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4th Millennium BC Lapis Lazuli Working at Mehrgarh, Pakistan.

1990; Volume: 16; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês

10.3406/paleo.1990.4535

1957-701X

Maurizio Tosi, J. E. Vidale,

Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology

The paper describes the lapis lazuli industry recovered by the French archaeological mission at Mehrgarh on the surface of the site MR2, dating to the IVth millennium ВС. This find represents one of the earliest lapis lazuli bead making assemblages in South Asia, and it shows the involvement of the Kachi plain region in the production of luxury ornaments since comparatively ancient periods. We attempt to outline a basic reconstruction of the beads manufacturing sequences, as well as a preliminary evaluation of the relative rates of loss, in terms of wasted raw material, across the various stages of reduction.