Eurasian Prehistory, 9 (1–2): 29–49.
THE SHELL MIDDENS OF THE BAY OF DAUN:
ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGES AND HUMAN IMPACT ALONG
THE COAST OF LAS BELA (BALOCHISTAN, PAKISTAN)
BETWEEN THE 8TH AND THE 5TH MILLENNIUM BP
Paolo Biagi1, Tiziano Fantuzzi2 and Carlo Franco3
1
Department of Asian and North African Studies, Ca’ Foscari University Venice, Ca’ Cappello, San Polo 2035,
I-30125 Venezia, Italy; pavelius@unive.it
2
Department of Humanities, Ca’ Foscari University Venice, Palazzo Malcanton Marcor´, Dorsoduro 3245,
I-30123, Venezia, Italy; tiziano.fantuzzi@gmail.com
3
Department of Asian and North African Studies, Ca’ Foscari University Venice, Ca’ Cappello, San Polo 2035,
I-30125 Venezia, Italy. Italy; utinum@gmail.com
Abstract
The discovery of shell middens around the Bay of Daun and Lake Siranda (Las Bela, Balochistan) shows that groups
of prehistoric gatherers settled along the coasts of Las Bela at least since the last two centuries of the 8th millennium BP.
The radiocarbon dating of the Daun sites indicates that the exploitation of the mangrove resources was not continuous, but
took place mainly during two distinct periods of the 7th and 5th millennia BP. The presence of Neolithic shell middens
along the northern coasts of the Arabian Sea reinforces the impression that this part of the Indian Ocean was first settled
during the Middle Holocene when the sea level had stabilized. The radiocarbon dates obtained from marine and mangrove
shells from the Tharro and Makli Hills in Lower Sindh, suggest that coastal seafaring began already in this period.
Key words: Arabian Sea, Balochistan, Las Bela, shell middens, radiocarbon chronology, mangrove environment, monsoon cycles.
PREFACE
The first shell middens of the coast of Las
Bela (Balochistan, Pakistan) were discovered in
January 2000 during a visit paid by one of the authors (P.B.), together with Professor A.R. Khan of
the Department of Geography, Karachi University, to Daun, a small bay some 15 km south of
Gadani promontory. Given the importance of the
finds, surveys aimed at the discovery of more
middens were promoted by the Italian Archaeological Mission in 2004 and 2008, along the
shores of the same bay, and the high marine terrace that extends south of it (Biagi, 2004; 2011a;
Biagi and Franco, 2008).
Little is known of the prehistory of Las Bela
(Shaffer, 1986). Most of the surveys have been
carried out in the regions of the interior (Stein,
1943; Raikes and Dyson, 1961; Khan, 1964; Raikes, 1967–1968; Fairservis, 1975; Khan, 1979b;
De Cardi, 1983; Flam, 1998; Franke-Vogt, 1999),
while no attention has ever been paid to this part
of the north Arabian Sea coast. From this territory
A.R. Khan (1979a:5) reports the presence of prehistoric finds near Kunari Nallah, between Gadani and Phuari headlands, whose Perh limestones are rich in flint nodules exploited since at least
the beginning of the Mesolithic (Abbas, 1976:7;
Khan, 1979a:12; Naseem et al., 1996–1997:129).
During the surveys carried out in the 1970s,
Professor A.R. Khan discovered a few prehistoric
sites west of the Hab River mouth (Khan, 1979a:
map 1); he also pointed out the importance of the
Windar River delta (Khan, 1979b:75) and Khur-
30
P. Biagi et al.
Fig. 1. Daun: distribution map of the shell middens
mentioned in the text (from Biagi and Franco, 2008
with modifications)
kera plain, where the Chalcolithic/Bronze Age
mound of Kot-Bala (Balakot) is located (Dales,
1974; 1981). Contrary to any expectation prehistoric sites were never discovered during the physical geography reconnaissance of Las Bela coastal
zone (Snead, 1969), the only province of Balochistan reached by the summer monsoon rains,
rich in water supplies (Pithawalla, 1953:33).
According to the chronicles of the classical
authors the coasts of ancient Gedrosia (presentday Makran) were inhabited by fish-eaters in Hellenistic times, and also during the 1st century AD
(see for instance Eggermont, 1975:64, referring to
Arrian’s Indica; McCrindle, 1973:195), while the
coast of Las Bela was settled by the Oreitai, “an
ethnic group distinguished by strongly primitive
traits and culturally similar to the Ichthyophagi”
(Longo, 1987:12). M.U. Hasan (2002:28) reports
that fishing hamlets of “cabins supported by
bones of whale” were still visible along the coast
of Makran during the mid-1970s, as they were in
the 4th century BC (Hughes-Buller, 1996:36; see
also Holdich, 2002:160).
