
The Helmand culture, flourishing between 3300 and 2350 BCE,[1] was a Bronze Age civilization located in the Helmand River valley in southern Afghanistan and eastern Iran. It was characterized by complex urban settlements, notably Shahr-i Sokhta in Iran and Mundigak in Afghanistan, which are among the earliest discovered cities in the region. This culture demonstrated advanced social structures, with evidence of temples and palaces. Pottery from this era was decorated with colorful geometric patterns, animals, and plants, indicating a rich cultural expression. Bronze technology was present, and texts in the Elamite language found at Shahr-i Sokhta suggest connections with western Iran and,[2] to a lesser extent, with the Indus Valley civilization, although there was minimal chronological overlap with the latter.
V.M. Masson categorized early civilizations based on their agricultural practices, distinguishing among civilizations of tropical agriculture, of irrigation agriculture, and of non-irrigated Mediterranean agriculture. Within the civilizations of irrigation agriculture, he further identified those based on large rivers and those reliant on limited water sources, with the Helmand culture fitting into the latter category. This civilization's reliance on limited water sources for agriculture underscores its ingenuity and adaptation to the environment.