Indus Valley Civilization

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• The Indus Valley Civilization forms a part of the proto-history of India.
• It belongs to the Bronze Age.
• Indus Valley Civilization is older than Chalcolithic civilizations.
• In many ways it was far more developed than settlements in the Chalcolithic Age or Copper Age.

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Phases of the Indus Valley Civilization

• The Harappan civilization can be classified into 3 phases
  • Pre-Harappan phase – 3200 to 2600
  • Mature Harappan phase – 2600 to 1900
  • Late Harappan or declining phase – 1900 to 1300 BC
• Pre-Harappan civilization has been found at Mehrgarh near Bolan Pass Balochistan, Pakistan.

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Area of the Indus Valley Civilization

• 1,400 settlements of this civilization have been discovered so far.
• Those are distributed over a very wide geographical area, almost
  • East to west – 1,600 km
  • North to south – 1,400 km
• Harappan civilization extent starts from
  • West – Sutkagendor (Baluchistan)
  • East – Alamgirpur (Meerut, Uttar Pradesh)
  • North – Manda (Akhnoor, J&K)
  • South – Daimabad (Ahmadnagar, Maharashtra)
• The total geographical stretch of Harappan civilization is about 1,250,000 sq. km
• It was more than 20 times the area of Egyptian and more than 12 times of the combined area of Egyptian and Mesopotamian civilizations.
• Mostly, the Harappan settlements were located on river banks.
• Only 40 settlements were located on the Indus and its tributaries.
• 1,100 (80%) settlements were located on the vast plain between the Indus and the Ganga, comprising mainly the Saraswati river system (no more exist).

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Indus Valley Sites – North to South

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Indus Valley Sites in India

Kalibangan

• Modern location – Hanumangarh, Rajasthan
• River banks – Ghaggar-Hakra River
• Discovered by Luigi Pio Tessitori
• Known as 3rd capital of Indus Empire.
• Major findings
  • World’s earliest ploughed field – wooden plough
  • Evidence of irrigation
  • Massive brick wall around both citadel and lower town
  • Decorative bricks used in flooring only at this city
  • Did not have a drainage system
  • Fire Altars
  • Bones of camel
  • Horse remains (IVC people didn’t use horses)
  • Copper ox
  • Shiva Lingam
  • Evidence of earthquake
  • Pre and mature Harappan civilization

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Lothal

• Modern location – Ahmedabad District, Gujarat
• River banks – Bhogava & Sabarmati river confluence
• Discovered by S. R. Rao (ASI) in 1954.
• Major findings
  • World’s earliest known dockyard and port
  • House had front entrance (exception)
  • The lower part of the city was walled
  • Earliest cultivation of rice – remains of rice husks
  • Evidence of double burial (male and female together)
  • Ivory weight balance & ivory scale
  • Seal from Mesopotamia found here
  • Terracotta model of ship has been found
  • Copper dog
  • Bead making factory

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Dholavira

• Modern location – Kutch, Gujarat
• Discovered by J. P. Joshi (ASI) in 1967-68
• 5th largest site of Indus Valley Civilization and 2nd in India.
• Dholavira located on the Tropic of Cancer
• Major findings
  • Only site to be divided into 3 parts.
  • Water harnessing system
  • Giant water reservoir, Dams, Embankments
  • A stadium
  • Rock-cut architecture, use of rocks for constructions
  • Large-scale use of sandstone along with mud brick.
  • Large letters of the Harappan script (sign boards).
  • Shows all three phases of Harappan Culture.

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Rangpur

• Modern location – Saurashtra, Gujarat
• River banks – Madar River
• Discovered by ASI in 1931
• Major findings
  • Evidence of Rice
  • Remains of pre-Harappan and Mature Harappan culture
  • Yellow and grey color pots of pre-Harappan people
  • Flakes

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Surkotada

• Modern location – Kutch, Gujarat
• Discovered by J. P. Joshi (ASI) in 1964
• Major findings
  • Bones of a horse
  • Stone covered grave

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Ropar

• Modern location – Rupnagar, Punjab
• River banks – Sutlej river
• Major findings
  • Dog buried with humans.
  • Buildings made of stone and soil

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Banawali

• Modern location – Fatehabad, Haryana
• River banks – Sarasvati river
• Discovered by R.S. Bisht (ASI)
• Major findings
  • Barley Cultivation.
  • Oval shaped settlement.
  • Only city with radial streets.
  • Toy terracotta models of plough.
  • Centre of pre, Mature and Late Harappan civilization.

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Rakhigarhi

• Modern location – Hisar, Haryana
• River banks – Sarasvati & Ghaggar river
• Discovered by ASI in 1963
• The largest Indus Valley Civilization site, almost 350 hectares
• Major findings
  • Shows all three phases of Harappan Culture
  • Female figure similar to the Mohenjodaro ‘dancing girl’.

