Indus Valley Civilization

Indus Valley Civilization: 

• In 1924, scholars in history were roused by the announcement of Sir John Marshall that his Indian aides, particularlyR.D.Banerjee , discovered (1922-23) at Mohenjo-daro in the Larkana district of Sind, now in Pakistan, the remains of a civilisation, one of the oldest of the world. A few hundred miles towards the north of Mohenjo-daro, four or five superimposed cities were excavated at Harappa in the Montgomery district of the Punjab, now in Pakistan. That the civilisation was not confined to the limits of the Indus Valley can be understood from the finds of relics of the same civilisation at the Sutkagendor on the sea board of the south Baluchistan, in the west of Alamgirpur in the Uttar Pradesh in the east.
• Until the discovery of the remains of the Indus Civilisation, it was believed by scholars that the history of India practically began with the coming of the Aryans. But this theory is an exploded one and the pre-historic civilisation of India, that is, the Indus Valley Civilisation.

Name of Sites	Year of Excavation	Excavators	Region/River	Features
Harappa	1921	Daya Ram Sahni	Montgomery district of Punjab (Now in Pak) on the left bank of Ravi	City followed grid planning Row of six granaries Only place having evidences of coffin burial Evidence of fractional burial and coffin burial Cemetery-H of alien people.
Mohenjo-daro	1922	R.D.Banarjee	Larkana district in Sind on the right bank of Indus(Now in Pak)	City followed grid planning A large granary and Great Bath, a college Human skeletons showing invasiona and massacre. Evidence of Horse come from superficial level. A piece of woven cotton alongwith spindle whorls and needles Town was flooded more then seven times.
Chanhu-daro	1931	N. Gopal Majumdar, Mackey	Situtated in Sind on the bank of Indus	The city has no citadal Famous for bead makers shop A small pot, possibly an inkpot Foot prints of a dog chasing a cat Three different cultural layers, Indus,Jhukar and Jhangar
Kalibangan	1953	A. Ghosh	Situated in Rajasthan on the Bank of Ghaggar	Shows both Pre Harappan and Harappan phase Evidence of furrowed land Evidence of seven fire altars and camel bones Many houses had their own well Kalibangan stand for black bangles Evidence of wooden furrow
Lothal	1953	S.R. Rao	Situated in Gujarat on Bhogava river near Gulf of Cambay	A titled floor which bears intersecting design of circles Remains of rice husk Evidence of horse from a terracotta figurine A ship designed on a seal Beads & trade ports An instrument for measuring angles,pointing to modern day compass
Banwali	1974	R.S. Bisht	Situated in Hissar district of Haryana	Shows both Pre-Harappan and Harppan phase Good quantity of barley found here
Surkotada	1964	J.P. Joshi	Situated in Kutch (Bhuj) district of Gujarat	Bones of horses, Bead making shops
Sutkagendor	1927	Stein, R.L.	Situated in Baluchistan on Dast River	Trade point between Harappa and Babylon, belong to mature phase Evidence of horse
Amri	1935	N.G. Majumdar	Situated in Sind on the bank of Indus	Evidence of antelope
Dholavira	1985-90	R.S. Bisht	Situated in Gujarat in Rann of Kutch	Seven cultural stages Largest site Three party of city Unique water management
Rangpur	1953	M.S. Vats, B.B. Lal & S.R. Rao	Situated on the bank of Mahar in Gujarat	Rice was cultivated
Kot Diji	1953	Fazal Ahmed	Situated on the bank of Indus	Wheel made painted pottery Traces of defensive wall and well aligned streets Knowledge of metallurgy, artistic toys etc
Ropar	1953	Y.D. Sharma	Situated in Punjab of the banks of Sutlej	Evidence of burying a dog below the human bural One example of rectangular mudbrick chamber was noticed Five fold cultures - Harappan, PGW, NBP, Kushana - Gupta and Medieval
Balakot	1963-76	George F Dales	Situated on the Arabian Sea	Remain of pre Harappan and Harappan civilisation The mounds rise to the height of about 9.7mts and are spread 2.8 sq hectare of area
Alamgirpur	1958	Y.D. Sharma	Situated on Hindon in Ghaziabad	The impression of cloth on a trough is discovered Usually considered to be the eastern boundary of the Indus culture

Difference between Pre Harappan and Proto Harappan Cultures : 

Cultures that preceded Harappan culture are pre Harappan, while proto Harappan cultures are those pre Harappan cultures which have some close similarities with the Harappan culture or which may be said to have anticipated certain essential elements of Harappan culture. In short, all proto Harappan cultures are necesssarily pre Harappan cultures, but all pre Harappan cultures are not necessarily proto Harappan cultures.

