Iberian Peninsula to the indus

References: 
Morandi Bonacossi 1996, pp. 
45–80; Morandi Bonacossi 2003, pp. 24–39; 
Winkelmann 2003, pp. 567–678; Winkelmann 
2008, pp. 39–61; Vidale 2017.

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256
INDUS

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259
258
Standing feMale Statuette
Indus, Balochistan
Mehrgarh VII style (ca. 2700–2500 BC)
Ligabue Collection, Venice
(cat. 100)
fiGureS from BAlochiStAn
And the induS
T
he first cities of the indus valley civilization were discovered in the first half 
of the twentieth century by the excavations John marshall, ernest mackay 
and m.S. Vats on the two major sites of mohenjo-daro in Sindh and harap-
pa in punjab, dated from ca. 2500 to 1900 Bc. With other contemporary sites like 
chanhu-daro and Amri in Sindh or lothal and Kalibangan in india, these sites 
yielded an impressive number of figurines, mostly in terracotta. the exploration 
of the mountains of Balochistan, the Zhob and loralai valleys at the beginning of 
the twentieth century by Aurel Stein, Stuart piggott or Walter fairservis discovered 
numerous human figurines with “google eyes” which can now be attributed to the 
first half of the third millennium. the french Archaeological mission at mehrgarh 
and nausharo in the Kachhi plain brought to light an extension of the indus culture 
into the mountains of Balochistan, changing our understanding of the prehistory in 
this part of the subcontinent. An almost continuous sequence from 7000 to the mid 
first millennium Bc documents the dawn of agro-pastoralism. in this context, the 
anthropomorphic figurines are of major importance as ideological and symbolical 
markers. A long tradition of female and males, in clay or terracotta, may be traces 
1
Evolution of clay figurines types from 
Late Neolithic to Early Bronze Age, 
Mehrgarh,
Baluchistan, Pakistan, VI–III 
millennia BC

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2
Stamp seal depicting the mythical 
“unicorn” with signs of the yet 
undeciphered Indus script
India-Pakistan ??? 
Indus valley culture
(late III millennium BC)
Steatite
Ligabue Collection, Venice,
inv. CL 3015 TENIAMO???
3
“King-priest” wearing a cloak 
decorated with trefoils
Mohenjo Daro, Pakistan
Indus Valley culture
(late III millennium BC)
Low fired steatite
National Museum of Pakistan, Karachi
from the first neolithic occupations, where they precede the emergence of pottery, 
to the final period of nausharo (ca. 1900 Bc). most of them are fragmentary and 
come from thrash deposits.
the mehrgarh i-ii human figures (ca. 6000 Bc) are 
schematically modelled, with-
out arms, either standing or in a biconical seated position, with pointed head and 
legs and a large and flexed central part at the hips. they are often coloured with red 
ochre. they often have applied elements, coils, strips or pellets of clay, representing 
ornaments, a belt, or a necklace. in the course of time, figurines became more nat-
uralistic, with a pinched nose and legs divided by a cutting. during the Chalcolithic 
periods in the Kachi/Bolan area they were produced by the thousands, prototypes 
of a long stylistic evolution that endured throughout the fifth and fourth millennium 
until the end of the third millennium (
fig. 1
).
during the Chalcolithic period, from the mid-fourth millennium and during all the 
third millennium, the production of figurines became part of the activity of specialized 
potters, using the same clay. there is a tendency towards naturalism, paralleled by 
the increasingly complex ceramic production. triangular legs and large hips are as 
before the main characteristics, but the successive addition of applied features and 
ornaments give them a less abstract aspect. legs and arms are separated and new 
features appear on distinctly male figurines. A new type is introduced at mehrgarh, 
with obvious western connections. these “strangers” have a modelled head, plain 
and rounded, almond shaped hollowed eyes, a pointed nose with pierced nostril 
and applied ears. t
he finely shaped body is without any application of ornaments. 
the diffusion of this technique covers as far north as the Quetta valley and Zhob 
and loralai, beyond which eastern limit are zones where the evolution followed a 
parallel way, like in the Gomal valley. to the west, as at Mundigak, shahr-i sokhta 
or deh Morasi Ghundai, are exports of the end product.
At nausharo, where the first levels overlap those of Mehrgarh, the production is 
still active during the following evolved Indus assemblage (ca. 2400–2100 BC): figu-
rines with stiff legs and wearing skirts as well as “turban” or “fan-like” headdresses, 
comparable to those from Harappa or Mohenjo-daro. As in Mehrgarh, the terracotta 
figurines from Balochistan continue a stylistic tradition but merge into a new world, 
associated with other types, born on the sites of the mature Indus civilization. 
the development of the urban civilization of the Indus was in many ways paral-
lel to that of Mesopotamia, but unlike Mesopotamia, there were no images of Indus 
rulers building temples or conquering enemies. the stone sculptures showing a 
seated male with bag-shaped skirt hiding the legs may represent rulers or elite of the 
Indus cities. Crowned with a fillet tied around the head, without weapons or other 
symbols of authority held in the hands, it is clear in their stylization and attitude 
that the imposing presence of such a figure as the “king-priest” (
fig. Mohenjo daro
) 
impressed the people of the oxus.