12/26/2019 [Ancient India] All You Need to Know About Indus Valley Civilization AKA Harappan Civilisation c.

isation c. 3300 – c. 1300 BCE - India Shastra

[Ancient India] All You Need to Know About Indus

Valley Civilization AKA Harappan Civilisation c. 3300
– c. 1300 BCE
July 25, 2019

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In the last post, we discussed Prehistoric India. In this post, we will get insights on Indus Valley
Civilization (IVC). Indus Valley Civilization was the earliest civilisation located along the fertile
plains of the river Indus.

Notably, the first excavations were done at Harappa in the West Punjab and Mohenjodaro in Sindh
province. Interestingly, both places are now in Pakistan.

Why Indus Valley Civilization is called Harappan Civilization?

IVC is called also called Harappan Civilisation after the name of its first discovered site.

Among the many other sites excavated, the most important are-

Kot Diji in Sind,

Kalibangan in Rajasthan,
Rupar in the Punjab,
Rakhigarhi, Banawali in Haryana,
Lothal, Surkotada, and Dholavira, all the three in Gujarat.
Mohenjo-Daro, Harappa in Pakistan

Mohenjodaro is the largest city as it is spread over an area of 200 hectares.

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Origin and Evolution

There are four important stages or phases of evolution namely,

1. pre-Harappan
2. early-Harappan
3. mature-Harappan
4. late Harappan

The pre-Harappan stage

Located in East Baluchistan.
The excavations @Mehrgarh, 150 miles to the NW of Mohenjodaro shows the existence of pre-
Harappan culture.
Here, the nomadic people began to lead a settled agricultural life.

In the early-Harappan stage

People lived in villages in the plains of Indus
This eventually led to the developments of towns.
This phase was the phase of transition from rural to urban life.
For example- Amri and Kot Diji

In the mature-Harappan stage

Great cities emerged at this time.

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Excavations at Kalibangan shows elaborate town planning + urban features

In the late-Harappan stage

The decline of the Indus culture started.
The excavations at Lothal reveal that. Lothal with its port was founded much later. A massive
brick wall surrounded the city for flood protection.
Taking about Lothal, it remained an emporium of trade.
Trade between the Harappan civilization and the remaining part of India as well as
Mesopotamia flourished.

Pre Harappan Early Harappan Mature Late Harappan

Stage Stage Harappan Stage Stage
Excavation
Mehrangarh Amri and Kot Diji Kalibangan Lothal
at
Elaborate town
Findings Crops Large villages planning + urban Flood protection
features
Nomadic people The transition Frequent floods
Conclusion started living a period from rural and extinction
settled life to urban afterwards

Dating of Indus Valley Civilization

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John Marshall 1931 –> Mohenjodaro between 3250 and 2750 B.C.
Fairservis, 1956 –> dating of the Harappan culture to between 2000 and 1500 B.C. using
Radiocarbon Dating
DP Agarwal 1964 –> Span of IVC is between 2300 and 1750 B.C. Yet, there is a scope of
modification.

Salient Features of the Harappan Culture

Town Planning
Economic Activities
Social Life
Burial Method

Town Planning of IVC

Grid System: Streets and lanes cutting across one another at right angles. This divided the city
into rectangular blocks.
Citadel: Most settlements have a small high western part and a larger lower eastern section,
though there are variations. For example, Dholavira and Lothal (Gujarat), where the entire
settlement was fortified + sections within the town separated by walls.
Lower Town: Below the citadel in each city. Houses were made of bricks and common people
lived here.
Drainage System: Underground drainage system. Drainage system connected each house. Most
remarkable feature. Drains were covered by slabs. Some houses had toilets and bathroom
inside home.

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The Great Bath: Important public place of Mohenjodaro.
1. Measurements: 39 feet * 23 feet * 8 feet
2. Steps to go inside
3. Side rooms for changing clothes
4. The floor was made of burnt bricks.
5. From where came the water? Adjacent well.
6. Prediction: Ritual bathing site.
Granary: The largest building in Mohenjo-Daro is Granary. In contrast, in the citadel of
Harappa, there are six granaries of smaller size.

