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Around 2600 BCE, most sites in northern and
central Baluchistan were abandoned, as a
consequence of the expansion of the Indus
Civilisation into their territory. Nevertheless,
southern Baluchistan continued to be inhabited
by a people labelled "Kulli."This cultural complex
is named after a site in Kolwa, discovered by
Aurel Stein. Since then, several other sites
became known from Makran to southern Kalat
and Nindowari, to Nausharo in the Kachi plain,
and to the eastern foot of the Kirthar Range in
southwestern Sindh. Some motifs and vessel
shapes found in southeastern Iran and on the
Arabian Peninsula, are sometimes also linked to
the Kulli and seen as indications for long-
distance contacts. The lay-out of some sites
resemble the plan of Harappan sites: rows of
houses are built along lanes and streets, which
are sometimes paved. Sometimes, stairs provide
access to upper terraces. Building materials were
large ashlars or boulders, and the houses are
often preserved to a considerable height. Many of
these sites are located in strategic positions, on
top of mountains or terrace hills, overlooking the
valleys and controlling the plains and passes .
Other sites are small hamlets built in the open
plain. Although they have no defenses, they are
of a very compact appearance. Most sites are
associated with dams.
Ceramic vessels from the Kulli phase have been
unearthed at Nindowari, Nausharo and other
small sites in Baluchistan. Their surface often
painted with reddish-brown slip designs, one of
the most common being the ensemble of vertical
strokes depicted on the neck, as in the case of a
small fragment unearthed at Bakkar Buthi, a
small Harappan site located in the Kanrach
Valley, a remote area bordered by the Mor and
Pab Ranges. All the motifs featured on this jar,
including the large bulls and the symmetrically
arranged branched- tree, would seem to indicate
its appurtenance to the Kulli culture of southern
Baluchistan, possibly dated to the late 3rd
Millennium BCE.
Comparable works are to be found in: G. Possehl,
Kulli: An Exploration of an Ancient Civilization in
South Asia, Durham, 1986
- (LO.1230 A)
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