Harappan Civilization: Seals and Artifacts

• The Harappan seal is the most distinctive artifact of the Harappan or Indus Valley Civilization
• The seals are made of steatite stone
• Seals contain animal motifs and script signs that remain undeciphered
• Archaeological evidence comes from houses, pots, ornaments, tools, and seals

Terminologies, Places, and Time

• The Harappan Civilization is also known as the Indus Valley Civilization
• The term "Harappa" is derived from the location where the civilization was first identified
• The civilization spans from 6000 BCE to 1300 BCE
• Early Harappan phase: (6000 BCE-2600 BCE) is a formative stage
• Mature Harappan phase: (2600 BCE-1900 BCE) is the most prosperous
• Late Harappan phase, a period of decline (1900 BCE-1300 BCE)
• Distinctive Harappan items include pottery, bricks, seals, weights, beads, and copper/bronze artifacts
• These items have been found in Afghanistan, Baluchistan, Sind, Punjab, Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat and Maharashtra

Harappan Settlements

• Over 2000 Harappan archaeological sites have been found in the Indian sub-continent
• Most sites are located between the Indus and Saraswati river basins
• Nearly two-thirds of settlements are in the Saraswati basin
• Five major cities: Rakhigarhi, Mohenjodaro, Harappa, Dholavira, and Ganweriwala
• Remaining sites are categorized as regional centers, agricultural villages, ports, and manufacturing centers

Beginnings of Harappan Culture

• Cultures before Mature Harappan had distinct pottery, agriculture, pastoralism, and some crafts
• Settlements were generally small with virtually no large buildings
• Harappan culture emerged from early farming communities around 7000 BCE
• The Mature Harappan phase resulted from gradual transformation/internal development during the Early Harappan phase

Subsistence Strategies

• Mature Harappan culture developed in areas occupied by Early Harappan cultures
• Shared common elements, including subsistence strategies
• Harappans consumed a range of plant and animal products, including fish
• Dietary practices were reconstructed from charred grains and seeds, studied by archaeo-botanists (specialists in ancient plant remains)
• Grains found at Harappan sites include wheat, barley, lentil, chickpea, and sesame
• Millets are found in Gujarat sites, and rice finds are relatively rare
• Animal bones include cattle, sheep, goat, buffalo, and pig (domesticated)
• Bones of wild species like boar, deer, and gharial have been found
• Whether Harappans hunted these animals or obtained meat from other communities is unknown
• Bones of fish and fowl are also found

Agricultural Technologies

• Agriculture is indicated by grain finds, reconstructing practices is difficult
• Representations on seals and terracotta sculpture show oxen were known and likely used for plowing
• Terracotta models of the plow have been found in Cholistan and Banawali (Haryana)
• A plowed field was found at Kalibangan (Rajasthan) with two sets of furrows at right angles, suggesting two crops were grown together
• Archaeologists have tried to identify harvesting tools to determine if the Harappans used stone blades set in wooden handles or metal tools
• Most Harappan sites are in semi-arid lands, so irrigation was necessary for agriculture
• Traces of canals are found at Shortughai in Afghanistan, but not in Punjab/Sindh
• Water drawn from wells may have been used for irrigation
• Water reservoirs found in Dholavira (Gujarat) may have been used to store water

How Artifacts are Identified

• Processing food required grinding equipment and vessels for mixing, blending, and cooking
• These were made of stone, metal, and terracotta
• Saddle querns were the only means for grinding cereals
• They were roughly made of hard, gritty, igneous rock or sandstone, and showed signs of hard usage
• Two main types of saddle querns were found:
  • Those on which another smaller stone was pushed or rolled to and fro
  • Others with which a second stone was used as a pounder, eventually making a large cavity in the nether stone
• Former type probably used solely for grain
• Second type possibly only for pounding herbs and spices for making curries
• The latter stones are dubbed “curry stones"
• Archaeologists use present-day analogies to try and understand what ancient artifacts were used for

