Indus Valley Civilisation

Indus Valley Civilisation

• In the fourth millennium BC, several isolated farming villages in four separate areas developed first into towns, and then into cities. From these centres eventually arose the first civilisations of the world, all of them located in broad river valleys­ the Tigris and the Euphrates in Mesopotamia, the Nile in Egypt, the Indus in India and the Hwang Ho (Yellow river) in China.
• The first cities developed in Mesopotamia, followed shortly afterwards by similar developments in Egypt and India, and a little later in China. Each of these urban literate civilisations was centred on a major river valley or dual-valleys which had the agricultural potential needed to support a dense population.

• The special conditions of the river valleys enabled these ancient Mesopotamians, Egyptians, Indians and Chinese to construct societies rich enough to free a few persons from the task of producing their own food. These ‘free’ individuals gradually became specialists and developed a substantial range of new skills. These civilisations undoubtedly developed independently of one another; and yet the similarities between them are both numerous and striking, distinguishing them from the farming communities out of which they sprang.

• One of their most obvious common features was the large cities. They were far larger than anything that had gone before and larger than many that came after. Thus, the ‘Urban Revolution’ of the fourth millennium BC marks the beginning of a new phase of human existence.

Relationship of Indus with Indian History

• India derived its name from the river ‘Indus’, for India means the country of the Indus. The earliest literary text, Rig Veda, however, refers to the Indus as the ‘Sindhu’ (a huge sheet of water). The Aryans in their long trek through Iran into India did not encounter a river of such magnitude as the Indus.

• In 518 BC Darius I, the Persian emperor, conquered the area around the Indus and converted it into a Persian Satrapy (province). The Persians, because of their own difficulty in pronouncing the initial ‘S’ turned ‘Sindhu’ into ‘Hindu’.
• Later, passing through the hands of the Greeks, ‘Hindu’ became ‘Indus’. Thus, to the Greeks and Romans India came to mean the country of the Indus.
• With the Arab conquest of Sind, however, the old Persian name returned in the form of ‘Hindustan’ (Land of the Hindu); the people who inhabited the land came to be called ‘Hindus’; and their religion was described as ‘ Hinduism’.
• The name ‘India’, thus, goes back to the earliest civilisation in India, the Indus civilisation, though no one had heard of , such a civilisation till the third decade of the twentieth century.

Origins – Archaelogical Discoveries

• During the 1920s, two ancient sites in the Indus valley-Harappa and Mohenjodaro-were excavated. These cities brought to light a civilisation, which was at first called the ‘Indus Valley civilisation’, but later termed as the ‘Indus civilisation’ due to the discovery of more and more sites far away from the actual river valley. Alternatively it has also come to be called the  ‘Harappan civilisation’ after the name of its first discovered site.
• This discovery oflndia’s first and earliest civilisation posed a historical puzzle. It seemed to have suddenly appeared on the stage of history, fully grown and fully equipped. All civilisations known to history till then have started from small beginnings and have taken hundreds of years to reach their prime. But the Harappan civilisation till recently showed no definite signs of such birth and growth.
• However, the puzzle could largely be solved after the extensive excavation work conducted at Mehrgarh in Baluchistan between 1973 and 1980 by two French archaeologists (Jean Francoise Jarrige and Richard H Meadow). Mehrgarh, according to these researchers, gives us an archaeological record with a sequence of occupations.
• The sequence clearly shows a process of continuing elaboration that affected cereal cultivation, animal husbandry, crafts, architecture and even ideology. And one can easily witness the stage being gradually set for the development of the complex cultural patterns that became manifest in the great cities of the Indus civilisation in the middle of the third millennium BC.

