Indus Valley Civilization

• The Indus Valley Civilization, also known as the Harappan Civilization, marks the beginning of India's history.
• This civilization flourished around 2500 BCE in the western part of South Asia, in modern-day Pakistan and western India.
• The Indus Valley Civilization was more advanced than the four major ancient urban civilizations of Egypt, Mesopotamia, India, and China.
• Excavations of the Indus Valley by the Archaeological Survey of India in 1920 led to the discovery of two ancient cities, Harappa and Mohenjo-daro.
• In 1924, John Marshall, then Director-General of the Archaeological Survey of India, announced the discovery of a new civilization in the Indus Valley.

Key Sites of the Harappan Civilization

• Harappa
  • Discovered by Dayaram Sahni in 1921
  • Located in the Montogomery district of Punjab, Pakistan, on the banks of the Ravi River.
  • Notable finds include sandstone statues of human anatomy, granaries and bullock carts.
• Mohenjo-daro "Mound of the Dead"
  • Discovered by Rakhal Das Banerjee in 1922
  • Situated in the Larkana district of Punjab, Pakistan, on the banks of the Indus River
  • Noteworthy discoveries: the Great Bath, granaries, a bronze statue of a dancing girl, the seal of Pashupati Mahadev, a stone statue of a bearded man, and woven cloth.
• Sutkangedor
  • Discovered by Stein in 1929
  • Located in Balochistan, a southwestern province of Pakistan, on the banks of the Dasht River.
  • Served as a central point for trade between Harappa and Babylon.
• Chanhudaro
  • Discovered by N.G. Majumdar in 1931
  • Situated on the Indus River in the Sindh province
  • Featured bead-making shops and footprints of a dog chasing a cat.
• Amri
  • Discovered by N.G. Majumdar in 1935
  • Located on the Indus River
  • Evidence of deer has been found here.
• Kalibangan
  • Discovered by Ghosh in 1953
  • Located on the banks of the Ghaggar River in Rajasthan.
  • Yielded fire altars, bones of camels and a wooden plow.
• Lothal
  • Discovered by R. Rao in 1953
  • Situated near the Bhogava River near Cambay in Gujarat
  • Notable for its man-made port, dockyard, rice husks, fire altars and chess games.
• Surkotada
  • Discovered by J.P. Joshi in 1964
  • Located in Gujarat
  • Horse bones and beads have been found here.
• Banawali
  • Discovered by R.S. Bisht in 1974
  • Situated in the Hisar district of Haryana
  • Notable for its beads, barley and evidence of pre-Harappan and Harappan cultures.
• Dholavira
  • Discovered by R.S. Bisht in 1985
  • Located in the Rann of Kutch in Gujarat
  • Known for water drainage management and reservoirs.

Stages of the Indus Valley Civilization

• Early Harappan Phase: 3300 BCE - 2600 BCE

• Mature Harappan Phase: 2600 BCE - 1900 BCE

• Late Harappan Phase: 1900 BCE - 1300 BCE

• The early Harappan phase is associated with the 'Hakara Phase', identified in the Ghaggar-Hakra river valley.

• The earliest example of the Harappan script dates back to around 3000 BCE.

• This phase is characterized by a central authority and increasing urbanization.

• Trade networks were developed, and there is evidence of agriculture. Peas, sesame, dates, and cotton were cultivated.

• The site of Kotdiji represents the mature phase of the Harappan Civilization.

• By 2600 BCE, the Indus Valley Civilization had entered its mature phase.

• By the advent of the mature Harappan Civilization, the early Harappan Civilization had transformed into large urban centers such as Harappa and Mohenjo-daro in present-day Pakistan, and Lothal, located in present-day Gujarat, India.

• The gradual decline of the Indus Valley Civilization is believed to have begun around 1800 BCE, and by 1700 BCE, many cities of the Harappan Civilization had been abandoned.

• However, elements of the ancient Indus Valley Civilization can still be observed in later cultures.

• According to some archaeological data, the final period of the late Harappan era is said to have lasted until 1000-900 BCE.

Urban Planning and Layout

• The Harappan Civilization is renowned for its urban planning system.
• The cities of Mohenjo-daro and Harappa each had their own fortresses situated at a height above the city, presumably where the upper class resided.
• Below the fort were the towns, usually built of bricks, where common people lived.
• Notably, the Harappan Civilization had a grid system in which roads intersected each other at right angles.
• The construction of granaries was a major feature of the cities of the Harappan Civilization.
• Burnt bricks were a major feature of the Harappan Civilization as sun-dried bricks were used for the construction of houses in contemporary Egypt.
• The drainage system was very effective.
• Every small and large house had its own bathroom and courtyard.
• Wells are not found in many houses in Kalibanga.
• In some places like Lothal and Dholavira the entire layout was divided into parts by strongholds and city walls.

