Figure 12.29 Recumbent bull from Lothal (after Rao 1985a)
A Mesopotamian-Type Figurine from Shahr-i Sokhta
There is a very interesting figurine from Shahr-i Sokhta (figure 12.30).60 The figurine is of a woman with a prominent nose and almond-shaped eyes. Her hair is in a large bun at the back of her head. She is shown carrying a basket or a pot on her head. Her left arm is raised, balancing this object, as though she is walking. Her right arm lays across her lower chest, just below the breasts. The pose of this woman is one with clear Mesopotamian parallels associated with building activity, especially foundation deposits.61 Such figurines have a long chronology in Mesopotamia from the early third millennium into the second, so the Shahr-i Sokhta figurine is not out of place in this regard. It is interesting, but not out of place, to think that on the eastern end of the Iranian Plateau there may have been people who incorporated ideological aspects of Mesopotamian building practices into their structures.
THE MATERIAL RECORD OF CONTACT BETWEEN MESOPOTAMIA, THE GULF, AND THE INDUS CIVILIZATION: A SUMMARY
There is an uneven quality to the material record of Indus—Mesopotamian contacts. The Mesopotamian archaeological record is far richer in terms of documenting this phenomenon than is the Indus. While there are good examples of Indus script in the west, the Greater Indus region has yet to produce a convincing example of cuneiform script. A few of the objects in Mesopotamia and the gulf are convincing imports. The Harappan unicorn seal impression from Tell Umma is a good example of this type.62 But many other things are more debatable: the “cushion” seals from Tell Brak, Tepe Sialk, and Harappa, for example. Some of the material is even derivative, not quite Mesopotamian, nor are they Indus: the cylinder seals from Mohenjo-daro and Kalibangan, for example. This lack of balance is probably best explained by looking to the “invisible” exports (grain, cloth, leather, fish, etc.) that Mesopotamia is known to have traded.63
INTERACTION BETWEEN CENTRAL ASIA, BACTRIA, EASTERN IRAN, AND THE INDUS CIVILIZATION
Many of the same products that found their way into the Dilmun trade are a part of a more northern overland trade connection linking the Indus with eastern Iran, Seistan, Afghanistan, and Central Asia. Sites such as Shahr-i Sokhta, Shahdad, Sibri, the Dashli-Sapalli complex, and Altyn Depe all shared with the Indus and Mesopotamia a role in this ancient commerce in luxury goods.64
Ancient Turan
Parts of northeastern Iran, Turkmenistan, and western Afghanistan are mentioned in the Zend-Avesta under the geographical term “Turan.” M. Tosi has used this term for a region approximately coterminous with the Avestan area that was occupied by peoples who were participants in the Middle Asian Interaction Sphere.65 Tosi’s Turan includes five subregions: (1) southern Turkmenia, (2) the Atrak Valley in the Kopet Dagh Mountains, (3) the eastern Elburz Mountains, (4) the Helmand Valley and Seistan, and (5) Bactria and Margiana (see figure 12.1).
Signs of contact between Turan and the Greater Indus region began to appear in the fourth millennium, when the motifs associated with the well-known Quetta Ware are found in both regions. This proof of contact is complemented by figurines of similar styles found in these places as well.
The Mature Harappan Site of Shortughai
The most distant of the Mature Harappan outlying settlements is Shortughai on the southern side of the Amu Darya, near its confluence with the Kokcha River.66 Shortughai A, Periods I and II, has a ceramic corpus dominated by Mature Harappan heavy red wares, some decorated in the typical Mature Harappan painted black on red slip style. In addition there are Mature Harappan—style copper— bronze artifacts, along with an Indus stamp seal with a rhinoceros.
No one is quite sure why there is an Harappan outpost on the Amu Darya. The French excavation team believes that the site was there primarily to give the Harappans access to the lapis lazuli mines of Sar-i Sang, Badakhshan.67 Jim Shaffer has suggested that the Harappans were there to procure Bactrian camels.68 I think Shortughai was there as a place of generalized trade and the locus of the “diplomacy” that was needed to promote it between Bactria and Central Asia and the Indus region. Whatever the reason, and no one really knows the answer to this question, Shortughai has an abundance of Mature Harappan material culture, and this seems to be due to direct intervention by the Indus peoples themselves.
