Beads, Faience, Bangles, Glass, Jewelry and Ornaments
Beads and pendants are important forms of ornament that have a very long history in the subcontinent.
355 peer-reviewed articles from leading journals about the latest discoveries about the ancient Indus civilization, its antecedents and contemporaries in the Persian Gulf and Mesopotamia, during the Bronze Age 3500-1700 BCE by the world's ancient Indus archaeologists and scholars.
Fifty-Five Years of Archaeological Research in Pakistan: the Prehistoric Periods
The purpose of this article is not to present a summary of all of the major discoveries made in the last 55 years, but rather to highlight those that have resulted in major shifts in research paradigms and interpretive frameworks.
The Middle Holocene mangrove shellfish gatherers of Las Bela (Balochistan, Pakistan)
Results from a 2011 survey of Lake Siranda in Balochistan to locate prehistoric shell middens and study the Neolithic people who lived there in greater detail between the 8th and 6th milleniums BCE.
The Indus Seals: An Overview of Iconography and Style
This paper examines the nature of Indus seals and the different aspects of seal iconography and style in order to better understand their overall role in the Indus civilization.
Indus Urbanism: New Perspectives on its Origin and Character
During the past two decades a variety of archaeological research projects focused on the Indus civilization have made it possible to refine earlier models regarding the origin and character of this distinctive urban society.
The Shell Middens of the Bay of Daun
Environmental Changes and Human Impact Along the Cost of Las Bela (Balochistan, Pakistan) Between the 8th and 5th Millenium BP
Traditional Potters of India
An examination of traditional pottery methods and practices in light of an exhibition at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington D.C. in 1987.
The stone and shell beads of the shell-midden settlement of RH-5 (Muscat, Sultanate of Oman)
A look at shell-midden and cemetery sites discovered in Oman that date back to the fifth millenium BCE, testifying to the levels of development in areas around the Indus Valley civilization thousands of years before it reached its peak.
The ‘High-West: Low-East’ Dichotomy of Indus Cities: A Dravidian Paradigm
A fascinating, well-documented article on Indus city layouts and linguistic paradigms.
The early Paleolithic sites of the Rohri Hills (Sind, Pakistan) and their environmental significance
One of the first articles to explore the significance of the Rohri flint mines near Mohenjo-daro, who use reaches back hundreds of thousands of years and which played an important role in the ancient Indus civilization as well.
Metal Technologies of the Indus Valley Tradition
This paper will summarize the available literature and recent discoveries on the production and use of metals by peoples of the Indus Valley,Tradition of Pakistan and Western India.
Changing Perspectives of the Indus Civilization: New Discoveries and Challenges
Some of the major new perspectives on the Indus Civilization that are the result of new discoveries at sites in the core regions of the Indus Civilization found in both Pakistan and India.
Statistical Analysis of the Indus Script Using n-Grams
Building on previous statistical approaches, the application of tools like n-gram Markov chains to analyze the syntax of the Indus script and form the basis for the development of a stochastic grammar to explore the syntax of the Indus script in greater detail.
Archaeology and the Long Lineages of Tradition
This paper in honor of Jean-Claude Gardin, in the words of the abstract, refers to a small body of work in order to scrutinize the way in which archaeologists of South Asia make inferences about long-enduring traditions.
The Ancient City of Harappa
The vast mounded remains of the ancient city of Harappa, one of the largest sites of the Indus Valley civilization, have been known by scholars for more than one hundred years. Occupied almost continuously for more than five thousand years, Harappa's ancient ruins represent the traces of one of the earliest cities of the world, and even today one-third of the area is still occupied by the modern and thriving city of Harappa.
A Peaceful Realm? Trauma and social differentiation at Harappa
An analysis of a skeletal collection from Harappa contradicts the dehumanizing, unrealistic myth of the Indus Civilization as an exceptionally peaceful prehistoric urban civilization.
Carnelian Bead Production in Khambat, India: An Ethnoarchaeological Study
An overview of the important technological and organization aspects of the carnelian bead industry that will be useful in developing interpretive models regarding the role of agate bead production in early urban societies.
Technological choices and lithic production in the Indus period: Case studies from Sindh (Pakistan)
This complexity and variety of lithic (stone) production during the Indus Civilisation.
Contemporary Stone Beadmaking in Khambhat, India: Patterns of Craft Specialization and Organization of Production as Reflected in the Archaeological Record
Khambhat in Gujarat province provides a unique opportunity to study the organization of a specialized craft and understand how different aspects of social, economic and political organization relating to such crafts might be reflected in the archaeological record because of the long continuity of bead-making in this region,
Stone Beads in Ancient South Asia - 7000-600 BC: A comparative approach to technology, style, and ideology
As the study of beads becomes more precise, it is also important to develop more comprehensive chronological frameworks to track the changes in bead technologies and styles.
Master of Animals and Animal Masters in the Iconography of the Indus Tradition
A brief introduction to the Indus Tradition and then focuses on the range of images relating to human and animal interactions that were used in the greater Indus region.
Urban Process in the Indus Tradition: A Preliminary Model from Harappa
Excavations on two of the major mounds at Harappa have revealed traces of an early settlement, a transitional phase of development, and several phases of full urban and post-urban occupation.
Measuring the Harappan World: Insights into the Indus Order and Cosmology
An overview of the types of artifacts that inform us about ancient Harappan measurement systems in order to gain insight into their concepts of order and cosmology.
Inscribed Objects from Harappa Excavations 1986-2007
The assemblage of inscribed and incised objects discovered at the site of Harappa during excavations conducted between 1986–2007 by the Harappa Archaeological Research Project (HARP).
Summaries of Five Seasons of Research at Harappa: 1986-1990
A 78 page overview of how 5 seasons of excavations at Harappa proceeded.
Early Developments of Art, Symbol and Technology in the Indus Valley Tradition
Archaeologists studying the emergence of early civilizations often focus on finely crafted art objects in order to understand the aspects of economic, socio-political and religious organization. The importance of such objects is increased when studying early societies for which there are no written records, such as the Indus Valley civilization.
The Harappan State: Was it or Wasn't it?
Recent discussions on the nature of early state societies have led some scholars to suggest that the early urban phenomenon of the Indus Civilization should not be characterized as a state level society. This paper will critically examine these arguments in the context of current studies of the Indus Civilization and recent excavations at Harappa, Pakistan.
Steatite and Faience Manufacturing at Harappa: New Evidence from Mound E Excavations 2000-2001
The various types of materials present at this site reveal a complex network of trade and exchange that spread throughout the Indus Valley.
Lapis Lazuli: Beadmaking in Afghanistan and Pakistan
Recent observations of artisans in Peshawar, Pakistan suggest that some techniques for making beads and other ornaments from lapis lazuli have not changed over the millennia.
Preliminary Report on Excavations at the Late Palaeolithic Occupation Site at Baghor I Locality
A Preliminary Report on the site of Baghor I, located almost at the base of the Kaimur escarpment some 4km north-east of, Maraoli village, Sidhi District, India.