Around 5500 BC, two individuals were interred in the Kachi Plain of what is now Pakistan. One was an adult male positioned on his side with legs bent backward, while a small child, aged one or two, rested at his feet, all enclosed by a low mud-brick wall.

Fast forward to the 1990s, when archaeologists from the French Archaeological Mission in Pakistan uncovered this burial site. Among the artifacts found near the adult's left wrist was a remarkable set of eight copper beads, remnants of a bracelet, which constituted one of only two such burials in the area that contained copper artifacts.

A research team from the Centre de Recherche et de Restauration des Musées de France (C2RMF), directed by anthropologist Christophe Moulherat, who specializes in ancient textiles, closely examined the beads. Upon splitting one of the beads, they were astonished to discover vegetable fibers.

Subsequent analysis confirmed these fibers were indeed cotton.

This finding marks the earliest known evidence of cotton use globally. The ingenious individuals who crafted the copper bracelet hailed from Mehrgarh, a site recognized as one of the earliest agricultural settlements in the Indian subcontinent.

The people of Mehrgarh cultivated a flourishing culture that laid the foundation for the Indus Valley Civilization, one of history’s pivotal Bronze Age societies.

Who were these mysterious farmers of Mehrgarh? How did they begin to cultivate cotton? Let's journey back to 7000 BC for answers.

Understanding the Farmers of Mehrgarh

The Bolan Pass, situated south of the Hindu Kush mountains, delineates the boundary between the Indian and Iranian tectonic plates. Nestled in the northern part of the Kachi Plain, Mehrgarh is positioned at the foothills of the Bolan Pass.

Strategically located between the fertile Indus valley to the east and the rugged Iranian plateau to the west, the Kachi Plain serves as a transitional region. The dry climate is characterized by extreme summer temperatures, often the highest in the Indian subcontinent.

Yet, there is a vital resource.

The Bolan River flows through this parched landscape, making its banks suitable for agriculture. By around 7000 BC, Mehrgarh emerged as a small farming community with over a hundred residents along the riverside.

Two primary theories attempt to explain the origins of Mehrgarh's farmers.

The first theory posits that Anatolian farmers brought agricultural practices to South Asia.

Prior to Mehrgarh, there was no evidence suggesting that communities were cultivating wild plants or herding animals. Indigenous hunter-gatherers inhabited the Kachi Plain, as indicated by the microliths (small stone tools such as flint spears and arrows) that predate 7000 BC. In contrast, the Near East transitioned gradually from hunter-gatherer societies to semi-sedentary communities, ultimately leading to settled farming lifestyles. Thus, the abrupt shift to settled agriculture in Mehrgarh suggests it may have been introduced by migrant farmers from the Near East.

Supporting this hypothesis are the wheat varieties discovered at Mehrgarh, which trace back to Near Eastern origins. The circular fire pits filled with pebbles and granaries found at Mehrgarh bear resemblance to those in ancient Mesopotamia. Additionally, the positioning of skeletal remains at Mehrgarh parallels findings at the Ali Kosh archaeological site in the Zagros Mountains of southern Iran.

Does this lead us to conclude that the early farmers of Mehrgarh were indeed migrants from the Near East, similar to how Anatolian farmers introduced agriculture to Europe?

Not entirely.

Archaeologist Steven Mithen argues that the notion of human migration from the Near East to South Asia is problematic, as it involves traversing the expansive Iranian plateau before arriving at the foothills of the Bolan Pass. The route to Europe is considerably shorter and less arduous. However, if humans successfully reached Australia, the Arctic, and the Americas, why couldn't they have made it to the Indian subcontinent?

While the Anatolian roots of Mehrgarh's farmers seem reasonable, genetic studies and archaeological evidence have cast doubts on this theory.

Several scholars argue that agriculture and animal domestication in Mehrgarh likely originated locally. Jean-François Jarrige, the archaeologist who first discovered the site in 1974, examined the animal bones found and noted a gradual reduction in the size of cattle and sheep bones over time, suggesting local domestication. Had the livestock been introduced by Anatolian farmers, their bone sizes would have remained unchanged.