Mohenjodaro - A Planned Urban Center

• The development of urban centers was the most unique feature of the Harappan civilization
• Mohenjodaro is the most well-known site; Harappa was the first site discovered
• The settlement is divided into two sections: a smaller, higher area (Citadel) and a larger but lower area (Lower Town)

Plight of Harappa v Mohenjodaro

• Harappa was the first site discovered but was badly destroyed by brick robbers
• Alexander Cunningham noted that enough brick was taken from Harappa to lay bricks for "about 100 miles" of railway line between Lahore and Multan
• Mohenjodaro was far better preserved

Citadel and Lower Town

• Archaeologists refer to the smaller, higher section as the Citadel and the larger, lower section as the Lower Town
• The Citadel's height resulted from buildings constructed on mud brick platforms
• The Citadel was walled, physically separating it from the Lower Town
• The Lower Town was also walled, with several buildings on platforms that served as foundations
• Moving the earth for foundations would have required four million person-days, demonstrating labor mobilization on a large scale
• Once platforms were in place, construction was restricted to a fixed area on the platforms
• Settlements were planned and implemented accordingly
• Bricks, whether sun-dried or baked, were of a standardized ratio (length and breadth were four times and twice the height) and were used at all Harappan settlements
• Dholavira and Lothal were entirely fortified, and sections within the town were separated by walls

Laying Out Drains

• Harappan cities had carefully planned drainage systems
• Roads and streets were laid out along an approximate “grid” pattern, intersecting at right angles
• Streets with drains were laid out first, then houses were built along them
• Houses needed one wall along a street for domestic waste water to flow into street drains
• The Citadel within Lothal was not walled off but was built at a height

Domestic Architecture

• The Lower Town at Mohenjodaro provides examples of residential buildings centered on a courtyard with rooms on all sides
• Courtyard was likely the center of activities, such as cooking and weaving
• There was concern for privacy: no windows along the ground level, and the main entrance did not give a direct view of the interior
• Every house had its own brick-paved bathroom with drains connected to the street drains
• Some houses had staircases to reach a second story or the roof
• Many houses had wells, often accessible from the outside for use by passers-by
• Total number of wells in Mohenjodaro is estimated at about 700
• Every house was connected to street drains
• Main channels were made of bricks set in mortar and covered with loose bricks that can be removed for cleaning
• In some cases, limestone was used
• House drains emptied into a sump or cesspit for solid matter to settle while waste water flowed into street drains
• Long drainage channels were provided at intervals
• Drainage systems were not unique to larger cities but were found in smaller settlements as well

The Citadel

• Evidence implies structures used for special public purposes
• Included a warehouse (massive structure with lower brick portions remaining) and the Great Bath
• The Great Bath was a large rectangular tank in a courtyard surrounded by a corridor on all four sides
• Two flights of steps (north/south) led into the tank
• The Great Bath was made watertight by bricks on edge
• Rooms were on three sides with a well in one, the tank was drained into a huge drain
• Across a lane to the north, a smaller building had eight bathrooms, four on each side of a corridor with drains connecting to a drain along the corridor
• Based on its uniqueness and context, scholars suggest the Great Bath was meant for special ritual bathing

Tracking Social Differences Through Burials

• Social and economic differences are determined through studying burials
• Burials in Harappan sites generally involve laying the dead in pits
• The hollow spaces were sometimes lined with bricks
• Could be an indication of social differences
• Some graves contain pottery and ornaments, indicating a belief in the afterlife
• Jewelry has been found in burials of both men and women
• An ornament with three shell rings, a jasper bead, and hundreds of micro beads was found near the skull of a male in a Harappa cemetery excavation in the mid-1980s
• Some were buried with copper mirrors
• Overall, Harappans did not believe in burying precious things with the dead

Tracking Social Differences Through Luxuries

• Social differences are identified studying artifacts classified as utilitarian or luxuries
• The first category includes objects of daily use made from ordinary materials like stone or clay
• Stone tools, pottery, needles, and flesh-rubbers (body scrubbers) are considered utilitarian and found throughout settlements
• Luxuries were rare or made from costly, non-local materials or with complicated technologies
• Little pots of faience were likely considered precious because they were difficult to make
• The line between utilitarian and luxury can be complicated by context Hoards
• Objects that are kept carefully by people
• They are often inside containers, like pots
• Hoards can be of jewelry or metal objects saved for reuse by metalworkers
• Original owners do not retrieve them and they are found by archaeologists

