THE MESOLITHIC SETTLEMENT OF SINDH (PAKISTAN): NEW .
THE MESOLITHIC SETTLEMENT OF SINDH (PAKISTAN):NEW EVIDENCE FROM THE KHADEJI RIVER COURSEPaolo BIAGI*AbstractThe surveys carried out by the Italian Archaeological Mission in the Thar Desert (Upper Sindh, Pakistan), and thestudy of the chipped stone assemblages collected by the late Professor A. R. Khan on the Mulri Hills (Karachi),have contributed to the definition of the characteristics of the Mesolithic assemblages of this region of the IndianSubcontinent. At present two important groups of sites are known whose distribution covers the two aforementionedterritories. In the Thar Desert, east of the caravan town of Thari, the sites are located inside depressions betweenthe highest sand dunes that surround old freshwater basins. East of Karachi many sites have been found in theMulri Hills, a small elevation rich in springs, between the Malir and Layari Rivers both flowing into the ArabianSea, some 15 kms to the south. Preliminary surveys carried out along the banks of the Khadeji River have shownthat Mesolithic sites existed also along this watercourse. An AMS date obtained from a marine bivalve collectedfrom site KDJ-1 yielded a late ninth millennium BP result. This paper describes and discusses the Khadeji RiverMesolithic sites recovered by Professor A. R. Khan in the 1970s in the general framework of the new discoveriesmade in Sindh.the microburin technique, were known in Indiasince the end of the 19th century (Carleyle1883; Black 1892; Smith 1906). They weregenerically attributed to the beginning of theHolocene just a few decades later (see Gordon1950; Todd 1950; Misra 1985).1. IntroductionThis paper presents and discusses the resultsof the research carried out during the last thirtyyears by the Italian Archaeological Mission onthe Mesolithic settlement of Sindh. Researchon the topic was first introduced by the lateProfessor A. R. Khan in the 1970s (Khan 1979a).His surveys were carried out mainly in LowerSindh, within a radius of ca. 40 km aroundKarachi, more precisely between the coursesof the Malir, in the east, and the Hab Rivers,in the west. His geoarchaeological project ledto the discovery of an impressive number ofarchaeological sites, attributed to differentperiods, from the Acheulian Palaeolithic to theIndus and Kulli Bronze Ages. Unfortunatelyonly a small part of his collection has beenpublished (Khan 1979b: 22), and very littlehas been left to us of the original notes he tookduring fieldwork.However, despite the many sites known todate, the absolute chronology of the Mesolithicof the Indian Subcontinent is still greatlydebated (Lukacs et al. 1996). Many of theavailable radiocarbon dates are unreliable,the chronological sequence of the Mesolithicperiod controversial, and the periodization of itsassemblages badly defined (Sosnowska 2010:Table 1; Misra 2013: 181–182). Moreover,the absence of Mesolithic finds all over wideterritories of India is difficult to explain(Sosnowska 2010: 100)Commander K. R. U. Todd discovered the firstMesolithic site of Lower Sindh in the 1930s.He collected a small chipped stone industrywith trapezoidal microliths along the banks ofthe Layari River inside Karachi Country GolfClub (Todd & Paterson 1947; Allchin 1985:131; Biagi 2004). Although the site was laterBefore Professor A. R. Khan’s surveys almostnothing was known of the Mesolithic period inSindh (Gordon 1958; Allchin et al. 1978: 99).Blade and bladelet assemblages characterisedby geometric microliths, often obtained –––––––Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, Department of Asian and North African Studies, Ca’ Cappello, San Polo2035, I-30125 Venezia (Italy). E-mail: pavelius@unive.it*59