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Balu

• Modern location – Kaithal, Haryana
• Major findings
  • Earliest evidence of garlic
  • Remains of rice

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Daimabad

• Modern location – Ahmadnagar, Maharashtra
• River banks – Pravara River
• Discovered by B. P. Bopardikar in 1958
• Southernmost site of Indus Valley Civilization
• Major findings
  • Sculpture of bronze buffalo
  • Sculpture of a bronze chariot
  • Sculptures contain arsenical alloying
  • Late-Harappan culture

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Manda

• Modern location – Jammu, J&K
• River banks – Chenab River
• Situated in the foothills of Pir Panjal range
• Northernmost site of Indus Valley Civilization
• Major findings
  • This site was established to procure wood

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Alamgirpur

• Modern location – Meerut, UP
• River banks – Yamuna River
• Discovered by Punjab University in 1974.
• Easternmost site of Indus Valley Civilization
• Major findings
  • Impression of cloth on a trough
  • Late-Harappan culture

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Indus Valley Sites in Pakistan

Harappa

• Modern location – Montgomori, Punjab
• River banks – Ravi river
• Discovered by – Dayaram Sahni in 1921
• Charles Mason first noticed the ruins of Harappa in 1826.
• Major findings
  • Seals made out of stones
  • Two rows of six granaries outside the fort
  • Coffin burial & Graveyard
  • Single room barracks
  • Two red stone idols of dancing girl
  • Naked bust of male, female genitalia
  • Evidence of direct trade with Mesopotamia

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Mohenjodaro

• Modern location – Larkana, Sindh
• River banks – Indus river
• Discovered by – R. D. Banerji (ASI) in 1922
• Mohenjodaro means ”Mound of the dead Men”.
• 2nd largest site of Indus Valley Civilization, almost 300 hectares
• Major findings
  • Suddenly destructed by flood or invasion – discovery of human skeletons together
  • Great Bath and Great Granary
  • Multi-pillared assembly Hall
  • College of Priests
  • Man with Beard / Priest king statue
  • Bronze dancing girl
  • Pashupati seal
  • Ivory weight balance
  • Shell scale
  • Piece of woven cotton cloth
  • Bangles of clay
  • Superficial evidence of Horse
  • Evidence of ship/big boat
  • Domestication of chickens
  • Cylinder seals of the Mesopotamia

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Chanhudaro

• Modern location – Sindh
• River banks – Sarasvati River
• This site is near to Mohenjodaro
• Discovered by Gopal Majumdar in 1930
• Major findings
  • Pre-Harappan and Post-Harappan culture – Jhangar Culture & Jhukar Culture.
  • Only city without citadel / No fortified structure
  • Bead and bangle factory
  • Ink pot
  • Evidence of Human sacrifice
  • Clay model of four wheeler
  • Use of lipstick

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Koti-Diji

• Modern location –  Khairpur, Sindh
• River banks – Zhob River
• Discovered in 1955
• Major findings
  • Pre-Harappan site
  • Houses of mud bricks on stone foundations
  • City destroyed by force

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Amri

• Modern location – Dadu District, Sindh
• River banks – Indus River
• Amri was first visited by Alexander Burnes in 1831.
• Major findings
  • Remains of Rhinoceros
  • Pre-Harappan settlement
  • Transitional culture between pre and post-Harappan culture
  • Trace of Jhangar culture in Late Harappan
  • Fire altars

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Suktagendor

• Modern location – Gwadar, Baluchistan
• River banks – Dasht River
• Discovered by Edward Mockler in 1875
• Westernmost site of Indus Valley Civilization
• Major findings
  • Ash filled pot
  • Copper axe, flint blades without cores
  • Originally a port but later cut off from sea due to coastal uplift
  • Had trade links with Babylon

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Balakot

• Modern location – Lasbela, Balochistan
• River banks –
• Discovered by
• Major findings
  • Earliest evidence of furnace
  • Seaport

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Indus Valley Sites in Afghanistan

Shortugai

• Modern location – Takhar, Afghanistan
• River banks – Amu Darya river
• Major findings
  • Indus Valley Civilization trading colony
  • Established around 2000 BC
  • Lapis lazuli mines
  • Camel trade
  • Ploughed field & flax seeds – Dry land farming
  • Canal irrigation system

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Town Planning

• Harappan civilization is known for its urban outlook and sophisticated sense of city planning.
• In most of the Harappan city was divided into two parts
  • Citadel / Raised Part
    • This part occupied a smaller area.
    • Frequently situated to the west of the city.
    • Rulers of the city lived here.
    • It contained public buildings, granaries, and important workshops.
  • Lower Part
    • The common citizens lived and carried on their professional lives here.
• City planning roughly followed a grid pattern.
• Streets ran from north and cut at right angles.
• The streets were wide, the main street being 10 meters wide.
• Streets divide the town into rectangular and square blocks.
• There were lamp-posts at intervals.
• Bricks were burnt and identical ratio of 1:2:4 in terms of thickness : width : length.
• Uniformity in the average size of bricks
  • 7 × 14 × 28 cm for houses
  • 10 × 20 × 40 cm for city walls
• Drains were made of mortar, lime and gypsum.
• Drains were covered with large brick slabs for easy cleaning.
• Houses were often of two or more storeys, though varied in size but quite monotonous.
• No window faced the streets.
• Houses had tiled bathrooms.
• Some houses had their own wells.

