Trade and technology of the Indus Valley: new insights from Harappa, Pakistan

This paper presents selected results of current research on specialized crafts at the early urban center of Harappa, Pakistan. Many crafts such as shell working, ceramics, and agate and glazed steatite bead making are represented from the earliest levels of the site (c. 3300 BC) and continue up until the final phase of prehistoric occupation (c. 1700 BC). Materials analysis and sourcing, microscopic studies of manufacturing waste and finished objects, experimental replication, and ethnoarchaeological studies have been used to investigate the trade of raw materials and finished objects, as well as the development of technological innovations. Some of these crafts are still practiced in the subcontinent today, and by using more precise methods of analysis and documentation it will be possible to follow the continuities and change of some crafts for over 5,000 years.