Indus Material at Altyn Depe
Figure 12.30 Bronze female figurine from Shahr-i Sokhta (after Tosi 1983)
The well-known proto-urban site of Altyn Depe in Turkmenia has evidence of contact with the Indus Civilization that goes beyond Quetta Ware and figurines. The first two finds of interest are two Indus-style square stamp seals (figure 12.31). These come from different components in the site, and the example with the swastika was found in a context that is probably a bit earlier than the one with the two Indus signs. But they can both be dated to circa 2500—2200 B.C. These two objects were carved in a “provincial” style, possibly at Altyn Depe itself. The swastika seal comes from the so-called Burial Chamber of Priests, where an Harappan-style gold disk bead and four ivory sticks with Indus parallels were also found (figure 12.32). There is also a flat copper—bronze blade, without a midrib (an Harappan feature), and a frying pan of the same material from Altyn Depe. The blade is a clear Mature Harappan type.69 The frying pan has a good parallel at Mohenjo-daro.70 There are also fishing hooks from Altyn Depe, with eyes to take the line; this is characteristic of Indus hooks and might be the source of another “connection.”71
Figure 12.31 Two Indus-style stamp seals from Altyn Depe, the “eagle seal” from Harappa, and a comparable example from Gonur Tepe in Central Asia (after Masson 1988, Vats 1941)
Figure 12.32 Gold disk bead and ivory sticks from Altyn Depe similar to Indus types (after Masson 1988)
Excavations at Gonur Depe in Margiana have produced other objects that recall the Indus Civilization in Namazga V contexts: a bowl with pipal leaves, a bull’s head of composite design, and Indus-type stick dice (figure 12.33).72
Figure 12.33 Indus-type artifacts from Gonur Depe (after Sarianidi 1998)
Finally, there is a platform with a “temple” on its summit at Altyn Depe (figure 12.34). There are clear architectural parallels between this structure and the Temple at Mundigak (Period IV, c. 2700—2300 B.C.).73
Figure 12.34 Platform with a “temple” from Altyn Depe (after Masson 1988)
The Fullol Hoard
There is a hoard from a place called Sai Hazara in northeastern Afghanistan.74 It was first published as “Kosh Tapa” but is more familiarly known today as “Fullol Tapa.” In September 1966 authorities of the Afghan government confiscated five gold and twelve silver vessels, almost all of them fragmentary. No one knows for sure, but the villagers who held the vessels said that they had come from Fullol Tapa. The Fullol hoard consists of the following.
There is one gold vessel and two in silver with the stepped cross motif. Another of the gold vessels has undulating snakes rising from the base, with heads at the rim. A fragment of a small gold bowl has two bulls in procession, one of them is bearded in the Sumerian fashion. A large gold goblet and a small silver bowl have bores in the wild. A large silver bowl has a frieze of romping bulls separated by palm trees, which could be the Mesopotamian tree of life. There is a small silver vessel finely engraved and embossed with two pairs of unhumped bulls confronting each other. The rounded bottom of this vessel is embossed with an eight-armed motif, possibly a stylized star. There is a plain gold vessel and five undecorated silver goblets (figure 12.35).
THE THIRD MILLENNIUM MIDDLE ASIAN INTERACTION SPHERE AND THE BACTRIA-MARGIANA ARCHAEOLOGICAL COMPLEX
At about 2200 B.C., patterns of interaction begin to show themselves in the eastern portions of the interaction sphere. To the north, Margiana is occupied, shifting the center of settlement to the northeast, out of the shadow of the Kopet Dagh. This shift in settlement is accompanied by the development of a new suite of artifacts, which has been called the “Bactria-Margiana Archaeological Complex,
” or the BMAC (figures 12.36 and 12.37).75
By 2000 B.C. the BMAC is a strong presence in Margiana and the Kopet Dagh. The presence of BMAC artifacts in the upper levels of Mohenjo-daro and Chanhu-daro, which date to circa 2000 B.C., seems to indicate the penetration of the BMAC peoples into the Subcontinent. There is also BMAC material in the Quetta Valley, Sibri, and Mehi, extending to Shahdad, Kinneman, and the Khurab, and the cairns near Yahya. There is little if any Indus material in the BMAC homelands (Bactria-Margiana), a shift in the earlier dynamic.
