Introduction

• The Indus Civilisation represents the first phase of urbanisation in India.
• The civilisation that appeared in the north-western part of India and Pakistan in third millennium 3000BCE is collectively called the Indus Civilisation.

Harappan Civilisation

• Harappa was the first site to be identified in this civilisation, it is also known as Harappan Civilisation.
• This civilisation did not appear all of a sudden.
• The beginnings of the Neolithic villages in this region go back to about 7000 BCE at the Neolithic site of Mehrgarh.

Phases of Harappan Civilisation

Harappan culture is divided into various phases:

• Early Harappan phase 3000 – 2600 BCE
• Mature Harappan phase 2600 – 1900 BCE
• Late Harappan phase 1900 – 1700 BCE

Early Harappan Age

• Period between Early Harappan Age was 3000–2600 BCE.
• The early Harappan phase saw the development of villages and towns in the entire region.
• Trade was practiced by the people.
• Arts and crafts proliferated during Early Harappan age.

Mature Harappan Age

• Period between Mature Harappan Age was 2600 – 1900 BCE.
• Towns were developed in Mature Harappan Age.
• Burnt bricks used to built the houses.
• Trade was the main occupation.

Late Harappan Age

• Period between Early Harappan Age 1900–1700 BCE.
• Trade was reduced to considerable extent.
• Cities were declined due to the reduction of trade.

Civilization – River Banks

People preferred to settle near the rivers for the reasons given below.

• The soil is fertile.
• Fresh water is available for drinking, watering livestock and irrigation.
• Easy movement of people and goods is possible.

Timeline of other civilisations

Findings

Introduction

• The Indus valley site of Harappa was first visited by Charles Mason in 1826.

• Amri by Alexander Burnes in 1831.

• The site of Harappa was destroyed for laying the railway line from Lahore to Multan.

• The seal from this site reached Alexander Cunningham, the first surveyor of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).

• Alexander Cunningham visited the site in 1853, 1856 and 1875.

• Sir John Marshal took over as the Director General of ASI and initiated research at the site.

Archaeological Survey of India

• The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) was started in 1861 with Alexander Cunningham as Surveyor.

• Its headquarters is located in New Delhi.

Railway line

• In 1856 when engineers laid a railway line connecting Lahore to Karachi, they discovered more burnt bricks.

• Without understanding their significance, they used the bricks for laying the rail road.

Sir John Marshall

• In 1924 the Director General of ASI, Sir John Marshall, found many common features between Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro. 

• He concluded that they were part of a large civilization

• Sir John Marshal played an important role in the development of archaeology in India.

• Later in the 1940s, Mortimer Wheeler excavated the Harappan sites.

• After the partition of the Indian subcontinent, many of the Harappan sites went to Pakistan and thus archaeologists were keen to trace the Harappan sites on the Indian side.

• Kalibangan, Lothal, Rakhi Garhi and Dholavira are the Indian sites that have been since excavated.

• The explorations and excavations conducted after the 1950s have helped to understand the Harappan Civilisation and its nature.

 

Time Span of Indus Civilisation

• Geographical range – South Asia

• Period – Bronze Age

• Time – 3300 to1900 BCE (determined using the radiocarbon dating method)

• Area – 13 lakh sq.km

• Cities – 6 big cities

• Villages – More than 200

 

Urban Civilization

Harappan civilisation is said to be urban because of the following reasons.

• Well-conceived town planning

• Astonishing masonry and architecture

• Priority for hygiene and public health

• Standardised weights and measures

• Solid agricultural and artisanal base

 

Sites of Indus valley Civilization

The most important Sites were

• Harappa (Punjab, Pakistan)

• Mohenjo-Daro (Sindh, Pakistan)

• Dholavira (Gujarat, India)

• Lothal (Gujarat, India)

• Surkotada (Gujarat, India)

• Kalibangan (Rajasthan, India)

• Banawali (Rajasthan, India)

• Rakhigarhi (Haryana, India

Unique Features of Harappan Civilisation Town planning is a unique feature of the Indus Civilisation. The Harappan city had two planned areas

 

Streets and Houses 

• The streets are observed to have a grid pattern. They were straight running from north to south and east to west and intersected each other at right angles.

• The roads were wide with rounded corners.

• Houses were built on both sides of the street. The houses were either one or two storeys.