Dental analyses of the Mehrgarh population indicated that their teeth closely resembled those of indigenous hunter-gatherers from South Asia. In contrast, Neolithic farmers in the Near East tended to develop cavities due to a diet high in coarsely ground carbohydrates. Interestingly, Mehrgarh's farmers exhibited no such cavities, and their teeth were larger and healthier compared to those from the Near East.

Recent genetic investigations into the DNA of Neolithic (7200 BC to 2500 BC) and Chalcolithic (4500 BC to 1000 BC) populations in Iran and South Asia revealed that while Neolithic Iranian farmers did exhibit Anatolian farmer DNA, South Asian farmers did not. After 6000 BC, gene flow from the Iranian plateau into the Indian subcontinent was minimal, indicating that agriculture likely developed independently within the Indian subcontinent.

So, which theory accurately explains the origins of Mehrgarh's farmers?

While some individuals may have migrated from the Iranian plateau, the absence of Anatolian DNA suggests that mass migrations from the Near East did not occur. Rather, the domestication of livestock and crops appears to have taken place locally.

Among the crops cultivated by the Mehrgarh people was cotton. Before delving into the significance of the cotton found at the site, let’s explore the lives of its inhabitants.

Life in Mehrgarh

While the exact date of the initial settlement remains uncertain, by 7000 BC, several multi-roomed rectangular mud-brick houses had emerged along the riverbank, each featuring a square storage room. These homes were separated by courtyards, which also served as communal spaces for daily activities.

Interestingly, these courtyards doubled as burial sites. While the concept of dwelling among the deceased may seem bizarre today, during the Neolithic period, communities across Europe, the Near East, and South Asia commonly buried their dead beneath their homes or in courtyards.

Graves at Mehrgarh contained arrowheads, stone knives, scrapers, wooden bowls, and remains of sacrificed animals. Additionally, artifacts such as sea shells, lapis lazuli, limestone, sandstone, and turquoise were unearthed.

The presence of lapis lazuli, sourced from Badskhakhan in Afghanistan, along with sea shells from the Arabian Sea, indicates that Mehrgarh's residents engaged in long-distance trade.

As the community expanded, a cemetery was established, featuring 150 burial chambers. These graves were constructed underground, with bodies interred in separate chambers divided by mud-brick walls. When a new burial was required, the walls were dismantled, causing previous remains to shift. Once the new body was interred, the wall was rebuilt, and the tomb sealed. Scholars believe these burial practices reflect the significance of familial connections, as families aimed to inter their deceased together.

Evidence of pottery at Mehrgarh dates back to 5500 BC. By around 4000 BC, with the advent of the potter’s wheel, pots began to replace stone vessels. Ceramic designs became increasingly intricate by 3500 BC, showcasing prominent animal and plant motifs.

Dietary insights from skeletal remains are limited, but it is known that the inhabitants domesticated humped zebu cattle, native to the Indian subcontinent. By the 6th millennium BC, cattle had become the primary livestock, utilized for both plowing and meat.

Further analysis of sheep and goat bones suggests these animals supplemented the cattle diet. While gazelle remains were present, they became less common over time, indicating a shift from reliance on wild game to domesticated livestock. This transition is also reflected in the declining availability of microliths over the years.

At Mehrgarh, barley was the primary crop cultivated, followed by wheat. Archaeologists also found evidence of date and jujube seeds, along with cotton seeds located in cereal storage areas. The people of Mehrgarh were recognized as the world's first cotton farmers, valuing its oil-rich seeds. Cotton played a crucial role in the region's economic development and has since become the most widely manufactured textile globally.

Moulherat's discovery of cotton threads within a copper bracelet at Mehrgarh was groundbreaking, pushing back the timeline of cotton domestication by several millennia. Prior to this, it was believed that the Indus Valley Civilization was the first to produce cotton items.

Now, let’s delve into how Moulherat identified the cotton fibers found in the copper beads.

The First Cotton Threads

Due to the ephemeral nature of cotton fibers, pinpointing the exact beginning of cotton agriculture at Mehrgarh is challenging. The copper bracelet discovered in the 5500 BC burial represents the oldest evidence of cotton use, though it is plausible that cotton cultivation predates this artifact.

