Helmand culture

The Helmand culture (also Helmand civilization), c. 3300–2350 BCE,^[1] is a Bronze Age culture that flourished mainly in the middle and lower valley of the Helmand River, in southern Afghanistan (Kandahar, Helmand and Nimruz provinces) and eastern Iran (Sistan and Baluchestan Province), predominantly in the third millennium BCE.^[2]

The people of the Helmand culture lived partly in cities with temples and palaces, providing evidence for a complex and advanced social structure. The main cities so far known are Shahr-i Sokhta (in modern Iran) and Mundigak (Afghanistan). Research on the finds from both places showed that these cities shared the same culture.^[3] These are the earliest discovered cities in this part of the world, although the village Mehrgarh further to the southeast is considerably older. It is possible that the Helmand culture formed once one ancient state.^[4]

The pottery of the Helmand civilization is colorfully painted with mainly geometrical patterns, plants and animals are also depicted. Bronze was known. In Shahr-i Sokhta were found texts in Elamite language providing evidence with connections to the west of the Iran. There are also a few connections with the Indus Valley civilisation, but it seems that the Helmand civilization existed earlier and did not have significant chronological overlap with the cities in the Indus valley.^[5]

V. M. Masson discussed several types of early civilizations. He distinguishes three typesː 1. Civilizations of tropical agriculture; 2. Civilizations of irrigation agriculture; and 3. civilizations of non-irrigated Mediterranean agriculture. For the civilizations of irrigation agriculture he sees two sub typesː Civilizations with irrigation derived from large rivers and civilizations with irrigation agriculture based on limited water sources. According to Masson, the Helmand culture clearly belongs to the latter type. He does not mention the term Helmand culture, but the cities Mundigak and Shahr-i Sokhta.^[6]