Prehistoric India to 1000 B.C. c12.154

c12.154

The Harappā pottery is for the most part plain, mass-produced wares for purely utilitarian purposes, peculiar in its types to the Harappā kingdom itself, and without recognizable antecedents or analogues outside. Among the types represented, however, one is particularly noteworthy, which consists of a platter on a raised foot, usually referred to as an 'offering-stand'. The appearance of sherds of this type of vessel on a site marks the presence of the Harappā civilization as surely as 'Samian' pottery betokens Roman occupation in Europe. These offering-stands derive from the pedestalled bowls known, for instance, in the Zhob Valley in the Rana Ghundai II phase: this type is not, however, represented among the Buff-ware group of Baluchistan except for possible examples in the Amri phase.