Conclusion

It has become evident that human development is manifested in Baluchistan from the seventh millennium onward. While this development was, in general, continuous, regional differences and changes in the material culture through time were present. The emerging picture does not reflect a ‘monocultural’ region, but a patterned landscape, marked by the appearance and disappearance of particular cultural styles. Looking at the cycles of growth, expansion, and abandonment, it becomes clear that in cultural terms, prehistoric Baluchistan was neither a border nor a frontier, but a dynamic interaction zone. Nevertheless, the communities that made the processes described above happen did not become integrated into a large scale, coherent entity, notwithstanding the fact that smaller regions, such as southeastern Baluchistan and Sindh Kohistan, were closely interrelated during the early third millennium BC. One likely reason why a large-scale merger did not happen probably is the rugged topography. The importance of terrain as determining factor becomes clear when we look at the region’s more recent history. As in Afghanistan, expanding conquerors and empires, be it Dareios or Alexander the Great, nomadic tribes from the north, or the British army, had their hold on Baluchistan because it was important as a trespass. But they never ruled it for long - and they left very few archaeological traces. Whenever possible, preference was given to the maritime route and waterways, or the open plains. Only then, it was considered a barrier and it never regained the economic and cultural prosperity of its prehistoric past when it was a center in its own right which participated in and contributed to regional development processes.

See also: Animal Domestication; Asia, South: Buddhist Archaeology; India, Deccan and Central Plateau; India, Paleolithic Cultures of the South; Indus Civilization; Kashmir and the Northwest Frontier; Megaliths; Neolithic Cultures; Paleolithic Cultures; Sri Lanka; Asia, Southeast: Pre-agricultural Peoples; Pottery Analysis: Stylistic; Plant Domestication; Spatial Analysis Within Households and Sites.