• Most of the houses had many rooms, a courtyard and a well. Each house had toilets and bathrooms.

• The houses were built using baked bricks and mortar. Sun-dried bricks were also used. Most of the bricks were of uniform size.

• Roofs were flat.

• There is no conclusive evidence of the presence of palaces or places of worship.

• Burnt Bricks are strong, hard, durable, resistant to fire and will not dissolve in water or rain.

 

The Great Bath

• The great bath was a large, rectangular tank in a courtyard. It may be the earliest example of a water-proof structure.

• The bath was lined with bricks, coated with plaster and made water-tight using layers of natural bitumen.

• There were steps on the north and south leading into the tank.

   There were rooms on three sides.

• Water was drawn from the well located in the courtyard and drained out after use.

 

Drainage System

• Many of these cities had covered drains. The drains were covered with slabs or bricks.

• Each drain had a gentle slope so that water could flow.

• Holes were provided at regular intervals to clear the drains.

 

The Great Granary

• The granary was a massive building with a solid brick foundation.

• Granaries were used to store food grain.

• The remains of wheat, barley, millets, sesame and pulses have been found there.

• A granary with walls made of mud bricks, which are still in a good condition, has been discovered in Rakhigarhi, a village in Haryana, belonging to Mature Harappan Phase.

 

Discovered Sites

Economic Activites

Introduction :

• There was a great progress in all spheres of economic activity such as agriculture, industry and crafts and trade

• Trade was of the barter type.

• The seals and the terracotta models of the Indus valley reveal the use of bullock carts and oxen for land transport and boats and ships for river and sea transport.

• Bronze and copper vessels are the outstanding examples of the Harappan metal craft. Gold and silver ornaments are found in many places.

• Pottery remains plain and in some places red and black painted pottery is found.

 

Agriculture

• Agriculture was an important source of subsistence for the Harappans.

• The Harappans cultivated diverse crops such as wheat, barley, lentil, chickpea, sesame and various millets.

• Agricultural surplus was an important stimulus for a number of developments.

• They adopted a double cropping system.

• The Harappans used ploughs.

• They perhaps ploughed the land and then sowed the seeds.

• Ploughed fields have been found at Kalibangan.

• They used both canal and well irrigation.

Animal Domestication

• Pastoralism was also practised by the Harappans.

• They domesticated sheep, goat and fowl. They had knowledge of various other animals including buffalo, pig and elephant.

• But horse was not known to them.

• The Harappan cattle are called Zebu.

• It is a large breed, often represented in their seals.

• They also ate fish and birds.

• Evidence of boar, deer and gharial has been found at the Harappan sites.

 

Craft production

• Craft production was an important part of the Harappan economy.

• Bead and ornament making, shell bangle making and metal working were the major crafts.

• They made beads and ornaments out of carnelian, jasper, crystal, and steatite, metals like copper, bronze and gold and shell, faience and terracotta or burnt clay.

• The beads were made in innumerable designs and decorations.

• They were exported to Mesopotamia and the evidence for such exported artefacts have been found from the excavations in Mesopotamian sites.

• Some artefacts and their production site was tabled above.

 

Arts:

• The Harappan sculpture revealed a high degree of workmanship.

Figures of men and women, animals and birds made of terracotta and the carvings on the seals show the degree of proficiency attained by the sculptor.

• The figure of a dancing girl from Mohenjo-Daro made of bronze is remarkable for its workmanship.

• Its right hand rests on the hip, while the left arm, covered with bangles, hangs loosely in a relaxed posture.

• Two stone statues from Harappa, one representing the back view of a man and the other of a dancer are also specimens of their sculpture.

• The pottery from Harappa is another specimen of the fine arts of the Indus people.

• The pots and jars were painted with various designs and colours.

• Painted pottery is of better quality.

• The pictorial motifs consisted of geometrical patterns like horizontal lines, circles, leaves, plants and trees.

• On some pottery pieces we find figures of fish or peacock.\

 

Pottery

 

• The Harappans used diverse varieties of pottery for daily use.

• They use well-fired pottery. Their potteries have a deep red slip and black paintings.

• The pottery are shaped like dish-on-stands, storage jars, perforated jars, goblets, S-shaped jars, plates, dishes, bowls and pots.

