The Kacchi Plains ( Sindhi: ڪچي ميدان, Balochi: کَچِّ سَتَیْ زَمِیمْ) or Bolan Plains, also known as Kach Gandava is a region located in Balochistan,

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

. The addition of the latter "gandava" is based on the name of the town of Gandava in the present-day

Balochistan, Pakistan Balochistan (; ; , ) is a province of Pakistan. Located in the southwestern region of the country, Balochistan is the largest province of Pakistan by land area but is the least populated one. It is bordered by the Pakistani provinces of Khybe ...

History

The Kachhi Plain is the home of the archeological site of

Mehrgarh Mehrgarh is a Neolithic archaeological site situated on the Kacchi Plain of Balochistan, Pakistan, Balochistan in Pakistan. It is located near the Bolan Pass, to the west of the Indus River and between the modern-day Pakistani cities of Quetta, ...

, one of the most important Neolithic sites in archaeology, in the Kachhi district of Pakistan. It is one of the earliest sites with evidence of farming (wheat and barley) and herding (cattle, sheep and goats) in South Asia. Perhaps, the region also was an important IVC landholding. It is also a possible location of the Historic Sivi kingdom, mentioned in Hindu scriptures. Sindh 700ad

Until the end of the 15th century Kacchi had been part of

Sindh Sindh ( ; ; , ; abbr. SD, historically romanized as Sind (caliphal province), Sind or Scinde) is a Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Pakistan. Located in the Geography of Pakistan, southeastern region of the country, Sindh is t ...

. Around 1500, it was taken by Shah Beg of the Arghun dynasty from the Samma dynasty of the Sultans of Sindh. The territory was conquered by the Kalhoras Amirs of Sindh; they were displaced by the Nadir Shah of

Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

and he made it the part of Kalat Khanate in 1740. Kachhi was notified as a district in February 1965. At that time Naseerabad, Jhal Magsi, Jafarabad, Usta Muhammad and Sohbatpur districts were included; these were separated in 1987.

Geography

Plain

The Kacchi Plain is an arid

plain In geography, a plain, commonly known as flatland, is a flat expanse of land that generally does not change much in elevation, and is primarily treeless. Plains occur as lowlands along valleys or at the base of mountains, as coastal plains, and ...

with mountain ranges on three sides except to the southeast, located in: *the Kachhi District and Lasbela District *the southern part of

Sibi District Sibi (Urdu and ; ) is a Districts of Pakistan, district in the Balochistan (Pakistan), Balochistan province of Pakistan.Nasirabad Division *the southern part of Dera Bugti District

Mountain ranges

There are three main

mountain ranges A mountain range or hill range is a series of mountains or hills arranged in a line and connected by high ground. A mountain system or mountain belt is a group of mountain ranges with similarity in form, structure, and alignment that have arise ...

in Balochistan: *the

Central Makran Range The Central Makran Range is a mountain range in the Makran region, in southwestern section of Balochistan (Pakistan), Balochistan Province, in southwestern Pakistan. Geography It is one of three ranges in the mountain ranges system of the provin ...

(); *the Siahan Range (). Districts: Kachhi,

Sibi Sibi (; ;) is a city situated in the Balochistan (Pakistan), Balochistan Subdivisions of Pakistan, province of Pakistan. The city serves as the administrative headquarters of the Sibi District, district and Sibi Tehsil, tehsil of the same name ...

, Nasirabad, Jafarabad, Jhal Magsi, Usta Muhammad, Sohbatpur, Harnai, Lasbela and Hub districts of Balochistan.

Archaeology

is one of the most important

neolithic The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...

sites (7000 BCE to c. 2500 BCE) in

archaeology Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

and is located in Kacchi Plain.

References

External links

Balochistan Government

Agriculturists in the Kachhi Plain, Balochistan

Nomadic Pastoralists and Sedentary Agriculturists in the Kachhi Plain, Balochistan
Plains of Pakistan Landforms of Balochistan (Pakistan) Dera Bugti District Kachhi District Sibi District {{Balochistan-geo-stub