The ethno-archaeological study of Las Bela
fishermen (Belcher, 1999; Desse and Desse-Berchet, 2005) has pointed out the importance of
fishing in the subsistence of the villagers settled
between Gadani promontory and the Hab River
mouth (Minchin, 1983:94). The current evidence
highly contrasts with the archaeological data,
given that traces of prehistoric fishermen settlements along the entire coast of Balochistan are
very scarce (Belcher, 2005; Desse et al., 2005),
despite the many surveys carried out in the region
(Stein, 1931; 1943; Dales, 1982; Besenval and
Sanlaville, 1990; Sanlaville et al., 1991; Dales
and Lipo, 1992; Besenval and Didier, 2004).
Sonari, a shell midden located at the top of
the eastern high terrace of the Hab River close to
its flowing into the Arabian Sea, is the only site to
have yielded net-sinkers obtained from beach
pebbles (Biagi, 2004:fig.6). Quite an opposite situation is known from the Oman Peninsula, where
all the Holocene shell middens so far excavated
show the importance of fishing in the subsistence
strategy of their inhabitants (Uerpmann and Uerpmann, 2003; Cleuziou, 2004; Biagi and Nisbet,
2006; Lézine et al., 2010:12; Charpentier et al.,
2012).
GEOGRAPHICAL SETTING
The shell middens of Daun Bay are distributed over a roughly rectangular area between
24°59’18.08”–25°00’27.29” Lat. N. and 66°42’
19.35”–66°43’07.22” Long. E. They lie partly
along the sand beach around and south of the bay,
some 6m above the maximum level reached by
the tide, partly on the top of the Pleistocene marine terrace extending south of a small headland
(Snead, 1966:47; 1967; 1969:38; Snead and
Frishman, 1968:1673). Their distance from the
present shoreline varies from 60 to 700 m. Most
sites consist of heaps or scatters of fragmented Terebralia palustris gastropods (Biagi, 2004; Biagi
and Franco, 2008), although other mangrove and
marine species are represented, among which are
Telescopium telescopium and Anadara uropygmelana.
According to their location the sites can be divided in five main groups (Fig. 1):
1) Daun 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9, are located at the
top of the marine terrace at an average altitude of
some 30 m. (Fig. 2);
2) Daun 100, 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106,
107 and 108, north-west of group 1), along the
sand beach below the above terrace;
The shell middens of the Bay of Daun
Fig. 2. Daun: distribution map of the shell middens
4–9 on the marine terrace south of the bay. The triangle
109 mark, the point where a quartzite side scarper was
found (drawing C. Franco)
Fig. 3. Daun: distribution map of the shell middens
110–117, along the beach south of the bay: net-sinker
(star), quern (circle), core (square) (drawing C. Franco)
3) Daun 110, 111, 112, 113 and, slightly to
the north Daun 114, 115, 116 and 117, lie close to
the sand shoreline, north-east of the small promontory (Fig. 3);
4) Daun 1, 10, 2 and 118, are located slightly
to the north-east, not far from the south-eastern
shore of the bay (Fig. 4);
5) Daun 3 and 119, adjacent to each other not
far from the eastern shore of the bay (Fig. 5).
The sites and their assemblages
The Daun shell middens are of different shape
and dimension. They yielded assemblages consisting almost exclusively of chipped and coarse stone
tools (Table 1). Among the 7th millennium BP
31
Fig. 4. Daun: location and extension of the shell middens 1, 10, 2 and 118, south of the bay (drawing C.
Franco)
Fig. 5. Daun: location and extension of the shell middens 3 and 119, east of the bay (drawing C. Franco)
sites, Daun 1 is a large midden (Fig. 6) on the surface of which fifty pitted crushing stones with
pecked round or oval grooves on one or both surfaces were recorded (Figs 7 and 8). In contrast
Daun 10 yielded only one crushing stones and one
hammer-stone. The site, well sheltered between
volcanic rocky outcrops, consists of scatters of
very small fragments of T. palustris shells (Fig. 9)
on the surface of which many chipped and coarse
stone artefacts were collected (Fig. 10).
The chipped stone industries of the 7th millennium BP sites are obtained from flint available
from Perh limestone formations that outcrop from
Gadani and Phuari headlands, some 15 km north
of the bay (Naseem et al., 1996–1997:fig.1). The
artefacts have been produced on the spot, as
shown by the presence of narrow bladelet cores
P. Biagi et al.
32
Table 1
Daun: main characteristics of the lithic assemblages and other finds
Site number
Daun 1
Lithic materials
Gadani red flint, chert,
limnoquartzite, sandstone
Blocks, Pre-cores
and Core types
Tool types
Coarse ground
tools
Small blocks;
Trapeze, bladelets, Crushing stones,
subconical and
flake(let)s
hammerstone
subcylindrical cores
Pottery
Cluster
Prehistoric
1
Daun 2
None
None
None
None
None
Not dated
Daun 3
Gadani red flint, banded
chert
Small block
Flakes, retouched
blade
Crushing stone,
net-weight
None
4
Daun 4
Gadani red flint
Small block
None
None
Prehistoric
3
None
Net-weight, tomb,
hearths?
