 A mound of Amri | |
   | |
| Alternative name | Amri, Sindh |
|---|---|
| Location | Sindh, Pakistan |
| Type | Ancient settlement |
| Area | 8 hectares |
| History | |
| Founded | 3600 BC |
| Periods | Pre-Harappan, Indus Valley, Jhukar, Jhangar |
| Site notes | |
| Condition | Ghost town |
Amri is an ancient settlement in modern-day Sindh, Pakistan, that goes back to 3600 BCE. The site is located south of Mohenjo Daro on Hyderabad-Dadu Road more than 100 kilometres north of Hyderabad, Pakistan.
The earliest site of this culture is Kunal (4000 BCE) [1] in Haryana which is older than Rehman Dheri (3300 BCE). [2] The type site, the first excavated site of this type of culture is Kot Diji. [3] Rehman Dheri, which was considered oldest example of this culture, is now the second oldest example of this culture after Kunal was excavated and found to be older than Rehman Dher with similar older cultural artifacts then the Rehman Dheri. [1]
Kot Diji and Amri are close to each other in Sindh, they earlier developed indigenous culture which had common elements, later they came in contact with Harappan culture and fully developed into Harappan culture. Earliest examples of artifacts belonging to this culture were found at Rehman Dheri, however, later excavations found the oldest example of this culture at Kunal. These are cultural ancestor to site at Harappa. These sites have pre-Harappan indigenous cultural levels, distinct from the culture of Harappa, these are at Banawali (level I), Kot Diji (level 3A), Amri (level II). Rehman Dheri also has a pre Kot Diji phase (RHD1 3300-28 BCE) which are not part of IVC culture. Kot Diji has two later phases that continue into and alongside Mature Harappan Phase (RHDII and RHDII 2500-2100 BCE). Fortified towns found here are dated as follows. [3] [1] [4] [5] [6]
Prehistoric Amri-Nal culture is attributed to the dual typesites of Amri and Nal.
This site had multi-level structures, although it was never a big city. [4]
Situated near the foothills of Kirthar Mountains, this was an important earlier urban center in Lower Sindh. Amri is close to Balochistan where development of earlier farming communities from 6000 BC to 4000 BC ultimately led to urbanization.
The ancient mounds of 8 hectares on the west bank of Indus River have been extensively excavated. The earliest phase was a fortified town that flourished from 3600 to 3300 BC, and belonged to the Pre-Harappan stage of the Indus Valley civilization. Amri is dated after Rehman Dheri.
The pottery discovered here had its own characteristics and is known as Amri Ware. Sohr Damb (Nal) is a related site in Balochistan to the west of Amri. Their pottery is sometimes collectively described as 'Amri-Nal ware'.
Like other Pre Harappa towns, no writings were found at this site. Evidence indicates widespread fire at the town around 2500 BCE.
In period II (ca. 2750-2450 BC), more and more elements of Indus Valley culture appear.
Period III (ca. 2450-1900 BC) belongs almost entirely to Indus Valley culture.
Period IV (ca. 1900-1300 BC) is marked by the mingling of cultural traditions. Elements of the Jhukar culture appear, and co-exist with the last phase of the Indus Valley culture. [9] Later, the elements of Jhangar culture appear.
Period V is Muslim and dated much later.
Based on the evidence from this site, Indus culture was probably not developed directly from Amri culture. Also, at least at this location, rather than suddenly being replaced by the Amri culture, there was a co-existence of both cultures.
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 civilisation 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 Balochistan, not far from Iran.
The Indus Valley Civilisation (IVC), also known as the Indus Civilisation, was a Bronze Age civilisation in the northwestern regions of South Asia, lasting from 3300 BCE to 1300 BCE, and in its mature form 2600 BCE to 1900 BCE. Together with ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia, it was one of three early civilisations of the Near East and South Asia, and of the three, the most widespread, its sites spanning an area from much of Pakistan, to northeast Afghanistan, and northwestern India. The civilisation flourished both in the alluvial plain of the Indus River, which flows through the length of Pakistan, and along a system of perennial monsoon-fed rivers that once coursed in the vicinity of the Ghaggar-Hakra, a seasonal river in northwest India and eastern Pakistan.
Rakhigarhi or Rakhi Garhi is a village and an archaeological site belonging to the Indus Valley civilisation in Hisar District of the northern Indian state of Haryana, situated about 150 km northwest of Delhi. It was part of the mature phase of the Indus Valley Civilisation, dating to 2600-1900 BCE. It was among the largest settlements of the ancient civilisation, though most of it remains unexcavated. The site is located in the Ghaggar River plain, some 27 km from the seasonal Ghaggar river. Initial excavations at the site happened in the 1960s, followed by further excavations in the late 1990s, however more sustained excavations have taken place in the past decade.
The ancient site at Kot Diji was the forerunner of the Indus Civilization. The occupation of this site is attested already at 3300 BCE. The remains consist of two parts; the citadel area on high ground ), and outer area. The Pakistan Department of Archaeology excavated at Kot Diji in 1955 and 1957.
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.