Paolo BiagiMulri Hills (RHR-3bis: GrA-66631: 7045 45BP) (see Fig. 2). The chipped stone assemblagefrom the latter site is quite interesting. It isrepresented mainly by microlithic lunatesmanufactured with the microburin technique,and a few microlithic backed points, a few ofwhich obtained by bipolar retouch (Biagi 2003–2004: Fig. 13, nn. 12–22).destroyed by the intensive urbanization of thearea, his discovery was the first to show thatHolocene hunter-gatherers settled along thebanks of a watercourse flowing down to thenorthern Arabian Sea coast.The discoveries made by Professor A. R. Khanin the 1970s confirmed the presence of LatePalaeolithic and Mesolithic sites both alongthe banks of perennial rivers and streams, andclose to freshwater springs. This is the casefor the chert scatters he discovered along theMol, Khadeji, Malir and other river valleys,the Mulri Hills, before Karachi UniversityCampus, as well as Rehri, along the bank ofKadiro Creek (Khan 1979b). Despite the factthat unfortunately Professor A. R. Khan neverrecorded the precise location of the sites hediscovered, he has provided us with quite aninteresting and detailed map of his finds, fromwhich the general distribution of the Mesolithicsites can be summarily, though not preciselyreconstructed.2. The Khadeji River site KDJ-1 andits chronologyIn his seminal volume on the geomorphologyand prehistory of Lower Sindh and Las Bela(Balochistan), Professor A. R. Khan reportsthe presence of many prehistoric sites alongthe banks of the rivers that flow from KohistanMahal into Karachi Gulf (Khan 1979b: 11–13).Their approximate distribution is shown inTable 1 of the aforementioned paper. Accordingto his map the banks of the Thado, Bazar, Mol,Langheji, Khadeji and other rivers and streamare rich in prehistoric sites. They consist mainlyof scatters of chipped stone artefacts amongwhich are geometric microliths of differentshape and size (see Biagi 2003–2004: Fig. 17,nn. 1–21) as well as bladelet cores.The great typological and dimensionalvariability of the chipped stone implementscollected during his surveys has already beenpartly discussed. The chronological sequence ofthe assemblages has been summarily proposed,according to the characteristics of the lithiccomplexes, mainly those from the Mulri Hills,in the eastern outskirts of Karachi, from whichcome the richest complexes so far discovered inSindh (Biagi 2003–2004).The distribution map of Fig. 1 shows that allthe aforementioned rivers and streams convergeinto the Malir River that flows across the easternoutskirts of Karachi. Even more interesting isthe discovery of dense concentrations of Late(Upper) Palaeolithic and Mesolithic sites onthe Mulri Hills. At present they are the mostimportant area of Lower Sindh from which sitesof the two periods have been discovered. TheMulri Hills are located at the eastern outskirtsof Karachi, just in front of Karachi UniversityCampus. They consist of limestone terraces richin freshwater sources that spring out of severaleast-west oriented faults (Zaidi et al. 1999).Small, perennial streams originate from thesesprings that in turn flow into the Malir Riverand reach the Arabian Sea at Ghizri Creek, ca.15 km to the south-southwest (Fig. 2). All thesedata remark the important role played by theMalir River around the end of the PleistoceneThe oldest radiocarbon date obtained from theMulri Hills, shows that the terrace was settledat least since the second half of the eighthmillennium BP (GrA-63863: 7320 40 BPfrom a single specimen of Terebralia palustrismangrove shell collected from the surface of siteMH-15), though the typological characteristicsof some of the assemblages recovered from thehilltop would suggest quite an older date, to theend of the Late (Upper) Palaeolithic for somesites (Biagi 2017). Interestingly a comparabledate comes from another T. palustris shellscatter collected at Rehri, a village facingKadiro Creek, ca. 15 km south-southeast of the60
The Mesolithic Settlement of Sindh (Pakistan)Fig. 1. Distribution map of the prehistoric sites discovered by Professor A. R. Khan during his 1970sgeoarchaeological surveys. The Indus Civilisation settlements are underlined (after Khan 1979b: Table 1)and the beginning of the Holocene, as the mainwatercourse of the region.X-marked on his unpublished map (Fig. 3). Justa few sites were summarily described in his fieldnotes, handwritten on paper bags inside whichhe stored the finds collected during the surveys.The study of the chipped stone assemblagesrecovered by Professor A. R. Khan during his1970s surveys around Karachi has confirmed thepresence of Mesolithic scatters of chipped stoneartefacts also along the Khadeji River course.Unfortunately all the sites he discovered wereimprecisely recorded, unnumbered, and simplyThe rediscovery of one of A. R. Khan’s sitesalong the left (southern) bank of the KhadejiRiver, close to its confluence into the Mol,is unique for its importance. The site KDJ-1was revisited in January 2014. It is located61
