Dr. Biagi discusses recent finds that are casting new light on the extent of pre-Indus technology and cultures.

A detailed analysis of a rare white marble cylinder seal found at the recently discovered site of Jiroft in south-eastern Iran testifies to the multiple cultural and trade connections between the Indus civilization and its western neighbours.

"The discovery of Indus seals manufactured with non-Indus raw materials, but with tools and techniques associated with Indus productions, further supports the idea that merchants and craftsmen from the greater Indus Valley were living and working at interior settlements in the Oman peninsula."

In this article, the authors report on skeletal evidence from 2000 BCE at the site of Balathal, in Rajasthan, India, in an attempt to document the oldest evidence for leprosy. Balithal has two phases of occupation - a small occupation in the Early Historic period (cal.