The Sumerian World (Routledge Worlds)

Christopher P. Thornton

5 cm

Figure 31.6 Examples o f Harappan-style sherds from Bat in northern Oman: (a) Black-on-Red
painted, Op. B, lot 070304; (b) B u ff unpainted, T. 1146, lot 090305; (c) Black-on-Bichrome
painted, T. 1147, lot 100805; (d) Red-on-Buff painted, T. 1147, lot 101004; (e) fingernail-impressed,
T. 1147, lot 101615; (f) Black Slip Jar, T. 1156, lot 101701; (g) perforated, T. 1148, lot 070021
(courtesy o f the Bat Archaeological Project)

demand for exotic raw materials that was increasingly fulfilled by the seafaring mer­
chants o f Dilmun as the overland trade routes from the east collapsed. As the major
consumer o f Magan’s raw materials, Mesopotamia quickly became the dominant
cultural and economic focus o f Magan’s emerging complex societies.
The appearance o f Indus Black Slip Jars in Magan c.2500—2400 BC suggests that
soon after the Mature Harappan urban explosion, the Meluhhans took to the seas and
began aggressively trading with their neighbors. This would have created markets for
the Harappans’ intensive craft industries, but also provided raw materials to feed these
same industries. Initially, the Meluhhan merchants probably ventured no farther than

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c d e

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