Origins and Evolution

• Research over past eight decades has established a continuous sequence of strata. These strata have been named Pre­ Hara ppai:t, Early Harappan, Mature Harappan and Late Harappan Phases or Stages.
• Most important consequence of this research is clear proof of long-term indigenous evolution of this civilization .
• Sequence begins with transition of nomadic herdsmen to settled agriculturists in eastern Baluchistan (first stage), continues with growth of large villages and rise of towns in Indus-Hakra valley (second stage), leads to emergence of great cities (third stage) and, finally, ends with their decline (fourth stage).
• Recent excavations at Mehrgarh show that in Baluchistan there was a continuous cultural evolution from 6th millennium BC throughout subsequent four millennia. Many settlements of 4th millennium BC that have been excavated recently provide added evidence for this new hypothesis.

Pre-Harappan Cultures

• Those cultures which precede Harappan culture are pre-Harappan cultures, while proto-Harappan cultures are those pro­ Harappan cultu_res which have some close similarities with the Harappan culture or which may be said to have anticipated certain essential elements of Harappan culture.
• Excavations at Mehrgarh are significant from several points of view. However, to what e1\tent can discoveries at Mehrgarh be treated as part of growth of village settlements in Indus plain? It is difficult to argue that Mehrgarh in Kachhi plain stands as a milestone in linear course of development towards Indus civilization except in a general sense.
• Only in three areas which are relevant to growth of Indus civilization is there a clear sequence of village-growth: Kirthar piedmont and Kohistan to southwest of Indus floodplain in Sind; Cholistan area; and Gomal valley.
• Of these three areas only Cholistan can boast of a dense and well-integrated distribution of early Harappan sites to be followed by denser and equally integrated mature Harappan· sites (174 in number, as compared to 138 in Rajasthan-I:laryana­ Panjab and 101 in Gujarat).
• There is every chance that it was in Ghaggar-Hakra system in Cholistan that transition from early Harappan ‘culture’ to mature Harappan ‘civilization’ was achieved.

Beginnings and Spread

• Cholistan desert lies to the south and east of Hakra depression. The lower course of Hakra joins Indus and flows into, or in vicinity of, Rann of Cutch. On Indian side it is known as Ghaggar and is identified with Sarasvati.

• Due to neotectonic upheavals, its two main tributaries – palaeo-Sutlej and palaeo­ Yamuna – were pirated by Indus and Ganga respectively, leaving Sarasvati or Ghaggar high and dry.
• In dry months, braided shallow channels of Ghaggar-Hakra flow or ancient Sarasvati formed lakes/lagoons at various places and protohistoric inhabitants of area distinctly preferred such areas.
• Snow-fed Indus has always been a very difficult river to control. On the contrary, potential of the shallow, braided channels of ancient Sarasvati was much easier to utilize, just as neolithic settlers of Mehrgarh decided to settle in a zone where hill streams got dissipated into innumerable courses.
• Early Harappan settlements were located in Kirthar piedmont and Kohistan; it is only during mature Harappan ‘civilized’ phase that we find settlements, one of which was Mohenjodaro, in floodplain.

Mature Phase: Extent and Features

Extent

• Indus Civilization belongs to the Bronze Age. It is older but surprisingly more developed than the Chalcolithic cultures in the sub-continent.
• Broadly placed between 3000 B.C. and 1500 B.C., it was the largest cultural zone of the period.
• It extends from Manda (Jammu & Kashmir) in the North to Diamabad (Maha rashtra ) in the South and from Sutkagendor (Pakistan-Iran border) in the West to Alamgirpur (U.P) in the East.

Basic Distributional Zone

• Apart from its basic geography and site localization, perhaps most important characteristic of distribution of Harappan sites is their adaptation to diverse settings from Baluchistan to upper Doab and from iammu to Gujarat.
• Did Indus civilization appear more or less simultaneously all over its basic distributional zone? It is improbable.
• Core area of growth is  Cholistan  section of Hakra plain.
• Once it had develop&! Mte; it was not difficult for it to come down aiong Hakra to Kutch first, and then to Saurashtra. It also spread to Hakta-Indus Doab. Similarly, central Indus valley came in for occupation. lndo-Gangetic divide too was occupied during this phase.
• On who le , distribution density is interesting: concentration and a long time­ depth in a particular area, and a reasonably dispersed character with a lesser time­ depth of earlier occupation elsewhere.

