Sheri Khan Tarakai

Last updated
Sheri Khan Tarakai
Pakistan location map.svg
Archaeological site icon (red).svg
Shown within Pakistan
Location Pakistan
Region Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Coordinates 32°50′40″N70°28′08″E / 32.844444°N 70.468889°E / 32.844444; 70.468889

Sheri Khan Tarakai is an ancient settlement site located in the Bannu District of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province, Pakistan. It was occupied from approximately 5000 BC to 2500 BC. [1]

Contents

Excavations have shown that the settlement at Sheri Khan Tarakai was a small village, populated at any one time by perhaps a few hundred people who lived in mud-walled houses, some of which had stone foundations and flat roofs made of wattle and daub. [2] It is unlikely that the whole area of the identified site was occupied at one time.

Location

Rehman Dheri ceramics at the site (Bannu Basin) Rahman dheri 7.png
Rehman Dheri ceramics at the site (Bannu Basin)

Sheri Khan Tarakai is located 17 km southwest of Bannu City. [3] Bannu District makes up a part of the topographic region known as the Bannu basin, which sits adjacent to the hills of Afghanistan and Waziristan to the west and the Indus River floodplain on the east. Rehman Dheri, a contemporary site, is located about 100 km to the south, also in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province.

Excavations

The site of Sheri Khan Tarakai was discovered in 1985 by members of the Bannu Archaeological Project, [4] and it is the oldest known village settlement in the Bannu region. Archaeological excavations were carried out at the site for five seasons between 1986 and 1990.

Bannu Archaeological Project

The Bannu Archaeological Project was a collaboration involving the Pakistan Heritage Society, University College London, The British Museum, Bryn Mawr College and the University of Cambridge. The Project explored in Bannu District, North-West Frontier Province, Pakistan between 1985 and 2001. Numerous Early Historic and Later Prehistoric sites were discovered. [5]

The Project established that Sheri Khan Tarakai is actually the second oldest village farming settlement in south Asia.

Lewan settlement

Between 1995 and 2001, the project also explored the Chalcolithic site of Lewan, Bannu. [6] This site was occupied in both the Tochi-Gomal and Kot Diji phases, so it's important for understanding the rise of complex societies in the NWFP in late prehistory.

Both the radiocarbon chronology and the material assemblage indicate that Lewan was continuously occupied throughout the fourth and third millennia (4000-2000 BC). The range of industrial activities recorded here suggests that it was a village settlement comparable to those at Tarakai Qila, Tarakai Ghundai and Islam Chowki - all in Bannu Basin area. [7]

There's evidence of bead manufacture, and pottery production at the site -- similar to all other sites of this period in the Bannu basin.

Akra, Bannu

The Early Historic site of Akra, Bannu was also explored. The site covers some 80 hectares and is the largest archaeological site in the Bannu area. The site was first occupied around 2000 BC, and may have continued to be inhabited until the 11th century AD. [8]

Life at Sheri Khan Tarakai

The past inhabitants of the village used a variety of utilitarian pottery vessels that were decorated with a range of geometric and figurative motifs, [9] and it is likely that these vessels were being made from raw materials collected close to the site. [10] The stone tools (lithic artefacts) that were used at the settlement were also produced from raw materials sourced close by, [11] and the majority of small-find objects, which include a diverse range of terracotta human figurines, were predominantly made from locally available materials. [12] The range of finished pottery vessels, lithic tools and small finds, and the associated production debris that was discovered, indicate the range of craft activities being carried out on-site, including pottery firing, bone working, lithic flaking, stone grinding and bead drilling. The diverse range of terracotta figurines and the motifs depicted on many of the ceramic vessels suggest that the lives of the inhabitants were enlivened by a rich iconographic tradition.

The inhabitants of Sheri Khan Tarakai deployed a range of subsistence strategies, including the cultivation of barley and wheat, the management of domestic sheep, goat, and cattle, the collection of a range of wild plant and wood species, and the hunting of a wide variety of wild animals. [13] The abundance of grinding artifacts at the site and the presence of rachis internodes and chaff in some deposits suggests that several phases of grain processing were probably taking place on-site. Few young domestic animals appear to have been slaughtered at the site, and the fact that most lived on into adulthood suggests that they were primarily used as a source of meat, but possibly also to provide secondary products such as wool and milk, as well as work and dung. [13] The location of the settlement would have allowed use of the run-off from the ephemeral torrents that flowed from the hills of Waziristan to the west of the site, and the inhabitants are likely to have engaged in some type of flood-water farming. Storage structures imply that people might have lived at the site throughout the year, but there is also evidence that either a proportion of the population or other people that they were interacting with, were engaging in some form of transhumant pastoralism.

