Indus valley civilization – 2500-1750 BC
- Indus valley civilization also know as Saraswati-sindu civilization or Harrapan civilization (because 1st excavated city was Harappa)
- R.B. Dayaram Sahni first discovered Harappa (on Ravi) in 1921.
- R.D. Banerjee discovered Mohenjo-Daro or ‘Mound of the Dead’ (on Indus) in 1922.
- Sir John Marshal played a crucial role in both these.
- Belongs to the Bronze Age.
- Indus valley civilization had sequence of transition –
- Phase -1.Nomadic herdsmen or pre harrapan.
2. Development of village and cities or early harrapan
3. Emergence of great cities or mature Harappan stage
4. End phase or late harrapan - Mediterranean, Proto-Australoid, Mongoloids and Alpines formed the bulk of the population.
- According to radio-carbon dating, it spread from the year 2500-1750 B.C.
- Copper, bronze, silver and gold were known but not iron.
Geographical extension OF Indus valley civilization
- North – MANDA (J&K)
- SOUTH -DAIMABAD (MH)
- EASTALAMGIRPUR (UP)
- WEST-Sutkagendor (BALUCHISTAN PAKISTAN )
- The largest and the latest site in India is Dholavira
in Gujarat.
TOWN PLANNING OF Indus valley civilization
- Burnt bricks of good quality were used for building material except in Rangpur and Kalibangan.
- The towns were divided into two parts: Upper part or Citadel and the Lower part.
- The Citadel was an oblong artificial platform some 30-50 feet high and about some 200-400 yards in area. It was enclosed by a thick (13 m in Harappa) crenellated mud brick wall. The Citadel comprised of public buildings whereas the lower part comprised of public dwellings.
- GREAT BATH @Mohenjo-Daro dimension = 12×7×2.4 m deep. Used for rituals.
- Houses were often of two or more storey, windows faced the streets and the houses had tiled bathrooms.
- There was a good drainage system and drains were made of mortar, lime and gypsum and covered with bricks.
Political Organization– No idea…….
Economic life OF Indus valley civilization
Agriculture –
- The Indus people sowed seeds in the flood plains in November when the flood water receded, and reaped their harvests of wheat and barley in April, before the advent of the next flood.
- The people grew wheat, barley, rai, peas, sesame, mustard, rice (in Lothal), cotton, dates, melon, etc. The Indus people were the first to produce cotton in the world.
- Domestication of animals was done on a large scale. Besides the cattle, sheep, pigs, camels, cats and dogs were domesticated.
- Horses weren‘t in regular use but elephant was for transportation.
Trade and Commerce
- Well-knit external and internal trade. There was no metallic money in circulation and trade was carried through Barter System.
- Weights and measures of accuracy existed in Harappan culture (found at Lothal). The weights were made of limestone, steatite, etc. and were generally cubical in shape.
- 16 was the unit of measurement (16, 64, 160, 320).
- Flint tool-work, shell-work, bangle-making (famous in Kalibangan), etc. were practiced.
- Raw material source= gold from Karnataka, silver and Lapis Lazuli From Afghanistan and Iran, copper from Khetri(RJ) and Baluchistan, etc.
- Bead making factories existed in Chanu daro and Lothal.
- The inland transport was carried out by bullock carts.
Art and Craft
- The Harappan culture belongs to the Bronze Age and bronze was made by mixing tin and copper. Tools were mostly made of copper and bronze
- The Indus valley people were very fond of ornaments (of gold, silver, ivory, copper, bronze and precious stones) and dressing up. Ornaments were worn by both men and women, rich or poor. The Harappa’s were expert bead makers.
- Cotton fabrics were quite common and woolens were popular in winter.
- The Indus valley people were very fond of ornaments (of gold, silver, ivory, copper, bronze and precious stones) and dressing up.
- Ornaments were worn by both men and women, rich or poor.
- Women wore heavy bangles in profusion, large necklaces, ear-rings, bracelets, fi gure-rings, girdles, nose-studs and anklets.
- The Harappans were expert bead makers.
Harappan Seals
- Potter‘s wheel was in use. The Indus Valley Pottery was red or black pottery and the people indulged in dice games, their favorite pass time being gambling.
- The most impressive of the figurines is the bronze image of a dancing girl (identified as a devdassi) found at Mohenjo-Daro.
- Maximum number of seals discovered is made of steatite with the unicorn symbol being discovered on the maximum number of seals.
Religious Life of
- The main object of worship was the Mother Goddess or Shakti.
