The Cultural Dynamics of the History of Asia in Petroglyphs along the Karakoram Highway

Abstract

The author proceeds from the personal narrative of his first visit to the Northern Areas in November 1979 on a somewhat urgent and confidential assignment of the Ministry of Culture, which he completed with a remarkable precision. His technical report now buried in official files is lost virtually, but his present memoirs on such obscure aspects of ancient history as the trade in the herb of Soma juice, sacred to and valued by the early Aryans, and its elimination, possibly during the Achaemenian social reforms, and its replacement by the commerce in salajeet in the area, are interesting aspects on which the conventional books of history remain silent. The author draws attention to another aspect of social reforms, probably achieved during the Sasanian times, as suggested by his critical appreciation of a beautiful local folk-lore. This relates to the elimination of the probable practice of marriages among sibling pairs, as part of the primitive institutions prevailing in the backward communities of isolated valleys of the high mountains. Speaking of the petroglyphs, he augments his keen scientific observations on natural causes of stone coloration, with studied results of the field surveys of the Pak-German Study Group. At places, the author touches upon the vast subject of the indications of the Pleistocene glaciations in parts of the upper Indus Valley, which in itself is a virgin field for research by students of the Earth Sciences in Pakistani Universities. A correlation of the fluctuating phases of the glacial and inter-glacial climatic conditions would be of immense value in analysing the palaeolithic artefact industries in the Potohar region, in which the author has carried out his field works over more than ten years. The author shows a clear grasp of the petroglyphs as products of the psychological reflexes of humans in a landscape of frightening isolation, where demons and death seem to lurk behind every boulder, and in the merciless forces of the mountain streams. Perhaps, his most useful contribution lies in tabulating the groupings of the petroglyphs in historic perspective, essentially based on studies of the German savants, it makes a good supplement on the subject for students of social studies. The tabulation may have many drawbacks, which it is hoped, will be improved by those believing in constructive criticism. The author duly acknowledges his sources in the adequate references to the published literature.