Sheri Khan Tarakai in context

Sheri Khan Tarakai and several other contemporaneous sites in the Bannu basin and the Gomal plain present a relatively conservative cultural assemblage that shows limited technological change throughout much of the fourth millennium BC. The available dating evidence indicates that Sheri Khan Tarakai was occupied from the late fifth until the early third millennium BC. [14]

The occupation at Sheri Khan Tarakai was contemporaneous with several other important early village sites in the borderlands at the northwestern edge of South Asia, including Mehrgarh (Periods III-V), Kili Gul Mohammad (Periods III-IV), and Rana Ghundai (Periods I-II). The earliest occupation at Sheri Khan Tarakai appears to slightly predate the earliest occupation at major sites on the plains of Punjab, such as Harappa (Period Ia - Ravi phase).

In regard to ceramic fabrics, forms and decorative and surface treatment styles of Sheri Khan Tarakai, the closest parallels are found in the second phase of northern Baluchistan (the Togau phase), which is also attested at Mehrgarh Period III, and Kili Gul Mohammed III. [15]

See also

Related Research Articles

The Copper Age, also called the Chalcolithic or (A)eneolithic, is an archaeological period characterized by regular human manipulation of copper, but prior to the discovery of bronze alloys. Modern researchers consider the period as a subset of the broader Neolithic, but earlier scholars defined it as a transitional period between the Neolithic and the Bronze Age. It is also considered the first phase, of three, in the Metal Ages.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harappa</span> Archaeological site in Punjab, Pakistan

Harappa is an archaeological site in Punjab, Pakistan, about 24 km (15 mi) west of Sahiwal. The Bronze Age Harappan civilisation, now more often called the Indus Valley Civilisation, is named after the site, which takes its name from a modern village near the former course of the Ravi River, which now runs 8 km (5.0 mi) to the north. The core of the Harappan civilization extended over a large area, from Gujarat in the south, across Sindh and Rajasthan and extending into Punjab and Haryana. Numerous sites have been found outside the core area, including some as far east as Uttar Pradesh and as far west as Sutkagen-dor on the Makran coast of Baluchistan, not far from Iran.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mehrgarh</span> Neolithic archaeological site in Balochistan, Pakistan

Mehrgarh is a Neolithic archaeological site situated on the Kacchi Plain of Balochistan in Pakistan. It is located near the Bolan Pass, to the west of the Indus River and between the modern-day Pakistani cities of Quetta, Kalat and Sibi. The site was discovered in 1974 by the French Archaeological Mission led by the French archaeologists Jean-François Jarrige and his wife, Catherine Jarrige. Mehrgarh was excavated continuously between 1974 and 1986, and again from 1997 to 2000. Archaeological material has been found in six mounds, and about 32,000 artifacts have been collected from the site. The earliest settlement at Mehrgarh—located in the northeast corner of the 495-acre (2.00 km2) site—was a small farming village dated between 7000 BCE and 5500 BCE.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bannu District</span> District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in Pakistan

Bannu District is a district in Bannu Division of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in Pakistan. It was recorded as a district in 1861 during the British Raj. It is one of 26 districts that make up the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. It borders North Waziristan to the northwest, Karak to the northeast, Lakki Marwat and Bettani to the southeast, and South Waziristan to the southwest. It is represented in the provincial assembly by four MPAs.

Bannu also called Bana and Bani is a city located on the Kurram River in southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. It is the capital of Bannu Division. Bannu's residents are primarily members of the Banuchi tribe and speak Banuchi (Baniswola) dialect of Pashto which is similar to the distinct Waziristani dialect. Total 5 Tehsil in Bannu.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pushkalavati</span> Capital of ancient Gandhara in modern-day Pakistan

Pushkalavati or Pushkaravati, and later Shaikhan Dheri, was the capital of the ancient region of Gāndhāra, situated in present day's Pakistan. Its ruins are located on the outskirts of the modern city of Charsadda, in Charsadda District, in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 28 kilometres northeast of Peshawar. Its ruins are located on the banks of Swat River, near its junction with Kabul River, with the earliest archaeological remains from 1400 to 800 BCE in Bala Hisar mound. Pushkalavati became an Achaemenid regional capital around 600 BCE, and it remained an important city through to the 2nd century CE.