Distribution Patten and Size of Sites

Afghanistan

• Shortughai in Oxus plain is a small (2.5 ha) and isolated site.
• It was a Harappan trading colony.

Makran Coast

• Sutkagendor , Sotka-koh and Khairia Kot are ports in maritime links with Gulf and Mesopotamia .
• Basic communication between Makran and Sind could be more easily maintained by sea.
• Balakot in Las Bela may have a trading component too.
• All these sites are small in size.

Baluchistan

• Hills of south do not contain Harappan settleme nts.
• Dabarkot in north possesses a Harappan level. It may be a trading settlement.

Sind

• Sites in Kohistan and Kirthar piedmont are neat local perennial springs and served dual purpose of agriculture and resource­ procurement.
• Mohenjodaro enjoys an agricultural advantage , but also served as the main mercantile center.
• There were several overland routes connecting Sind to northern regions. An old trade route went north from Karachi. This route was significant considering cluster of sites all along it from Ahladino, Amri, Ghazi Shah, Ali Murad, Lohumjodaro to Mohenjod aro.
• Mohenjodaro is three times larger than next largest settlement in Sind, which is Naru Waro Dharo.

Cholistan

• There are totally 174 mature Harappan sites, the largest site being Ganveriwala .
• Areas exclusively earmarked for kilns and mass production of items are recognized at 79 sites. Some of these were involved in copper-smelting.

Rajasthan, Haryana & Panjab

• Sites spread out, first comparatively thinly and then densely, in northeastern direction.
• Drainage lines control pattern of site distribution.
• Average size of settlements was not more than a few acres, except for Banawali and Rakhigarhi.
• Report of 21 sites in an area of 50 by 25 km. Five of these sites are Dhalewan, Gurni Kalan I, Hasanpur II, Lakhmirwala, Baglian Da Theh.
• They are massive settlements, with four being in category of Harappa and one (Lakhmirwala) being as large as Mohenjodaro.
• Harappa was a major manufacturing ceii’ter.
• Large sites are absent in Doab region, their average size being about 3 ha.

Gujarat

• Sites in Kutch were unlikely to have been based only on agriculture.
• There is no evidence of trading activities on Kutch seaboard. However, it could be an area of resource procurement, in addition to being an area of animal breeding.
• Both Saurashtra and mainland Gujarat have better soil cover and flowing streams, in addition to having major raw materials.
• Discovery of Gulf seal at Lothal suggests maritime contact with Gulf.

Generalizations about Distribution Pattern

• The Indus civilization, thus, covered not merely a large geographical territory but also a large segment of time. It had its origin in Cholistan.
• Later it spread across Hakra-Indus doab towards Sind.
• Along with this movement, there was another towards Kutch.
• Then, spread towards Harappa and expansion towards Rajasthan, Haryana and Panjab took place simultaneously.
• Movement towards Saurashtra and mainland Gujarat took place from Kutch at a later period.

Characteristics of Harappan Settlements

Basic Typology of Settlements

• There is clear evidence of centralized planning at all major excavated sites.
• Available settlement types suggest a detailed concept of typology.
• Settlements like Mohenjodaro, Harappa and Kalibangan suggest a clear diivision between public western sector and private eastern residential sector.
• Others have their own specialities.

Relationship between Planning and Size

• There is no direct correlation b tween planning and their size.
• Example is contrast between Lothal and Mohenjodaro. On other hand, Kalibangan is much poorer in comparison.

Purpose of Fortification Walls

• Another issue is to decide if walls are regular defence walls or mere peripheral walls.
• When bastions, corner-towers and gateways are envisaged together, ‘defensive’ character of such complexes becomes very hard to deny. There is also a moat.
• This is reminiscent of early historic cities where a fortification and a moat were common features.

