Balochistan is one of the four provinces of
Pakistan, located in the southwestern region of
the country, where it shares borders with Punjab
and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas to the
northeast, Sindh to the southeast, the Arabian
Sea to the south, Iran to the west, and
Afghanistan to the north.
The main ethnic group in the province with 46%
are the Baloch people and the name Balochistan
actually means "the land of the Baloch".
Balochistan marked the westernmost extent of
the Indus Valley Culture, a Bronze Age civilisation
(3300–1300 BCE) extending from what today is
northeast Afghanistan to Pakistan and northwest
India.
Along with ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia it
was one of three early civilisations of the Old
World, and of the three, the most widespread.
It flourished in the basins of the Indus River,
which flows through the length of Pakistan and at
its peak the Indus Civilisation may have had a
population of over five million. Inhabitants of the
ancient Indus river valley developed new
techniques in handicraft (carnelian products, seal
carving) and metallurgy (copper, bronze, lead,
and tin). The Indus cities are noted for their urban
planning, baked brick houses, elaborate drainage
and water supply systems.
For comparable examples see: J.F.Jarrige ed.,
Les
Cites Oubliees de l'Indus: Archeologie du
Pakistan, 1988: pp.105-107.
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