Rehman Dheri or sometime Rahman Dheri is a Pre-Harappan Archaeological Site situated near Dera Ismail Khan in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. This is one of the oldest urbanised centres found to date in South Asia. Dated, the site is situated 22 kilometres (14 mi) north of Dera Ismail Khan. It is on the Tentative List for future World Heritage Sites in Pakistan.

Frank Raymond Allchin, FBA was a British archaeologist and Indologist. He and his wife, Bridget Allchin, formed one of the most influential British partnerships in the post-Independence study of South Asian archaeology. Producing a large body of scholarship ranging from archaeological excavations, ethnoarchaeology as well as epigraphy and linguistics, the Allchins made their work and that of others accessible through a series of sole, joint and edited publications. Seminal works include The Birth of Indian Civilisation (1968), which was later superseded by their books The Rise of Indian Civilisation in India and Pakistan (1982) and The Archaeology of Early Historic South Asia (1995).

Muhammad Rafiq Mugal is a Pakistani archaeologist, engaged in investigating of ethnoarchaeological research in Chitral, northern Pakistan. He has been responsible for the direction, technical support and supervision for restoration and conservation of more than thirty monuments and excavated remains of the Islamic, Buddhist and Proto-historic periods, in Punjab, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Gilgit-Baltistan of Pakistan. He is currently a Professor of Archaeology and Heritage Management and the Director of Undergraduate Studies at Boston University.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Late Neolithic</span> Later part of the Neolithic period in Southwest Asia

In the archaeology of Southwest Asia, the Late Neolithic, also known as the Ceramic Neolithic or Pottery Neolithic, is the final part of the Neolithic period, following on from the Pre-Pottery Neolithic and preceding the Chalcolithic. It is sometimes further divided into Pottery Neolithic A (PNA) and Pottery Neolithic B (PNB) phases.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mundigak</span> Archeological site in Kandahar, Afghanistan

Mundigak is an archaeological site in Kandahar province in Afghanistan. During the Bronze Age, it was a center of the Helmand culture. It is situated approximately 55 km (34 mi) northwest of Kandahar near Shāh Maqsūd, on the upper drainage of the Kushk-i Nakhud River.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Irish Mesolithic</span>

Evidence of human activity during the Mesolithic period in Irish history has been found in excavations at the Mount Sandel Mesolithic site in the north of the island, cremations on the banks of the River Shannon in the west, campsites at Lough Boora in the midlands, and middens and other sites elsewhere in the country..

Adrian Nigel Goring-Morris is a British-born archaeologist and a professor at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in Israel. He completed his PhD there in 1986 and is notable for his work and discoveries at one of the oldest ritual burial sites in the world; Kfar HaHoresh. The earliest levels of this site have been dated to 8000 BC and it is located in the northern Israel, not far from Nazareth.

Avi Gopher is an Israeli archaeologist. He is a professor at the University of Tel Aviv.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Archaeological sites in Pakistan</span>

Pakistan is home to many archaeological sites dating from Lower Paleolithic period to Mughal empire. The earliest known archaeological findings belong to the Soanian culture from the Soan Valley, near modern-day Islamabad. Soan Valley culture is considered as the best known Palaeolithic culture of Central Asia. Mehrgarh in Balochistan is one of the most important Neolithic sites dating from 7000 BCE to 2000 BCE. The Mehrgarh culture was amongst the first culture in the world to establish agriculture and livestock and live in villages. Mehrgarh civilization lasted for 5000 years till 2000 BCE after which people migrated to other areas, possibly Harappa and Mohenjo-daro. Harappa and Mohenjo-daro are the best known sites from the Indus Valley civilization.

Periano Ghundai, meaning "Hill of Fairies", was an archaeological mound located in the Zhob District in Balochistan, Pakistan. The site, located 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) west of the town of Zhob, was excavated in 1924 by Sir Aurel Stein and showed great resemblance to the Harappan culture.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Akra, Bannu</span>

Akra (آکرہ) is an archaeological site in Bannu, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. It dates from the Early Historic Period.

