Explorations on the Makran Coast, Pakistan A Searchfor Paradise George E Dales Carl P. Lipo 41.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ No. 50 Contributions of the Archaeological Research Facility University of California at Berkeley CD c 0 0 0- 0 'S cL George and Barbara Dales off the Makran coast in 1960 Cover photo: Travelling by camel from Gwadar to Sutkagen Dor by George Dales ISBN 1-882744-00-4 EXPLORATIONS ON THE MAKRAN COAST, PAKISTAN Number 50 Contributions of the University of California Archaeological Research Facility __ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~a) ~~: I 0 Dedicated to the Memory of Professor Samuel Noah Kramer Whose dream of finding the Paradise Land led to our Makran survey. EXPLORATIONS ON THE MAKRAN COAST, PAKISTAN A SEARCH FOR PARADISE GEORGE F. DALES AND CARL P. LIPO Number 50 Contributions of the University of California Archaeological Research Facility Generous donations from the Follett Fund and from Barbara and George Dales have made possible the publication of this volume. Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 92-75530 ? 1992 by the Regents of the University of California Archaeological Research Facility University of California at Berkeley Printed in the United States of America All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. In 9vfemoriam George F. !Dates It has been an honor and a privilege to work with George Dales on completion of this book. Throughout the long process of writing and organization, I was deeply inspired by George's profound knowledge, wisdom, passion for life, and dedication for work. Despite immense obstacles, George was determined to see this book completed. And here it is. The fact that this book is about George and Barbara's first expedition which took place over thirty years ago is quite appropriate. It completes the circle of a journey which George started as a student of Near Eastern archaeology at the University of Pennsylvania. When his principal professor, Samuel Kramer, instructed the young graduate student to "Go East young man!" and locate Dilmun, George's search for Paradise began. It started in the barren wastes of the Makran coast and took him throughout Afghanistan, India, and Pakistan and into the academic worlds of Philadelphia, Toronto, and Berkeley. George's quest for Paradise fueled scores of research projects, launched dozens of expeditions, resulted in several doctorates, and was the subject of countless articles and books. Despite a lifetime of prolific research in pursuit of Dilmun, Paradise remained lost- only to be found relatively recently across the Persian Gulf by another group of researchers. Considering his accomplishments and the extent of his investigations, it is clear that George's failure to locate Dilmun is as significant as its actual location. The purpose of George's search was really the journey itself. During his travels, areas of the map previously left blank were filled in with information, a tradition of scholarship and research was created in the field of South Asian archaeology, and scholars from around the world and from widely disparate disciplines were brought together to investigate the Indus Valley civilization. Their ongoing discoveries are tributes to George Dales and his search for Paradise. -Carl P. Lipo Butter tea and wind pictures, the Crystal Mountain and blue sheep dancing on the snow- it's quite enough! Have you seen the snow leopard? No! Isn't that wonderful? -Peter Matthiessen The Snow Leopard Thou showest me the road to Makran, but what a difference there is between an order and its execution? I will never enter this country, as its name alone terrifies me. The Lament of Sinan ibn Selama, quoted in Percy Sykes's Ten Thousand Miles in Persia The fact is that Makran is a country about which a man may write much as he pleases and never stray far from the truth. The physical aspect of the land varies so greatly from many points of view, that one ceases to wonder at the equally extraordinary variety of its historical records. Sir T. H. Holdich The Indian Borderland, 1880-1900 1909 (p. 320) CONTENTS PREFACE AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS by George F. Dales INTRODUCTION .......................................................1 PART I: THE SURVEY A. The 1959 Preliminary Visit to Pakistan .............................................. 7 B. The 1960 Survey ....................................................... 9 1. Karachi: Preparations ...................................................... 10 2. Karachi to Gwadar by Boat .................................................. 24 3. Gwadar to Sutkagen Dor .................................................... 31 4. Sutkagen Dor: Excavations ................................................. 36 5. Sutkagen Dor to Jiwani ..................................................... 60 6. Jiwani: Surveys of Lak Plateau and Take-dap . . 65 7. Jiwani to Gwadar by Boat ............... ................................... 80 8. Gwadar: Survey of Gwadar Head and Gwadar Mainland ............ . 87 9. Gwadar to Pasni by Boat .................................................... 99 10. Pasni a. Astola Island ....................................................... 104 b. Discovery of Sotka Koh ............................................... 108 11. Pasni to Ornaraby Boat . .................................................. 112 12. Ormara: Survey of Ormara Head . . ......................................... 116 13. Ras Malan Survey ...................................................... 122 14. Ormara and Return to Karachi by Boat .................................... 129 15. Karachi: Visit of Professor S. N. K r a m e r . . . 132 PART II: THE EXCAVATIONS AT SUTKAGEN DOR A. Excavations and Site Survey ...................................................... 135 1. Operation A/Al ....................................................... 135 2. Operation B ....................................................... 139 3. OperationC ....................................................... 139 4. Operation D ....................................................... 146 5. The Citadel Wall ...................................................... 147 6. The Artifacts . ...................................................... 147 B. Summary .......................................... 148 PART III: MAKRAN POTTERY A. Description and Classification ...................................................... 157 B. Sutkagen Dor Pottery ...................................................... 