Portal:Balochistan, Pakistan

Culture | Economy | Education | Geography | History | Language | People | Politics | Sport | Tourism | Transport Mehrgarh (Brahui: Mehrgaŕh, Urdu: مہرگڑھ), one of the most important Neolithic (7000 BCE to c. 2500 BCE) sites in archaeology, lies on what is now the "Kachi plain" of today's Balochistan, Pakistan. It is one of the earliest sites with evidence of farming (wheat and barley) and herding (cattle, sheep and goats) in South Asia.Mehrgarh is located near the Bolan Pass, to the west of the Indus River valley and between the present-day Pakistani cities of Quetta, Kalat and Sibi. The site was discovered in 1974 by an archaeological team directed by French archaeologist Jean-François Jarrige, and was excavated continuously between 1974 and 1986, and again from 1997 to 2000. The earliest settlement at Mehrgarh—in the northeast corner of the 495-acre (2.00 km2) site—was a small farming village dated between 7000 BCE to 5500 BCE and the whole area covers a number of successive settlements. Archaeological material has been found in six mounds. Early Mehrgarh residents lived in mud brick houses, stored their grain in granaries, fashioned tools with local copper ore, and lined their large basket containers with bitumen. They cultivated six-row barley, einkorn and emmer wheat, jujubes and dates, and herded sheep, goats and cattle. Residents of the later period (5500 BCE to 2600 BCE) put much effort into crafts, including flint knapping, tanning, bead production, and metal working. The site was occupied continuously until about 2600 BCE. In April 2006, it was announced in the scientific journal Nature that the oldest (and first early Neolithic) evidence in human history for the drilling of teeth in vivo (i.e. in a living person) was found in Mehrgarh.Mehrgarh is now seen as a precursor to the Indus Valley Civilization. "Discoveries at Mehrgarh changed the entire concept of the Indus civilization," according to Ahmad Hasan Dani, professor emeritus of archaeology at Quaid-e-Azam University, Islamabad, "There we have the whole sequence, right from the beginning of settled village life." (More...) 250px Credit: Rehmat Aziz Chitrali The oldest wooden plate of Chitral, Pakistan Mir Gul Khan Nasir (Urdu: میر گل خان نصیر‎) was a prominent Pakistani politician, poet, historian, and journalist from the province of Balochistan. Born on 14 May 1914 in Noshki, he was most active between 1935 to 1980 and is regarded as a leading cultural figure and national poet in Balochistan. His father’s name was Mir Habib Khan and he belonged to the Paindzai family of the Zagar Mengal sub branch of the Mengal tribe. Mir Gul Khan’s mother “Bibi Hooran” belonged to the Rakhshani branch of the Bolazai Badini. Mir Habib Khan had five sons and three daughters. Nasir was number seven among his eight siblings and was the fourth amongst his brothers (i.e.) Mir Samand Khan, Mir Lawang Khan, Mir Lal Bux, Mir Gul Khan and Col. Sultan Mohammad Khan. Mir Gul Khan Nasir studied until Fourth Grade in his village. For further studies he was sent to Quetta where he got admission in Government Sandeman High School. After passing his matriculation examination from this school, he went to Lahore in order to pursue a higher education in Islamia College Lahore. During his second year in Islamia College, a piece of coal went into Mir Gul Khan’s eye due to which he had to discontinue his education and return to Quetta. Lahore, at that time, was the hub of knowledge and political and social activities. The political, cultural, social and literary movements in Lahore made quite an impression on Mir Gul Khan Nasir. When he returned to Quetta, Balochistan was split into several parts namely the Chief Commissioner's Province and the Balochistani princely states. The province of Balochistan was under direct British rule while the Balochistani States were indirectly controlled by the British through the Tribal Chiefs (sardars) and rulers, whom they had bought. (More...) .....that the neighborhoods of Hazara Town and Mehr Abad in Quetta are home to one of the largest communities of Persian-speaking immigrant Hazara people from central Afghanistan? Urdu edition of Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Pashto edition of Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Persian edition of Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Sajji Cooking in Balochistan Pakistan Sajji is the traditional dish of Balochistan, Pakistan Photo credit: Khalid Mahmood The following Wikimedia sister projects provide more on this subject: What are portals? List of portals Featured portals