Historic?
3
Daun 5
None
None
Daun 6
None
None
None
None
None
2
Daun 7
None
None
None
None
Islamic
Not dated
Daun 8
Chert
None
None
Quern
None
3
Daun 9
None
None
None
None
None
Not dated
Crushing stone,
hammerstone
None
1
Daun 10
Gadani red flint, chert, Small tested blocks;
limnoquartzite, sandstone, subcylindrical, pris- Lunate, side scraper
limestone
matic cores
Daun 100
None
None
None
None
None
Not dated
Daun 101
None
None
None
None
None
3
Daun 102
Gadani red flint, chert
None
Flakelets
None
Prehistoric
3
Micro-core
Truncation on
bladelet
None
Prehistoric
3
Daun 103
Chert
Daun 104
None
None
None
None
Prehistoric
3
Daun 105
None
None
None
None
None
3
Daun 106
None
None
None
None
None
Not dated
Daun 107
None
None
None
None
None
Not dated
Daun 108
None
None
None
None
None
Not dated
Daun 109
Quartzite
None
Side scraper
None
None
None
Flakelets
Crushing stone,
hammerstone
None
1
Flake(let)s
Net-weight
None
1
Gadani red flint,
Daun 110
Small tested block
limnoquartzite, limestone
Daun 111
Gadani red flint, chert, Small tested blocks;
limnoquartzite, limestone
prismatic core
Daun 112
None
None
None
None
None
3
Daun 113
None
None
None
None
None
3
Daun 114
Gadani red flint
None
Primary flakes
None
None
Not dated
Daun 115
None
None
None
None
None
Not dated
Daun 116
Chert
None
Flakelet
None
None
Not dated
Daun 117
Gadani red flint, chert
(striped), quartzite
Prismatic and
polyhedric cores
Perforators, flakes
None
None
Not dated
Daun 118
None
None
None
None
None
Not dated
Tested blocks
Side scraper, blade,
flakelets
Crushing stone
None
4
Gadani red flint, chert,
Daun 119 limnoquartzite, sandstone,
limestone
The shell middens of the Bay of Daun
Fig. 6.
Daun: shell midden 1 from the north (photograph P. Biagi)
Fig. 7.
Daun: group of querns in shell midden 1 (photograph P. Biagi)
33
34
P. Biagi et al.
Fig. 8. Daun: shell midden 1: distribution map of
crushing stones (circles), and flint core (square) (drawing C. Franco)
Fig. 9.
with parallel detachments (Fig. 11), most probably obtained by pressure (Inizan, 2012) (Fig. 12:
1, 2), debitage flakes, parallel-sided micro-bladelets (Fig. 12:5–7) and retouched tools (Table 2).
Among the latter particularly important are one
isosceles trapeze obtained with the microburin
technique from Daun 1 (Fig. 12:3), and one
lunate, from Daun 10 (Fig. 12:4).
The discovery of geometric microliths raises
the problem of the typological variability, function and chronology of these tools. Different
classes of isosceles trapezes have been recovered
from the Mesolithic sites of the Mulri Hills, east
of Karachi (Biagi, 2003–2004), and the Thar
Desert dunes of Upper Sindh (Biagi, 2008a:fig.4);
while “horned” trapezes, recalling central Asian,
Early Neolithic types (Masson, 1996:fig.5; Brunet, 1998; 2012), come from the aceramic Neolithic layers of Mehrgarh (Lechevallier, 2003;
Jarrige, 2007–2008; Inizan, 2012). Lunates,
which can be subdivided into several classes according to their typology, dimension and retouch,
make their appearance in Sindh around the end of
the Palaeolithic (Biagi, 2011a) and continued to
be in use at least until the Neolithic. Although the
Daun. shell midden 10 between volcanic outcrops, from the north-west (photograph P. Biagi)
The shell middens of the Bay of Daun
function of the geometric tools from the Daun
sites is still undefined, lunates have already been
recorded from other 8th and 7th millennium BP
shell middens along the Red Sea coast (Bar-Yosef
Mayer and Beyin, 2009:114).
The coarse stone tools are represented mainly
by crushing stones, which find parallels from
many shell middens located along the coast of the
Sultanate of Oman, like Saruq and Khor Milkh,
for instance, where they are suggested to have
been employed for opening T. palustris shells
(Uerpmann and Uerpmann, 2003:115). Concentrations of crushing stones have been noticed only
at Daun 1, where they represent the commonest
tools of this important site, suggesting that it acted
as a specialised working place for the processing
of mangrove shells (Clarke, 2009).
Only a few sites dated to the 5th millennium
BP yielded chipped and coarse stone tools (Fig.
