Balochistani terracotta figurine of a Zebu Bull

Balochistan is one of the four provinces of Pakistan, located in the southwestern region of the country, where it shares borders with Punjab and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas to the northeast, Sindh to the southeast, the Arabian Sea to the south, Iran to the west, and Afghanistan to the north. The main ethnic group in the province with 46% are the Baloch people and the name Balochistan actually means “the land of the Baloch”. Balochistan marked the westernmost extent of the Indus Valley Culture, a Bronze Age civilisation (3300–1300 BCE) extending from what today is northeast Afghanistan to Pakistan and northwest India. Along with ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia it was one of three early civilisations of the Old World, and of the three, the most widespread. It flourished in the basins of the Indus River, which flows through the length of Pakistan and at its peak the Indus Civilisation may have had a population of over five million. Inhabitants of the ancient Indus river valley developed new techniques in handicraft (carnelian products, seal carving) and metallurgy (copper, bronze, lead, and tin). The Indus cities are noted for their urban planning, baked brick houses, elaborate drainage and water supply systems. For comparable examples see: J.F.Jarrige ed., Les Cites Oubliees de l’Indus: Archeologie du Pakistan, 1988: pp.105-107. – (LO.894)