Finding More About Craft Production

• The variety of materials used to make beads is remarkable: stones like carnelian, jasper, crystal, quartz and steatite
• Metals like copper, bronze and gold, and shell, faience and terracotta or burnt clay, and beads made of two or more stones, cemented together
• Some beads were of stone with gold caps, with numerous shapes like disc-shaped, cylindrical, spherical, barrel-shaped, and segmented
• Some were decorated by incising or painting, and some had designs etched onto them

Techniques for Making Beads

• Vary based on materials
• Steatite was soft, easily worked
• Some beads were molded from steatite powder paste allowing for variety of shapes, unlike geometric forms with harder stones
• The steatite micro bead manufacture is a puzzle
• Experiments shows that the red color of carnelian was obtained by firing yellowish raw material and beads at production stages
• Nodules were chipped into rough shapes, finely flaked into final form, then grinding, polishing, and drilling completed the process
• Specialized drills have been found at Chanhudaro, Lothal and Dholavira

Identifying Centers of Production

• To identify centers of craft production, archaeologists look for:
  • Raw material (stone nodules, whole shells, copper ore)
  • Tools
  • Unfinished objects;
• Rejects and waste material
• Waste is one of the best indicators, such as discarded flakes if shells or stones are cut to make objects
• Larger waste may have been used up for smaller objects
• Minuscule bits were left in the work area
• Apart from small specialized centers, craft production was undertaken in large cities

Strategies for Procuring Materials

• A variety of materials were used for craft production
• While clay was locally available, others like stone, timber and metal had to be procured from outside the alluvial plain
• Terracotta bullock carts show goods transported across land routes
• Riverine routes along the Indus and its tributaries, and coastal routes, were likely used Materials From the Subcontinent and Beyond
• Harappans procured materials for craft production in various ways
• They established settlements (Nageshwar and Balakot) in areas where shell was available
• Shortughai (Afghanistan) was near the best source of lapis lazuli
• Lothal was sourced from carnelian (Gujarat), steatite (Rajasthan), and metal (Rajasthan)
• Sending expeditions to areas like Rajasthan's Khetri region (for copper) and south India (for gold)
• These expeditions established communication with local communities
• Occasional finds of Harappan artifacts like steatite micro beads indicate contact
• Evidence in the Khetri area supports the Ganeshwar-Jodhpura culture's inhabitants supplied copper to Harappans

Contact With Distant Lands: Oman and Mesopotamia

• Chemical analyses showed that Omani copper and Harappan artifacts have traces of nickel, suggesting a common origin
• Harappan jars coated with thick black clay (preventing liquid percolation) were found at Omani sites
• Copper came from a region called Magan
• Other archaeological finds suggestive of long-distance contacts include Harappan seals, weights, dice and beads
• Mesopotamian texts mention contact with regions named Dilmun (Bahrain), Magan, and Meluhha (Harappan region)
• Meluhha had:
• Carnelian
• Lapis lazuli
• Copper
• Gold
• Wood
• A Mesopotamian myth says of Meluhha that its bird (haja-bird) may be heard in the royal palace
• Scholars think the bird was a peacock
• Communications with Oman, Bahrain or Mesopotamia were by sea
• Mesopotamian texts refer to Meluhha as a land of seafarers
• Depictions of ships and boats on seals have been discovered

Seals, Script, Weights

• Used for long-distance communication
• A bag tied a rope
• Some wet clay was affixed where the rope was knotted, on which one or more seals were pressed
• The sealing conveyed the identity of the sender
• Had a line of writing
• Probably contained the name and title of the owner
• Motif (generally an animal) conveyed a meaning to those with no reading ability
• Inscriptions are short, at most 26 signs
• Not alphabetical
• Between 375 and 400 signs
• Written right to left
• There was a considerable variety of objects on which writing:
  • Seals
  • Copper tools
• Jars
• Tablets
• Jewellery
• Bone rods
• Signboard