13:3, 4), among which is Daun 3 from which comes a retouched blade of exotic chert with use
wear traces, from (Biagi, 2004:fig.8).
The evidence for fishing is suggested by one
plaquette chipped from limestone from Daun 111
(Fig. 13:1), one isolated net-sinker from a notched
35
Fig. 10. Daun: shell midden 10: distribution map of
chipped stone artefacts (dots), lunate (moon-like symbol), chalcedony fragment (triangle), and coarse
ground stones (circles) (drawing C. Franco)
Fig. 11. Daun: shell midden 10. Prismatic microbladelet core on the site’s surface (photograph P. Biagi)
P. Biagi et al.
36
Table 2
Daun: main characteristics of the sites and radiocarbon dates
Measures ExtenLab.
m.
sion mq. Number
14
Cultural
C date 13
Geo
d C (‰) Cluster
Attribu- Reference
BP
Groups
tion
Site
number
Coordinates
Daun 1
25°00’14.34” N,
66°42’39.82” E
121.00
837.00 GrN-26368 T. palustris 6380±40 -3.08
Daun 2
25°00’14.00” N,
66°42’47.00” E
25.30
23.80
Daun 3
25°00’26.55” N,
66°43’04.67” E
250.00 3560.00 GrN-27954 T. palustris 4100±30
Daun 4
24°59’18.07” N,
66°42’29.46” E
14.00
24°59’18.46” N,
Daun 5
66°42’28.53” E
Daun 6
Sample
1
4
Neolithic
Undated
2
Undefined
-4.49
4
5
Final
Indus
13.60 GrN-28800 Ostreidae 4800±35
-5.30
3
1
37.40
104.00 GrN-28801 T. palustris 4900±35
-5.44
3
1
24°59’20,49” N,
66°42’31,38” E
13.20
13.30 GrN-28802 T. palustris 5370±35
+1.27
2
1
Amri/Nal
Daun 7
24°59’25.00” N,
66°42’33.00” E
25.20
46.50
None
Undated
1
Undefined
Daun 8
24°59’25,99” N,
66°42’33,00” E
15.70
19.60 GrN-28803 Mactridae 4540±35
3
1
Mature
Indus
Daun 9
24°59’25.00” N,
66°42’35.00” E
23.70
44.60
Undated
1
Undefined
Daun 25°00’12.61” N,
10
66°42’45.14” E
83.10
254.00 GrN-31489 T. palustris 6305±45
1
4
Neolithic
Daun 24°59’37.19” N,
100 66°42’19.35” E
16.60
18.00
Undated
2
Undefined
Daun 24°59’37.03” N,
101 66°42’19.86” E
15.70
11.70 GrN-31490 T. palustris 4470±30
-5.49
3
2
Daun 24°59’36.54” N,
102 66°42’21.03” E
54.70
140.00 GrN-32117 T. palustris 4590±35
-5.96
3
2
Daun 24°59’35.37” N,
103 66°42’21.77” E
27.80
50.60 GrN-31491 T. palustris 4435±40
-5.37
3
2
Daun 24°59’35.01” N,
104 66°42’21.63” E
17.80
16.70 GrN-32118 T. palustris 4470±35 -610
3
2
Daun 24°59’34.64” N,
105 66°42’21.60” E
15.00
15.60 GrN-31643
3
2
Daun 24°59’34.10” N,
106 66°42’20.96” E
24.30
30.90
Undated
None
None
None
Undated
2
Daun 24°59’33.04” N,
107 66°42’21.72” E
6.95
3.10
Undated
None
None
None
Undated
2
Daun 24°59’28.97” N,
108 66°42’23.69” E
12.40
12.20
Undated
None
None
None
Undated
2
Daun 24°59’20.84” N,
109 66°42’20.52” E
N
N
Undated
None
None
None
Quartzite
scraper
N
Daun 25°00’00.66” N,
110 66°42’21.20” E
87.30
469.00 GrN-31492 T. palustris 6690±40
-3.44
1
3
Daun 25°00’00.17” N,
111 66°42’25.67” E
26.10
49.00 GrN-31493 T. palustris 6590±45
-3.57
1
3
Daun 25°00’00.52” N,
112 66°42’27.87” E
20.80
27.60 GrN-32462 T. palustris 4625±30
-4.95
3
3
Daun 25°00’03.42” N,
113 66°42’22.96” E
21.40
30.20 GrN-32463 T. palustris 4455±30
-5.44
3
3
Undated
Undated
Undated
Undated
None
None
None
None
None
None
None
None
T.
