Indus Valley civilization was much more varied and wider than historians believed till date,” said Professor of Archaeology and Heritage Management, Boston University, Mohammed Rafique Mughal on Monday.
"Extensive exploration and excavation of sites in the upper Indus Valley and the lower Sindh have revealed a widespread cultural phenomena which existed at that time," said Mughal, delivering the Dr I H Qureshi Memorial Lecture, the Harappan civilization, at St Stephen's College.
Claiming that field researches at Harappan sites—both in India and Pakistan —are leading to fresh interpretations, Mughal said, "While we are still striving to understand various aspects of this civilization, certain cultural patterns are emerging from the current research that offers new perspective to various aspects of the Harappan Civilization."
Born in Pakistan, Professor Mughal is an archaeologist of international repute. His primary research is on South Asian archaeology, Indus Valley archaeology and international heritage management.
"The Neolithic settlement at Mehrgarh, located within the physiographic region of upper Sindh, has revealed that human settlement in the Indus region dates back to sixth millennium BC. A remarkable complexity in architecture, social stratification, elaborate burial practice and emerging craft specialization have been found, but the evidence is not conclusive enough to link the Neolithic horizon of Mehrgarh with the nest state of human cultural development, labelled as Hakra and Kot Dijian," said Professor Mughal.
Professor Mughal called for collective efforts rather than individuals for bringing to the fore various aspects of the Indus Valley Civilization. "Still a lot has to be done. The findings have made us realise how ignorant we are in understanding this remarkable civilization."
Historian Romila Thapar presided over the talk attended by many historians and professors of Delhi University.
Dr I H Qureshi, in whose name the lecture is instituted was the first teacher of history at DU. He was also a minister of education in Pakistan.