Several periodisations are employed for the periodisation of the Indus Valley Civilisation. While the Indus Valley Civilisation was divided into Early, Mature, and Late Harappan by archaeologists like Mortimer Wheeler, newer periodisations include the Neolithic early farming settlements, and use a stage–phase model, often combining terminology from various systems.
Amri–Nal culture is attributed to Amri archaeological sites in Sindh and Balochistan provinces of Pakistan. It flourished in the 4th and 3rd millennia BC. The dual typesites are Amri and Sohr Damb area in Naal, Balochistan.
Pottery in the Indian subcontinent has an ancient history and is one of the most tangible and iconic elements of Indian art. Evidence of pottery has been found in the early settlements of Lahuradewa and later the Indus Valley Civilisation. Today, it is a cultural art that is still practiced extensively in the subcontinent. Until recent times all Indian pottery has been earthenware, including terracotta.
Banawali is an archaeological site belonging to Indus Valley civilization period in Fatehabad district, Haryana, India and is located about 120 km northeast of Kalibangan and 16 km from Fatehabad. Banawali, which is earlier called Vanavali, is on the left banks of dried up Sarasvati River. Comparing to Kalibangan, which was a town established in lower middle valley of dried up Sarasvathi River, Banawali was built over upper middle valley of Sarasvati River.
Bhirrana, also Bhirdana and Birhana, is an archaeological site, located in a small village in the Fatehabad district of the north Indian state of Haryana. Bhirrana's earliest archaeological layers predates the Indus Valley civilisation times, dating to the 8th-7th millennium BCE. The site is one of the many sites seen along the channels of the seasonal Ghaggar river, thought by some to be the Rigvedic Saraswati river.
Siswal is a village in Hisar district, Haryana, India. It located 28 km from Hisar city. It is a site of Chalcolithic age. It is a typesite for Siswal culture, dating from around 3800 BC, also known as Sothi–Siswal culture.
Bara Culture was a culture that emerged in the eastern region of the Indus Valley civilization around 2000 BCE. It developed in the doab between the Yamuna and Sutlej rivers, hemmed on its eastern periphery by the Shivalik ranges of the lower Himalayas. This territory corresponds to modern-day Punjab, Haryana and Western Uttar Pradesh in North India. Older publications regard the Baran pottery to have initially developed independently of the Harappan culture branch of the Indus Valley Civilization from a pre-Harappan tradition, although the two cultures later intermingled in locations such as Kotla Nihang Khan and Bara, Punjab. According to Akinori Uesugi and Vivek Dangi, Bara pottery is a stylistic development of Late Harappan pottery. In the conventional timeline demarcations of the Indus Valley Tradition, the Bara culture is usually placed in the Late Harappan period.
Mitathal is a village and Indus Valley civilization (IVC) Archaeological sites in the Bhiwani tehsil of the Bhiwani district in the Indian state of Haryana. Part of Hisar division, it lies 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) north of the district headquarters Bhiwani and 249 kilometres (155 mi) from the state capital Chandigarh. As of the 2011 Census of India, the village had 1,448 households with a total population of 7,434 of which 4,002 were male and 3,432 female.
Lohari Ragho is a village and Indus Valley civilization archaeological site located in Hisar district of Haryana state in India. It has 3 separate mounds, each 1 to 1.5 km apart within the peripheral suburban zone of Rakhigarhi city cite, where artifacts belonging to Mature Harappan and Sothi-Siswal cultural period have been confirmed based on filed visits. These mounds, unprotected and under risk of encroachment and threat of obliteration, are yet to be excavated, fenced, protected or conserved.
Kunal is a pre-Harappan Indus Valley civilisation settlement located, just 30 km from Fatehabad City in Fatehabad district of Haryana state in India. Compared to other IVC sites, such as cities like Rakhigarhi and towns like Kalibangan, Kunal site was a village. Excavation at Kunal show 3 successive phases of Pre-Harappan indigenous culture on the Saraswati river who also traded with Kalibanga and Lothal. Kunal, along with its other contemporary sites Bhirrana and Rakhigarhi on Sarasvati-Ghaggar river system, is recognised as the oldest Pre-Harappan settlement, with Kunal being an older cultural ancestor to Rehman Dheri in Pakistan< which is on the Tentative List for future World Heritage Sites.
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.
Tigrana is a village and Indus Valley civilisation (IVC) archaeological sites in the Bhiwani district of Haryana state of India. It lies on the NH-709A approximately 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) north of the district headquarters town of Bhiwani.
Sohr Damb, c. 3800–2300 BC, is an archaeological site, located near Nal, in central Balochistan, Pakistan that begins before the Indus Valley civilization featuring Togau, Kili Ghul Mohammad, and Kechi Beg pottery styles. It has also been known as Naal, Balochistan, and gave its name to the prehistoric Amri-Nal culture, which is attributed to the dual typesites of Amri and Nal.
Sothi is an early archaeological site of the Indus Valley civilization dating to around 4600BCE, located in the Hanumangarh District of Rajasthan, India, at a distance of about 10 km southwest of Nohar railway station.