HARAPPAN CIVILISATION

1. Context

• The Harappan/ Indus Valley civilization was the first urban civilization in South Asia, contemporaneous with the civilizations of Mesopotamia and Egypt.
• It was larger than ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia civilizations. First site excavated: Harappa site by Dayaram Sahni in 1921.
• John Marshall: first scholar to use the term Indus Civilisation. Most accepted timeline: 2500 BC-1750 BC (Carbon-14 Dating).
• Period: India Civilization belongs to the proto-historic period- Chalcolithic Age/Bronze Age. Heartland of Indus Civilization: Harappa-Ghaggar- Mohenjo Daro axis.
• Indus sites found in Afghanistan: Shortughai and Mundigaq.
• Capital cities: Harappa, Mohenjodaro.
• Port cities: Lothal, Sutkagendor, Allahdino, Balakot, Kuntasi.
• Areas covered: Harappan civilizationtion was triangular in shape and was the largest among the three ancient urban civilization the other two being ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq). It roughly covers modern day Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana, Gujarat, and Pakistan.
• Father of Indian archaeology: Alexander Cunningham, the first Director-General of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).

3. Four phases of Indus Valley Civilisation (IVC)

4. Town planning and structure

• The towns were in a rectangular grid pattern with roads at right angles. Used burnt mud bricks joined with gypsum mortar (contemporary Egyptian dried bricks were used).
• The city was divided into two parts, the city on a raised platform, known as Upper Citadel & the lower town known as Lower Citadel (working-class quarters).
• A fortified citadel was found, except in Chanhudaro. Most buildings have private wells and properly ventilated bathrooms.
• Do not have large monumental structures such as temples or palaces for rulers, unlike Egyptian and Mesopotamian Civilization.
• Evidence of an Advanced drainage system. At sites such as Dholavira and Lothal (Gujarat), the entire settlement was fortified, and sections within the town were also separated by walls.
• The Citadel within Lothal was not walled off but was built at a height.

5. Agriculture

• Main crops: Wheat and Barley. Evidence of the cultivation of rice in Lothal and Rangpur (Gujarat) only.
• Other crops: Dates, Mustard, Sesamum, Cotton, Rai, Peas, etc.
• First to produce cotton in the world and used it for textiles, Called Sindon by the Greeks.
  Used animal-drawn wooden plough, and stone sickles.
• Gabarbands or Nalas enclosed by dams were found but channel or canal irrigation was
  probably not practiced.
• Produced sufficient food grains and cereals were received as taxes from peasants and stored in granaries for wages and emergencies same as in Mesopotamia.

6. Domestication of Animals

• Animals: Oxen, buffaloes, goats, sheep, pigs, dogs, cats, asses, and camels domesticated.
• Humped bulls were favored by the Harappans. Neither horse centered nor were they aware of it, but evidence of horses is found in Surkotada, Mohenjo Daro, and Lothal.
• The lion was not known.  Elephants and Rhinoceros (Amari) were well known.

7. Technology and Craft

• This is known as the first urbanization in India. Along with stone, they were well acquainted with copper, silver, gold, and bronze (occasionally mixed arsenic with copper instead of tin).
• Iron was not known to the people.
• Important crafts: spinning (Spindle whorls), bricklaying, boat-making, seal making, terracotta manufacturing (potter’s wheel), goldsmiths, bead making.
• They were aware of the use of the wheel.

8. Trade and Commerce

• The importance of Trade is established by the presence of Granaries, seals, a uniform script, and regulated weights and measures.
• They engaged in inter-regional as well as foreign trade. Sumerian texts refer to trade relations with Meluha i.e. ancient name given to the Indus region & mentions two intermediate trading stations- Dilmun (Bahrain) & Makan (Makran coast).
• Used boats and bullock carts for transportation. No metallic money was in circulation and trade was conducted by means of barter.
• Import: Gold, Silver, Copper, Tin, Jade, Steatite.
• Exports: Agricultural products, cotton goods, terracotta figurines, beads from Chanhudaro, conch-shell from Lothal, ivory products, copper, etc.

9. Social Organisations

• Hierarchy in urban habitation. Merchants and priests were an important class of this period.
• Harappans were fashion-conscious. Different hairstyles and wearing a beard were popular.
• The use of cosmetics was common (Cinnabar, lipstick, and collyrium) Necklaces, filets, armlets, and finger rings were worn by both men and women but bangles, girdles, anklets, and ear-rings were worn by women only.
• Beads were made from gold, copper, bronze, cornelian, quartz, steatite, lapis lazuli, etc. - naturalistic animal models as pin-heads and beads.

10. Religious Practices

• Most of the seals are square-shaped (2x2 square inches) and made mostly from Steatite.
• Seals had an animal (except cow and horse) or human figure on one side and an inscription on the opposite side or inscriptions on both sides.
• Seals were primarily used for commercial purposes, as an amulet, as a form of identification, and for educational purposes as well.
• Seals with symbols similar to the Swastika design have also been found. The round Persian Gulf seal found in Bahrain sometimes carries Harappan motifs.
• Interestingly, local Dilmun weights followed the Harappan standard. 

Image Source: Web

12. Art

• Bronze Casting: Practiced on a wide scale using the lost wax or Cire Perdue technique. They mainly consist of human and animal figures. Example: Dancing Girl. She stands in a Tribhanga dancing posture.
• Stone Statues: Bearded man: found in Mohenjo- daro and made of Steatite, interpreted as a priest.
• Red sandstone: a figure of a male torso is found in Harappa and made of Red sandstone.
• Terracotta Figures: Found less in number and crude in shape and form. Examples: Mother Goddess, the mask of a horned deity, toys, etc.

13. The Decline of Indus Valley Civilisation

• Aryan Invasion: One theory claims that Indo-European Tribe i.e., Aryans invaded and conquered the IVC.
• Natural Factors: On the other hand, many scholars believe natural factors are behind the
  decline of the IVC.
• The natural factors could be geological and climatic.
• It is believed that the Indus Valley region experienced several tectonic disturbances which
  causes earthquakes. Which also changed the course of rivers or dried them up.
• Another natural reason might be a change in patterns of rainfall or it could have been due to a combination of these natural and anthropogenic causes.

Previous year Questions