the Omani Peninsula at this time. Second, ceramics such as the iconic black-slipped
storage jars (BSJs) from the greater Indus Valley do not appear on the Omani Peninsula
until c. 2500 – 2400 BC– for example, at Hili phase IId (Cleuziou and Méry 2002 : 291 ).
Indeed, it seems likely that the sudden rise of the Harappan Civilization between 2600
and 2500 BCis somehow related to the development of the early Umm an-Nar Culture
on the Omani Peninsula, although the exact causality of this dynamic remains
uncertain.
There are a few aspects of the Meluhhan–Magan relationship in the second half of
the third millennium BCthat are worth further comment. First, like the Jemdet Nasr/
ED I-style ceramics of the preceding Hafit period, Indus-style ceramics are found
across the entire Omani Peninsula during the Umm an-Nar period, although more
often in settlement contexts than in graves (Cleuziou and Méry 2002 : 291 ). It should
be noted, however, that the Indus-style ceramics found, including both imports (often
distinguished by their well-fired red fabric with large visible inclusions of mica) and
local imitations (with fabrics indistinguishable from the local Umm an-Nar fine wares;
see Méry 2000 : 238 ), generally come from a very limited repertoire of Harappan
ceramics (e.g., compare Méry 2000 : fig. 143 with the diversity displayed in Dales and
Kenoyer 1986 ). It has been suggested that all of the imported Indus-style pottery
probably comes from one small region (or “domain”) of the Harappan Civilization
based on the distinctive micaceous red fabric, which is actually unusual in sites of the
greater Indus Valley but does appear at Chanhu-Daro in the Sindhi Domain of the
lower Indus Valley (Cleuziou and Méry 2002 : 297 ; Méry pers. comm. 2011 ). However,
it is also possible that at least some of the Indus-style pottery came from Gujarat
(Sorath Domain), as this area (particularly the site of Lothal) shows the strongest
connections with the Persian Gulf region (see Méry and Blackman 1999 ).
The most remarkable evidence for Meluhhan influence in Magan can be found at
R’as al-Jinz, the easternmost point of the Omani Peninsula. In this area, a number of
sites have been found with significant quantities of Harappan material culture,
including HD- 1 (Reade 1990 ) and the small fishing village of R’as al-Jinz (Cleuziou and
Tosi 1989 , 2000 ). While HD- 1 and other sites near R’as al-Hadd are reported to have
the most varied Harappan repertoire on the entire Omani Peninsula (Cleuziou and
Tosi 2007 : 235 – 239 ), they remain under explored and incompletely published. Instead,
it is R’as al-Jinz that has provided the most impressive collection of Indus-related
artifacts (see Cleuziou and Tosi 2000 , 2007 : 229 – 235 , 245 – 247 ). These include not only
Harappan ceramics, but also personal ornaments, metal tools, and writing (“graffiti”).
It seems possible that people from the greater Indus Valley were actually living with the
local populations of R’as al-Hadd/R’as al-Jinz throughout the second half of the third
millennium BC, although whether they ventured into the interior of Magan or not
remains an open question.
MAGAN–MARHASHI RELATIONS?
In the preceding two sections, the evidence for Mesopotamian and Meluhhan contact
with Magan was summarized in order to look at changing patterns of socio-cultural
and/or socio-economic influence over the Persian Gulf trade in the third millennium
BC. These patterns suggest that during the first half of the third millennium, com-
petition between the Sumerian dynasties of Southern Mesopotamia created a huge
–– Mesopotamia, Meluhha, and those in between ––