The evolution of urban life in the Kushan period, between the first century BC and the fourth century AD, was influenced by the Hellenistic legacy of Alexander ‘the Great’ as well as by the traditional settled community structures of northern India and Pakistan. It was a period in which cities grew and flourished, fed materially and culturally by the developing trade routes that passed through Central Asia.

The latest stage in the Palaeolithic era is that of the Upper Palaeolithic Cultures, in which important technological advances were made, such as the invention of flint tools and fine-edged blades. It was also a time of artistic innovation, as seen in the cave paintings that can be found across Asia as well as in Western Europe, testifying not only to the development of technologies and tools but also to a high level of cultural and intellectual achievement.

The mountain cave sites of Central Asia provide vital material for the archaeologist and the pre-historian in constructing an understanding of Asian Palaeolithic cultures. The stone tools and artefacts that have been uncovered in Northern India, Pakistan, the Hindu Kush, Kazakhstan and Mongolia allow us to comprehend aspects of the lifestyles and economy, and even the cultures and beliefs, of the societies that produced them.

Research into the Palaeolithic cultures of Central Asia is perhaps the earliest glimpse we have of human societies living in this macro-region.  The most extensive research has been carried out in Pakistan, northwestern India, Mongolia, and western Central Asia, although there is still much left to be done. From excavations of stone tools and the existence of permanent settlements, we can start to build some idea of the establishment of ancient societies in Central Asia and their economic and social structures.

The Neolithic tribes that inhabited modern-day Mongolia, Siberia, and Kazakhstan migrated throughout the region continually and had frequent contacts with other ancient tribal societies. Tools for farming, hunting and fishing were developed in this period using new, microlithic techniques which allowed more complicated implements to be constructed.

Neolithic Chinese communities developed close contacts with adjoining regions, with cultural exchange taking place between the nomadic tribes of the north and west, and the sedentary cultures to the south-east.  Both farming communities and nomadic tribes left an archaeological record of tools and craft objects, as well as burial chambers, all of which stand as testimonies to the distinctive yet closely related cultures that developed in eastern Central Asia in the Neolithic Era.    

Archaeological excavations in India and Pakistan have revealed evidence of technological developments from the Iron Age. Between the period 1,100 and 800 BC, the Painted Grey Ware Culture emerged in this region, including not only the distinctive painted pottery after which the culture has been named by archaeologists, but also a wide range of tools and craftworks in ceramics, iron, copper, glass and bone.

The discovery of iron was of enormous importance for the history of mankind, and although at first used principally for decorative purposes, metallurgic technology gradually developed to produce weapons and tools in iron. It also increased the productivity of farm labour, as new farming implements could be designed.

The ancient region of Bactria – now covering the countries of Afghanistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan – was home to a wide variety of settled and nomadic tribes in the Bronze Age.  Large-scale migration and resettlement of communities occurred across the region, resulting in the circulation of new cultures and languages. In this way, highly developed settled communities and nomadic tribes both exchanged elements of culture and language.

The civilizations of the Indus Valley were among the earliest in the world to become settled or 'urban'. There are four principal settlements known to archaeologists today; Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa, in Pakistan, and Lothal and Kalibangan in western India. It was between these ancient societies that the earliest trade routes were established.