Indus Valley Civilization Overview

Indus Valley Civilization

• The Indus Valley civilization is now better known as the Harappan civilization, as it was first discovered in Harappa and extended beyond the Indus region.
• The civilization spread across modern-day Rajasthan, Punjab, Gujarat, Pakistan, and some adjoining areas.
• The Harappan civilization stretched from Manda, Jammu, in the north, to Daimabad, in the south, and from Alamgirpur, Uttar Pradesh, in the northeast, to Sutkagendor, Baluchistan, in the west.
• Over 1000 sites belonging to this civilization have been excavated.

Urban Planning and Architecture

• The civilization revealed features of a modern town, divided into two parts: a raised citadel for the rulers and a lower town for the ruled and the poor.
• The town planning had a remarkable arrangement, with streets laid out on a grid plan, some as much as 30 feet wide.
• The drainage system of Harappa is unique, indicating that the Harappans paid a great deal of attention to health and cleanliness.
• The Great Bath, located at Mohenjodaro, is a tank made of beautiful bricks, meant for some elaborate ritual of vital importance.

Important Sites

• Important sites of this civilization include Mohenjodaro and Chanhudaro in Sindh, Harappa in West Punjab, Pakistan, Lothal and Dholavira in Gujarat, Kalibanga in Rajasthan, and Banwali in Haryana.
• Other sites include Ropar in Punjab, Rangpur and Surkotada in Gujarat, Alamgirpur in western U.P., Kot Diji and Ali murad in Sind, and Sutkagan Dor in Baluchistan.

Society

• The Harappan society was an urban society consisting mainly of middle-class inhabitants.
• The existence of different sections of people, such as priests, traders, artisans, cultivators, fishermen, etc. is known.
• The people of Sindh and Punjab ate wheat and barley as their staple food, whereas people of Rangpur and Surkotada preferred rice and millet.
• Fish, milk, and curd were known to them.
• Their pottery was red or black, and they knew copper, bronze, silver, and gold, but not iron.

Economy and Trade

• Harappans engaged in internal and external trade, which was by means of barter.
• Sea-trade can be verified by the fact that many representations of ships and boats are found on the seals in Harappa, Mohenjodaro, and Lothal.
• Lothal had a dockyard, and Rangpur, Somanath, and Balakot functioned as seaports.
• Sutkagan Dor and Sutkakoh functioned as outlets.