Weights

• Regulated by a precise system
• Usually made of chert
• Generally cubical
• Have no markings
• Lower denominations were binary (1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32)
• Higher denominations used the decimal system (160, 200, 320, 640)
• Metal scale-pans have also been found
• Indicates complex decisions and implementation in Harappan society
• Extraordinary uniformity of Harappan artifacts (pottery, seals, weights, bricks) bricks manufactured from Jammu to Gujarat, despite not being produced in a single center
  • Settlements strategically set up in specific locations
• Labor mobilized to make bricks and construct walls and platforms

The Authority

• Archaeological records provide no immediate answers for a center of power or depictions of those in power
• A large building at Mohenjodaro was labeled as a palace, but no spectacular finds were associated with it
• A stone statue was labeled as the priest-king, based on Mesopotamian history
• Archaeologists have differing opinions as to whether the Harappan society had rulers were all equal:
  • No rulers at all
  • Several rulers, Mohenjodaro and Harappa had separate rulers
  • Single state, given similarity, evidence for settlements and standardized ratios

The End of the Civilization

• By 1800 BCE, most Mature Harappan sites (Cholistan) had been abandoned
• Population expanded to new settlements in Gujarat, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh
• Transformation of material culture (weights, seals, and beads)Writing, long-distance trade, and craft specialization declines
• House construction deteriorated
• Public structures no longer produced
• These explanations for the end of the civilization:
  • Climatic change
  • Deforestation
• Floods
• Overuse of landscape
• The cause appears to be a collapse of a strong unifying power, maybe the Harappan State

The Timeline of Discovering the Harappan Civilization

Cunningham's Confusion: Beginning of Discovering Harrapan

• Preferred to use the written word as a guide
• He used the accounts left by Chinese Buddhist pilgrims (fourth-seventh centuries CE) to locate settlement
• Harappan seals given to him in the 19th century
• Failed to realize that that the age of the seals
• In the mid-19th century, Cunningham missed the significance of the seals

New Civilization Discovered

• Seals discovered at Harappa by Daya Ram Sahni
• Similar finds at Mohenjodaro
• 1924, John Marshall announced the discovery
• Three thousand years older than archaeologists thought
• John Marshall marked a change in archaeology
• First professional archaeologist
• Keen to look for patterns of everyday life v spectacular finds
• R.E.M Wheeler rectified the lack of context
• Recognized the necessary to measure the mound layers
• Brought a military precision to the practice of archaeology
• The sites became nationalized
• Extensive surveys were constructed
• Joint teams from the subcontinent and abroad continue new explorations to this day

Problems of Piecing Together the Past

• Material evidence allows archaeologists to reconstruct Harappan life
• Consisting of:
  • Pottery
  • Tools
• Ornaments Household objects, etc. Most items decomposed, leaving metal, terracotta and stone The items found were the broken or useless items Those items not recycled were either hoarded or lost Classification
• Recovering artifacts
• Material
  • Stone
  • Bone
  • Clay
• Function
• Used as tools or decoration Resemblance
• Beads
• Querns
• Stone blades -Context Where an item was found Indirectly, a picture or a sculpture Comparison by viewing the history of other settlements

Problems of Interpretation

• Problems are identified though religious practices
• Early archaeologists thought that unusual objects had religious significance
• Early objects included:
  • Terracotta figurines
  • Statues
• Conical stone objects classified as lingas
• Religious were made off of assumption of later traditions like lingas
• Archaeologists move back and fourth through history
• Early text says proto-Shiva refers to Rudra
• Depicted for animal and as a yog
• The depictions do not match the descriptions for Shiva and Redra
• Possibly shaman suggested by many scholars
• Gender
• Harappan Economy
• Limited information as to how society functioned
• Several reconstruction remains
  • Was the great bath a ritual
    • Literacy
    • Cemeteries show no social class
    • Women worked
    • What were female figurines used for
• Not much information on gender
• Still work needed towards the relationship and social class

THE END