Indus Valley Civilization • Things You Might Not Know About Harappan Culture

The larger cities are approximately a hundred hectares in size. Mohenjodaro is the largest of all the Indus cities. It is spread over an area of 200 hectares.

Origin and Evolution – Indus Valley Civilization

The archaeological findings excavated for the last eight decades reveal the gradual development of the Harappan culture. There are four important stages or phases of evolution namely,

pre-Harappan
early-Harappan
mature-Harappan
late Harappan

The pre-Harappan stage is located in eastern Baluchistan. First of all, the excavations at Mehrgarh 150 miles to the northwest of Mohenjodaro reveal the existence of pre-Harappan culture. Also, the nomadic people began to lead a settled agricultural life.

In the early- Harappan stage, the people lived in large villages in the plains. As a result, there was a gradual growth of towns in the Indus Valley. Also, the transition from rural to urban life took place during this period. Consequently, the sites of Amri and KotDijiremain the evidence for the early- Harappan stage.

In the mature Harappan stage, great cities emerged. furthermore, the excavations at Kalibangan with its elaborate town planning and urban features witness this phase of evolution.

In the late Harappan stage, the decline of the Indus culture started. The excavations at Lothal reveal this stage of evolution. Lothal with its port was founded much later. A massive brick wall surrounded the city for flood protection. Furthermore, Lothal remained an emporium of trade between the Harappan civilization and the remaining part of India as well as Mesopotamia.

Date of the Harappan Culture

In 1931, Sir John Marshall estimated the duration of the occupation of Mohenjodaro between 3250 and 2750 B.C.
Radiocarbon Dating Date: The advent of the radiocarbon method paves way for fixing almost accurate dates. By 1956, Fairservis brought down the dating of the Harappan culture to between 2000 and 1500 B.C. based on radiocarbon dates of his findings.
In 1964, D.P. Agarwal concluded that the total span of this culture should be between 2300 and 1750 B.C. Yet, there is a further scope of modification of these dates.

Salient Features of the Indus Valley Civilization

Town Planning

Grid System: Streets and lanes cutting across one another almost at right angles thus dividing the city into several rectangular blocks.
Citadel: While most Harappan settlements have a small high western part and a larger lower eastern section, there are variations.
1. At sites such as Dholavira and Lothal (Gujarat), the entire settlement was fortified, and sections within the town were also separated by walls.
2. The Citadel within Lothal was not walled off but was built at a height.
3. Harappa, Mohenjodaro, and Kalibangan each had its own citadel built on a high podium of mud brick.
Lower Town: Situated below the citadel in each city. Containing brick houses. Common people inhabited the lower town.
Drainage System: Another remarkable feature was the underground drainage system. The drainage system connected all houses to the street drains. Furthermore, the drains were covered by slabs.
The Great Bath: The most important public place of Mohenjodaro is the Great Bath.
1. Measuring 39 feet in length, 23 feet in breadth and 8 feet in depth.
2. Flights of steps at either end lead to the surface.
3. There are side rooms for changing clothes.
4. The floor of the Bath was made of burnt bricks.
5. Water was drawn from a large well in an adjacent room, and an outlet from one corner of the Bath led to a drain.
6. It must have served as a ritual bathing site.
Granary: The largest building in Mohenjodaro is a granary measuring 150 feet in length and 50 feet in breadth. But in the citadel of Harappa, we find as many as six granaries.

Economic life in Indus Valley Civilization

There was great progress in all spheres of economic activity such as agriculture, industry and crafts and trade.

