fourth by Lothal.
Harappan, Mature Harappan and Late Harappan phases or stages. The most
important consequence of this research is the clear proof of the long-term
indigenous evolution of this civilisation which obviously began on the
periphery of the Indus valley in the hills of eastern Baluhistan and then
extended into the plains. There were certainly connections with
Mesopotamia, but the earlier hypothesis that the Indus civilisation was
merely an extension of Mesopotamian civilisation, or that the former was a
direct imitation of the latter, had to be rejected.
First Stage: Mehrgarh
Located at the foot of the Bolan pass, it is about 150 miles to the north-west
of Mohenjodaro. Although it is administratively part of Baluchistan, it is
hydrologically a part of the Indus system. Excavations here provide us with
the earliest evidence yet available for settled agriculture in the Indian
subcontinent. The site of Mehrgarh is about 1000 yards in diameter and
contains, as seen already, six mounds with different strata of early
settlements.
Second Stage: Amri
The transition from the Pre-Harappan to the Mature Harappan culture is best
evidenced at Amri. It seems that the people of Amri wanted to keep in touch
with the early cultures of Baluchistan and considered it as something of a
daring venture to settle in the great plains near the Indus. This new venture
was started only around 4000 BC, that is, 2000 years after the early cultures of
Baluchistan appeared in places like Mehrgarh. But Amri and similar sites in
the lower Indus valley (like Kot Diji) were inhabited throughout the millennia
of the Indus civilisation and, therefore, provide interesting evidence of the
cultural evolution in the valley.
    The excavations at Amri were conducted between 1959 and 1969. The
four stages of the Indus civilisation are clearly exhibited here at Amri: Pre-
Harappan, Early Harappan (which is a phase of transition), Mature Harappan