• The painted motifs, generally noticed on the pottery, are pipal leaves, fish-scale design, intersecting circles, zigzag lines, horizontal bands and geometrical motifs with floral and faunal patterns.

• The Harappan pottery is well-baked and fine in decorations.

 

Social and political life

Trade:

• Harappans were great traders.

• They used carts with spokeless solid wheels.

• Standardised weights and measures were used by them. They used sticks with marks to measure length.

• Lothal is situated on the banks of a tributary of Sabarmati river in Gujarat. There is evidence for extensive maritime trade with Mesopotamia.

• Indus Seals have been found as far as Mesopotamia (Sumer) which are modern-day Iraq, Kuwait and parts of Syria.

 

Social Life

• The dress of both men and women consisted of two pieces of cloth, one upper garment and the other lower garment.

• Beads were worn by men and women

• Jewelleries such as bangles, bracelets, fillets, girdles, anklets, ear[1]rings and finger rings were worn by women.

• These ornaments were made of gold, silver, copper, bronze and semi precious stones.

• Various household articles made of pottery, stone, shells, ivory and metal have been found at Mohenjo-Daro.

• Spindles, needles, combs, fishhooks, knives are made of copper.

• Fishing was a regular occupation while hunting and bull fighting were other pastimes.

• There were numerous specimens of weapons of war such as axes, spearheads, daggers, bows, arrows made of copper and bronze.

 

Seals

• The seals from various media such as steatite, copper, terracotta and ivory are frequently found in the Harappan sites.

• Square type seals are engraved with carved animals and inscriptions.

• Hundreds of rectangular seals were discovered here. It engraved with inscriptions only.

• Pictographic writings were written on them.

 

Script

• The Harappan script has still to be fully deciphered.

• The number of signs is between 400 and 600 of which 40 or 60 are basic and the rest are their variants.

• The script was mostly written from right to left.

• In a few long seals the boustrophedon method – writing in the reverse direction in alternative lines – was adopted.

• Parpola and his Scandinavian colleagues came to the conclusion that the language of the Harappans was Dravidian.

• The mystery of the Harappan script still exists and there is no doubt that the decipherment of Harappan script will throw much light on this culture.

 

Religion & Decline

Faith

• The Indus people worshipped nature.

• They worshipped pipal trees.

• Some of the terracotta figures resemble the mother Goddess(which symbolized fertility).

• Fire altars have been identified at Kalibangan.

• The Indus people buried the dead.

• Burials were done elaborately and evidence for cremation has also been found.

 

Pasupathi Shiva

• The chief male deity was Pasupati, (proto-Siva) represented in seals as sitting in a yogic posture.

• He has three faces and two horns.

• He is surrounded by four animals (elephant, tiger, rhino, and buffalo- each facing a different direction).

• Two deer appear on his feet.

• In latter times, Linga worship was prevalent.

 

Burial Methods

• The cemeteries discovered around the cities like Mohenjodaro, Harappa, Kalibangan, Lothal and Rupar throw light on the burial practices of the Harappans.

• Complete burial and post-cremation burial were popular at Mohenjodaro.

• They buried the dead with Head facing north direction.

• At Lothal the burial pit was lined with burnt bricks indicating the use of coffins.

• However, there is no clear evidence for the practice of Sati.

 

Decline of the Harappan Culture

• There is no unanimous view pertaining to the cause for the decline of the Harappan culture.

• By 1900 BCE, the Harappan culture had started declining. It is assumed that the civilisation met with

▪ repeated floods

▪ ecological changes

▪ invasions (Aryans)

▪ natural calamity

▪ climatic changes

▪ deforestation

▪ an epidemic

• In course of time, the people shifted to the southern and eastern directions from the Indus region.

• The destruction of forts is mentioned in the Rig Veda.

• It did not completely disappear.

• It continued as rural culture.

 

Iron age in Tamilnadu

• It is contemporary to Indus Civilization.

• The archaeological evidence points to several groups of people living in Tamil Nadu and South India continuously from the Mesolithic period.

• One cannot rule out the migration of a few groups from the Indus region.

The graffiti found on the megalithic burial pots of South India and the place names presented are cited to establish the relationship between Indus and Tamil cultures.

• A circular tomb using big stone slabs built upon the place of burial is known as a megalith.