4470±40
telescopium
None
-5.16
None
-3.97
None
-5.09
Mature
Indus
Biagi,
2004: 16
Biagi,
2004: 16
Biagi,
2004: 16
Biagi, 2011:
Fig. 1
Mature
Biagi,
Indus 2011: Fig. 1
Undefined
Neolithic
Biagi,
2011: Fig. 1
Mature
Indus
The shell middens of the Bay of Daun
37
Table 2 continued
Site
number
Coordinates
Mea- ExtenLab.
sures m. sion mq. Number
14
Sample
Cultural
C date 13
Geo
d C (‰) Cluster
Attribu- Reference
BP
Groups
tion
Daun
114
25°00’08.37” N,
22.00
66°42’21.72” E
35.00
Undated
None
None
None
Undated
3
Daun
115
25°00’07.40” N,
23.20
66°42’23.49” E
39.90
Undated
None
None
None
Undated
3
Daun
116
25°00’07.92” N,
16.30
66°42’23.66” E
16.10
Undated
None
None
None
Undated
3
Daun
117
25°00’07.62” N,
66.30 307.00
66°42’23.05” E
Undated
None
None
None
Undated
3
Daun
118
25°00’14.40” N,
26.30
66°42’47.78” E
Undated
None
None
None
Undated
4
Daun
119
25°00’25.44” N,
T.
74.80 418.00 GrN-31644
4165±25
66°43’06.72” E
palustris
-4.05
4
5
45.40
Undefined
Final
Biagi,
Indus 2011: Fig. 1
Fig. 12. Daun: chipped stone assemblage. Prismatic bladelet cores (1 and 2), isosceles trapeze (3), lunate (4), narrow microbladelets (5–7). Numbers 1, 3, 6 and 7 from Daun 1; 2, 4 and 5 from Daun 10. 3 and 5 are from Gadani
red flint (scale in cm) (drawings P. Biagi, inking G. Almerigogna)
beach pebble, collected some 20 m east of Daun
111 (Fig. 13:2), and two larger net-weights from
Daun 3 and 5.
Very small potsherds, mainly prehistoric,
were collected from a few sites (see Table 2).
THE RADIOCARBON RESULTS
According to the radiocarbon results, four
shell middens developed during the 7th millennium
BP. Daun 110 is the oldest site (GrN- 31492:
6690±40 BP), followed by Daun 111, some 100 m
to the east (GrN-31493: 6590±45 BP), while Daun
1 and Daun 10, roughly 600 m to the north-west,
are slightly more recent (GrN-26368: 6380±40 BP
and GrN-31489: 6305±45 BP respectively) (cluster 1). The cluster of Neolithic dates is followed
by a gap of some one thousand years, corresponding to the Chalcolithic, during which only Daun 6
was settled (GrN-28802: 5370±35 BP) (cluster 2).
The radiocarbon dates from Daun 5 and Daun
4 (GrN-28801: 4900±35 BP and GrN-28800:
38
P. Biagi et al.
Fig. 13. Daun: coarse stone tools. Retouched limestone plaquette from Daun 111 (1), limestone net-sinker from
east of Daun 111 (2), crushing sandstone from Daun 10 (3) and limestone hammerstone from Daun 119 (4) (scale in
cm) (drawings E. Starnini)
The shell middens of the Bay of Daun
39
Fig. 14. Daun: scatterplot of the uncalibrated BP dates. The colours indicate the four clusters into which they have
been subdivided: 7th millennium (brown), 6th millennium (yellow), mid 5th millennium (blue) and late 5th millennium BP (green) (drawing T. Fantuzzi)
4800±35 BP, respectively) are followed by eight
other dates (Daun 112, 102, 8, 113, 101, 104, 105
and 103) all around the middle of the same millennium (cluster 3). Daun 119 and Daun 3 form
another small cluster (4) slightly more recent than
cluster 3 (GrN-31644: 4165±25 BP and GrN27945: 4100±30 BP, respectively) (Fig. 14).
Variations in the d13C values
The d13C values of the samples show quite a
distinctive pattern. Cluster 1 yielded values ranging from –3.44 to –3.97, characteristic of a mangrove environment. Daun 6, with a much higher
value (+1.27), should indicate its non-mangrove
provenance (cluster 2). The following exploitation episodes (cluster 3) show some depletion in
the d13C values, represented by another “low”
peak ranging from –4.95 to –6.10 followed by a
slight enrichment at Daun 119 (–4.05) and Daun 3
(–4.49) (cluster 4).
