Although shell objects may seem relatively insignificant compared to other categories of objects, such as seals or sculpture, a detailed study of shell objects and shell working has revealed important aspects of trade and craft specialization in the Indus Civilization.
Major species of marine mollusca used in the shell industry are discussed in detail and possible ancient shell source areas are identified. Variations in shell artifacts within and between various urban, rural and coastal sites are presented as evidence for specialized production, hierarchical internal trade networks and regional interaction spheres.
Recent explorations in the peripheral regions east of the Indus valley have established the spread of Harappan culture to settlements in Kutch, Saurashtra, Rajasthan and Harayana, but there has been much speculation on the reasons behind this cultural expansion.
By determining the ancient source areas for shells, we can gain a new perspective on the trade networks and the exploitations of marine resources by protohistoric coastal populations.
Although some have their doubts about religious interpretations for what they call "esoteric archaeological finds,' nevertheless it is stated in this article that there is a very strong probability that the structure and the stone represent a shrine to the goddess, or female principle, 'Shakti,' which was built by the group of final upper palaeolithic hunter/gatherers who were living at the site of Baghor I.
Balakot is one of four known ancient coastal sites in Pakistan dating to the period of South Asia's earliest civilization -- the Harappan (or Indus) -- that flourished in the centuries just before and after 2000 B.C.
This paper summarizes the state of drilling research and defines two categories of drills that were used in antiquity: tapered cylindrical drills and constricted cylindrical drills. Directions for future research on the relationship between drilling and other contemporaneous technologies are also discussed.
A brief overview of the major cultural traditions of the Indus region is presented along with a discussion of the current state of research on the most ancient textiles used by ancient peoples of this region.
The early use and gradual development of wheeled vehicles at the site of Harappa, Pakistan to better understand the role of carts in the process of urban development.
Through a comparative study of the artifacts, pottery, architecture, faunal, and botanical remains of Harappa, an increasingly sophisticated view is obtained of the complex and dynamic political, ideological, and economic processes that were an integral part of Harappan urban society.
Ras Gadani and Phuari were surveyed in the 2000s by the Italian Archaeological Mission in Las Bela and Lower Sindh. The discovery of a few sites on the two headlands has shown the importance of the Las Bela coast for the archaeology of the northern Arabian Sea.
A refutation of some of the so-called "factoids" about the ancient Indus Civilization, from an Aryan invasion to the violent overrunning of Mohenjo-daro in an essay that describes the various cultural and societal systems that underlie this Bronze Age culture.
The author discusses how study of bead manufacture and the changing styles of beaded ornaments are important methods for investigating the social and economic development of Harappan society.
A recent essay on the structural design of signs in the Indus script by experts at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research.
A detailed analysis of the evolution of Indus Civilization based on a compilation of the latest scientific data by experts.
Iravatham Mahadevan considers this late 2011 paper to be "one of the most important papers I have written."
The prehistory of Sindh and Las Bela coast (Balochistan) before and after partition, and the role played by Italian archaeologists since the 1980s.
Surveys conducted along the southeastern coast of Las Bela in the following years have shown that shell middens with different characteristics and variable chronology exist in many places among which are Gadani and Phuari Headlands and the shores of Lake Siranda. Shell middens are places where the debris from eating shellfish and other food has accumulated over time.
The results of the analysis of silver beads from Mohenjo-daro and Alladino and the possible origins of the silver in them.
New finds from 2010 at one of the earliest flint mines in South Asia.
Harappa’s rock and mineral assemblage from the perspective of the greater Indus Valley’s complex geology, the distance one would have to travel to acquire certain materials and a discussion of the differing motivations behind the acquisition and transport of rock and minerals in the greater Indus Valley region.
The author's propose a method to analyze some of the largest artifacts recovered at Indus Civilization (ca. 2600 to 1700 BC) cities in Pakistan and northwestern India, the limestone “ringstones.” This later led to the determination that Harappa's ringstones came from near Dholavira.
Results from the 2010 surveys of Paleolithic (before 10,000 BCE) assemblages among the limestone terraces of Jhimpir.
The origins of manufacturing debris recovered from different periods of occupation between 3300 BCE and 1700 BCE at Harappa can now be identified with a high degree of certainty thanks to geologic source provenance studies.
The exchange and communication systems that connected distant parts of the Indus Civilization (c. 2600 to 1900 BC) and beyond had roots beginning in the early Neolithic period.
In November 2000 the authors conducted collaborative fieldwork to identify salt and mineral resources from the Salt Range in the Punjab, Pakistan used by the prehistoric site of Harappa over 200 kilometers away.
Steatite (soapstone) artifacts have been found at nearly every excavated Harappan period (2600-1900 BC) site and were the primary element used to make seals.
First published by the IEEE Computer Society in 2010, this paper by a University of Washington Professor analyzes the count of signs and combinations in the Indus script.
Two leading ancient Indus archaeologists on the inscribed objects discovered over the past 20 years at the ancient site of Harappa in Punjab, Pakistan.
A report on the largest archaeological site in South Asia, an industrial-scale enterprise that goes back hundreds of thousands of years: flint mining.
