The Archaeology of Afghanistan: From Earliest Times to the Timurid Period

752 Pages·2019·119.326 MB·English

by  Raymond Allchin (editor), Norman Hammond (editor), Warwick Ball (editor), Norman Hammond (editor)

HAMMOND+BALL revised layout.qxp_Layout 1 21/03/2019 06:47 Page 1
T
‘This comprehensive reworking of the original 1978 book, edited with sovereign assurance by Afghanistan is where the great
Warwick Ball, one of the greatest living specialists on Afghan archaeology, with the assistance of OH civilisations of Western, Central and
Norman Hammond, summarises post-1978 research from Palaeolithic to Mughal times. With ten South Asia overlapped. It was equally
specialist contributions plus dozens of new drawings and colour plates, this is the book of books FE THE ARCHAEOLOGY the centre of great civilisations that
spread into adjacent regions at different
on Afghanistan’s material culture.’

A times. Its landscape embraces
A
Professor Robert Hillenbrand, University of Edinburgh environments from the high mountains
FR OF AFGHANISTAN of the Hindu Kush to the Oxus basin and
G the great deserts of Sistan. Trade routes
An updated and revised edition of a classic text C from China and the Mediterranean,
H from Central Asia and the Arabian Sea,
H
on the archaeology of Afghanistan From Earliest Times met in the country. It witnessed the
A development of early agriculture and
A
to the Timurid Period the Bronze Age civilisation of Central
N
Located at the cultural crossroads of Asia, Afghanistan boasts some of the continent’s most E Asia; the conquests of the Persians,
important, diverse and spectacular historical remains. This book, originally published in 1978, was Alexander of Macedon and Genghis
IO
the first complete survey in English of the country’s immensely rich archaeological heritage. The Original edition by Raymond Allchin and Norman Hammond Khan; the spread of Buddhism and then
S
contributors, all acknowledged scholars in their field, worked in Afghanistan on projects ranging Islam. And the empires of the Kushans,
L
T Ghaznavids, Ghurids and Timurids were
from prehistoric surveys to the study of Islamic architecture. Now thoroughly revised by an
AO centred there, with ramifications
international team of scholars, The Archaeology of Afghanistan has been brought up to date to
throughout Asia.
incorporate the latest discoveries and research.
NG
All of this has resulted in spectacular
New to this edition:
Y archaeological and historical remains,
• New interpretation of the Afghan Bronze Age within the broader context of the recently the study of which formed the basis of
the original edition of The Archaeology of
identified Oxus and Helmand Civilisations
Afghanistan (1978), edited by Raymond
• Reports on excavations completed after the first edition, such as Shortughaï and Kandahar R Allchin and Norman Hammond.
A
Y
• Excavations revealing Achaemenid, Greek and Kushan discoveries at and near Balkh, M This major new edition has been revised
Achaemenid levels at Herat and spectacular Buddhist remains at Kabul and Mes Aynak AN O throughout to provide the most up-to-
N
D D date coverage of this important
• Revised discussions of Graeco-Bactrian and Kushan coinage N A archaeological area.
O L
• Major revisions of Kushan and later pre-Islamic history based on the recent discovery of the R L
M C
Rabatak Bactrian inscription and the Bactrian documents H
A
I Raymond Allchin (1923–2010) was at
N N
• Other major discoveries such as the Greek Sophytos inscription from Kandahar, the Sasanian H , the Faculty of Oriental Studies,
W
cave painting at Ghulbiyan, the Sasanian rock relief at Rag-i Bibi and many others A University of Cambridge, and one of the
M A
foremost British archaeologists in South
R
M
• Important early Islamic urban remains revealed at the Minaret of Jam with extensive related W Asian archaeology.
O
I
fortifications systems extending over a vast area N C
D K Norman Hammond is a Senior Fellow
• Extended bibliography with almost twice the number of new titles B of the McDonald Institute for
A
L Archaeological Research at the
• Nearly 500 illustrations, nearly all new and mostly in colour L
University of Cambridge.
