INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION (3300-BCE to 1300 BCE) - 15 Mints Seminar Notes

 INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION (3300-BCE to 1300 BCE) - 15 Mints Seminar Notes

Introduction

• The civilization that appeared in the northwestern part of India and Pakistan in third millennium BCE is collectively called the Indus Civilization.
  
• Since Harappa was the first site to be identified in this civilization, it is also known as Harappan Civilization.
  
• The beginning of the Neolithic Village in the are took place.The beginnings of the Neolithic villages in this region go back to about 7000 BCE at the Neolithic site of Mehrgarh.
  
• The Indus Civilization represents the first phase of urbanisation in India.The Keezhadi civilization situated on banks of River Vaigai in Sivagangal was older than Indus Valley Civilization.
  
• The word 'Civilization' comes from the ancient Latin word civis, which means 'city.
  
• Radiocarbon Dating Method also known as C14 method, the radiocarbon method uses the radioactive isotope of carbon called carbon14 to determine the age of an object.
  
• Radiocarbon Dating Method-A Standard Tool for Archaeologists.
  

History of Harappa

• The word harappa in Sindhi means 'buried city.Harappa is an archaeological monument excavated (1920) between the river ravi and sutlej in the Montgomery district of Old Punjab (Pakistan).
  
• The ruins of Harappa were first described by the British East India Company soldier and explorer Charles Masson in his book.
  
• The indus valley site of Harappa was first visited by Charles Mason in 1826.When he visited the northwestern part of India which is currently in Pakistan he saw that there were some brick mounds.
  
• He wrote that he saw a "ruined brick castle with very high walls and towers built on a hill.
  
• This was the earliest historical record of existence of Harappa.Amri the Harappa related archaelogical site was first visited by Alexander Burnes in 1831.
  
• In 1856 when engineers laid a railway line connecting Lahore to Karachi, they discovered more burnt bricks.
  
• The site of Harappa was destroyed for laying the railway line from Lahore to Multan.
  
• The seal from this site reached Alexander Cunningham, the first surveyor of theArchaeological Survey of India (ASI).
  
• Alexander Cunningham visited the site in 1853,1856 and 1875.
  
• But the importance of the site and the associated civilization were not realised until Sir John Marshal took over as the Director General of ASI and initiated research at the site.
  

ASI (Archaelogical  Survey of India)

• The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) was started in 1861 with Alexander Cunningham as Surveyor  and its headquarters is located in New Delhi.
  
• The TamilNadu Archaeological Survey was cities of Harappa and Mohenjo- Daro.
  
• 1922-A 70 foot high mound is excavated in the larkana district of Sindhi Province (Pakistan).
  
• In 1924 the Director General of ASI, Sir John Marshall, found many common features between Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro established in 1961.
  
• The Director General of Archaelogical Survey of India at the time of Indus Valley excavation was Sir John Marshall.
  
• He concluded that they were part of a large civilization.The event, in which John Marshall became the Director of the Archaeological Survey of India, marked a turning point in Indian History.
  
• Though his efforts, excavations were started in Harappa.Some slight differences are found in the earthenwares of Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro.
  
• This made the researchers conclude that Harappa was older than Mohenjo-Daro.
  
• Later in the 1940s, Sir Mortimer Wheeler excavated the Harappan sites.
  
• He is the author of the book Indus Civilization.He conclude that Harappa Civilization is a 'City Civilization'.
  
• After the partition of the Indian subcontinent, many of the Harappan sites went to Pakistan.
  

Time Span of Indus Civilization

• Geographical range: South Asia .
  
• Period: Bronze Age Time: 3300 to 1900 BCE (determined using the radiocarbon dating method) .
  
• Area: 13 lakh sq.km
  
• Cities: 6 big cities.
  
• Villages: More than 200.
  

Planned Towns

1. Important Towns :Harappa (Punjab, Pakistan)
   
2. Mohenjo-Daro (Sindh, Pakistan),
   
3. Dholavira (Gujarat, India),
   
4. Kalibangan (Rajasthan, India),
   
5. Lothal (Gujarat, India),
   
6. Banawali (Rajasthan, India),
   
7. Rakhigarhi (Haryana, India),
   
8. Surkotada (Gujarat, India),
   

• The site of Mohenjo-Daro had a planned town, built on a platform.
  