- Many trees (peepal), animals (bull), birds (dove, pigeon) and stones were worshipped. Unicorns were also worshipped. However no temple has been found at that time.
- At Kalibangan and Lothal fire altars have been found.
Script
- The script is not alphabetical but pictographic. (about 600 deciphered pictographs).
- The script has not been deciphered so far, but overlaps of letters show that it was written from right to left in the first line and left to right in the second line. This style is called Boustrophedon.
Reasons for end/decay-
- The Harappan culture lasted for around 1000 years.
- The invasion of the Aryans, recurrent floods (7 floods), social breakup of Harappans, Earthquakes, successive alteration in the course of the river Indus and the subsequent drying up of the areas in and around the major cities, etc. are listed as possible causes for the decline of the Indus Valley Civilization.
Important Sites of the Indus Valley Civilization
1. Harappa =Ravi(located on river bank)
- It is situated in Montgomery district of Punjab (Pakistan).
- Evidence of coffin burial and cemetery ‗H‘culture.
- The dead were buried in the southern portion of the fortified area, called cemetery R-37.
- Almost 36% of the total seals excavated in the Indus Civilization are excavated from Harappa alone.
- Other discoveries include Bronze image of an ‗ekka‘ (vehicle) and a seal with the representation of the sign of swastika‘ on it.
2. Mohenjo-Daro =Indus
- Also known as the ‗Mound of the dead‘, it lies in Larkana district of Sindh (Pakistan).
- Some of the specific findings during the excavations of Mohenjo-Daro include:
-A college, a multi-pillared assembly hall.
– The Great Bath
– A large granary (the largest building of Mohenjodaro) which suggests extreme centralization as the ruling authorities must have first brought the agricultural produce here and then redistributed it. - Evidence of direct trade contact with Mesopotamia (Modern Day Iraq).
- A seal representing Mother Goddess with a plant growing from her womb, and a woman to be sacrificed by a man with a knife in his hand.
3. Alamgirpur =HINDON - The famous Harappan site is considered the eastern boundary of the Indus culture. Findings suggest that Alamgirpur developed during the late-Harappan culture.
- The site is remarkable for providing the impression of cloth on a trough.
4. Kalibangan= Ghaggar
- Kalibangan was an important Harappan city. The word Kalibangan means ‗black bangles‘. A ploughed field was the most important discovery of the early excavations. Later excavations at Kalibangan made the following specific discoveries:
- A wooden furrow
- Seven fire altars in a row on a platform suggesting the practice of the cult of sacrifice.
- A tiled floor which bears intersecting designs of circles.
5. Kot-Diji
- Kot-Diji is known more as a pre Harappan site. Houses were made of stone.
6. Lothal = bhogwa river
- Lothal was an important trade Centre of the Harappan culture. The town planning in Lothal was different from that of Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro. The city was divided into six sections.
- Remains of rice husk (the only other Harappan city where the rice husk has been found is Rangpur near Ahmedabad).
- An artificial dock yard.
- Evidence of games similar to modern day chess and an instrument for measuring 180, 90, 45 degree angles (the instrument points to modern day compass).
7. Amri
- Amri also gives evidence of pre Harappan settlement.
8. Chanhu-daro =Sarasvati River
- Excavations at Chanhu-daro have revealed three different cultural layers from lowest to the top being Indus culture, and the pre-Harappan Jhukar culture and the Jhangar culture.
- The site is especially important for providing evidences about different Harappan factories. These factories produced seals, toys and bone implements.
- It was the only Harappan city without a citadel.
9. Ropar = Sutlej
- Ropar is a Harappan site from where remains of pre-Harappan and Harappan cultures have been found.
- Buildings at Ropar were made mainly of stone and soil.
- Important findings at the site include pottery, ornaments, copper axes, chert blades, terracotta blades, one inscribed steatite seal with typical Indus pictographs.
10. Banawali - Situated in Hissar district of Haryana, Banawali has provided two phases of culture during its excavations:
- the pre-Harappan (Phase I) and the Harappan (Phase II).
11. Surkotda - Situated in Kutch (Bhuj) district of Gujarat and excavated by J.P. Joshi in 1972, Surkotda was an important fortified Harappan settlement.
- This site is important because it provides the first actual remains of horse bones.
12. Sutkagendor
- Sutkagendor situated in Sindh (Pakistan) was an important coastal town of the Indus civilization.
- Excavations of Sutkagendor have revealed a twofold division of the township: the Citadel and the Lower City, it is said that Sutkagendor was originally a port which later cut off from the sea due to coastal uplift.