Bannu Museum is a museum located in Bannu District, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. The museum was established by the Directorate of Archaeology and Museums, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and inaugurated in 2011 by Sayed Aqil Shah, Minister for Sports, Tourism, Archaeology, and Youth Affairs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anna Belfer-Cohen</span> Israeli archaeologist

Anna Belfer-Cohen is an Israeli archaeologist and paleoanthropologist and Professor Emeritus at the Institute of Archaeology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Belfer-Cohen excavated and studied many important prehistoric sites in Israel including Hayonim and Kebara Caves and open-air sites such as Nahal Ein Gev I and Nahal Neqarot. She has also worked for many years in the Republic of Georgia, where she made important contributions to the study of the Paleolithic sequence of the Caucasus following her work at the cave sites of Dzoudzuana, Kotias and Satsrublia. She is a specialist in biological Anthropology, prehistoric art, lithic technology, the Upper Paleolithic and modern humans, the Natufian-Neolithic interface and the transition to village life.

David Mullin is British archaeologist specialising in the study of prehistory. He has worked at the University of Worcester, Oxford Archaeology, and the University of Oxford.

References

  1. ↑ Andrew Gardner (2016), Agency Uncovered: Archaeological Perspectives on Social Agency, Power, and Being Human. Routledge. p.56
  2. ↑ Khan, F., Knox, J.R., Thomas, K.D., Petrie, C.A. & Morris, J.C. 2010. Sheri Khan Tarakai and early village life in the borderlands of north-west Pakistan, Petrie, C.A. (ed.). Bannu Archaeological Project Monographs - Volume 1, Oxbow Books, Oxford.
  3. ↑ See area map at Fourth to third millennium sites in the Bannu area. (Justin C. Morris (2002))
  4. ↑ The Bannu Archaeological Project Archived 2011-06-11 at the Wayback Machine ,
  5. ↑ The Bannu Archaeological Project (Archived)
  6. ↑ Justin C. Morris, Kenneth D. Thomas (2002), Excavations at the Later Prehistoric Site of Lewan, North-West Frontier Province, Pakistan. Papers from the Institute of Archaeology 13:94 doi : 10.5334/pia.178
  7. ↑ location map - Kurram and Tochi Valleys, Bannu Basin
  8. ↑ The Bannu Archaeological Project (Archived)
  9. ↑ Petrie, C.A., Knox, J.R., Khan, F., Thomas, K.D., Morris, J.C. & Joyner, L. 2010. Ceramic vessels from Sheri Khan Tarakai, in Petrie, C.A. (ed.). Sheri Khan Tarakai and early village life in the borderlands of north-west Pakistan, Bannu Archaeological Project Monographs - Volume 1, Oxbow Books, Oxford: 71-193.
  10. ↑ Petrie, C.A. & Morris, J.C. 2010. Ceramic and lithic production systems of the Sheri Khan Tarakai Phase, in Petrie, C.A. (ed.). Sheri Khan Tarakai and early village life in the borderlands of north-west Pakistan, Pakistan, Bannu Archaeological Project Monographs - Volume 1, Oxbow Books, Oxford: 399-406.
  11. ↑ Morris, J.C. and Khan, F. 2010. Struck lithics from Sheri Khan Tarakai, In Petrie, C.A. (Ed.). Sheri Khan Tarakai and early village life in the borderlands of north-west Pakistan, Bannu Archaeological Project Monographs - Volume 1, Oxford, Oxbow Books: 195-210
  12. ↑ Knox, J.R., Thomas, K.D., Khan, F. & Petrie, C.A. 2010. Small finds from Sheri Khan Tarakai, in Petrie, C.A. (ed.). Sheri Khan Tarakai and early village life in the borderlands of north-west Pakistan, Bannu Archaeological Project Monographs - Volume 1, Oxbow Books, Oxford: 211-303.
  13. 1 2 Thomas, K.D. and Cartwright, C. 2010. The biological remains from Sheri Khan Tarakai, In Petrie, C.A. (Ed.). Sheri Khan Tarakai and early village life in the borderlands of north-west Pakistan, Pakistan, Bannu Archaeological Project Monographs - Volume 1, Oxford, Oxbow Books: 305-342
  14. ↑ Petrie, C.A., Thomas, K.D. & Morris, J.C. 2010. Chronology of Sheri Khan Tarakai, in Petrie, C.A. (ed.). Sheri Khan Tarakai and early village life in the borderlands of north-west Pakistan, Bannu Archaeological Project Monographs - Volume 1, Oxbow Books, Oxford: 343-352.
  15. ↑ Petrie, C.A. (2013), Sheri Khan Tarakai. in Chakrabarti, D.K. and Lal, M. (eds), History of Ancient India II: Protohistoric Foundations, Vivekananda International Foundation and Aryan Books International, Delhi: 852-859 - academia.edu

Bibliography

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.