• It has two distinct areas. One is identified as a citadel and another as the lower town.
  
• Some houses had stairs indicating the existence of an upper floor.Houses had many rooms.
  

Streets and Houses

• Fortification, wellplanned streets and lanes and drainages are noticed in the Harappan towns.
  
• These are well planned under the guidance of Civil officers.
  
• The Harappans used baked and unbaked bricks and stones for construction. The houses were built of mud bricks.Houses had more than one floor.
  
• The streets are observed to have a grid pattern.They were straight.Running from north to south and east to west.
  
• They were intersected each other at right angles.The main streets were 33 feet wide and the smaller street were 12 feet wide.
  
• Major roads were laid out as the three carriages went in the same row.The roads were wide with rounded corners.
  
• Houses were built on both sides of the street.The houses were either one or two storeyed.
  
• Most of the houses had many rooms, a courtyard and a well.Each house had toilets and bathrooms.
  
• The houses were built using baked bricks and mortar Sun-dried bricks were also used.
  
• Most of the bricks we;af uniform size.Roofs were flat.
  
• There is no conclusive evidence of the presense of palaces or places of worship.
  

Drainage System

• Many of these cities had covered drains.
  
• The drains were covered with slabs or bricks.
  
• The towns had a grid pattern and drainages were systematically built.
  
• The drainages were built with burnt bricks.
  
• Each drain had a gentle slope so that water could flow.
  
• Holes were provided at regular intervals to clear the drains.
  
• House drains passed below many lanes before finally emptying into the main drains.
  
• Every house had its own soak pit,which collected all the sediments and allowed only the water to flow into the street drain.
  

Great Bath

• The great bath was a large, rectangular tank in a courtyard
  
• It is set in the center of the city.
  
• It may be the earliest example of a water proof structure.
  
• The corridors were present on all four sides and stairs are seen on the northern and southern sides.
  
• The bath was lined with bricks, coated with plaster and made water-tight using layers of natural bitumen.
• The floor of the pool was coated with bitumen to prevent water absorption.
  
• It was well paved with several adjacent rooms.
  
• Some structures are identified as granary.
  
• The bricks were laid watertight with gypsum mortar.
  
• It had drainage. It is associated with a ritual bath.
  
• There were steps on the north and south leading into the tank.
  
• There were rooms on three sides.
  
• Water was drawn from the well located in the courtyard
  
• The used water are drained out.
  

The Great Granary

• The granary was a massive building with a sold brick foundation.
  
• It is 168 feet long & 135 feet wide.
  
• Its walls are 52 feet high and 9 feet thick
  
• These were built in two rows
  
• The distance between these two rows is 23 feet.
  
• There were six halls in each walls.
  
• Each hall has three great walls.
  
• Each contain four rooms
  
• The ground floor of these halls are made of  woods.
  
• Granaries were used to store food grain.
  
• The remains of wheat, barley, millets, sesame and pulses have been found there.
  
• Agranary with walls made of mud bricks, which are still in a good condition, has been discovered in Rakhigarhi, a village in Haryana,belonging to Mature Harappan Phase.
  

The Assembly Hall

• The Assembly Hall was another huge public buildie at Mohenjo-Daro.
  
• It was a multi-pillared hall (20 pillars in 4 rows support the roof)
  

Urban Civilization

• Harappan civilization is said to be urban becar of the following reasons.
  
• Well-conceived town planning
  
• Astonishing masonry and architecture.
  
• Priority for hygiene and public health.
  
• Standardised weights and measures.
  
• Solid agricultural and artisanal base
  
• Subsistence and Economic Production
  
• Agriculture was an important source of subsistence for the Harappans.
  
• The Harappans cultivated diverse crops such as wheat, barley, lentil, chickpea, sesame and various millets.
  
• They adopted a double cropping system.
  
• The Harappans used ploughs.
  
• They used both canal and well irrigation.
  

Animal Domestication

• Pastoralism was also practised by the Harappans.
  
• They domesticated sheep, goat and fowl.
  