Paolo BiagiFig. 2. Distribution map of the Late (Upper) Palaeolithic and Mesolithic sites discovered east of Karachiaccording to the field notes of Professor A. R. Khan. Note the concentration of sites on the Mulri Hillsin the upper, right square (drawing by P. Biagi)Fig. 3. Distribution map of the sites discovered by Professor A. R. Khan, north of the Malir River course (dots),Amilano and Gazkal (squares) (redrawn by P. Biagi from an unpublished original mapof the aforementioned author)62
The Mesolithic Settlement of Sindh (Pakistan)though atypical microlithic point with tracesof impact fractures (B. A. Voytek pers. comm.2016). The collection includes also a few smallpotsherds of undefined cultural attribution.at the eastern edge of a small village. Moreprecisely it lies on an oval-shaped limestoneterrace that runs parallel to the river, at thealtitude of ca. 115 m. Its precise location is25 02’15.85”N-67 25’14.90”E (Figs. 4 and 5).The chipped stone assemblage collected fromits surface consists of 50 slightly patinatedand weathered chert artefacts of brown toreddish brown colour. They are represented by1 microbladelet core, 1 core fragment, 1 longend scraper with traces of wear along one ofthe sides, 1 lateral side scraper and 1 probable,One fragment of a large, unidentifiable marinebivalve was collected from the site’s surfaceand AMS-dated to 8275 45 BP (KDJ-1: GrA63862). This result is ca. one thousand yearsolder than those obtained from the Mulri Hills(Biagi et al. 2018). GrA-63862 is the oldestradiocarbon date at present available fromFig. 4. KDJ-1: location of site along the left (southern) terrace of the Khadeji River at its confluencewith the Mol (drawing by P. Biagi)Fig. 5. KDJ-1: the narrow, oval terrace on which the site is located. The Khadeji River is in the background(photograph by P. Biagi)63
Paolo Biagiinland seasonal movements of the last Holocenehunter-gatherers of Lower Sindh (Khan 1979b:18).an early Holocene site of Lower Sindh. It fitswell into the range of the few ninth millenniumBP dates obtained from other Mesolithic sitesin India, namely Loteshwar (Gujarat: CAMS55902: 8170 50 BP, from charred bone), BaghorII (Madhya Pradesh: PRI-715: 8090 220 BP,from charcoal), Damdama (Uttar Pradesh:GX-20829-AMS: 8840 65 BP and GX-20827AMS: 8865 65 BP, both from human bones),and Lekhahia (Madhya Pradesh: GX-20983:8370 75 BP and GX-20984: 8000 75 BP, bothfrom human bones) (Misra 1973; Lukacs etal. 1996; Sonawane 2002; Sosnowska 2010:Tab. 1).3. Khadeji River sites discovered byProfessor A. R. Khan in the 1970sFig. 3 is a revised version of an unpublished mapdrawn by Professor A. R. Khan summarizingthe results of is 1970s surveys. Leaving apartthe Bronze Age settlements of Amilano andGazkal (Khan 1979b: 4, 22), most of the sitesare attributable to the Late (Upper) Palaeolithicand Mesolithic periods. Their distribution alongthe river banks is impressive. It indicates thatLower Sindh had been repeatedly settled in thisperiod by groups of Holocene hunter-gatherers,though nothing is known of the absolutechronology of their sites.According to the marine curve developed fromthe sea core off the Makran coast (56KA: vonRad et al. 1999; Saliège et al. 2005: Fig. 1)ca. 300 km north-west of Port Okha in Gujarat(229 27 14C years: Reimer & Reimer 2001),the calibration of GrA-63862 falls around themiddle of the 7th millennium BC (6607–6482BC at 1σ and 6670–6434 BC at 2σ respectively).It is roughly 3–4 centuries more recent than thedates obtained from charcoal and charred bonefrom Loteshwar and Baghor II in India (seeabove).Some of the chipped stone assemblages fromLangheji, Mol and Khadeji River courseswere studied by the present author for the firsttime in 