Periodization of Indus Valley Civilization

Date Range	Phase	Era
5500-3300	Mehargarh II-IV	Regionalization Era
3300-2600	Early Harappan (Early Bronze Age)
3300-2800 2800-2600	Harppan - I(Ravi Phase) Harappan 2(Kot Diji Phase,Naisharo 1, Mehrgarh VII)
2600-1900	Mature Harappan (Middle Bronze Age)
2600-2450	Harappan 3A (Nausharo IIO)	Integration Era
2450-2200	Harappan 3B
2200-1900	Harappan 3C
1900-1300	Late Harappan (Late Bronze Age)
1900-1700 1700-1300	Harappan 4 Harappan 5	Localization Era

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Beginning, Date & End

New Study - Climatic Factors

1. This new study is by an international team which conducted survey of the various landforms made by Indus.
2. There was a gradual decline in monsoonal activity leading to decreased flood intensity, taming of rivers thus making cultivation and urbanization possible. Settlement began around Indus in 3200 BC.
3. However as the decline in rains continued it eventually led to area drying up, agricultural activity declining and eventual demise. River Ghagghar (ex Saraswati) that now flows only in intense rains used to be a perennial river back then and was supported by heavy monsoonal activities back then. The decline in rains dried it up. After about 600 years of flourishing urbanization, settlements began to shrink and shift in 2000 BC and move east and south east.

Aryan Invasion

1. The language of Aryans was shown to be similar to that prevailing in central Asia and its subsequent spread in N India was taken to be an indicator of a conquest. But languages can spread even without any invasions.
2. The skeletons of Mohenjodaro were taken to be a proof of Aryan invasion. But analysis shows most of these deaths were because of diseases like severe anaemia. Also violent deaths in a particular area doesn't mean any widespread invasion but could indicate a local disturbance also.
3. The Rig Veda refers to skirmishes between dasyus and aryans, dasas and aryans and among aryans. This indicates that groups of Aryans gradually migrated from Iran into Afghanistan and NW where they introduced the language. The way meanings of some terms are opposite in Vedas and in Avesta indicates that these migrants may be a dissident branch. When the Aryans reached Harappan towns, they had already declined.

Geographical Extent

• The Harappan culture was the most extensive of the ancient civilisation in area(geographical extent), including not only the Indus plain (the Punjab and Sind), but also northern Rajasthan and the region of the Kathiawar in western India. It was essentially a city culture and among the the centers of authority were the two cities of Mohenjo-daro and Harappa. The 1400 settlements, discovered so far are distributed over a very wide geographical area. Its known extent in the west is upto Sutkagendor in Baluchistan; Alamgirpur in Merrut district (Uttar Pradesh) in east; and Manda (Akhnoor district, Jammu and Kashmir) in north, covering an area of almost 1600 km, east-west and 1400 km in north south. The total geographical area over which this civilization flourished is more than 20 times of the area of Egytian and more than 12 times of the area of about 12,50,000 sq.km. Harappan settlements are mostly located on river banks of Indus and Saraswati.

• Some New Findings
  Site	Location	Discovered by
  Ganverivala	Pakistan	Rafeeq Mughal
  Rakhi Garhi	Jind (Haryana, India)	Rafeeq Mughal

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Town Planning

• the first thing that strikes us with regard to Harappan culture is the town planning and urbanisation. Mohenjo-daro, Harappa, Lothal or Sutkagendor were built on similar plan. To the west of each a citadel built on a high platform suggest division in society or some upper class existence. It was defended by walll and on it were construced the public buildings. Below this citadel was the town proper. Everywhere, the main streets ran from north to south and other streets ran at right angles to the main streets. Houses, residential or others, stood on both sides of the streets. Both at Harappa and Mohenjo-daro, houses were built of kiln-burnt bricks. At Lothal and Kalibangan, residential houses were made of sun-dried bricks. An average house had, besides kitchen and bath, four to six living rooms. Large houses with thity rooms and staircases suggest that there were large two or three storyed buildings. Most of the houses had wells within them and a drainage system carried the waste water to the main underground drain of the steet.

