Conference at 5:30 PM, by Carla Biagioli, doctoral student EPHE, at Maison de l’Asie, 22 avenue du président Wilson, 75016 PARIS.

The most recent studies in environmental archaeology of Central and South Asian mountains focus on exploring the millennial river valleys situated in the foothills of the Hindu Kush, Karakoram, and the Himalayas, considered as corridors for the exchange of agricultural practices, technical knowledge, and skills. Far from representing isolated and closed places, these valleys have played a central role in the development and innovation of technologies as well as in the urbanisation processes of the plains. The region considered in this study is the Swat valley, located in northern Pakistan, in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa district, which will be compared to the Himalayan region of the Almora-Kumaon valley (Uttarakhand State in India). These are all river valleys situated at an altitude of between 800 and 2500 metres above sea level, and are characterized by a similar alpine landscape. The environmental richness of Swat and Kumaon has made these low and medium altitude valleys privileged ecological zones for settlement, agricultural development, and cattle breeding—activities that, since antiquity, have favoured the emergence and creation of major urban centres. It is therefore in these valleys that the majority of villages are concentrated, surrounded by very habitable landscapes, with a rather hospitable climate and characterized by the development of common agricultural practices, mainly linked to the double cultivation of rice and wheat (polyculture). The evolution of habitat and land exploitation by semi-nomadic Gujars and sedentary Pashtuns will be examined through the description of villages situated in the historic valley of Kandak and its neighbouring valleys, on the right bank of the Swat River and close to the archaeological complex of Barikot-Bazira. The relationship with the river, the presence of secondary watercourses as well as the relationship with forest resources will be taken into account in this analysis of material culture and the communities’ adaptation strategies to their environment. Recent studies have made it possible to highlight the presence of various architectural styles within several villages in these two regions. However, this research requires consolidation as this vernacular architecture should be documented in more detail.