Economic life
Great progress in all spheres of economic activity = agriculture + industry + crafts + trade.

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Agriculture:
1. Cultivated wheat, barley, sesame, mustard, cotton and so on. Surplus stored in granaries.
2. Domesticated animals like sheep, goats, buffalos (use of horse not yet firmly established)
and hunted animals like deer, crocodile*.
Craft:
1. Specialised goldsmiths, brick makers, stone cutters, weavers, boat-builders and terracotta
manufacturers.
2. Metal Craft: Bronze and copper vessels They used gold and silver ornaments. Also, pottery
was plain and in some places red and black.
3. Harappans used precious stones to craft beads.
Trade:
1. Internal trade + Foreign Trade
2. Foreign Trade = Mesopotamia, Afghanistan, Iran, Sumerians
3. Import = gold, copper, tin and several semi-precious stones.
4. Exports
1. Crops = wheat, barley, peas, oilseeds
2. finished products = cotton goods, pottery, beads, terracotta figure, ivory products and so
on

Social Life
Clothes: The dress consists of two clothes for both men and women, 1 upper garment other
lower.
Style: People wore beads. Women wore jewellery (bangles, bracelets, anklets, earrings, girdles
and so on.) Ornaments made from gold, silver, copper and beads. Use of cosmetics was

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Household items like pottery, stone, shells, ivory and metal at Mohenjo-Daro.
Games: Harappans played with marbles, balls, dice etc. Fishing was a regular occupation +
hunting and bullfighting were pastimes.
Weapons and Tools: Axes, spearheads, daggers, bows, arrows made of copper and bronze.

Arts
The high degree of workmanship.
Figureheads of men and women, animals and birds made of terracotta

Dancing Girl Mohenjo-Daro

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Bronze sculpture indicates that Harappans were super-craftsman.

Pottery: Colorful pots and jars with better quality. Figures of fish or peacock on some pottery.
Geometrical patterns like horizontal lines, circles, leaves, plants, and trees.

Script of Harappans

Still, a mystery as not deciphered yet.

Difficult because of 400- 600 signs
Right to Left. In some cases, boustrophedon method – writing in the reverse direction in
alternative lines
Some say that language was Dravidian while others think the script is Brahmi.

Religion
Piece of Evidence: the seals, terracotta figurines and copper tablets

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Pashupati: Chief deity was Pashupati (Proto-Siva) sitting in a yogic posture with three faces +
two horns. Four animals are surrounding Pashupati.
1. Four Animals: elephant + tiger + rhino + buffalo (BERT)
2. Two deer appear on his feet
Mother Goddess: chief female deity. She is represented in terracotta figurines.
Harappans worshipped Trees + animals.
They believed in ghosts and evil forces, How can one predict? Because they used amulets as
protection against them.

Burial Methods
The cemeteries discovered in Mohenjodaro, Harappa, Kalibangan, Lothal, and Rupar
We can say that they practised burial method
Mohenjo-Daro: Complete burial and post-cremation burial popular
Lothal: people buried dead in coffins. These coffins made of burned bricks.
No clear evidence for the practice of Sati.
Excavators also found wooden coffins at Harappa.

The Decline of the Harappan Culture

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There is ambiguity about the cause for the decline. Various theories give the following reasons for
the decline of Harappan culture-

Natural calamities like recurring floods

Drying up of rivers (Mythical river Saraswati/ Ghaggar)
Decreasing fertility of the soil because of excessive exploitation
Occasional earthquakes (possible reason)
Aryan invasion (destruction of forts – mentioned in Rig Veda – Purandar)

Most Probably Aryan Invasion Was the Cause For Decline of IVC, Why?
The discovery of skeletons huddled together indicates violence at Mohenjodaro.
The Aryans had superior weapons + swift horses which
So the theory is that they attacked militarily weak Harappan cities

Indus Valley Civilisation Map

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So this was my effort to make you understand IVC, hope you enjoyed it. We will meet soon with
the new post.

Watch Videos Here.

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