The BMAC emerges in Early Namazga VI times (c. 2000 B.C.) and endures for about 250 years, until circa 1750 B.C.76 This is a time during which the transformation of the Indus Civilization took place, with the abandonment of Mohenjo-daro and many of the other Mature Harappan sites in Sindh, the “deurbanization” of Harappa, and the emergence of the Cemetery H Culture.
Hiebert’s thesis is that the BMAC is a local development, the product of local cultural processes, probably within the large oasis of Margiana.77 This is best supported by the observation that unfinished artifacts have only been found at Margiana sites. While many of the raw materials were imported, they were fashioned into BMAC-STYLE artifacts only within the oasis. There is even support for the notion that the household, rather than specialized workshops, was the primary locus of production.
There are two phases to the BMAC. The first begins as a kind of architectural revolution in Margiana, with the constriction of towns with massive walls and circular corner bastions. The BMAC-style artifacts first occur in these contexts. Phase 2 is an iconographic revolution, with the elaboration of the artifacts and the introduction of snakes, scorpions, and boars as important new iconographic elements.78
Figure 12.35 Some material from the Follol Hoard (after Tosi and Wardak 1972)
Social identity appears to be transformed in Period 2, with the development of the shared BMAC culture. The oasis adaptation spreads to similar deltaic oases in northern Bactria and southern Bactria. The new aspects of Period 2 iconography often relate to the desert environment: snakes, scorpions, boar. Objects such as axes and mace heads, which were used earlier, are transformed into ceremonial objects. Miniature columns, staffs, and mace heads are found in new contexts, indicating perhaps that they are being reinterpreted in the oasis culture. There appears to be an emphasis on the materials of the imported stones, which leads to the deliberate juxtaposition of exotic materials, such as alabaster and steatite.
The new oasis system includes a reorganization of production to craft activities occurring within the qala and the finishing of distinctive objects on exotic materials, such as imported stone and metal. Bullae and cylinder seals are used in Period 2, indicating a sophisticated control of exchange. Sealings on ceramics may indicate control of production as well.79
The qala is a sort of manor house, characteristic of medieval Central Asia. Hiebert uses this as a model for the reconstruction of craft production during the BMAC, especially Phase 2.
There is no reason to believe that any of the peoples of the BMAC or their predecessors were speakers of an Indo-European language, let alone Vedic Sanskrit. There is a possibility that some of these peoples spoke a language or languages of this family, but a closely reasoned case let alone proof for this has never been offered. Given the contemporary critique, or deconstruction, of the concept of race, the question of them being Aryans does not arise.80
The principal assemblages of BMAC material from the Greater Indus region are discussed in the following sections.
Mohenjo-daro
BMAC materials at Mohenjo-daro are relatively plentiful. 81 There are two animal-headed pins that may be a part of this complex. There is also a small terra-cotta with a bird that has a BMAC “look” to it along with a BMAC socketed axe—adze.
There are a number of heart-shaped objects from Mohenjo-daro, including by extension the design on the pectoral with a unicorn bull and a faience plaque. Stepped-cross inlays also occur but may or may not be a part of the complex.82
Figure 12.36 Selected BMAC artifacts (after Hiebert 1994)
Small “cosmetic bottles” are a part of the BMAC, and Marshall published one from Mohenjo-daro.83
There is a silver vase from Bactria with seated men in the upper register.84 These figures are wearing a distinctive skirt in such a way that it obscures their legs. The Seated Man from L Area on the Mound of the Great Bath at Mohenjo-daro seems to replicate in three dimensions the men on the silver vessel.85 It would appear that the Seated Man from L Area is a representation of someone in Bactrian dress, possibly a Bactrian himself. Ardeleanu-Jansen has reconstructed the priest-king in this pose, which is a plausible observation.86
The BMAC material at Mohenjo-daro is late at the site, at least where it can be documented. This is fully in keeping with the chronology for the BMAC beginning at circa 2000 B.C., and the abandonment of Mohenjo-daro largely complete at circa 1900 B.C. or just a few years later. The same is true for BMAC material at Harappa.
