Archaeology & Prehistory
Mehrgarh: earliest farming in South Asia
c. 7000 BCE onwardNeolithic communitiesMehrgarh (Balochistan)Indus / NW (now Pakistan/Afghanistan)
7,000 BCE
One of the earliest farming and herding villages in the region, with wheat, barley, cattle and mud-brick granaries.
- Dated
- 7,000 BCE
- As scholars put it
- c. 7000 BCE onward
- Originator
- Neolithic communities
- Source text
- Mehrgarh (Balochistan)
- Region
- Indus / NW (now Pakistan/Afghanistan)
- Discipline
- Archaeology & Prehistory
- Evidence
- Documented
- Confidence
- High
- Verification
- Reference-cited
Meanwhile in the West
Contemporary with early Neolithic centres in the Near East.
Fair to say
A foundational Neolithic site; some claims about its very earliest layers are debated.
Path to modern innovation
Documents the local origins of agriculture and settled life.
7,000 BCEMehrgarh: earliest farming in South Asia
2,600 BCE
1960Transmission
Precursor culture to the Indus Civilisation.
References
- 1Jarrige et al., excavations at Mehrgarh
Further reading
Corrections and additional sources: edit IND-159 on GitHub.