Page 14 - The Majestic Balochistan

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BALOCHITHERIUM BALOCHISTAN’S PIECE OF
PREHISTORIC HISTORY
Whenever we think about dinosaurs and their might, we seldom, if ever, picture them in Balochistan. Hollywood
would have us believe that life first appeared in America or we would think that these creatures are more likely to
have existed in Africa, However, a little research would tell us that Balochistan holds its own place in this history
with the discovery of the Balochitherium. First discovered in 1910, by English Paleontologist, Sir Clive Forster
Cooper, Balochitherium, or “the boast of Balochistan has been categorized as the largest land mammal to have ever
lived. Decades later in the 1990s, French paleontologist Jean-Loup Welcomme came to Balochistan to retrace Sir
Cooper’s steps. He found that the remains had been found near Dera Bugti. Welcomme sought Nawab Akbar Khan
Bugti’s cooperation to carry out excavations in the area. From then on, under a project named “Mission Paleontologi-
que Française au Balochistan” with the Pakistan Museum of Natural History as a stakeholder, Welcomme was able to
excavate countless fossils of the mighty Balochitherium, in a mere 200 square meter area in what is known as one of
the best exposed-bone beds on Earth.

In 2003, after having supposedly discovered all possible remains of the creature. Welcomme’s team began to examine
the bones and put them in their right places. They were able to discern that the Balochitherium truly was a majestic
beast standing up to 5 meters tall and weighing up to 20 tons, almost the size of 3 full-grown Elephants. They
inferred that the Balochitherium roamed Asia some 25 to 35 million years ago when the region we now call Balochis-
tan was a lush Amazon like forest. Welcomme’s team also uncovered a wide array of fossils from other animals like
crocodiles as well as marine life, suggesting that around 30 million years ago. Balochistan was also home to an
epi-continental or inland sea. Welcomme’s team was able to discover around 20,000 fossils in the Dera Bugti aroa
alone. Fossils of the ancestors of elephants and lemurs have also been discovered in parts of Balochistan. This
strengthens the hypothesis that many animal groups have Asian origins before having migrated elsewhere due to
changes in climate. An example is the lemur, which was initially believed to have originated in Africa. French expert
Laurent Marivaux discovered a 30-million-year-old Lemur fossil, the oldest to have been found yet, suggesting that
the Lemur might have Asian roots instead. Welcomme also found another fossil valley in Balochistan called “Paali”.
Here, while examining sand, he discovered teeth of smaller mammals, among them the teeth of a pre-historic Primate
Dubbed Anthropoid Primates, this new information suggested that in addition to being the birthplace of various
animal groups, Balochistan could also be the origin of humans. The Balochitherium lived here for about 11 million
years before eventually going extinct. The events leading up to their extinction are the same ones that initially
allowed them to flourish here is movement of Earth’s tectonic plates. The great Gondwanaland, comprising of South
America, Africa, Australia, and the Subcontinent, broke into its parts and eventually created prime conditions for the
Balochitherium in Balochistan The same movement pushed the Subcontinent towards Asia, destroying a pre-historic
sea in the process and altering the climate 22 million years ago As the sea dried up, vegetation in the area also
disappeared and caused the eventual extinction of the mighty Balochithoirum, leaving behind only bones and fossils
for us to examine and marvel at. So far, only 5% of the Dera Bugti area has been excavated and Paali itself is said to
hold more than 10 million years worth of ancient history. These forgotten pieces of Balochistan’s pre-historic history
must be further studied and preserved. The study of this history shows us that Balochistan was part of the beginnings
of life on Earth. Studying those majestic creatures and their history also makes one think about the fragility of life and
its existence on Earth. It tells us that life existed on this planet long before the human race and may continue to exist
long after us.