The Cultural Geography of Kot Dijians on the Indus and Beyond: A Comparative Analysis of Kot Diji and Sarai Khola Pottery Assemblages

Abstract

Kot Diji culture refers to the prehistoric people of the Indo-Pak subcontinent, predating the urban Harappan (Indus Valley) Civilization. This is called the pre Harappan period, which began around 3300 BCE and continued until 2800-2600 BCE. It was first identified at the site of Kot Diji in 1958, with a distinguished craft and technological sophistication, and a simple but standardized living style with homes made mainly of stone and mudbrick. The ceramic style differs from that of the Harappans, with commonly thin, lightweight, short-necked, short-rimmed vessels, wide black colour bands on the neck, community ovens, and fortifications. Moreover, until the 1970s, the geographical limits of the Kot Dijian occupation were considered to be in Sindh. But now, throughout the Indus region and beyond, the Kot Dijian occupation has been discovered, for example, at Burzahom, Kashmir; Kunal, Haryana; Gujarat; Cholistan; Baluchistan; Tuchi Gomal in the Gomal Valley; and Sindh. This essay relies on pottery specimens from the Kot Diji and Sarai Khola sites because, based on regional variation, the same period and culture spread across a large landmass with various geographical and ecological zones, exploiting its resources. Now, in this paper, we are comparing this cultural expansion to the wider limits, ever happened to any culture before the existence Kot Dijians.