• They had knowledge of various other animals including buffalo, pig and elephant.
  
• But horse was not known to them.
  
• The Harappan cattle are called Zebu. It is a large breed, often represented in their seals.
  
• They also ate fish and birds.
  
• Evidence of boar, deer and gharial has been found at the Harappan sites.
  

Recent Study

• In October 2020, The studies were carried out on 59 shards of pottery from Kotada Bhadli, a small archaeological site in present day Gujarat.
  
• The team used molecular analysis techniques to study the residues from ancient pottery.
  
• The researchers studies the tooth enamel from fossils of cattle, water buffalo, goat and sheep found in the area.
  
• A new study has shown that dairy products were being produced by the Harappans.
  

Leader in Mohenjo-Daro

• A sculpture of a seated male has been unearthed in a building, with a head band on the forehead and a smaller ornament on the right upper arm.
  
• His hair is carefully combed, and beard finely trimmed.
  
• Two holes beneath the ears suggest that the head ornament might have been attached till the ear.
  
• The left shoulder is covered with a shawl-like garment decorated with designs of flowers and rings.
  
• This shawl pattern is used by people even today in those areas.
  

Statue of Bronze

• This little statue was found at Mohenjo-Daro.
  
• When Sir John Marshall saw the statuette known as the dancing girl, he said, When I first saw them I found it difficult to believe that they were pre-historic modeling.
  
• Such as this was unknown in the ancient worlds up to the age of Greece.
  
• I thought that these figures had found their way into levels some 3000 years old to which they properly belonged.
  

Pottery

• Pottery was practiced using the potter's wheel. It was well fired.
  
• Potteries were red in colour with beautiful designs in black.
  
• The broken pieces of pottery have animal figure and geometric designs on it.
  
• The pottery are shaped like dish-on-stands, storag jars, plates, dishes, bowls and pots.
  
• The painted motifs, generally noticed on th pottery, are pipal leaves, fish-scale design intersecting circles, zigzag lines, horizontal bangles and geometrical motifs with floral and faunal patterns.
  
• The Harappan pottery is wellbaked and fine in decorations.
  

Metal, Tools and Weapons

• The metal which was first identified and used by man - Copper.
  
• The Harappan civilization belongs to the Bronze Age civilization
  
• Harappans knew how to make copper bronze tools.
  
• Although they produced bronze implements, they needed various kinds of tools for agriculture and craft production.
  
• The Harappans used chert blades, copper objects, and bone and ivory tools.
  
• The tools of points, chisels, needles, fishhooks, razors, weighing pans, mirror and antimony rods were made of copper.
  
• The chert blades made out of Rohrichert was used by the Harappans.
  
• The chert, a fine grained sedimentary rock, was found in the region of Rohri in Pakistan.
  
• It was used by the Harappans for making stone blades and tools.
  
• Their weapons include arrowheads, spearhead, celt and axe.
  
• They did not have the knowledge of iron.
  
• Making weapons is their primary occupation.
  

Textiles and Ornaments

• The Harappans wore clothes and used metal and stone ornaments.
  
• Cotton fabrics were in common use.
  
• Clay spindles unearthed suggest that yarn was spun. Wool was also used.
  
• They used Ornaments made of stone and metal.
  
• They had the knowledge of cotton and silk.
  
• They had knowledge of silk. The image identified as a priest is depicted wearing a shawl-like cloth with flower decorations.
  
• The image of dancing girl found at Mohenjo- Daro is shown wearing bangles in large numbers up to the upper arm.
  
• They made carnelian, copper and gold ornaments.
  
• Ornaments were popular among men and women.
  
• They adorned themselves with necklaces, armlets, bangles, finger rings, ear studs and anklets.
  
• The ornaments were made of gold, silver, ivory,shell, copper, terracotta and precious stones. -Indus people used the red quartz stone called Carnelian to design jewellery.
  
• Exported them to the Mesopotamian world.
  
• The ornaments produced were either sold or exchanged as part of the trade activities.
  

Trade and Exchange

• Harappans had close trade contacts with the Mesopotamians and also with various cultures of India.
  
• The Harappan seals and materials have been found in the Sumerian sites in Oman, Bahrain, Iraq and Iran.
  
