EARLY CIVILISATIONS OF THE NORTHWESTtraced in Late Harappan sites. Excavations in Baluchistan (e.g. Mehrgarh
VIII and nearby Nausharo III) brought to light a considerable number of
new cultural elements around 2000 BC. These findings indicate a close
relationship with the contemporary Bronze Age culture of Greater Iran
which is known from archaeological sites like Namazga V in southern
Turkmenistan and Teppe Hissar III in northwest Iran. This culture may
have been controlled by a semi-nomadic elite which is assumed to have
belonged to the speakers of the Indo-Iranian languages.
Among the ‘intrusive traits’ which appear in Late Harappan strata the
keeping of horses has to be mentioned which was obviously unknown in
the Harappan civilisation before c. 2000 BC, as horses were never depicted
on its seals. Indian archaeologists claim that there is evidence for fire altars
(which were also unknown in Mature Harappan cities) in the upper strata
of late Kalibangan and Lothal. New burial rites and offerings of precious
items and even treasures are yet another new element which indicates a
close relationship with the Central Asian and Iranian area. Perhaps the
most beautiful item of this kind is the wonderful gold treasure of Quetta—
not too far away from Mehrgarh—which was found in 1985 during the
construction of a hotel and which shows a clear correspondence with
similar items found in Bactria. Of crucial importance among these
‘intrusive traits’ is the pottery found in cemetery H in Harappa as its
painting is totally different from earlier pottery at Harappa. Vats, the
excavator of this site, expressed in the 1930s the opinion that these
drawings may indicate a Vedic belief in the transmigration of souls and
rebirth. However in view of the much later date of the early Vedas (1300–
1000 BC) which had been generally accepted, Vat’s idea was rejected by
most scholars at that time. But in view of recent findings in Late Harappan
strata more and more archaeologists ‘are inclined to agree’ (Allchin 1995)
with Vats’ assumption. But if this were correct one would have to think of
an earlier date for the Rigveda.
In case the Indo-Aryan identity of the people of these early migrations in
the early second millennium BC could really be proven, it is evident that
some Indo-Aryan groups must have come into a direct and even active
contact with the urban civilisation of the Indus cities which was still
flourishing at that time. Such an identification however does not
necessarily imply that these early Indo-Aryans have to be regarded as the
direct ancestors of the (later) Rigvedic people. As will be discussed below,
the Rigveda, the oldest Vedic text, reflects a socio-economic and cultural
context which does not show any evidence of urban life. Scholars who
accept an Indo-Aryan identity of these early Central Asian migrants in the
Late Harappan period therefore assume that these early carriers of the
‘Greater Iranian Bronze Age Culture’ (Parpola) were soon absorbed by the
Indus civilisation. This hypothesis is corroborated by the observation that
the traces of these carriers of the Central Asian and Iranian Bronze Age