Prehistory
Sarazm: Proto-Urban Settlement of Prehistoric Central Asia
A major centre of early metallurgy and trade in Central Asia, inscribed as Tajikistan's first UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2010.
Region
Asia
Prehistory
Majiayao Culture: Painted Pottery of the Upper Yellow River
A Neolithic culture of millet farmers whose painted pottery and early metalwork shaped north-western China before the Bronze Age.
Prehistory
Liangzhu: Neolithic Water City and Jade Culture of China
An early complex society with a walled capital, large-scale water management and ritual jades, recognised by UNESCO as evidence of early statehood in China.
Ancient World
Indus Valley Civilisation: Bronze Age Cities of South Asia
The largest urban culture of the Bronze Age world flourished for some seven centuries, then gradually broke up into smaller regional village cultures after about 1900 BC.
Ancient World
Shahr-i Sokhta: The Bronze Age Burnt City of Eastern Iran
A large Bronze Age city of the Helmand delta that flourished through crafts and long-distance trade, later abandoned; a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2014.
Ancient World
Kalibangan: Fire Altars and the World's Oldest Ploughed Field
Excavations at Kalibangan revealed a pre-Harappan ploughed field, a planned Harappan town and rows of fire altars, shedding light on Indus farming and ritual.
Ancient World
Dholavira: Indus Water Engineering in the Rann of Kutch
Dholavira became one of the five largest Indus cities, famous for its water management, and was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2021.
Ancient World
Rakhigarhi: The Largest Indus Valley Site and Its Ancient DNA
Rakhigarhi is ranked among the largest Indus settlements, and a 2019 study of a woman buried there produced the first published genome from the Indus Valley Civilisation.
Ancient World
Indus Script: The Undeciphered Writing of the Harappans
The script remains undeciphered; its language is unknown and no proposed reading has won general acceptance.
Ancient World
Harappa: The Indus City That Gave a Civilisation Its Name
Harappa became the first Indus city to be excavated, gave the Harappan civilisation its name and remains one of the best-studied Bronze Age cities in South Asia.
Ancient World
Mohenjo-daro: Great Bath and Planned City of the Indus Valley
Mohenjo-daro became the best-known city of the Indus Valley Civilisation and, in 1980, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Ancient World
Dancing Girl of Mohenjo-daro: The Famous Indus Bronze Figure
The statuette became one of the most famous works of Indus art and a key example of early lost-wax metal casting.