2003. At present, only two KhadejiRiver assemblages are kept in the Museum ofPrehistory and Palaeogeography, Departmentof Geography, Karachi University, organised byProfessor A. R. Khan to store his collections.According to the field notes that he left to us,the first site is Khadeji Gorge 1 (Fig. 7, nn. 1–8),the second Khadeji Left Bank that we knowwas discovered on May 28th, 1970 (Fig. 6).Though their precise location in unknown, thedifferences between the assemblages from thetwo sites is striking from both typological anddimensional points of view. The first consists ofa few microlithic tools among which are lunates,backed points and one microburin; the secondis represented mainly by large trapezoidalgeometrics of transversal arrowhead type,obtained from large blades or flakelets, withoutmicroburin technique, that show variabletypological characteristics and shapes. The toolsare of brown colour (7.5YR5/4) non-patinatedchert, possibly of Ongar provenance. As far aswe know, the distribution of this specific typeof large trapezoidal geometrics is limited to theregion around Karachi, the Malir River and itsaffluents, though one single specimen has beenMoreover, the KDJ-1 result confirms that wellbefore the beginning of the Atlantic, groups ofearly Holocene hunter-gatherers settled in theregion. We can suggest that they seasonallymoved from the rich mangrove environmentsflourishing along the northern coast of theArabian Sea towards the interior, following thecourses of perennial rivers and their affluents.These suggestions are in agreement with thenegative δ13C value (-4.44) of the AMS-datedKDJ-1 marine bivalve. It falls into the valuesone would expect from a mangrove shellsample, which is quite lower than those yieldedby specimens grown in a marine environment.The presence of marine shells from some sitesof the interior, among which are those locatedalong the courses of the Mol and KhadejiRivers, had already been reported by ProfessorA. R. Khan. He was also the first to suggestthat their presence helped follow the coastal/64
The Mesolithic Settlement of Sindh (Pakistan)Fig. 6. Khadeji Left Bank: the chipped stone tools, mainly characterised by large trapeze retouched from bladesand flakelets. The small circle indicates the butt (drawings by P. Biagi, inking by G. Almerigogna)characterised by assemblages with trapezes,and good palaeoenvironmental results (Gupta1972; Sonawane 2002; Biagi et al. 2018).recovered from the surface of Shah Husein(JSH), south west of Thatta. The specimenfrom site JSH-1 was found in association witha few Oyster shells, one specimen of whichwas AMS-dated to 5325 40 BP (GrA-45180)(Biagi 2010: 10). This type of large trapezesare not known from Las Bela in Balochistanin the west (Biagi et al. 2018), and Gujarat, inthe east (Sonawane 2002), both regions fromwhich we have a reasonable number of sitesSimilar observations can be made for the fourassemblages from Langheji (Langheji 2: Fig. 7,nn. 9–43, Langheji 7B, Langheji 8: Fig. 7, nn.53–62, and Langheji 8a: Fig. 7, nn. 44–52).The chipped stone tools from these sites showvery different typological and dimensional65
Paolo BiagiFig. 7. Khadeji Gorge 1: nn. 1–8; Langheji 2: nn. 9–43; Langheji 8a: nn. 44–52, and Langheji 8: nn. 53–62.Chipped stone tools (drawings by P. Biagi, inking by G. Almerigogna)tools among which are 2 large trapezes and 2curved points. Langheji 8 includes both lunatesand isosceles trapezoidal geometrics obtainedwith the microburin technique, while that fromLangheji 8a consists of both microlithic lunatesand larger tools, among which are large trapezescharacteristics. The four Langheji industries aremost probably to be attributed to different periodsof Mesolithic occupation. The assemblagefrom Langheji 2 is characterised by microlithiclunates obtained with the microburin technique.That from Langheji 7B is composed of only 666