Town Associated with Different Industries
Levan	Stone tools factory
Sukar	Stone tools factory
Lothal	Stone tools factory Factory for metallic finished goods
Balakot	Factory for pearl finished goods, Bangle's factory
Chanhudaro	Beads Factory Pearl finished goods factory Metallic finished goods factory Bangle's factory

Evidence from Chief Sites
Cemetery H & R-37	Harappa
Prepared Garments	Mohenjodaro
Lower fortified town	Kalibangan
Port town	Lothal
Evidence of Rice	Lothal, Rangpur
Coffin Burial	Harappa
Horse Bone	Surkotada
Fire Altar	Kalibangan & Lothal
Temple like palace	Mohenjodaro
Horse's Tooth	Rana Ghundai
Pashuptai Seal	Mohenjodaro
Goddesses	Mohenjodaro
Copper Rhino	Diamabad
Copper Chariot	Diamabad
Copper Elephant	Diamabad
Granery	Mohenjodaro & Harappa
Bronze Female Dancer	Mohenjodaro
Granery outside fort	Harappa
Beads Factory	Chanhudaro, Balakot
Copper ox	Kalibangan
Bangles Factory	Chanhudaro, Balakot
Graveyard	Harappa, Lothal
Phallur Worship	Harappa
Bronze Bufallo	Diamabad
Evidence of Earthquake	Kalibangan
Evidence of Plough	Kalibangan
Copper dog	Lothal
Camel's Bone	Kalibangan
Stone Covered Grave	Surkotada
Canals	Malavan
Woodenn Drainage	Kalibangan

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Political Life

• There is no idea about the political organization of the Harappans. Perhaps the Harappan rulers were more concerned with commerce that with conquests, and Harappa was possibly ruled by the a class of merchants. Accroding toAmaur De Riencourt : "All the evidence points to a high degree of standardization and organization, implying strong centralisation with full control over production and distribution and probably a high efficient system of taxation". Evidences, like drainage, town planning, trading items suggests that there was an organisation like a municipal corporation to look after the civil amenities of the people.
• Relation with other Civilizations The indus valley civilization had a direct contact with many of the contemporary world civilizations: Mesopotamia, Egypt, Turkmenia, Oman and Bahrain. Harappan shells and carnelian beads have been found iin Mesopotamian royal burials, Mesopotamian clay tahlets refer to wood, gold and lapis lazuli coming from Meluha, the ancient Akkadian name for the Indus region. Harrapan Seals and other objects have been excavated in several Mesopotamian cities, such as Sura, Kish, Nippur and Ur. Evidence of a direct relationship between Harappan culture and Egypt in fragmentary and inconclusive. There are evidences of Harappan artfacts, such as etched carnelian beads and ivory, in Bahrain.
• Decline and Disappearance The Harappan culture flourished until about 1800 BC. Afterwards, the culture began to decline. There is no unanimity among historian on the exact reason of the decline of this urban civilization. Different theories of decline have been put forward by different scholars. 

The following table gives the important theories and their profounders as regards decline of the Indus culture.

Decline of Indus Valley
Theorists	Reasons of decline
Gorden Childe, Stuart Piggot	External Aggression
H.T.Lambrick	Unstable river system
K.U.R.Kenedy	Natural calamity
Orell Stein and A.N. Ghosh	Climate change
R. Mprtimer Wheeler	Aryan invasion
Robert Raikes	Earthquake
Sood and Aggarwal	Dryness of river
Walter Fairservis	Ecological imbalance

