The Indus Valley Mystery
One of the great civilizations of the ancient world -- that of the enigmatic people and cities of the Indus Valley -- grew from roots that reach deep into the past of Pakistan and India.
Ancient Indus civilization articles which can be downloaded and read as PDF files from this site.
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
A Short History of Archaeological Discovery at Harappa
A short chronological history of archaeological discoveries made at Harappa beginning in 1826 and ending in 1990.
Indus Components in the Iconography of a White Marble Cylinder Seal from Konar Sandal South (Kerman, Iran)
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.
Regional Diversity in the Harappan World: The Evidence of the Seals
During the second half of the 3rd millennium BC, the Harappan Civilization covered an area of over one million square kilometers in South Asia, from the Afghan highlands to western India.
Iconography of the Indus Unicorn: Origins and Legacy
A detailed look at the unicorn icon on Indus objects, incorporating the latest findings, even incomplete ones like the unicorn figurines shown from Ganweriwala.
Manufacturing and trade of Asian elephant ivory in Bronze Age Middle Asia. Evidence from Gonur Depe (Margiana, Turkmenistan)
An exceptionally interesting paper that traces the path of ivory carving from the ancient Indus civilization up north to Gonur Depe in southern Turkmenistan, north of Afghanistan.
Exploiting mangroves: Environmental changes and human interference along the northern coast of the Arabian Sea (Pakistan) during the Holocene
This paper reviews the work done since the early 1970s east of Karachi along the Makran coast, containing what were once extensive mangrove areas (where salt and fresh water meet to create unique habitats).
A "Priest-King" at Shahr-i Sokhta?
"A small showcase of the Zahedan Museum keeps, among other finds, the fragmentary headless torso of a small statuette in a buff-grey limestone, with a strongly weathered surface. Without opening the showcase, I was allowed to take several pictures of the fragment, from various angles," writes the author.
New evidence for early 4th millennium BP agriculture in the Western Himalayas: Qasim Bagh, Kashmir
"The valleys of Kashmir and Swat in the Western Himalayan-Hindu Kush regions of India and Pakistan are home to an important prehistoric cultural complex beginning at around 5000 BP, loosely grouped as the “Northern Neolithic” (Coningham and Young, 2015), especially characterised by a rich agricultural tradition."