The curve of the above d13C values is believed to show a well defined climatic and biochemical events. Given that “carbon isotope ratios of shell carbonates have been considered a
good indicator of the isotopic composition of inorganic carbon in seawater” (Lin et al., 1991:
339), various local and regional alteration processes, among which are changes in precipitation,
hydrological regimes and coastline variations, are
to be considered. Thus a preliminary interpretation of the events that took place around the bay
can be put forward, given that most results (ex-
40
P. Biagi et al.
cept for Daun 4, 8 and 105) have been obtained
from T. palustris gastropods that are considered
to be reliable climatic indicators:
1) As reported above the four dates of cluster
1 show low d13C values (average –3.515). If we
compare them with the d13C values from other
mangrove swamps (Lin et al., 1991), they suggest
that mangroves were already present at Daun
around the early-mid 7th millennium BP, when the
sea level line was probably slightly higher than
that of the present (Lambeck, 1996:55);
2) The higher d13C value of Daun 6, and the
absence of any further 6th millennium archaeological evidence, might suggest that mangroves retreated during the Chalcolithic;
3) The 5th millennium BP assays show a general depletion in d13C values, which is consistent
with a typical mangrove environment. The fact
that low values match with the majority of sites
shows that mangroves had re-established around
Daun Bay in this period, and were exploited by
Mature Indus communities. Mid 5th millennium
BP dates from marine shells associated with potsherds are reported from Pasni (Makran) by
Sanlaville et al. (1991:13), suggesting the presence of other Bronze Age sites in the region;
4) The dates from Daun 119 and 3 show that
the mangrove swamps retreated again during the
late 5th millennium BP. They probably mark an
arid episode, recorded also from the northern and
eastern Arabian Sea (Sarkar et al., 2000; Staubwasser et al., 2003), and the Thar Desert lakes
(Saifuddin and Iqbaluddin, 2000; Kajale et al.,
2004:90), corresponding to the decline of the Indus
civilization (Madella and Fuller, 2006:1298). Sanlaville et al. (1991:13) report similar dates from
Pasni in Makran, obtained from marine shells. The
absence of other late 5th millennium results suggests that, during this period, mangroves were
confined to the eastern part of the bay, where the
current morphology favours a prolonged persistence of wetter environments. The fact that the
d13C values of cluster 4 are higher than the average preceding ones might point to another clue in
this regard;
Although the above interpretation is disputable due to possible alteration effects in the tested
samples, a few more problems are considered to
be relevant. They are:
1) The 6th millennium BP peak is represented
by only one date. If compared with those of the
arid episodes recorded from the Arabian Sea and
lake-cores (Von Rad et al., 1999; Ajithprasad,
2004; Staubwasser and Weiss, 2006), we can argue that mangrove swamps effectively retreated
during this period;
2) The variability of the d13C values of the
above samples might depend on both specific/individual differences, and local/regional climatic
effects among which the most important are:
(a) Dimension, individual age and feeding
habits of the samples (Pape et al. 2008);
(b) Monsoon cycle-tied climatic variations
(Shankar et al., 2002; Loschnigg et al., 2003;
Wright et al., 2008), that may significantly alter
the d13C values (Bouillon et al., 2004);
(c) Riverine/precipitation regime (Jain and
Tandon, 2003), shoreline (Lambeck, 1996) and
specific hydrological changes (Raikes, 1967;
Meadows and Meadows, 1999) eventually causing undetectable hard-water effects (Badgley et
al., 1972; Banse, 1984);
(d) Environmental conditions, among which
are mangrove swamp extensions, influencing, for
instance, both organic litter decomposition and
light intensity (Snedaker, 1984; Ahmed, 1999);
3) Fourteen of the above seventeen d13C values are from T. palustris gastropods. The results
were then compared with typical mangrove and
non-mangrove values from different species recovered from other mangrove environments
around the world, especially Florida (Lin et al.,
1991). This might mask possible inter-specific local and/or regional differences. Regional and seasonal variability might even complicate the problem, as they are difficult to recognize on the basis
of the available data.
Calibration problems
The problems related with the calibration of
the radiocarbon dates of the prehistoric shell middens of the north-western Arabian Sea have been
long debated with contrasting results (Uerpmann,
1990; Biagi, 1994; Uerpmann and Uerpmann,
2003; SaliÀge et al., 2005). As already pointed out
for the Oman sites, the absence of data from the
northern coast of the Arabian Sea makes the choice
of the appropriate calibration curve of the Daun
sites rather problematic for two main reasons:
1) As the d13C values show, most samples
The shell middens of the Bay of Daun
41
Fig. 15. Daun: chronological distribution of the calibrated BC results according to the three models described in
the text (a-c) (drawing T. Fantuzzi)
42
P. Biagi et al.
come from mangrove environments. This cannot
exclude possible alteration effects among which
are hard-water, freshwater, and organic litter decomposition, as well as other specific/individual
difference as, for example, age and feeding habits
of the individuals tested (Pape et al., 2008).
2) There is no specific datum such as deepwater upwelling and/or oceanic reservoir effect
that may have influenced the Daun sites calibration. The nearest data come from a core 300 km
north of port Okha, with a regional mean of
229±27 14C yrs (Reimer and Reimer, 2001) and
from Port Okha itself, with a value of 163±30 14C
yrs (Dutta et al., 2001). They were chosen to construct two of the interpretative models presented
in this paper, although fixed and constant values
always need to be treated with caution given that
both local and decadal (or even inter-year) variations, that have proven to be relevant in modern
samples (Dutta et al., 2001), may be unrecognised
to some extent.
