ANCIENT HISTORY

Ok so when we start studying ancient history the first question that comes to your
mind is why study what people did some thousands of years back and what relevance
it holds now?

It is mainly for us to understand that:

 How and why our ancestors lived as they did,

 Harappan civilization -> First known Urban Culture in India
 Most of the sites developed on the banks of Indus, Ghaggar and its tributaries.
 Harappans built earliest cities complete with :
a) town planning,
b) sanitation,
c) drainage system and
d) broad well-laid roads.
 They built double storied houses of burnt-bricks + bathroom + kitchen + well.
 Walled cities had important buildings -> the Great Bath, Grannaries and
Assembly Halls.
 Agriculture-> main occupation-> Harappans in rural areas.
 City residents-> internal & external trade + developed contacts with other
civilizations ( e.g. Mesopotamia).
 Harappans-> excellent potters.
 Harappans had technical knowledge of metals & process of alloying (e.g.
bronze sculpture of dancing girl found in Mohenjodaro)
 Shell, ivory, bone and faience were used as material for different crafts.
 Lothal-> dockyard situated in Dholaka Taluk (Ahmedabad, Gujarat)
 Lothal-> well planned wall city + an important centre of sea trade with the
western world.
 Other important Dhaulavira (Guj.) & Kalibangam (Rajasthan).
 Harappans worshipped plants and animals and the forces of nature.
 Worshipped male god resembling Lord Shiva of later times +a mother
goddess.
 Probably believed in life after death and also in charms and spells.
 Seals engraved with animal figures (e.g. humped bull, elephant and
rhinoceros) suggest-> these animals considered sacred.
 ‘Peepal’ found depicted on many seals.
 Harappan script-> yet to be deciphered-> hence, our knowledge of Harappan
civilization-> based on archaeological evidence alone.
 Harappans-> first people to cultivate cotton + knew art of spinning &
weaving.

So we can now look into the Harappan civilization in greater detail.

(*Remember: Harappan Civilization -> also known as Indus Valley Civilization)

1.1 THE HARAPPAN SEAL

 Most distinctive artefact of Harappan/Indus Valley civilization

 Made of stone-> STEATITE
 Seals often contained-> animal motifs + signs (script not yet deciphered)

1.2 BEGINNING

 Several archaeological cultures existed prior to Mature Harappan.

 Settlements-> generally small + no large buildings.
 Break observed between Early Harappan & Harappan civilization
 Evidence: Large scale burning of some sites + abandonment of certain
settlements.

1.3 PLAN OF SURVIVAL

 Harappans ate-> plant & animal products (including fish)

 Charred grains & seeds found @ Harappan site includes->
wheat+barley+lentil+chickpea+sesame.
 Rice-> relatively rare
 Domesticated animals include-> cattle+sheep+goat+buffalo+pig.

1.3.1 Agricultural Technologies

 Representations on seals & terracotta sculpture indicate-> bull was known.

 Can be extrapolated that-> oxen used for ploughing + terracotta ploughs
found @ Cholistan and Banawali (Haryana)
 Another evidence-> ploughed field @ Kalibangan (Rajasthan)
 Above field has-> two sets of furrows @ right angles-> indicates two
crops grown together.
 Most Harappan sites-> located in semi arid areas-> irrigation required.
 Traces of canals found @ Harappan site of Shortughai (Afghanistan) but
not in Punjab or Sind.
 Water reservoirs found in Dholavira (Gujarat)-> indicates possible use of
wells for irrigation.

1.4 MOHENJODARO: A PLANNED URBAN STRUCTURE

 Urban Centres-> most unique feature of Harappan civilization.

 MOHENJODARO- one such centre + most well known site.
(*Remember- First site to be discovered was Harappa not Mohenjodaro)
 Settlement mainly divided into two sections:
(a) Citadel – smaller but higher section
(b) Lower Town – larger but lower section
 Citadel owes its height to-> construction on mud brick platforms.
 This means Citadel was physically separated from the Lower Town.
 Lower town-> also walled, buildings built on platforms serving as
foundations.
 Scale of construction indicates very large scale mobilization of labour.
 Above points suggest-> settlement was first planned then implemented.
 Other signs of planning-> use of bricks (sun-dried or baked) having a
standardized ratio (length = 4 times the height, breadth = 2 times the height)

1.4.1 Laying out drains

 Planned Drainage System-> one of most distinctive features of
Harappan cities.
 Plan of Lower town shows-> roads and streets laid along
approximate ‘grid’ pattern. (intersecting @ right angles)
 Streets with drains laid out first then houses were built along them.
 Every house had at least one wall along a street.
 Now you would ask why?- this is because as the house drainage
system was built along the walls, so in order to allow the domestic
waste water to flow into the street drains at least one wall had to be
built along a street.