Cover image: the 15th-century Timurid shrine at Kuhsan (photo: W. Ball) Revised and updated by Warwick Ball is a Near Eastern
Cover design: www.hayesdesign.co.uk archaeologist who was Acting Director
ISBN 978-0-7486-9917-9
of the British Institute of Afghan Studies.
W B with
ARWICK ALL
N H
ORMAN AMMOND
edinburghuniversitypress.com
THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF
AFGHANISTAN
To the memory of our fellow-authors
Raymond Allchin (1923–2010)
Klaus Fischer (1919–1993)
Maurizio Taddei (1936–2000)
THE ARCHAEOLOGY
OF AFGHANISTAN
FROM EARLIEST TIMES TO THE
TIMURID PERIOD
NEW EDITION
ORIGINAL EDITION
EDITED BY RAYMOND ALLCHIN
AND NORMAN HAMMOND
REVISED AND UPDATED EDITION
EDITED BY WARWICK BALL
WITH NORMAN HAMMOND
Edinburgh University Press is one of the leading university presses in the UK.
We publish academic books and journals in our selected subject areas across the
humanities and social sciences, combining cutting-edge scholarship with high
editorial and production values to produce academic works of lasting importance. For
more information visit our website: edinburghuniversitypress.com
Original edition published 1978, edited by Raymond Allchin and Norman Hammond,
© Academic Press Inc. (London) Ltd
© editorial matter and organisation Warwick Ball and Norman Hammond, 2019
© the chapters their several authors, 2019
Edinburgh University Press Ltd
The Tun – Holyrood Road
12 (2f) Jackson’s Entry
Edinburgh EH8 8PJ
Typeset in Trump Mediaeval by
Servis Filmsetting Ltd, Stockport, Cheshire,
and printed and bound in the EU by Fine Tone Ltd
by arrangement with Associated Agencies Ltd, Oxford
A CIP record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN 978 0 7486 9917 9 (hardback)
ISBN 978 1 4744 5047 8 (webready PDF)
ISBN 978 1 4744 5046 1 (epub)
The rights of Raymond Allchin, Norman Hammond and Warwick Ball to be identified
as Editor of this work have been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs
and Patent Act 1988, and the Copyright and Related Rights Regulations 2003 (SI No.
2498).
Published with the support of the University of Edinburgh Scholarly Publishing
Initiatives Fund.
Contents
Analytical Table of Contents vii
List of Figures and Tables xvi
Notes on Contributors xxx
Acknowledgements xxxiii
Note on Transliteration xxxv
Foreword xxxvii
Mohammad Fahim Rahimi
Preface xlix
Norman Hammond
Introduction to the First Edition 1
Norman Hammond and Raymond Allchin
Introduction to the New Edition 10
Warwick Ball
CHAPTER 1 The Geographical Background 15
Sophia R. Bowlby and Kevin H. White
CHAPTER 2 The Palaeolithic 61
Richard S. Davis
CHAPTER 3 The Development of the Oxus Civilisation North of the
Hindu Kush 99
Henri-Paul Francfort, Bertille Lyonnet, Cameron A. Petrie and
Jim G. Shaffer
CHAPTER 4 The Development of a ‘Helmand Civilisation’ South of
the Hindu Kush 161
Cameron A. Petrie and Jim G. Shaffer
vi CONTENTS
CHAPTER 5 The Iron Age, Achaemenid and Hellenistic Periods 260
Warwick Ball, Simon Glenn, Bertille Lyonnet, David W. Mac Dowall
and Maurizio Taddei
CHAPTER 6 From the Kushans to the Shahis 344
Warwick Ball, Olivier Bordeaux, David W. Mac Dowall,
Nicholas Sims-Williams and Maurizio Taddei
CHAPTER 7 From the Rise of Islam to the Mongol Invasion 460
Warwick Ball and Klaus Fischer
CHAPTER 8 From the Mongols to the Mughals 546
Warwick Ball and Klaus Fischer
CHAPTER 9 Conclusion 609