• The cuneiform inscriptions mention the trade contacts between Mesopotamia and Harappans.
  
• The mention of "Meluhha" in the cuneiform inscriptions refers to the Indus region.
  
• A Harappan jar has been found in Oman.
  
• Harappan seals, weights, dice and beads are found in Mesopotamia.
  
• Carnelian, lapis lazuli, copper, gold and varieties of wood were exported to Mesopotamia.
  
• Nickel which was excavated in harappa was an another example for trade relation with Mesopotamia.
  
• he following lines describes about 'Meluhha' from Mesopotamia Purana.
  
•               "Let your bird be the Haja bird. Let it sound be heard in the Palace".
  
• Some archaeologists consider the 'Haja Bird' to be a peacock.
  
• There is evidence for extensive maritime trade with Mesopotamia.
  
• Indus Seals have been found as far as Mesopotamia (Sumer),Iraq, Kuwait and parts of Syria.
  
• King Naram-Sin of Akkadian Empire (Sumerian) has written about buying jewellery from the land of Melukha (a region of the Indus Valley).
  
• Cylindrical seals similar to those found in Persian Gulf and Mesopotamia have also been found in the Indus area.
  
• This shows the trade links between these two areas.
  
• A naval dockyard has been discovered in Lothal in Gujarat.
  
• It shows the maritime activities of the Indus people.
  
• Lothal is situated on the banks of a tributary of Sabarmati river in Gujarat.
  
• KVT Complex (Korkai-Vanji-Thondi)
  
• Korkai, Vanji, Tondi, Matrai, Urai and Kudalgarh are the names of places in Pakistan.
  
• Gurkay and Pumpuhar in Afghanistan are related to the cities & ports mentioned in the Sangam Age.
  
• The names of the rivers Kawri and Poruns in Afghanistan and the rivers Kaweri Wala and Phornai in Pakistan also occur in the Sangam literature.
  

Weights and Measures Technology

• They used bronze measure instrument to measure lands.
  
• Cubical chert weights have been unearthed from Harappan sites.
  
• The weights exhibit a binary system.
  
• The ratio of weight has been followed the double pattern.
  
• The ratio of weight is doubled as 1:2:4:8:16:32.
  
• The small weight measure of 16th ratio weighs 13.63 grams.
  
• They also used a measuring scale in which one inch was around 1.75 cm.
  
• Weights made of chert were cubical.
  
• They used binary numbering system (1, 2, 4, 8,16, 32, etc.)
  
• Ivory scale found in Lothal in Gujarat is 1704mm.
  
• The smallest division ever recorded on a scale of other contemporary civilizations.
  

Seals, Sealings and Scripts

• The seals from various media such as steatite, copper, terracotta and ivory are frequently found  in the Harappan sites.
  
• The Harappan script has not yet been convincingly deciphered.
  
• Small scripts of 5000 script volumes are found in Harappan Civilizations.
  
• More than 500 seals have been discovered in Indus Valley Civilization which are all Terracottas.
  
• The longest text has about twenty six signs.
  
• Some scholars are of the view that it is Dravidian.
  
• These characters are written one line from left to right and one line from right to left.
  
• The Places like Keelvalai, Kulirsunai, Purakal, Aalampadi, Seththavarai, Neganoorpatti from TamilNadu are related to anicient tamil scripts.
  
• The Northern Brahmi Script and Southern Brahmi scripts are developed from the indus script.
  
• The Southern Brahmi scripts are directly developed from the Indus script by dravidian.
  
• Their similarities can be traced back to the pottery found in tirunelveli and the inscriptions in the Nilgiri's.
  

Arts and Amusement

• The terracotta figurines, the paintings on the pottery, and the bronze images from the Harappan sites suggest the artistic nature of the Harappans.
  
• "Priest king" of steatite, dancing girl of copper (both from Mohenjo-Daro).
  
• The stone sculptures found at Harappa, Mohenjo daro and Dolavira are work of Harappa.
  
• Toy carts, rattles, wheels, tops, marbles and hop scotches exhibit the amusement of the Harappan people.
  