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Society

• The Indus Valley society was an urban society.
• Most of the people were middle classes.
• According to excavation, we can divide three social groups
  • Ruler class
  • Rich merchants
  • Labour class lived in the lower part of the city
• The Harappa civilization people were experts in the use of the potter’s wheel.
• They were poor in artistic works of stone.
• Redware pottery painted with black designs was popular.
• Pots were used for storing grain, and water or used for brewing fermented alcoholic beverages.
• A lot of terracotta has been found at many sites.
• More female figurines have been uncovered then male figurines.
• The Harappan people refined the art of bead-making, and jewellery of gold and silver.
• At Allahdino a lot of necklaces made of gold, silver and stones have been found.

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Economy of Indus Valley Civilization

• Indus valley people had a good trade relations with Mesopotamian and Persian civilizations.
• The Mesopotamians called the Indus Region ‘Meluhha’.
• The Mesopotamian texts speak of three intermediate trading stations called
  • Dilmun – Bahrain on Persian Gulf
  • Makan – Makran coast, Oman
  • Meluhha
• Every merchant probably had a seal bearing an emblem with brief description on one side.
• Standard Harappan seal was a square / oblong plaque made of steatite stone.
• Purpose of the seal was to mark the ownership of property.
• Key aspects of trade and economy are as follows:
  • They carried out internal and external trade.
  • There was barter trade, no metallic money was in circulation.
  • Inland transport used bullock carts.
• There were bead-making factories at Chanhudaro and Lothal.
• There was a dockyard in Lothal and sea ports at Rangpur, Somnath and Balakot.
• Weights and measures of Indus valley civilization was standardized and accurate.
• Weights followed a binary and decimal system.
• Chert, limestone, and steatite were used to make weights.
• Weights were cubical in shape.
• Measures of length were based on the foot and the cubit.

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Agriculture

• 1st evidence of cotton in the world is found in Mehrgarh.
• It was known as ‘Sindon’ by the Greeks as from Sindh.
• People sowed seeds in the flood plains in November, and reaped their harvests of wheat and barley in April, before the advent of the next flood.
• They ploughed fields with the help of wooden ploughs.
• They produced sufficient food grains to feed themselves and the surplus was stored in granaries.
• The Harappan people grew wheat, barley, horse gram, peas, melon, watermelon, sesame, dates, millets, grapes, henna, garlic, mustard, rice.
• Double cropping was started by Harappan people.
  • Wheat and barley – winter crops.
  • Rice, millets, and sorghum – summer crops.
• They also exploited riverine and marine resources wherever possible.
• They domesticated cattle, goats, humped bulls, sheep, pigs, asses, camels, cats and dogs.
• Horse wasn’t in use.
• Indus valley people were well acquainted with the elephant and the rhinoceros.
• Tigers were often represented in figurines but leopards were rare.

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Mining

• Copper – Khetri, Baluchistan
• Lapis lazuli – Shortugai
• Turquoise – Khorasan
• Bitumin – Baluchistan
• Iron was unknown to the Indus people.

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Imports & Exports

• Imports
  • Gold – Afghanistan, Iran, Kolar.
  • Tin – Afghanistan, Iran.
  • Jade – Pamir
  • Steatite – Tapi Chahya (Iran)
  • Bitumin – Mesopotamia.
  • Lead – South India.

• Exports
  • Agricultural products
  • Cotton goods
  • Terracotta figurines, pottery
  • Beads, conch- shell, ivory products
  • Copper

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Religion of Indus Valley Civilization

• Indus Valley civilization is considered a secular society.
• No structure of the temple has been found.
• People generally worshipped:
  • Mother goddess
  • Pashupati Mahadeva or proto-Shiva
  • Lingam (phallus) and Yoni worship (cult of fertility)
  • Pipal tree
  • Humped Bull
  • Birds (dove and pigeon)
  • One-horned unicorn (may in fact be the rhinoceros)
• Dead bodies were placed in a north-south direction.
• They generally accompanied food, pottery, ornaments, and tools with dead bodies.

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Causes of the Decline

• Archaeologists now believe that the civilization did not come to an abrupt end but gradually declined.
• People moved eastwards and cities were abandoned.
• Different theories are given by archaeologists
  • Aryan Invasion – Mortimer Wheeler, Gordon
  • Ecological disturbance – Fairchild
  • Change in River course – Lambrick, Dales
  • Low Rainfall – Stein
  • Flood – Macay, S.R. Rao
  • Drying of Ghaghar and Increasing Aridity – D.P. Aggarwal, Sood
  • Earthquake – Raikes and Dales
  • Natural Calamities – K.A.R. Kennedy
• Other causes cited include deforestation and climate change.
• The Aryan invasion theory has now been debunked.
• It is possible that some cities were destroyed by floods but not all.
• New cities emerged only about 1400 years later.
• The Indus Valley people continued to evolve even in the face of declining monsoons.
• People shifted their crop patterns from large-grained cereals to drought-resistant species.
• The organised large storage system of the mature Harappan period collapsed for the lower yield.
• More individual household-based crop processing and storage systems evolved.
• This was the main reason for the deurbanisation of the civilization.

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