Typology of Structures

• It is unlikely that clues will be found as to use of excavated house units at any Harappan site.
• However, by studying pos1t10n of courtyard in relation to other rooms, a recent proposed five basic models for house-units of Mohenjodam

Arrangement of Streets and Lanes

• Among streets main ones were of considerable width,
• Lanes were considerably narrower,
• Streets are not constant in their width , but ran remarkably straight
• Inner lanes seldom rail straight but often twisted and turned,

Drainage’ s ystem

• Most distinctive feature is number of burnt-brick drains at Mohenjodaro and LothaL
• There are drains in all larger streets and smaller lanes also.
• They were subjected to regular cleaning,
• Brick culverts have been reported.
• There were also soak or sediment pits in places.
• There is no system of street drainage at Kalibangan.

Provision for Wells

• Number of brick-built wells is another organic feature. From Mohenjodaro we get most extensive evidence.
• Usually round, they were made of specially designed bricks.
• Mostly they lay within house but occasionally were placed between two houses.
• They occur at other sites also.

Uniformity of House Construction

• Harappan houses also impress us with their general uniformity.
• Wood must have been used extensiyely along with brick.
• Remains of staircases suggest an upper storey.
• Roofing was of mud-plastered reed matting supported by timber. Plastering was normally of clay, and mortar used was also clay.
• Entrance doors usually opened into side­ lanes and alleys. Windows are rare.
• Bathrooms were an invariable feature, but privies were less common.

Major Cities and Their Special Features:

(1) Mohenje-daroin Sind (2) Harappa in West Punjab (3) Chanhudaro in Sind (4) Kalibangan in Northern Rajasthan (5) Lothal in Gujarat (6) Banwali in Haryana (7) Surkotada in Gujarat (8) Dholavira in Gujarat and (9) Ganveriwala in Cholistan.

Mohenjo-Daro:

• The largest of all the Indus cities
• Great-bath the most important public place, remarkable for beautiful brickwork.
• Great Granary- the largest building.
• Multi-pillared assembly hall and a big rectangular building.
• Another building, identified as the temple.

Harappa:

• The first Indus site to be discovered and excavated in 1921. The Indus Civilization was originally called Harappan Civilization after this site.
• Granaries – two rows of six granaries; these were the nearest buildings to the river.
• Working floors – rows of circular brick platforms meant for threshing grain.
• Barracks – rows of single roomed barracks, housed labourers.

Chanhu-Daro:

• Only Indus city without a citadel.
• Like Mohenjo-daro it was also flooded more than once.
• Discovery of a small pot which was probably an ink-well.

Kalibangan:

• One of the two Indus cities which have both proto-Harappan and Harappan cultural phases.
• In its proto-Harappan phase the fields were ploughed.
• Discovery of platforms with five alters.

Lothal:

• The only Indus site with an artificial brick dockyard.
• Evidence for the earliest use of rice.
• Discovery of fire alters.

Banwali:

• Evidence of having both proto-harappan and Harappan cultural phases.

Surkotada:

• The only Indus site where the remains of a horse have actually been found.
• Must have been another port-city.

Economy

Agriculture

• Granaries at Harappa and Mohenjodaro suggest that cereals were produced in large quantity. Even individuals took precautions, as indicated by large storage jars.
• Main crops were wheat and barley. Evidence for rice comes from Lothal, Rangpur and Hulas. Other crops included cotton, leguminous plants, etc. Main crops were cultivated as rabi. Other crops were cultivated as kharif.
• There is interesting evidence from Kalibangan where a field surface has marks of furrows. For tilling, a wooden plough was used. Banawali has yielded a complete model of a plough.
• It has also been suggested that Harappans practiced canal-irrigation , but evidence is rather meager. At same time, channelling of overflowing rain-water can be easily visualized.
• Although metal (copper) sickles were known, they were not produced in large numbers. Practice of using stone-blades as sickles was continued.