The unique preservation of the threads within the bead arose from corrosion of the copper, which released metallic salts that replaced the organic cotton material, thus preserving it.

How did Moulherat ascertain that these fibers were cotton?

His team extracted a 5 square mm section of the bead and coated it in gold to facilitate examination under a scanning electron microscope (SEM). SEM analysis provided insights into the sample's composition. Following this, the sample was set in resin and polished with diamond paste. Sections were then cut for microscopic examination.

By measuring the thickness of the fibers' cell walls, the scientists deduced that the threads comprised both ripe and unripe cotton. This constituted the earliest known cotton threads. However, they could not determine whether the cotton was domesticated or wild.

So, is it accurate to label the inhabitants of Mehrgarh as "cotton farmers"?

Did they actively cultivate cotton, or did they simply gather it from wild sources?

There are fifty recognized species of cotton, classified under the genus Gossypium. However, only four species are cultivated, each evolving independently in various regions worldwide. One of these species, G. arboreum (tree cotton), is believed to have originated between East Africa and the Indian subcontinent.

Since no known wild varieties of G. arboreum exist, Moulherat posits that the Mehrgarh inhabitants were either familiar with cultivated cotton or may have been the ones to domesticate it. Their proficiency in thread production suggests a level of expertise in handling fiber plants.

According to Moulherat:

> "It is true, however, that neither the fibres, nor the seeds from Mehrgarh allow us to assert that cotton was actually domesticated in the Kachi Plain during the Neolithic and the use of wild cotton fibres remains equally possible. Nevertheless, we should bear in mind that the early inhabitants of the site were already experienced agriculturists, well acquainted with the cultivation of several crop plants. The processing of crude cotton fibres in order to obtain the thread attested at Mehrgarh would have required a certain experience of the use of fiber plants."

Mithen contends that the cultivation of cotton at Mehrgarh is not surprising, given that Neolithic farmers in the Jordan Valley, who had economies and technologies comparable to those in South Asia, were producing textiles as early as 8000 BC.

The storage of cotton seeds further indicates agricultural practices. Seeds were discovered in cereal storage areas, implying that extensive cotton farming would yield surplus seeds for future use. These seeds could have been processed for oil or used as livestock feed.

Over the next 4000 years, as the course of the Bolan River shifted, new settlements emerged while others were abandoned. Mehrgarh continued to evolve, relocating within the Kachi Plain. Cotton, advanced pottery, and long-distance trade spurred economic prosperity, laying the groundwork for the Indus Valley Civilization.

Around 2600 BC, the people of Mehrgarh vacated their community, migrating to Nausharo, approximately five miles away, as the Indus Valley Civilization began to dominate the region.

In this narrative, we explored the story of the Mehrgarh people and the earliest confirmed instance of cotton cultivation in history. This innovative farming community not only cultivated cotton but also utilized flint tools for dental care. For those intrigued by this tale and eager to learn about the dental practices and other technological advancements at Mehrgarh, we invite you to explore the following article.

References - Moulherat, C., Tengberg, M., Haquet, J., & Mille, B. (2002). First Evidence of Cotton at Neolithic Mehrgarh, Pakistan: Analysis of Mineralized Fibres from a Copper Bead. Journal of Archaeological Science, 29(12). - Mithen, S. J. (2003). After the Ice: A Global Human History, 20,000–5000 BC. Weidenfeld & Nicholson. - Gangal, K., Sarson, G. R., & Shukurov, A. (2014). The Near-Eastern Roots of the Neolithic in South Asia. PLOS ONE, 9(5). - Coningham, R., & Young, R. (2015). The Archaeology of South Asia: From the Indus to Asoka, c.6500 BCE–200 CE. Cambridge University Press. - Shinde, V. et al. (2018). An Ancient Harappan Genome Lacks Ancestry from Steppe Pastoralists or Iranian Farmers. Cell, 179(3). - Narasimhan, V. M. et al. (2019). The Formation of Human Populations in South and Central Asia. Science, 365(6457).