Quetta

a historical-cultural region in Northern Baluchistan (in modern Pakistan), where archaeological remains of different epochs have been discovered. Aeneolithic and Bronze Age farming cultures have become well known. Numerous excavations have made it possible to trace the steady development of the local culture.

The most ancient settlements date from the late fifth millennium and from the fourth millennium B.C. and are noted for flint tools, modeled pottery, and pisé structures. The presence of bones of sheep, goats, and bulls attests to the domestication of animals. The third and second millennia B.C. saw the appearance of pottery made on the potter’s wheel, terra-cotta figurines, and copper objects. The population engaged primarily in farming and stock raising. Links with the cultures of Iran, Southern Baluchistan, India, and Middle Asia can be traced.

a city in Pakistan, the administrative center of Baluchistan Province. Population, 130,000 (1969). Quetta has a railroad station and is an important trade and transportation center near the Bolan Pass. Food and chemical industries and repair shops are there. After a destructive earthquake in 1935, the city had to be almost completely rebuilt.