Agriculture: Harappanscultivated wheat, barley, sesame, mustard, cotton and so on. Surplus is stored in granaries. They domesticated animals like sheep, goats, buffalos (use of horse not yet firmly established) and hunted animals like deer, crocodiles*.
Craft: Specialized groups of artisans include goldsmiths, brick makers, stone cutters, weavers, boat-builders and terracotta manufacturers. Bronze and copper vessels are outstanding examples of the Harappan metal craft. They used gold and silver ornaments. Also, pottery was plain and in some places red and black. Harappans used precious stones to craft beads.
Trade: Internal trade was extensive with other parts of India. Foreign trade was mainly conducted with Mesopotamia, Afghanistan, and Iran. Harappans imported gold, copper, tin and several semi-precious stones. Main exports were several agricultural products such as wheat, barley, peas, oilseeds and a variety of finished products including cotton goods, pottery, beads, terracotta figures, and ivory products. There is much evidence to prove the trade links between the Indus and Sumerian people. Excavators found many Harappan seals in Mesopotamia. Trade was of the barter type. The seals and the terracotta models of the Indus Valley reveal the use of bullock carts and oxen for land transport and boats and ships for river and sea transport.

Social Life

Much evidence is available to understand the social life of the Harappans. The dress of both men and women consisted of two pieces of cloth, one upper garment, and the other lower garment. Men and women both wore beads. Women wore jewellery such as bangles, bracelets, fillets, girdles, anklets, earrings and finger rings. Harappans made gold, silver, copper and beads ornaments. The use of cosmetics was common. Furthermore, excavators found household items like pottery, stone, shells, ivory and metal at Mohenjodaro. Likewise, Harappans played with marbles, balls and dice. Fishing was a regular occupation while hunting and bullfighting were other pastimes. There were numerous specimens of weapons of war such as axes, spearheads, daggers, bows, and arrows made of copper and bronze.

Arts

The Harappan sculpture revealed a high degree of workmanship. Figures of men and women, animals and birds made of terracotta and the carvings on the seals show the degree of proficiency attained by the sculptor.

The figure of a dancing girl from Mohenjodaro made of bronze is remarkable for its workmanship. Two stone statues from Harappa, one representing the back view of a man and the other of a dancer demonstrate Harappan craftsmanship. Likewise, the pottery from Harappa is another specimen of the fine arts of the Indus people.

Harappans coloured the pots and jars with various designs and colours. Notably, painted pottery is of better quality. The pictorial motifs consisted of geometrical patterns like horizontal lines, circles, leaves, plants, and trees. Similarly, on some pottery pieces, we find figures of fish or peacocks.

Script

The mystery of the Harappan script still exists and there is no doubt that the decipherment of Harappan script will throw much light on this culture.

The Harappan script has still to be fully deciphered. The number of signs is between 400 and 600 of which 40 or 60 are basic and the rest are their variants. The script was mostly written from right to left. In a few long seals, the boustrophedon method – writing in the reverse direction in alternative lines – was adopted.

Parpola and his Scandinavian colleagues came to the conclusion that the language of the Harappans was Dravidian. A group of Soviet scholars accepts this view. Other scholars provide different views connecting the Harappan script with that of Brahmi.

Religion

From the seals, terracotta figurines and copper tablets we get an idea on the religious life of the Harappans. The chief male deity was Pasupati, (proto-Siva) represented in seals as sitting in a yogic posture with three faces and two horns. Also, four animals are surrounding Pashupati(elephant, tiger, rhino, and buffalo each facing a different direction). Finally, two deer appear on his feet.

Mother Goddess was the chief female deity, represented in terracotta figuri, notablybly, in later times, Lingaworshipwas prevalent.

Harappans worshipped Trees and animals. Also, they believed in ghosts and evil forces and used amulets as protection against them.

Burial Methods

The cemeteries discovered around cities like Mohenjodaro, Harappa, Kalibangan, Lothal, and Rupar throw light on the burial practices of the Harappans.
Complete burial and post-cremation burial were popular at Mohenjodaro.
At Lothal, people buried dead in coffins made of burned bricks.
There is no clear evidence for the practice of Sati.
Notably, excavators found wooden coffins at Harappa.

The Decline of the Harappan Culture

There is ambiguity about the cause of the decline of the Harappan culture. Various theories give the following reasons for the decline of Harappan culture-

Natural calamities like recurring floods
Drying up of rivers (Mythical river Saraswati/ Ghaggar)
Decreasing fertility of the soil due to excessive exploitation
Occasional earthquakes
Aryan invasion (destruction of forts- mentioned in Rig Veda.)

Why Indus Valley Civilization is called the Harappan Civilization?