1.4.2 Domestic Architecture

 Lower town @ Mohenjodaro provides example of Residential

buildings.
 Many buildings were centered along a courtyard with rooms on all
sides.
 No Windows in walls along ground level-> Privacy Reasons (very
obvious !!! :-) :-p)
 Also main entrance does not give direct view of the interior or
courtyard.
 Every house had its own bathroom paved with bricks + drains
connected through the walls to the street drains.
 Some houses-> staircases present-> provides access to 2nd
floor/terrace/roof.
 Many houses had wells-> in a room that could be accessed from
outside-> perhaps used by passers-by.

1.4.3 The CITADEL

 Evidence of structures used for special public purposes found here.

 These include:- (a) The Warehouse- massive structure, only lower
brick portions intact, upper portions of wood
decayed.
(b) The Great Bath-
  large rectangular tank surrounded by corridor on
all four sides
 two flights of steps on the north and south
leading into the tank
 rooms on three sides (in one room a large well
was there)
 Across North lane-> smaller building->
contained 8 bathrooms (four on each side of a
corridor)
 This structure was meant for some kind of a
special ritual bath.

1.5 SOCIAL DIFFERENCES

1.5.1 Burials

 Study of burials-> one of the strategies used by archaeologists to find

out socio-economic differences amongst people. (living in a particular
area)
 @ burials in Harappan sites-> dead generally laid in pits.
 Some pits showed differences in the way they were made i.e. the
hollow space were lined with bricks.
 The above point can be considered indicative of social differences.
 Jewellery found in burials of both men and women along with pottery
+ copper mirrors ->indicates Harappans believed in afterlife.

1.5.2 Looking for Luxury items

 Study of artefacts-> yet another strategy to identify social differences.

 Artefacts classified as-> Utilitarian & Luxuries
 Utilitarian- includes objects of daily use-> made out of ordinary
materials (eg. Stone & clay)-> e.g. querns, pottery, needles
 Luxuries- rare + made of costly + non-local materials or complicated
technologies. (eg. Little pots of faience)
 Valuable Materials-> generally concentrated in large settlements (eg.
Mohenjodaro & Harappa)-> rarely found in smaller settlements.

1.6 CRAFT PRODUCTION

 Chanhudaro (area = 7 hectares)-> exclusively devoted to craft production.

 This included-> bead-making, shell-cutting, metal-working, seal-making and
weight-making.
 Steatite-> a very soft stone, easily workable-> used for bead-making.
 Nageshwar & Balakot-> settlements near coast
 The above-mentioned are specialised centres for making shell objects->
includes bangles, ladles and inlay.
  Finished products from Chanhudaro & Lothal-> taken to large urban centres
(Mohenjodaro & Harappa)

1.6.1 Centres of Production (identification)

 For identification of centres of production archaeologists look for->

raw materials (eg. Stone nodules, whole shells, copper ore) + tools +
unfinished objects + rejects + waste materials.
 Waste materials-> one of the best indicators of craft work.
 Why? – because if suppose a stone is cut to make objects then pieces
of these materials would be discarded as waste @ place of production.

1.7 PROCUREMENT OF RAW MATERIALS

 As we have seen above, a lot of craft production was taking place in the
smaller as well as larger centres of the Harappan Civilization.
 This indicates a lot of raw materials was required-> some of which was locally
available + others were procured from outside.
 For this purpose proper means of transportation and routes were identified and
used to carry goods and people across land routes (eg. Bullock carts)
 Riverine routes along Indus and its tributaries + coastal routes also used.

1.7.1 Materials from subcontinent and beyond

 Harappans established settlements in-> Nageshwar & Balakot-> as

shell is available here.
 Shortughai (Afghanistan)-> established near-> best source of lapis
lazuli (a blue stone-> very highly valued)
 Lothal established near-> source of carnelian (near Bharuch, Gujarat),
source of steatite (from south Rajasthan & north Gujarat) & metal
(Rajasthan)
 Another strategy for procurement of raw materials-> sending
expeditions to: (a) Khetri (Rajasthan)-> for copper
(b) South India-> Gold
 Such expeditions helped establish communication with local
communities.
 Ya but what’s the proof???
 Evidence-> (1) occasional finds of Harappan artefacts (eg. Steatite
micro beads)

(2) Khetri area-> referred to as Ganeshwar-Jodhpura

culture-> distinctive non-Harappan pottery found +
abundance of copper objects-> indicates inhabitants of this
region may have supplied copper to the Harappans.