163 C. Sotka Koh Pottery ....................................................... 227 EPILOGUE ....................................................... 255 FOOTNOTlES ....................................................... 259 BIBLIOGRAPHY ....................................................... 265 PREFACE AND ACKNOWLEGDEMENTS This is an account of explorations along the Makran coast of Pakistan (figures 1 and 2) for evidence of trade and cultural connections between the Indus/Harappan civilization and the Near East. The Indus Valley of Pakistan was the seat of one of the Old World's earliest urban cultures (cir. 2500-1800 B.C.) (Marshall 1931; Mackay 1938; Vats 1940; Wheeler 1968), the same period during which the Sumerian and Akkadian cultures were thriving in southern Mesopotamia and the Persian Gulf region. We were searching for archaeological evidence relating to the question of trade and other contacts between these two major seats of early civilization. The form of the first part of this report is unconventional. Expanded diary entries are used to describe the actual survey. They begin after a brief account of our daily efforts in Karachi to obtain the exploration license. I selected this form to best convey a sense of the opportunities and limitations that are encountered in that remote region. In retrospect, our camel and fishing-boat modes of transportation seem needlessly primitive, but at the time, given extremely limited resources and information, it was the only way to go. It was a unique experience, the excitement of which I hope comes through in the first half of this report. The second part of the report is more conventional and presents the results of the excavations at the Harappan site of Sutkagen Dor and the surface collections of Harappan sherds at Sotka Koh. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Financial support for the expedition was provided by Mrs. W. E. Seeley of Cleveland, Ohio (my mother) and by the Board of Trustees of the University Museum, Philadelphia. Dr. Froelich Rainey, Director of the University Museum; Dr. Alfred Kidder III, the Associate Director; and Dr. Robert H. Dyson, Assistant Curator of the Near Eastern Section of the Museum (and currently its Director), were instrumental in the decision of the University Museum to participate in such a venture. Another graduate student at the University of Pennsylvania, T. Cuyler Young, Jr.-who had archaeological field experience at Hasanlu, Iran-was invited to be Assistant Field Director. My wife, Barbara, joined the team as Field Assistant and Secretary. The coolheadedness and good humor of Cuyler and Barbara, often Explorations on the Makran Coast under exceedingly trying and exhausting circumstances, were indispensable elements in the success of the expedition. Medical advice and supplies were provided by Dr. C. E. Mulligan of Cleveland, Ohio. Many of the supplies were contributed through the generosity of Squibb and Sons, Wyeth Labs., Schering Corporation, and Eli Lilly Corporation. In Pakistan, our initial inexperience was partly overcome by the friendly cooperation and assistance we received from the staff of the American Embassy in Karachi and the U.S. Operations Mission, International Cooperation Administration (ICA); especially, Dr. Robert W. Caldwell, Labor Attache and liaison between the expedition and the government of Pakistan; Hallock R. Lucius, Embassy Staff Aid who took over Caldwell's liaison duties after Caldwell's transfer out of Pakistan; Ed Kemp, Head of the Consular Section; Hal Vaughn of U.S. Information Service (USIS); and Dr. Fredrick Bunting, Deputy Director, U.S. Operations Mission, ICA, and his wife, Ethel-Jane, who became the "Guardian Angel" of the expedition. Special thanks go also to Dr. Sherman A. Minton, Jr. (School of Medicine of Indiana University who was working at the Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Karachi) and his wife, Madge, for their generous contributions of friendship and sage advice; to John A. Reinemund, American Advisor to the Geological Survey of Pakistan; to Scotty Mitchell and John Mohar, manager and geologist respectively of the Tidewater Oil Company, Karachi; and to Robert "Bobbie" L. Raikes, hydrologist-cum-archaeologist, and his wife, Janet, who became life-long friends and confidants. The project could not have happened without the approval and cooperation of the Department of Archaeology, government of Pakistan and its Director-General, Dr. F. A. Khan. Dr. Khan's personal interest in the project was instrumental in our obtaining the license for the explorations. The administrative details were efficiently and cheerfully handled by Muhammad Siddique, Assistant Director of Archaeology. Many officials in the Pakistan government assisted in various aspects of the project. I want especially to thank S. M. Sharif, Secretary of the Ministry of Education; S. M. Ali, Ministry of Education, Karachi; Mhd. Ibrahim, Section Officer, Foreign Office, Karachi; Aga Ghulam Hussain, Deputy Director, Central Fisheries, Karachi; Dr. Habibur Rahman, Geological Survey of Pakistan; Dr. S. A. Naqvi, Director of the National Museum, Karachi; Dr. Mohamad Ismail Siddiqi, Department of Geography, University of Karachi; and Capt. (Dr.) Ikramma Rohman, Head of the Department of Geography, Urdu College, Karachi. While in the field, we were aided by many Pakistani government officials and private citizens without whose help and cooperation many of our practical problems concerning travel, subsistence, and security would have been more difficult. Special appreciation goes to: Major Montaz, Head of Customs, Kalat Division; Nazir Ahmad, Deputy Superintendent of Customs, Kalat Division; Jahangir, Commander of the Makran Militia, Sunstar; the Tahsildars of Jiwani, Gwadar, Pasni, and Ormara-especially Abu Bakr the Tahsildar of Jiwani whose cooperation made our work at Sutkagen Dor and Jiwani possible; Safdar Manzoor, Burmah Shell Aviation Service Representative, Jiwani, who graciously invited us to share his house; the Customs and Fisheries personnel at Jiwani, Gwadar, Pasni, and Ormara who so generously helped us by providing rest-house facilities and local transportation. And an extra word of appreciation is due to Mir Ahmad Khan Kalmati, head of the Kalmati tribe, Pasni, who personally accompanied us on our survey of the Pasni area and led us to the previously unknown Harappan site of Sotka Koh, located on his property north of Pasni. x Preface xi z EH 0: _