Following the above considerations, we have
preferred to present both the “raw” uncalibrated
results (Table 2; Fig. 14), and three different calibration models: 1) the sequence after calibration
against the 229±27 reservoir value from the regional mean published by Reimer and Reimer (2001),
2) the 163±30 reservoir effect from Port Okha
(Dutta et al., 2001), and 3) the Marine 09 Calibration Curve, without reservoir effect (Fig. 15).
The general distribution of the calibrated dates
looks unvaried as expected, although mainly in the
diagrams of Fig. 15 a) and b) the shell exploitation
peak matches well with the Mature Indus civilization period.
DISCUSSION
The Daun radiocarbon dates suggest that
mangrove environments were present around the
bay just before the mid 7th millennium BP, and
were exploited by the Neolithic inhabitants for
shellfish consumption. Their exploitation ceased
during the 6th millennium BP, the only exception
being that of Daun 6, whose high d13C value
shows a non-mangrove origin. This result allows
us to hypothesize that mangrove swamps retreated or disappeared (?) from the area during the
Chalcolithic Amri/Nal cultures, reinforcing the
impression of a Mid Holocene dry episode already known from other parts of Eurasia (Anderson et al., 2007:8), among which are the IndusSarasvati region (Brooks, 2006:38), and the Thar
Desert lakes of Rajastan (Deotare et al., 2004:20).
Mangrove swamps spread again during the
5th millennium BP, when a peak in T. palustris exploitation is marked by a cluster of dates with depleted d13C values, typical for mangrove environments. Mangrove swamps retreated again,
perhaps during another dry episode, in the late 5h
millennium BP, when only two shell middens
were settled east of the lagoon, not far from the
present-day shoreline.
The suggested cycles of mangrove exhaustion and rejuvenation seem to match well with the
monsoon cycles, which show a general weakening around 6000–5500 BP (Morrill et al., 2003).
Arid periods have been recorded from a few
Rajasthan and Gujarat lake cores, in particular
Nal Sarovar, where dryer episodes occurred during the early 7th and the 6th millennia BP, and general arid conditions before the end of the 5th millennium BP (Ajithprasad, 2004). Furthermore
global-scaled arid/cooling episodes alternated between 5200 and 4200 BP, and possibly also 6000
BP (Staubwasser and Weiss, 2006). They are intriguing for the different episodes of mangrove
exhaustion and rejuvenation at Daun.
The climatic and morphological changes of
Las Bela coastal zone can be compared to those
that took place along the coast of Oman during the
Middle Holocene (Lézine, 2009), where variations
in the littoral Arabian Sea environments have been
recorded along formerly ancient lagoons rich in
mangroves, at present dissected basins, which had
been seasonally settled during most favourable periods by different human groups (Charpentier et
al., 2000; 2012; Lézine et al., 2002; Martin, 2002,
Cleuziou, 2004:134).
As for other parts of the world the systematic
radiocarbon dating of mangrove shell samples
around the Bay of Daun has shown that, also in
this region, shell middens are not exclusively a
stone age phenomenon (Andersen, 2007). Shell
gathering took place in different periods according to the availability of the mangrove resources,
with two distinct picks of exploitation during the
Neolithic and the Bronze Age, as part of different
cycles of prehistoric subsistence.
The shell middens of the Bay of Daun
43
CONCLUSION
According to the radiocarbon results, human
groups began to settle along the coasts of Daun
Bay during the first half of the 7th millennium BP
(Fig. 14). Similar dates come from other sites distributed along the shores of the Arabian Peninsula
and the Gulf (Biagi, 2008b; Boivin and Fuller,
2009:fig.5; Uerpmann and Uerpmann, 2003:table
2.1), which were settled during the middle Holocene, when the sea-level stabilised along a line
some 0.5–3m higher than that of the present (see
for instance Gupta, 1972; Sanlaville, 1992;
Bernier et al., 1995; Lambeck, 1996).
The research under-way along the coasts of
Las Bela and Lower Sindh led to the discovery of
a few 8th millennium, and several 7th millennium
BP shell middens along the shores of Lake Siranda
(Balochistan) (Biagi et al., in press a; in press b),
the Tharro and Makli Hills (Lower Sindh) (Biagi,
2010; 2011b). These discoveries raise important
questions regarding the mid-Holocene peopling
of this part of the Arabian Sea, although we have
to consider that “the distribution of shell mounds
is probably a poor indicator of the distribution of
coastal population” (Bailey and Milner, 2002:6),
and that people moved across the Gulf (Cleuziou,
2004:136; Carter, 2008) and the Arabian Sea, exploited different environments, and developed
specific activities according to the different locations they inhabited, as they still do nowadays
(Potts, 1990: 57; Costa, 1991; Lancaster and Lancaster, 1992; Nadjmabadi, 1992).
