Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

contains many of the oldest archaeological discoveries of the world. The country is home to many

archaeological site An archaeological site is a place (or group of physical sites) in which evidence of past activity is preserved (either prehistoric or historic or contemporary), and which has been, or may be, investigated using the discipline of archaeology an ...

s dating from

Lower Paleolithic The Lower Paleolithic (or Lower Palaeolithic) is the earliest subdivision of the Paleolithic or Old Stone Age. It spans the time from around 3 million years ago when the first evidence for stone tool production and use by hominins appears in ...

period to

Mughal empire The Mughal Empire was an early-modern empire that controlled much of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries. Quote: "Although the first two Timurid emperors and many of their noblemen were recent migrants to the subcontinent, the d ...

. The earliest known archaeological findings belong to the

Soanian The Soanian culture is a prehistoric technological culture from the Siwalik Hills in the Indian subcontinent. Quote: “Soanian and Soanian‐like assemblages are known throughout the entire Siwalik or Sub‐ Himalayan region, from Pakistan to n ...

culture from the

Soan Valley The Soan River ( ur, ), also referred to as the Swan, Sawan, or Sohan, is a river in Punjab, Pakistan. Location and geography The Soan River is a stream in the Pothohar or North Punjab region of Pakistan, and drains much of the water of Potho ...

, near modern-day

Islamabad Islamabad (; ur, , ) is the capital city of Pakistan. It is the country's ninth-most populous city, with a population of over 1.2 million people, and is federally administered by the Pakistani government as part of the Islamabad Capital T ...

. Soan Valley culture is considered as the best known Palaeolithic culture of Central Asia. The

Mehrgarh Mehrgarh (; ur, ) is a Neolithic archaeological site (dated ) 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, Ka ...

culture was amongst the first cultures 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 Harappa (; Urdu/ pnb, ) is an archaeological site in Punjab, Pakistan, about 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 mode ...

and

Mohenjo-daro Mohenjo-daro (; sd, موئن جو دڙو'', ''meaning 'Mound of the Dead Men';Indus Valley civilization 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&n ...

(c 2500 - 1900 BCE). The earliest evidence of civilization in Pakistan can be found on the west banks of the Bolan River and the plains of Kachhi at Mehrgarh. Artifacts found in a 1979 excavation by the Pakistan Archaeology department and a team of French archaeologists can be dated back to 7000 BC. They were able to divide the Mehrgarh culture into three categories: Mehrgarh Period I- 7000 to 5500 BC, was an aceramic settlement with primitive means of agriculture and livestock. They lived in simple mud buildings and buried their dead with many elaborate goods. Mehrharn Period II- 5500 to 4800 BC, was a ceramic settlement that showed strong evidence of having manufacturing activity such as copper and stone drills and more technological kilns. The amount of riches buried with the dead decreased over time. Mehrgarn Period III- 4800 to 3500 BC, many similarities to Period II. Mehrharn Period IV- 2600 to 2000 BC, much of the city was abandoned as the Indus Valley civilization was being born and its inhabitants migrated there. Twenty miles north of Islamabad the ancient city of Taxila can be found. Taxila, also known as the city of stones, thrived between the years of 518 BC and 600 AD, and in its prime was one of the most flourishing civilizations between the Indus and Jhelum rivers. Alexander the Great led troops through Taxila in 326 BC and he claimed it as part of his vast kingdom until it was conquered by the Mauryan Empire in 300 BC. After the fall of the Mauryan Empire, Taxila was taken back by followers of Alexander in 190 BC. Taxila owed much of its success to the fact that it was located at the intersection of the three major trade routes of India and Central and Western Asia. Archaeology in Pakistan is conducted under the direction of Department of Archaeology and Museums (DOAM) of Ministry of Heritage and National Integration of Pakistan.Department of Archaeology and Museums (DOAM)

Bibliography

* Zahir, Muhammad; Gandhara Grave Culture and Pakistani Archaeologists: The Pitfalls and Challenges of Traditional Archaeology ; Puratatva, Journal of the Indian archeological society, 2020 (Number 50)

References

{{Commons category, Archaeology in Pakistan History of Pakistan Archaeological sites in Pakistan