human Sacrifice Data
Human Sacrifice is the deliberate and ritualized killing of a person to please or placate supernatural entities (including gods, spirits, and ancestors) or gain other supernatural benefits.
Coding in Progress.
Coding in Progress.
Power Transitions
Coding in Progress.