Indus Valley
e first farming village in South Asia known to us today was established at Mehrgarh at the foot of the Baluchistan hills around 7000 BC. This early farming village culture gradually developed into regional village cultures that spread throughout the hills. By circa 3000 BC, many settlements had appeared on the Indus River plain as well. This laid the foundation for the civilization that was to follow. Early farming village cultures developed throughout the Baluchistan hills after 7000 BC. Situated geographically between the Iranian plateau and the Indus plain, the area is a natural zone for interaction between the two regions, and evidence for cultural influence from the West is found even in these early settlements. Mehrgarh is located at the foot of the Baluchistan hills on the Kachi plain southeast of Quetta, situated strategically near the Bolan Pass. Consisting of four mounds, the site was excavated by the French team for eleven seasons between 1974 and 1985. The habitation of the site has been divided into seven periods, the first being the Pre-Pottery Neolithic Period that dates to circa 7000 BC or even earlier.