Economic Life

• The discovery of granaries and the urban lifestyle of the people proves that the Harappan people were undoubtedly "comfort loving" and were prosperous. It also shows great knowledge of crop-pattern and seasons.
• Currency : Thousands of seals have been discovered not only from the Harappans sites but also from the remains of other world civilisations. Every merchant and his family had a seal bearing and emblem and a brief inscription. But it is still unknown whether they used these seals as currency or not. In absence of evidence, it is safe to assume that the Harappans practised barter system and got goods they need in exchange of their articles.
• Agriculture : The Indus people sowed seeds in the flood plain 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 Harappans probably used the wooden plough with wooden or copper ploughware.
• The Indus people produced wheat, barley, peas, kodon, sanwa, jowar, ragi, etc. They produced two typles of wheat and barley. A good quantity of barley has been discovered at Banwali. In addition to this, they produced sesame and mustard. The Indus people were the earliest people to produce cotton.
• Domestication of Animals: Although the Harappans practised agriculture, animals were kept on a large scale Oxen, buffaloes, goats, sheeps domestic fowls and pigs were domesticated. The humped bulls were regarded as pets. Cats were also domesticated and signs of the feet of both dogs and cats have been noticed. They also kept asses and camels, which were possibly used as beasts of burden. Elephants were well known to the Harappan, who were also acquanited with the rhinoceros, spotted dear, sambhar deer, hog deer, wild pig etc. Therefore there is ample evidence to show patrolism of Harappan people.
• Trade and Commerce :The thriving agriculural economy supported a flourishing trade both within the northern and western areas of the sub-continent and between the people of this culture and those of the Persian and Gulf and Mesopotamia. The products of Indus have been found in Mesopotamia. It seals and produce were also discovered at Sumer. The findings of Indus seals suggest that merchants from Indus actually resided in Mesopotamia. Their chief merchandise were probably cotton exported from probably Lothal harbour. The Mesopotamian records from about 2350 BC refer to trade relations with Meluha, which was the ancient name given to the Indus region.

Major Imports by the Harappans
Material	Source
Gold	Afghanistan, Persia, Karnataka
Silver	Afghanistan, Iran
Copper	Baluchistan and Khetri(Rajasthan)
Tin	Afghanistan, Central Asia
Agates	Western India
Lead	Rajasthan, South India, Afghanistan, Iran
Coins	Copper seals from Lothal and Desalpur
Jade	Central Asia

• Crafts and Industies : Mohenjo-daro was a great industrial center. Weaving was probably the chief industry. Harappans were also acquainted with the art of dyeing. Pottery was an important industry. We should not forgot that harappan pictographical scripts are mainly found on potteries. Harappans used to export these pots made on potter's wheel and burnt in kilns not only to nearby areas but alo to the far-flung places. The art of smelting metals were well-known to the people of Harappa. They also attest to a class of mesons. The Harappans also practised boat-making, seal-making and terracotta manufacturing.
• Weights and Measures : The regulations of weights and measures forms the basis of trade and Harappans were very accurate in this respect. The sexagesimal system and the decimal system were known to the Harappans. The weights were of cubical and spherical in shape and were made of chert, jasper and agate and sometimes of grey stone and were in series, first doubling from 1, 2, 4, 8 to 64 then going to 160, 320, 640 and so forth.
• Communications : Transport and communications are a major part of trade and commerce. Harappans also had good transporting system for their internal and external trade. Representation of ships and boats are found on some seals and as graffiti on pottery. For onland journey and transport, they relied upon the bullock carts and rarely horse carts. They practicsed navigation on the coasts of the Arabian Sea. Mohenjo-daro seals bear the picture of ship.
• Arts : The Harappans were utilitarians although not completely devoid of artistic sense. They were well-acquainted with the manufacture and use of bronze. Bronze smiths produced images and utensils. They also made several kinds of tools and weapons, namely axes, knives and spears. Jewelleries of Silver, gold and copper were also made on a large scale.
• The most notable artistic achievement of the Harappans was in their seal engravings, especially those of animals. The pots were beautifully painted in several colours such as red, black, green and rarely yellow. The terracotta figuries, both human and animal, and toys prove that the Harappa people, enojoyed the work of art. Status made of bronze, stone and sandstone repsresent their high sense of art.