• Toys like carts, cows with movable heads and limbs, clay balls, tiny doll, a small clay monkey, terracotta squirrels eating a nut, clay dogs and male dancer have been found.
  
• They made various types of toys using terracotta, which show that they enjoyed playing.
  

Faith and Belief System

• The Indus people worshipped nature.
  
• They worshipped the pipal tree. Some of the terracotta figures appear to be mother goddess.
  
• They buried the dead. Burials were made elaborately and evidence of cremation is also reported.
  
• Evidence of cremation of dead bodies has also been found.
  
• The Harappan burials have pottery, ornaments, jewellery, copper mirrors and beads.
  
• These suggest their belief in life after death.
  
• There might have been worship of Mother Goddess (which symbolized fertility), which is concluded based upon the excavation of several female figurines.
  
• This was later became power worship.
  

Worship of Lord Pasupathi

• The seals found at Harappa are 2016 engraved with the image of a seated.
  
• It has three faces and looks like a god sitting in a yoga position.
  
• It is surrounded by images of elephant and tigers on the right and rhinos and buffaloes on the left.
  
• According to Archaeologists, these worships are of 'Lord Shiva' (Three Faces), Pasupathi various forms of animals, Yokeshwarar god of yogi.
  

Worship of Animal

• The indus people worshipped animal as a deities.
  
• This reveals the relation between Dravidian Culture and Indus Civilization.
  

Worship of Water

• The practice of bathing in great bath in Mohenjo-daro became an important event in life.
  

Worship of Tree

• Prominent tree was Pipal.
  
• The trees were worshipped as a male and female deities.
  

Worship of Sun and Fire

• The images of sun and snake are seen in seal of Indus Civilization.
  
• Therefore they worshipped sun and fire.
  

Medicine

• The people of the Indus Valley used cuttle fish bones to make medicines for eye, ear, throat and skin diseases.
  
• Evidences found that deer, rhinoceros bones, corals and neem leaves have been used medicinally.

Status of Women

• In the Indus Valley, women were treated equally to men.
  
• They used beauty products.
  
• Evidence of this can be found as bronze face mirrors, comb made of ivory and found here.
  

Political System

• Uniformity in pottery, seals, weights and bricks reveals the existence of a polity.
  
• Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro might have had citystate like polity.
  
• The uniformity in the cultural materials and measurement units point to a central authorit during the Harappan times.
  

Contemporary Cultures of the Indus Civilization

• Several groups including pastoral people, farmers and hunter-gatherers lived in the Indus region.
  
• The Indus region had villages and large towns.
  
• The population of that time was mixed. Innumerable communities of hunters-gatherers, pastoral people and farmers, from Kanyakumari to Kashmir and Gujarat to Arunachal Pradesh could have existed during this period.
  
• The Harappans who had knowledge of water crafts might have had connections and interactions with South India.
  
• India is considered to be a land of mixed culture during the Harappa Civilization.
  

Decline

• The Indus Valley Civilization declined from about 1900 BCE.
  
• Changes in climate, decline of the trade with the Mesopotamia, and the drying of the river and water resources due to continuous drought are some of the reasons attributed by historians for the decline.
  
• Invasions, floods and shifting of the river course are also cited as reasons for the ruin of Indus civilization.
  
• In course of time, the people shifted to the southern and eastern directions from the Indus region.
  
• According to Krishna Rajan, people may have left the cities due to economic down turn.
  

Indus Valley Civilization and Tamil Civilization

• The place name currently in use in southern TamilNadu have also been used in areas where the Indus Valley Civilization Originated and developed.
• Arani, Korkai, Mylam, Manor, Nagal, Kandikai of Tamil Nadu places names are also common in present day Pakistan (Ancient Indus Valley region).
  
• Similarly places name like Alur, Aasoor, Badur, Injur, Kunda, Nagal, Thaanur, Senji in TamilNadu are present in Afghanistan.
• By this we know that dravidians also like in Punjab, Sindh and Baluchistan.
• Researchers Henry Heroes, Asko Barbola Iravadham Mahadevan also identified similarities between the Indus Valley Script and Dravidian / Tamil Languages.

Presented by,

Sathish.R.S

Tnpsc Student

Magme School Of Banking