Mehrgarh
Mehergarh · Merhgarh
Neolithic to Early Bronze Age 7000–2600 BCE (Mehrgarh Periods I-VIII)·Pre-Harappan / Neolithic Balochistan·🇵🇰 Balochistan, Kachi Plain, Pakistan
About
About Mehrgarh
Neolithic-Bronze Age farming village and cemetery on Kachi Plain at foot of Bolan Pass, occupied 7000–2600 BCE with mud-brick houses, granaries and early dentistry evidence. Earliest South Asian village farming, herding and bead-making precursor to Indus Valley Civilization, excavated by Jean-François Jarrige 1974–2000.
Why it mattersNeolithic-Bronze Age farming village and cemetery on Kachi Plain at foot of Bolan Pass, occupied 7000–2600 BCE with mud-
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Why settlement shifted from aceramic to ceramic and then to Harappan phases
- 02Evidence of 9000-year-old dentistry – drilled molars healing?
Theories
- 01Indigenous domestication of barley and zebu cattle independent of Fertile Crescent
- 02Bead and lapis trade network prefigures Harappan exchange
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- c.7000 BCE (Period I aceramic Neolithic)
- Period
- Neolithic to Early Bronze Age 7000–2600 BCE (Mehrgarh Periods I-VIII)
- Culture
- Pre-Harappan / Neolithic Balochistan
- Purpose
- Early farming settlement, craft production and burial center antecedent to Harappan urbanism
- Excavation
- Partially excavated
c.7000 BCE (Period I aceramic Neolithic)
Initial construction
c. 1419 CE
Abandonment
On the ground
Structures & features
29.3830° N · 67.6170° E · 170 m · 3 mapped features
Mehrgarh Period I aceramic village mound
moundEarliest mud-brick structures and burials
29.3835° N · 67.6175° ECemetery MR3 Chalcolithic graves
cemeteryBead-rich burials with turquoise and lapis
29.3820° N · 67.6180° ENausharo Harappan transition mound
mound3.5 km southwest, final phase
29.3610° N · 67.5900° E
Gallery