Harappa
The BMAC material at Harappa is more restricted than at Mohenjo-daro.87 The best piece is a stepped-cross amulet with an eagle on one side. There is also an animal-headed pin. Less definitive are the stepped crosses and heart-shaped objects.
Quetta Treasury
On March 19, 1985, a contractor excavating a pit in connection with the construction of a hotel in Quetta City uncovered a single burial with funerary objects that are a part of the BMAC (figure 12.38).88 The objects include copper—bronze weapons and tools; alabaster cups and vessels, including one of the well-known circular objects (briefcases) first documented at Tepe Hissar;89 miniature stone columns, also of the Hissar III type; “scepters” of soft gray stone; “eye” beads of semiprecious stone set in gold; two small bull figurines or pendants in gold; and a gold cup embossed with running animals (either felid or canid type) above a “rope” design.
Figure 12.37 Map of sites with BMAC artifacts (after Hiebert 1994)
As a body of material, this collection of funerary objects is comparable to that from Dashli in northern Afghanistan, Sapalli Depe in southern Uzbekistan, Shahdad in eastern Iran, and the Sibri Cemetery near Mehrgarh at the foot of the Bolan Pass in Pakistan, extending as far east as Tepe Hissar. The gold cup has no close parallels that have been published.
Damb Sadaat
There is some material from Damb Sadaat, also in the Quetta Valley, that may be BMAC in origin.90 Several of the interesting callipygian figurines were found in Damb Sadaat II and III. This is the figurine type with legs molded together, slightly curved, so the figurine can sit. There are also two compartmented seals in terra-cotta; one with the stepped cross comes from Damb Sadaat III. Masses of Quetta Ware were found as well. No one is sure who made the callipygian figurines; they just occur in both Central Asia and the Indus.
Other Sites
There is other BMAC material from Sibri on the Kachi Plain, Mehrgarh VIII (South Cemetery), Chanhu-daro, Mehi, and Kulli.
A Hissar III Site in Seistan
Gudar-i Shah is a small mound in Afghan Seistan, on the Gaud-i Zirra.91 It was visited by G. Dales, whose interest in the site came from the presence of BMAC stone columns and briefcases like those from Hissar III used to trim the Muslim graves there. These had been reported in the nineteenth century by British surveyors settling the Afghan boundary, but this was the first visit by an archaeologist.
The columns and briefcases were clearly in secondary contexts, and Dales was unable to trace the location of the ancient site. But we can be assured that somewhere in the close proximity of Gudar-i Shah there is a Hissar III site, possibly a cemetery, probably with more BMAC material.
Figure 12.38 Some key objects from the Quetta Treasury (after Jarrige 1987)
Summary
Signs of interaction between the Greater Indus region and Bactria and Central Asia begin to appear with the origins of the Quetta Ware in the fourth millennium B.C. The Quetta Ware connection is expressed in a shared set of pottery mo
tifs. The principal shared motif is the stepped cross and the many variations on this pattern.
During Mature Harappan times, the interaction between the Indus and Central Asia probably intensified. The Indus outpost at Shortughai is evidence for this, as is the presence of Mature Harappan—style seals at Altyn Depe and the other Indus material culture noted previously. There is no evidence at Mature Harappan sites in the Greater Indus region for the presence of Bactrians and Central Asians prior to the BMAC. However, there is Mature Harappan material in these regions prior to circa 2000 B.C.
At 2000 B.C., the BMAC appears in Margiana, as well as in the Greater Indus region. The transformation of the Indus Civilization had already begun. Mohenjo-daro had another hundred years of occupation left, and Harappa probably the same. One might guess that the peoples of the BMAC sensed a vacuum in the Greater Indus region and moved in to fill it.
The Indus Civilization Page 40