The survey carried out along the terraces of the Khadeji and Mol Rivers in December 2021, has led to the discovery of several chert artefact concentrations, which have been attributed to different prehistoric periods and cultural complexes. This paper presents the results of the survey, the distribution of the lithic findspots, and discusses their chrono-cultural attribution and significance. A few hundred metres south of the surveyed area, the two rivers conjoin to give rise to the Malir, the most important watercourse of the region, which flows into the Arabian Sea near Karachi ca. 40 km south-west. The area under discussion was surveyed by the late professor A. R. Khan of Karachi University in the 1970s. This author was the first to discover late Upper Palaeolithic and Mesolithic artefacts in Lower Sindh and to publish them. The 2021 fieldwork season has confirmed the presence of assemblages belonging to these two periods, as well as others, which are most probably to be attributed to the Neolithic and Chalcolithic periods.
ARCHAEOLOGICAL SURVEY ALONG THE KHADEJI AND MOL RIVERS (LOWER SINDH, PAKISTAN): PRELIMINARY RESULTS OF THE 2021 SEASON
Elisabetta StarniniWriting – Review & Editing
2022-01-01
Abstract
The survey carried out along the terraces of the Khadeji and Mol Rivers in December 2021, has led to the discovery of several chert artefact concentrations, which have been attributed to different prehistoric periods and cultural complexes. This paper presents the results of the survey, the distribution of the lithic findspots, and discusses their chrono-cultural attribution and significance. A few hundred metres south of the surveyed area, the two rivers conjoin to give rise to the Malir, the most important watercourse of the region, which flows into the Arabian Sea near Karachi ca. 40 km south-west. The area under discussion was surveyed by the late professor A. R. Khan of Karachi University in the 1970s. This author was the first to discover late Upper Palaeolithic and Mesolithic artefacts in Lower Sindh and to publish them. The 2021 fieldwork season has confirmed the presence of assemblages belonging to these two periods, as well as others, which are most probably to be attributed to the Neolithic and Chalcolithic periods.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
