gems, lapis lazuli, Afghanistan, gem trade, Central Asia, Pakistan, Mehrgarh

Lapis lazuli working at Mehrgarh, Pakistan, dates back to the 4th millennium BC, as documented by Massimo Vidale and Maurizio Tosi in their 1990 study published in Paléorient (Vol. 16, No. 2, pp. 89–99). Their research highlights evidence of early lapis working techniques in one of the earliest Neolithic settlements of South Asia. The Chagai Hills are considered a possible source of the material, with lapis lazuli from this region characterized by a greenish hue due to diopside inclusions—an observation consistent with later gemological accounts, including those in ExtraLapis. Earlier use of lapis at Mehrgarh has also been noted by Jarrige (1985: 285), who reports finds from Period I, dating to the 7th millennium BC, making it one of the earliest known occurrences of lapis lazuli use, as later referenced by Moorey.