Raymond Allchin and Norman Hammond
Notes 620
Bibliography 651
Copyright Acknowledgements 695
Index 699
Analytical Table of Contents
List of Figures and Tables xvi
Notes on Contributors xxx
Acknowledgements xxxiii
Note on Transliteration xxxv
Foreword xxxvii
Mohammad Fahim Rahimi
Preface xlix
Norman Hammond
Introduction to the First Edition 1
Norman Hammond and Raymond Allchin
Introduction to the New Edition 10
Warwick Ball
CHAPTER 1 The Geographical Background 15
Sophia R. Bowlby and Kevin H. White
Climate and climatic change 18
Natural resources for subsistence 24
The high mountains 26
The mountains and foothills 31
The plains and lowlands 33
The Amu Darya, Oxus and Helmand-Sistan regions 34
The deserts 36
Patterns of subsistence in the 1950s–1960s 37
Agriculture 38
Nomads 50
Opportunities for trade 56
Summary 60
viii ANALYTICAL TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER 2 The Palaeolithic 61
Richard S. Davis
Problem areas 62
Brief history of palaeolithic research in Afghanistan 63
Initial occupation of Afghanistan – the Lower Palaeolithic 66
The Middle Palaeolithic 67
Darra-i Kur 67
Balkh Province 70
Hazar Sum 70
Kara Kamar 71
Discussion 72
The Late Palaeolithic 74
Kara Kamar Level III 75
The Epi-Palaeolithic 82
Summary 96
CHAPTER 3 The Development of the Oxus Civilisation North of the
Hindu Kush 99
Henri-Paul Francfort, Bertille Lyonnet, Cameron A. Petrie and
Jim G. Shaffer
Introduction 99
The adoption of domesticates: the Neolithic and Chalcolithic
periods 101
Early mobile pastoralists in northern Afghanistan 109
Early sedentary agriculturalists in northern Afghanistan 110
Developments in neighbouring regions and connections to northern
Afghanistan 111
Central Asia 111
Eastern Iran 113
Pakistan 114
Development of stratified societies 116
The Eastern Bactria survey 117
The Late Chalcolithic/Early Bronze Age (c. 3500 to 2500 bc) 119
The end of the Early Bronze Age and Middle Bronze Age (c. 2500 to
1500 bc) 122
Shortughaï 125
Stratigraphy and architecture 127
Surface topography and magnetometry survey 127
Pottery typology and comparisons 132
Petrographic analyses of pottery 133
Small finds 133
Archaeobotany 135
Archaeozoology 137
Metals 137
ANALYTICAL TABLE OF CONTENTS ix
Physical anthropology 138
Chronology 138
Ecology 139
Economy and society at Shortughaï 140
Ghar-i Mar 140
Darra-i Kur 141
Dashli sites 143
Architecture 143
Dashli 1 143
Dashli 3 144
Ceramics 149
Other artefacts 151
Other sites in northern Afghanistan 151
Conclusions about Bactria, Central Asia and the ‘Oxus Civilisation’ 157
CHAPTER 4 The Development of a ‘Helmand Civilisation’ South of
the Hindu Kush 161
Cameron A. Petrie and Jim G. Shaffer
Introduction 161
Geographical factors 162
Mundigak 163
Stratigraphy and architecture 166
Period I 166
Period II 168
Period III 170
Period IV 173
Period V 187
Chronology 189
Ceramics 192
Period III handmade pottery 197
Period III turned pottery, undecorated 197
Period III turned pottery, decorated 198
Period III turned pottery, intrusive or special function 199
Period IV handmade pottery 203
Period IV turned pottery, undecorated 204
Period IV turned pottery, decorated 206
Period IV turned pottery, intrusive or special function 209
Lithic artefacts 216
Bone artefacts 217
Metal artefacts 218
Miscellaneous artefacts 221
Spindle whorls 221
Stone vessels 221
Beads and pendants 222