The most important questions to be answered
regard 1) the problems related with the earliest
seafaring along the northern shores of the Arabian
Sea (Biagi, in press), 2) the changes that took
place in the coastal environment during the Holocene, and the Middle Atlantic period in particular
(Kennett and Kennett, 2006:76; Bailey et al.,
2007:133), and 3) the relationships between coastal shell middens and Neolithic settlements of the
interior (Khan, 1979b).
1) A small scatter of Ostreidae along the
southern edge of the Tharro Hills (Gujo, Lower
Sindh), radiocarbon-dated to 6910±60 BP (THR2:
GrN-32119), shows that the “islet” was reached by
boat around the beginning of the 7th millennium BP
(Biagi, 2010:fig.16). The Makli Hills were settled a
few centuries later, as shown by a scatter of T. pa-
Fig. 16. Distribution map of the radiocarbon-dated 8th
and 7th millennium BP shell middens of Las Bela and
Lower Sindh: 1) Daun, 2) Lake Siranda, 3) Tharro
Hills, 4) Makli Hills (drawing P. Biagi)
lustris shells (KKT2: GrN- 32464: 6320±45 BP)
(Biagi, 2013);
2) The above dates show that the Tharro and
Makli Hills, at present surrounded by the alluvial
plain of the Indus delta (Blandford, 1880:24),
were “islands” in the 7th millennium BP. The new
dates obtained from shell middens discovered
along the shores of Lake Siranda, two of which
yielded 8th millennium, and five 7th millennium BP
results (van der Plicht pers. comm. 2012; Biagi et
al., in press b), help us follow the environmental
changes that effected this basin that, according to
R.E. Snead (1966:60), was connected to the
Sonmiani lagoon “in the not-too-distant past”;
3) The 7th millennium Daun shell middens
show that mangrove (and marine) resources were
seasonally exploited by communities of shellfish
gatherers moving seasonally between the coast and
other landscapes, whose base settlements were located most probably slightly inland (Lézine et al.,
2002:229), although so far there is no evidence for
Early Neolithic sites in this part of Las Bela and
Lower Sindh (Khan, 1979a; 1979b; Shaffer,
1986; Possehl, 1999; Gangal et al., 2010). This
fact is most probably due to the absence of any accurate surveys aimed at the recovery of settlements of this period (Khan, 1979c:58). The unknown chronology of the Early Neolithic sites of
Balochistan (Fairservis, 1956), and the uncertain
radiocarbon seriation of Neolithic Mehrgarh
(Jarrige et al., 1995:555; 2007–2008), have been
44
P. Biagi et al.
recently criticised (Petrie et al., 2010). Nevertheless the absolute dates obtained from the bottom
of the pollen column sampled from this latter site
shows that Neolithic Mehrgarh started to be settled at the beginning of the 8th millennium BP as
shown by a conventional date of 7928±126 uncal
BP (R-2290: Costantini, 2007–2008:171). The inhabitants of Mehrgarh undoubtedly entertained
relationships with the northern coasts of the Arabian Sea since the beginning of the Neolithic, as
indicated by the great quantity of marine shell ornaments in the aceramic Neolithic graves goods
(Ray, 2003:33; Jarrige, 2004:48). In this respect it
is important to point out that the new radiocarbon
results from Lake Siranda show that the shores of
this ancient lagoon were already settled during the
last two centuries of the 8th millennium BP (Fig.
16), remarking the complexity of the oceanic and
terrestrial movements that shaped the geomorphology of the region since the beginning of the
Holocene (Bailey and Parkington, 1988).
At Daun, the almost absence of 6th millennium shell middens contrasts with the high number of 5th millennium BP stations, suggesting that
climatic and environmental changes affected the
peopling of this part of the coast of Las Bela during the above periods. These data point out the
importance of the freshwater resources and monsoon precipitations for the communities that temporarily settled in the area to exploit the rich mangrove environments available along the shores of
the bay (Ewel et al., 1998) during periods of increasing productivity of the oceanic coastal microenvironments (Erlandson and Fitzpatrick, 2006).
Acknowledgments
Research at Las Bela has been made possible thanks
to the financial support of the Italian Ministry of Foreign
Affairs (MAE, Rome), EURAL Gnutti (Rovato, Brescia),
and Ca’ Foscari University archaeology funds.
The authors are very grateful to Professor A.H.
Bouk (Department of Computer Science, Balochistan
University, Quetta), for his company, help and support
during the 2008 fieldwork season. Special thanks are
due to Professor A.R. Khan (Department of Geography, Karachi University) without whose advise the
Daun sites would have never been discovered, and Dr.
M. Spataro (British Museum, UK) who took part in the
2000 and 2004 exploratory visits, and Professor P.J.
Reimer (Queen’s University, Belfast) for the useful
discussions on isotopic fractionation.
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