A Reassessment of the Zoomorphic Motifs on Ceramics from Rehman Dheri, Gomal Plain, Pakistan

Abstract

The proto-urban settlement of Rehman Dheri (early Bronze Age) in the Gomal Plain, Dera Ismail Khan, has yielded a rich repertoire of ceramics from the surface as well as from archaeological excavations, depicted with a variety of geometric, floral and faunal decorative designs. This paper on the faunal/zoomorphic motifs painted on the ceramics of all three identified periods of the Rehman Dheri cultural sequence (Durrani 1988). The study of animal motifs on ancient pottery is very interesting since it gives valuable information regarding the social, cultural, religious and economic aspects of the society that produced it, while it also provides information on the ecology and environment of the referenced period.