1.7.2 Connection with far away regions/lands

  Oman-> copper probably brought from here (according to recent
archaeological finds)
 Oman lies on the south eastern tip of Arabian peninsula (A quick check
on your geography!!!)
 Omani copper + Harappan artefacts-> have traces of nickel-> common
origin indicated
 A large Harappan jar (coated with thick layer of black clay)-> found @
Omani sites
 Such thick coatings prevent the percolation of liquids-> content of
vessels unknown but probably would have been used in exchange for
Omani copper.
 Mesopotamian texts-> refer to copper coming from region called
Magan-> probably a name for Oman.
 Also the copper found @ Mesopotamian sites contained traces of
nickel (refer third point for clarity!!)
 Other evidences of long distance contacts-> findings of Harappan
seals, weights, dice & beads.
 Mesopotamian texts mention contacts with regions named->
(a) Dilmund-> Island of Bahrain
(b) Magan-> Oman
(c) Meluhha-> possibly Harappan region
 Mesopotamian texts mention products from-> Meluhha-> carnelian,
lapis lazuli, copper, gold & varieties of wood.
 Mesopotamian texts refer Meluhha as-> land of seafarers-> depictions
of ships and boats on seals are found.

1.8 SEALS, SCRIPT, WEIGHTS

1.8.1 Seals and Sealings

 Mainly used for long distance communication.
 The knot on rope used for tying a bag containing goods was affixed
with wet clay on which one or more seals would be pressed.
 Intact seals on the knot during delivery indicated there was no
tampering done.
 Sealing also conveyed identity of the sender.

1.8.2 Harappan Script – An Enigmatic Script

 Harappan seals-> have a line of writing-> contains name & title of

owner.
 Animal motifs-> conveyed messages to those who could not read.
 Harappan script-> too many signs (between 375 to 400)-> difficult to
decipher.
 Harappan script-> written from right to left.
 How do you know that??
  Ans- Seals show wider spacing on right & cramping towards the left
meaning as if the engraver began working from right and then fell
short of space.
 Writings found on-> seals, copper tools, rims of jars, copper &
terracotta tablets, jewellery, bone rods + an ancient signboard.
 Considering above variety of writings on objects-> can be extrapolated
that literacy was widespread.

1.8.3 Weights

 Exchange was regulated by a precise system of weights.

 Weights-> made of-> Chert (a stone)-> cubical shape + no markings.
 Smaller weights-> used for weighing-> Jewellery + beads

1.9 ANCIENT AUTHORITY (Who was the BOSS??)

 Harappan society-> presents examples of complex decisions

taken + implemented.
 Some examples-> extraordinary uniformity in Harappan artefacts i.e. pottery,
seals, weights and bricks.
 Bricks-> not produced in any single centre-> but-> uniform ratio followed
throughout the region from Jammu to Gujarat.
 Another example-> settlements set up strategically in specific locations (i.e.
areas near to rich deposits of precious stones+ metals+ trade centres)
 Also-> labour mobilized-> for brick making+ construction of massive walls &
platforms.

1.9.1 Palaces & Kings

 Large Building found in Mohenjodaro-> labeled as palace-> but no

spectacular finds.
 A stone statue found-> known as ‘Priest King’-> associated with
familiarity in Mesopotamian history-> also found parallels in Indus region.

 Many theories proposed-> (a) some archaeologists say no rulers were

present, all enjoyed equal status,
(b) some others argue there was a single state.
(c) others felt there was no single ruler but
several (i.e. Mohenjodaro had a separate
ruler, Harappa another and so forth)
 Option (b) considered more legit due to the following reasons:
 Due to similarity in artefacts
 Evidence of planned settlements
 Standardized ratio of Brick size
 Establishment of settlement near sources of raw materials
  So this suggests that a single house of power existed and it is unlikely that
such complex decisions could have been collectively made & implemented
if there existed a single ruler for each community (same applicable if
everyone enjoyed equal status)