The Mesolithic Settlement of Sindh (Pakistan)similar to those from Khadeji Left Bank, andone curved backed point.Hills that consists of a few thousand artefacts(Biagi 2003–2004: Fig. 5 and Fig. 8).The observations reported above show that thebanks of the two rivers were settled in differentperiods of the Mesolithic. Apart from the caseof KDJ-1, their chronology cannot be definedbecause of the absence of radiocarbon dates.As far as we know, the distribution of largetrapezoidal geometrics is restricted to thecoastal zone of Lower Sindh and its closeinterior. Their chronology is difficult to define,and their manufacture technology differs fromthat of the other trapezoidal Mesolithic tools ofthe region. They have been obtained from largeblanks, and their bulb is lateral to the functionaledge. Some have been obtained by bipolarretouch, which contrasts with the abrupt, directretouch commonly employed for the productionof Mesolithic geometric microliths. Otherspecimens show a complementary retouchalong the short edge.4. DiscussionMost of the sites discovered by Professor A.R. Khan along the Khadeji, Mol and LanghejiRiver banks, fall into the general picture alreadydescribed for the Mesolithic period of LowerSindh. The new AMS date from KDJ-1 is theoldest currently available for a Mesolithicsite of Pakistan, and one of the oldest of theentire Indian Subcontinent (Misra 2013: 181–182). It shows that Lower Sindh was alreadysettled around the beginning of the Holoceneby communities of hunter-gatherers, whoseasonally exploited the mangrove swampsflourishing along the northern coast of theArabian Sea (Fig. 8).Themorphological,technologicalanddimensional characteristics of the trapezoidalgeometrics of Pakistan are of basic importancefor the definition of their distribution pattern,chronology, manufacturing technique, andfunction. According to the available data theproblems related with these important tools canbe summarised as follows:In Upper Sindh, Mesolithic sites are known onlyfrom the Thar Desert lake region of the caravantown of Thari. This scarcity of finds around thisregion is most probably due to our insufficientarchaeological knowledge of the territory, andthe absence of systematic surveys south andnorth of Thari. The Thar Desert Mesolithic toolsare produced from Rohri Hills chert, whoseprecise exploitation source is still unknown.The typological and dimensional characteristicsof the Thar Desert Mesolithic tools, geometricsin particular, differ from those of Lower Sindh.Most sites yielded isosceles trapezes withoblique, straight truncations, lunates are absent,and microburins are very rare (Biagi 2008: 80).Large trapezes of Khadeji Left Bank type areabsent, and also cores are different from botha typological and dimensional point of view.This latter difference is easy to observe in thelarge collection of subconical and prismaticmicrobladelet cores from site MH-12, the largestLate Mesolithic chipped stone assemblagerecovered by Professor A. R. Khan in the Mulri1) Trapezoidal geometrics of different typeand size are typical of a few aspects of the(Late) Mesolithic and Early Neolithic of bothSindh and Balochistan. While in most casesthe assemblages from Sindh are undoubtedlyattributable to the Mesolithic (f.i. MH-12 inthe Karachi region [Biagi 2003–2004: Figs.8–10] as are some of those from the Thar Desert[see GNR-4 and JS-1 for instance: Biagi &Veesar 1998–1999: Fig. 5 and Fig. 9]), thosefrom Balochistan come from Early Neolithicaceramic (?) shell middens discovered along thecoast of Las Bela (Biagi et al. 2012; Biagi 2013)and the aceramic Neolithic village of Mehrgarhalong the right (western) bank of the
the absence of Mesolithic fi nds all over wide territories of India is diffi cult to explain (Sosnowska 2010: 100) Commander K. R. U. Todd discovered the fi rst Mesolithic site of Lower Sindh in the 1930s. He collected a small chipped stone industry with trapezoidal microliths along the banks of the Layari River inside Karachi Country Golf
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only parallels can be extended to the microlithic sites of Rajastan and Gujarat, in India, a few of which consist of radiocarbon-dated, stratified settlements. Preface During the last thirty years, our knowledge of the Mesolithic of Sindh has greatly increased, thanks to the new discoveries made in the Thar
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