Social And Religious Life

The social life of the Harappans can be arranged into following categories :-

• Class :
•  It is not proved if there existed any classes or caster as the Aryan's verna system. Based upon the mounds we can assume that there were classes if not castes according to the occupation of the people, probably priestly class and general people.
• Dress and Oranments : As far as their dress is concerned, one cannot say anything definitely, because all information about theri dress is based on inferences arrived at from two types of materials; firstly, on the basis of spindles discovered and secondly from the dress of status and carvings on different seals found in those cities. Ornaments were also popular among both men and women.
• Religion : Following were the highlights of the religious life of the Harappans: The chief male deity was the Pashupati Mahadeva represented in seals, as sitting in a yogic posture on a low and having three faces and two horns. He is surrounded by four animals (elephant, tiger, rhino and buffalo), each facing a different direction, and tow deers appear at his feet  
• • The chief female deity was the Mother Goddess, who has been depicted in various forms to please fertility Goddess.
  • There is sufficient evidence for the prevalence of phallic worship. Numerous stone symbols of femals sex organs (yoni worship), besides those of phallus, have been discovered. Fertility cult was main feature.
  • The worship of fire is proved by the discovery of fire altars at Lothal, Kalibangan and Harappa.
  • Indus people who worshipped Gods in the form of trees (pipal, etc) and animals (unicorn etc)
  • They believed in ghosts and evils forces and used amulets as protection against them.
• Script : The script of the Harappans people had 400 to 500 signs and it were not alphabetic but waslogosyllablic writing system. Although the Harappan script is yet to be deciphered, overlaps of letters on some of the potsherds from kalibangan show that the writing was from left to right and from right to left in alternate lines.
• Games : The Harappans preferred indoor hobbies to outdoor amusements. Dance and music were their popular amusements. Some tubular and conical dices discovered in these cities show that the evil of gambling is as old as history. Another game which they played resembles our modern chess. Marbles dolls and animals toys show that the children of Mohenjo-daro were well supplied with playthings. Fishing and hunting animals were other source of entertainment.
• Disposal of the Dead : No definite proof is available regarding the disposal of the dead bodies yet. It is believed that the dead were either burnt completely, cremation followed by burial of ashes and rarely the burial of the dead after exposure to birds and beasts. But R-37 of Harappa suggests grave burial as a large practice.

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What's in a name

1. The number of sites (in a region) don't matter but the crucial question is the importance of those sites in the civilization or the impetus they would have given to the development of the civilization. It is clear (from the spread of raw materials, availability of agricultural surplus, trade routes) that the sites in the Indus valley would be more likely to have given birth to urbanization than the sites located in Rajasthan or Cholistan. The development of urbanization in Gujarat is of a later and sudden origin which indicates movement of Harappan people from NW to there. Hence Indus Valley can be an appropriate name.

Indus Valley Facts at a Glance

The state which has accounted for highest number of Harappan sites after independence :Gujarat Three Harappan sites that have yielded three stages of Harappan Civilization (Pre-Harappan, Harappan and post-Harappan : Rojde, Desalpur and Surkotada ) Most commonly engraved animal on Harappan seals : Humpless bull or unicorn Site which have yielded evidence of a pre-Harappan settlement: Kot-Diji, Kalibangan and Harappa Major Harappan cities that acted as ports :Lothal, Balakot, Suktagendor and Allahdin (Pakistan) The Harappan city with most impressive drainage system : Mohenjo-daro The geometric shape of the region covered by the Indus civilisation : Triangle Wheeler said: Indus Valley is the colony of Sumerians Lions have not been found anywhere in Harappa. Mother goddess was not worshipped at Rangpur. A Kushana period Stupa has been found from Mohenjo-daro

Evidence of cultivation of peas. Till has been traced from Harappa, paddy from Lothal Harappans had trade relations with Mesopotamians around 2300 BC. Largest Harappan site in India is situated in Haryana Rakhigarhi, second largest is Dholavira in Gujarat. Dimension of Brick-length 11 inches, width -5.5 inches, depth -2.75 inches, ratio 4 2:1 Harappan wheels were axeless Mohenjo-daro had 10.5 mt wide road. In Harappa, perhaps because of river Ravi the Granery is outside the fort. In the Lothal Port, there was a dockyard which is 216 meters in length and 37 meters in breadth Sukotada is the only Indus site where remains of a horse have actually been found. Terracoota seals found at Mehargarh were the earliest precussors of Harappan seals. Wider road of Harappa was 30 foot. Most common materials used for the Harappan stone sculpture : Limestone and steatite Time span of the Harappan civilization as fixed on the basis of radio-carbon dating: 2300 BC - 1750 BC.