1.10 THE END OF HARAPPAN CIVILIZATION

 By 1800 BCE most of mature sites in Harappan regions abandoned->

eg. Cholistan.
 Expansion of population took place into new settlements-> Gujarat, Haryana
& Western Uttar Pradesh.
 After 1900 BCE-> transformation of material culture observed, these were
marked by:
 Disappearance of distinctive artefacts-> i.e. seals, weights,
special beads.
 Writing + long distance trade + craft specialization-> also
disappeared.
 Shift from standardized weight system to use of local weights.
 House construction techniques deteriorated.
 Large public structures no longer produced.
 Decline & abandonment of cities.
 Artefacts + settlements-> indicated-> rural way of life in Late Harappan or
successor cultures.
 So what can be the reason for such drastic changes??
 Climate change
 Deforestation
 Excessive floods
 By Shifting/drying up of rivers
 Landscape overuse
 But still these do not explain the collapse of entire civilization.
 Many historians have proposed theories of invasion, mass killings etc.-> but
from exam point of view-> not required to get into those details.

1.11 DISCOVERY OF THE HARAPPAN CIVILIZATION

 Cunningham:
 first Director-General of ASI
 Began excavations in mid nineteenth century.
 Followed accounts (texts and inscriptions) left by Chinese
Buddhist pilgrims (they came between fourth and seventh
centuries CE to locate early settlements)
 Since Harappa was not part of itinerary of Chinese pilgrims.
  Therefore, Harappan artefacts found by Cunningham confused
him,
 So, he overlooked the significance of Harappa.
 John Marshall:
 DG of ASI in 1927
 Announced the discovery of new civilization in the Indus
Valley to the world.
 First professional archaeologist in India
 Brought his expertise of working in Greece & Crete.
 Excavated along horizontal units
 Ignored the stratigraphy of site
 So all artefacts grouped together even if they were found @
different stratigraphic layers.
 Hence, valuable info regarding these finds-> lost forever.
 R.E.M. Wheeler:
 DG of ASI in 1944
 Realized importance of following the stratigraphy rather than
excavating horizontally.
 Major Harappan sites are now in Pakistan.
 Hence, extensive survey was taken up in Kutch.
 Some of the recently discovered sites are tabulated below:

SITE LOCATION DISCOVERED BY

Dholavira Rann of Kutch (Gujarat) R.S. Bisht
Ganverivala Pakistan Rafeeq Mugal
Rakhi Garhi Jind (Haryana) Rafeeq Mugal

1.12 CONNECTING THE DOTS (LOOKING INTO THE PAST)

 Harappan script-> not deciphered

 Hence, we can say (and as is evident from above examples)-> Material
Evidence-> allows archaeologists to better reconstruct the Harappan life (and
not the Harappan script)
 These materials can be pottery, tools, ornaments, household objects etc.
1.12.1 Classifying finds
 Archaeologists classify their findings in the following terms
 In terms of material-> clay, metal, bone, ivory etc.
  In terms of function-> eg. Whether the artefact is a
tool or an ornament or both or something made for
ritual use.
 Understanding of function of an artefact-> shaped by
resemblance with present things-> eg. Beads, querns,
stone blades and pots
 In terms of the context in which it was found-> i.e.
whether it was found in a house, in a drain, in a grave,
in a kiln etc.
 By Indirect Evidence-> eg. Though traces of cotton
found @ some Harappan sites but still have to depend
on depictions in the sculptures.

1.12.2 Problems in Interpretation

 Mostly encountered during-> reconstruction of religious practices.

 Earlier archaeologists believed-> unusual or unfamiliar objects may
have had a religious significance.
 Eg. Figurines(statues) of women, heavily jeweled, some with elaborate
head dresses-> regarded as mother goddesses.
 Also, rare stone statues of men in standardized posture-> seated with
one hand on the knee-> Priest King
 Structures that have been assigned ritual significance include-> the
Great Bath, fire altars found @ Kalibangan & Lothal.
 Attempts have been made to reconstruct religious beliefs & practices
by studying seals depicting ritual scenes.
 Plant motifs-> indicate nature worship
(motif-> means a single or repeated image forming a design)
 Unicorn-> mythical one horned composite creature-> also depicted on
seals.
 Proto-Shiva-> figure of a man seated crossed legged in a yogic
posture, sometimes surrounded by animals-> an early form of one of
the major Hindu deities-> also depicted on seals.
 Lingas-> conical stone objects-> worshipped as a symbol of shiva.

Prepared by: LOHIT LALA

References:

1) NIOS material on Ancient History

2) New NCERT Textbook – 12th class- Themes in Indian History Part I (bulk of
the article is from here)