City Older Than Mohenjodaro Unearthed

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Mohenjodaro is a ruin (located in what is now Pakistan) dating back to

c. 2,500 BCE, part of a pre-Vedic Indian culture that once thrived

along the now-extinct Saraswati River valley in what is now

northwestern India and Pakistan. The evidence suggests that its

inhabitants worshiped "prototype" forms of Shiva and Shakti -- indeed,

a huge cache of mother goddess figurines have been found in the ruins,

suggesting a strongly Goddess-centered religion, quite probably the

root of modern Shakta and Tantra.

 

But is this culture even older than anyone suspected? Check out this

article, taken from the news service REUTERS [WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 16,

2002 6:25:32 PM]:

 

NEW DELHI: Indian scientists have made an archaeological find dating

back to 7500 BC suggesting the world's oldest cities came up about

4,000 years earlier than is currently believed, a top government

official said on Wednesday.

 

The scientists found pieces of wood, remains of pots, fossil bones and

what appeared like construction material just off the coast of Surat,

Science and Technology Minister Murli Manohar Joshi told a news

conference.

 

"Some of these artefacts recovered by the NIOT (National Institute of

Ocean Technology) from the site such as the log of wood date back to

7500 BC, which is indicative of a very ancient culture in the present

Gulf of Cambay, that got submerged subsequently," Joshi said.

 

Current belief is that the first cities appeared around 3500 BC in the

valley of Sumer, where Iraq now stands, a statement issued by the

government said.

 

"We can safely say from the antiquities and the acoustic images of the

geometric structures that there was human activity in the region more

than 9,500 years ago (7500 BC)," S.N. Rajguru, an independent

archaeologist, said.

 

The findings, if confirmed, will dislodge the Harappan Civilisation

dating back to 2500 BC as India's oldest civilisation.