Agriculture

• Harappan villages were mainly situated near flood plains, which produced sufficient quantities of grains.
• Wheat, barley, mustard, sesame, lentils, etc. were produced. Some places in Gujarat also showed signs of millet production, while signs of rice use here are relatively rare.
• The people of the Indus Civilization first started the cultivation of cotton.
• Reconstructing actual agricultural traditions is difficult because the prominence of agriculture is measured on the basis of its grain production capacity.
• Pictures of bulls are found on seals and terracotta figurines and archaeological excavations have yielded evidence of fields plowed by oxen.
• Most of the Harappan Civilization sites are found in semi-arid regions, where irrigation is required for cultivation.
• Remains of canals have been found at the Harappan site of Shortugai in Afghanistan, but not in Punjab and Sindh.
• Harappan people practiced animal husbandry on a large scale along with agriculture.
• Evidence of horses has been found in subtle form from a questionable terracotta figurine of Mohenjo-daro and Lothal. Harappan culture was in no way horse-centric.

Economy

• Numerous seals, uniform script, weights and measures reveal the importance of trade in the lives of the people of the Indus Valley Civilization.
• Harappan people traded in stones, metals, shells or conch shells.
• Metal currency was not used. A barter system of trade existed.
• They also had efficient navigation system on the coast of the Arabian Sea.
• They had established their trading settlements in northern Afghanistan from where trade was easier from Central Asia.
• The residents of Harappa had commercial links with the land of the Tigris-Euphrates rivers.
• Harappan traders were trading through the ancient 'Lapis Lazuli' route which was probably related to the social background of the higher ups.

Handicrafts

• Harappan people were well versed in the method of making bronze artifacts and its uses.
• Copper was obtained from Khetri mines in Rajasthan and tin was probably brought from Afghanistan.
• Many objects have been found on which stamps used in weaving industry have been found.
• Large brick-built structures reveal the existence of masonry along with important crafts like masonry.
• Harappan people were well acquainted with the method of making boats, method of making beads, method of making seals. The construction of terracotta idols was an important craft feature of the Harappan Civilization.
• Goldsmith class used to make ornaments from gold, silver and precious stones.
• The method of making pottery was fully prevalent, the Harappan people had their own special methods of making pottery; the Harappan people used to make shiny utensils.

Institutions

• Very little written evidence has been found from the Indus Valley Civilization, which has not yet been read by archaeologists and researchers.
• Understanding the nature of the state and institutions in the Indus Valley Civilization is a difficult task.
• No evidence of temples has been found at Harappan sites. Therefore, the dominance or existence of priests in the Harappan Civilization cannot be ruled out.
• The Harappan Civilization was probably ruled by the merchant class.
• In discussing the power concentration in the Harappan Civilization, no solid information is found through archaeological records.
• Some archaeologists are of the opinion that there was no ruling class in the Harappan Civilization and every person in the society had equal status.
• Some archaeologists are of the opinion that there were many ruling classes in the Harappan Civilization, who ruled in different Harappan cities.

Religion

• A picture of a woman is found on Terracotta idols, one of which shows a plant emerging from the womb of a woman.
• Harappan people considered the earth as the goddess of fertility and worshiped the earth in the same way as the people of Egypt worshiped the goddess of the Nile River.
• Three-horned figures are found on seals in the form of male deities who are seated in the posture of a Yogi.
• The deity has an elephant on one side, a tiger on the other side, a rhinoceros on one side and a buffalo behind his throne. There are pictures of two deer near his feet. The pictured statue has been named Pashupatinath Mahadev.
• Pictures of male and female reproductive organs have been found on many stones.
• The people of the Indus Valley Civilization used to worship trees and animals.
• The most important animal in the Indus Valley Civilization was the one-horned rhinoceros and the second most important animal was the hump-backed bull.
• A large number of amulets have also been received.

Decline of the Indus Valley Civilization

• The Indus Valley Civilization declined around 1800 BC, but the reasons for its decline are still disputed.
• One theory holds that Indo-European tribes, such as the Aryans, invaded and defeated the Indus Valley Civilization.
• Several elements in the cultures after the Indus Valley Civilization prove that this civilization did not disappear completely due to invasion.
• Many archaeologists consider the causes of the decline of the Indus Valley Civilization to be natural.
• Natural causes can be geological and climatic.
• It is also said that there was excessive tectonic disturbances in the area of ​​the Indus Valley Civilization, due to which earthquakes occurred in excess.
• A natural cause could also be a change in rainfall patterns.
• Another reason may be that food production areas were flooded due to rivers changing their course.
• These natural disasters are considered to be slow but definite causes of decline of the Indus Valley Civilization.