Craft Production and Technology

• There is evidence to suggest the presence of specialized groups of artisans such as bronzesmiths, gold-smiths, brick-makers, stone-cutters, weavers (of both cotton and wool cloth), boat-builders, terrocotta­ manu factureres, etc.
• Basic tool-types were made by simple casting. Bronze is present from the lowest levels , but is more common in upper levels.
• Objects of gold are reasonably common. Silver makes its earliest appearance in Ind ia. It is more common than gold. Lead was imported and occasionally used.
• Stone was not abandoned. From the hills at Rehri and Sukkur came nodules of flint and blades.
• Balakot, Lothal and Chanhudaro were centre s for shell-working and bangle­ making.
• Mature Harappan pottery shares wheel, kiln and firing patterns. Majority of it is plain, but a good part is painted.
• Beads were manufactured from a variety of stones. In Chanhudaro and Lothal, bead-makers’ shops were discovered.
• Seals were made of steatite and first cut to shape with a saw.

Trade and Commerce

Internal Trade

• Inter-regional trade with Rajasthan, Saurashtra, Maharashtra, South India, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.
• Items of Trade: Evidence of internal trade is occurrence of various raw materials. In Gujarat alone site-wise distribution of raw materials includes 28 items.

External Trade

Extent: Evidence has been found in north Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, north and south Iran, islands of Bahrain, Failaka and Oman peninsula in Gulf, and Mesopotamia.

Items of Trade: Different categories:

• Most explicit items are two types of Indus beads and Indus seals with script.
• Along with this are less direct items, such as pottery, Indus motif on local seals, objects of ivory , miscellaneous terracottas, etc.
• Within Indus area there are seals of external affinity, vessels with designs, some externally derived motifs, etc.

Erldence f’or and Nature of lnteractknr. There are finds of Indus objects in all these areas. Similarly, there are non-Indus objects in distribution area of Indus civilization.

• In Indus area seals of Mesopotamia, Iran and central Asia occur at Mohenjodaro and K3libangan. ‘Gulf’ seal was found at Lothal and seal with a ‘Gulf’ motif was also found at Bet Dwaraka.
• Several seals of Gulf origin bear Indus motifs and script in Gulf, Mesopotamia and Iran.
• Whole region was tied by a network of overland and maritime trade. The term ‘Meluhha’ in Mesopotamian literature may not denote exclusively area of Indus, but whole area to east of Khujestan and Iran and included Indus area.
• There could also be settlements of Harappan traders in Mesopotamia.

Mode of Transport

• Land transport was by bullock carts and pack oxen.
• There is evidence of sea and river transport in seals and terracotta models, and dockyard at Lothal.
• Of inland travel there is evidence from terracotta models of carts.
• For longer journeys and through rougher country chief means of transport was by caravans of pack-oxen.

Society and Culture

Social Stratification

• Harappans were probably divided into three sections.
• Whether these divisions were based on economic factors or had a socio-religious nature cannot be stated.
• Evidence from Kal:bangan indicates that religion did play a part in it.

Political Set-up

• Indus features would have required a mechanism not only competent in initiating them but also powerful enough to enforce them. What was nature of this mechanism?
• Whether there was a single state? Or were there many small States?
• Some visualized trartsformation of petty chiefdoms into organized states.
• This envisioned scenario of many states is not improbable.
• It has been argued that uniformity over such a vast area could not have been achieved without an ’empire’. Such an argument is nullified by example of early historical times . Around 500 BC, there did exist a uniform material culture in a vast area.
• Were there kings in each state or an emperor in case of an empire?
• If kings and emperors cannot be established because of lack of ‘palaces’ and ‘royal tombs’, what could have been alternatives?

Religion

• Human Forms: Chief male deity was Pasupati Mahadeva (proto-Siva). Chief female deity was Mother Goddess (Goddess of Earth).
• Symbolic Forms: There is evidence for both phallic and yoni worship.
• Nature Worship: They worshipped gods in form of trees, animals, snakes and birds.
• Anthropomorphism:  Tree-spirit is shown in a tree, with tiger standirtg before it. Another theme shows a row of seven figures.  Some are suggestive of Mesopotamian mythology, like. Gilgamesh. Some abstract symbols and motifs anticipate later Indian religion.

Script and Language

• Script: It is regarded as pictographic Number of signs is between 400 and 600, of which about 40 or 60 are basic.
• Language: There are two main arguments about its nature: Inda­ European or Dravidian.
• Harappan Inscriptions: Number of inscribed objects is around 3675. They consist of seals, copper tablets, implements, pottery and other miscellaneous objects. About 50 per cent of these objects are found at Mohenjodaro.
• Decipherment: The task remains problematic and shortness of inscriptions enc!frs it difficult. No two attempts are m agreement.
• Generalizations:

■             Script is still undeciphered, and there is nothing to choose between different linguistic hypotheses.

■             There could be a whole range of texts on perishable materials.

■             An inscription of nine letters was found on floor of western chamber of north gate at Dholavira.

Seals

• They are greatest artistic creations. Made mostly of steatite , they differ in size. Though there are different types of seals, only two are main types: square type and rectangular type.
• The most frequently encountered animal is the humpless bull, called ‘unicorn’ (ekasringa).
• Other animals on seals are elephant, tiger, bison and rhino.
• Purpose of seals was probably to mark the ownership of property.

Terracotta Figurines

• They are mostly hand-modelled. A few are made in single moulds.
• The main category includes birds and animals.
• Both male and female figurines are found, latter being more common.
• A group of heads with horns may be regarded as deities.
• Another group consists of models of carts, used as toys.

Images

• They are made of both stone and metal.
• Best specimen among stone sculptures is steatite image of a bearded man.
• Among bronze sculptures, best specimen is nude dancing girl.
• Four unique bronzes are excavated at Daimabad.

Pottery

• It is bright red and well baked. It consists of wheel-made wares, both plain and painted. Plain is more common.
• Several devices were employed for decoration.
• Harappans used different types of pottery such as glazed, polychrome, incised, perforated, knobbed, etc.
• Forms include goblets, .dishes, basins, flasks, vases, bottles, tumblers, jars, etc.
• It was highly utilitarian in character.

Weights and Measures

• Articles used as weights have been discovered. They proceeded in a series, first doubling, then going in decimal multiples of 16.
• Sticks inscribed with measure marks have been discovered. Harappans were authors of a linear system of measurement.

Burial Practices

• Cemeteries are located around the perimeter of settlements.
• Three forms of burials are found at Mohenjodaro, but the general practice was extended inhumation.
• Different sites show different forms of burial.

Problems of Decline

Causes for Decline

Theory of Sudden Death and Aryan invasion: Refereno to the destruction of forts by Aryans in the Rig Veda; discovery of human skeletons huddled together at Mohen–jo-daro indicated that it was probably invaded by foreigners; evidence of further strengthening of defence at Harappa.

Theory of Gradual Death:

• Natural Calamities: Recurring floods, eg: Mohenjo-daro and Chanju-daro; drying up of rivers, eg: Kalibangan and Banwali; decreasing fertility deforestation, occasional earthquake, etc.
• Suicidal weaknesses of the Harappans: Lack of flexibility of mind, limited use of script, ignoring of defence etc.
• Decline of Trade: The decline of oceanic trade with the Sumerians must have contributed partly. A steep-decline in trade causing a severe economic depression may have turned many urban centers into ghost towns.
• There is increasing evidence of street encroachments, breakdown in sanitation and massive squatter colonies indicating socio-cultural erosion.
• Harappans who survived natural calamities and socio-economic erosion may have moved southwards, finally adopting cultures of their new homelands.

Conclusion:

• Thus, available data suggest that, instead of coming to an abrupt end , Indus civilization merged into main flow of Indian cultural development.
• There is a clear movement of Harappans from Indo-Gangetic divide to Ganga­ Yamuna doab and also to Malwa and Maharashtra from Gujarat.
• However , the form with which Indus civilization merged in the later pattern of neolithic-chalcolithic growth was not its urban form.