HARAPPAN / INDUS CIVILIZATION

Introduction

Names of the Civilization

• The oldest name given to this civilization is Indus Civilization.
• According to archaeological tradition, the most appropriate name is Harappan Civilization, because Harappa was the first site discovered.
• According to geographical considerations, the most suitable name is Indus-Saraswati Civilization because:
  • The largest concentration of settlements was found in the Indus-Saraswati region.
  • Nearly 80% of the settlements were located along the Saraswati River system.

Period

• Most accepted period: 2500 BC – 1750 BC
• Determined through Carbon-14 Dating.

Terminology

• Sir John Marshall was the first scholar to use the term “Indus Civilization.”

Historical Period

The Indus Civilization belongs to:

• Proto-Historic Period : Writing exists but cannot be read
• Chalcolithic Age : Copper-Stone Age
• Bronze Age : When people started making tools and weapons from Bronze.

Geographical extent of Harappan Civilization

The civilization spread across:

• • Sindh
  • Baluchistan
  • Punjab
  • Haryana
  • Rajasthan
  • Gujarat
  • Western Uttar Pradesh
  • Northern Maharashtra

Heartland of Indus Civilization

Scholars generally believe that the axis: Harappa – Ghaggar – Mohenjodaro , represented the heartland of the civilization.

Extreme boundaries of Indus Civilization

Important cities in Harappan Civilization

Capital Cities

• • Harappa
  • Mohenjodaro

Port Cities

• • Lothal
  • Sutkagen dor
  • Allahdino
  • Balakot
  • Kuntasi

Important Harappan Sites

Major archeological finds during Harappan Civilization

Harappa

• • Granaries in rows
  • Working floors
  • Workmen’s quarters
  • Virgin Goddess figure
  • Cemetery R-37
  • Stone symbols of:
    • Linga (male sex organ)
    • Yoni (female sex organ)
  • Painted pottery
  • Clay figures of Mother Goddess
  • Wheat and barley remains in wooden mortar
  • Copper scale
  • Crucible for bronze
  • Copper mirror
  • Vanity box
  • Dice

Mohenjodaro

• • Great Granary
  • Great Bath
  • Largest building of the civilization
  • Assembly Hall
  • Seal depicting:
    • Pashupati Mahadeva (Proto-Shiva)
  • Bronze image of dancing girl
  • Steatite image of bearded man
  • Human skeletons huddled together
  • Painted seal (Demi-God)
  • Clay figures of Mother Goddess
  • Fragment of woven cotton
  • Brick kilns
  • About 2,500 seals (58% of all seals discovered)
  • Dice

Chanhudaro

• • Only city without a citadel
  • Lipstick
  • Metal workers
  • Shell ornament makers
  • Bead makers’ shops
  • Imprint of dog’s paw on a brick
  • Terracotta model of a bullock cart
  • Bronze toy cart

Lothal

• • Dockyard
  • Rice husk
  • Metal workers
  • Shell ornament makers
  • Bead makers’ shops
  • Fire altars
  • Terracotta horse figurine
  • Double burial
    • Male and female buried together
  • Terracotta ship model
  • Painted jar depicting bird and fox

Kalibanga

• • Ploughed field surface (Pre-Harappan)
  • Fire altars
  • Decorated bricks
  • Wheels of toy carts
  • Mesopotamian cylindrical seal

Banawali

• • Lack of chessboard/grid-pattern town planning
  • Absence of systematic drainage
  • Toy plough
  • Clay figures of Mother Goddess

Dholavira

• • Unique water-harvesting system
  • Storm-water drainage system
  • Large well
  • Giant water reservoirs
  • Only city divided into three parts
  • Largest Harappan inscription used for civic purposes
  • Stadium

Surkotada

• • Bones of horse
  • Oval grave
  • Pot burials

Daimabad

• • Bronze images:
    • Charioteer
    • Chariot
    • Ox
    • Elephant
    • Rhinoceros

Largest sites of Harappan Civilization

• Largest Site of Indus Civilization : Mohenjodaro
• Largest Indian Site : Rakhigarhi

Common features of major Harappan Cities

Town Planning

1. 1. Systematic grid-pattern town planning
   2. Use of burnt bricks
   3. Underground drainage system
   4. Fortified citadel

Exceptions

• • Chanhudaro had no citadel
  • Dholavira had giant water reservoirs

SURKOTADA – SPECIAL IMPORTANCE

Surkotada (Kutch District, Gujarat) – Only Indus site where actual remains of a horse have been found.

Agricultural practices during Harappan Civilization

Main Crops

• • Wheat
  • Barley

Rice Cultivation Evidence

Found only at:

• • Lothal
  • Rangpur (Gujarat)

Other Crops

• • Dates
  • Mustard
  • Sesame
  • Cotton

Important Fact

The Harappans were the first people in the world to produce cotton.

Animals known to Harappans

Domesticated/Wild Animals

• • Sheep
  • Goat
  • Humped bull
  • Buffalo
  • Boar
  • Dog
  • Cat
  • Pig
  • Fowl
  • Deer
  • Tortoise
  • Elephant
  • Camel
  • Rhinoceros
  • Tiger

Note :
1. Lion was not known to Harappans.

2. Special Evidence – From Amari, one instance of Indian rhinoceros has been reported.

Trade and Commerce during  Harappan Civilization

Nature of Trade

• • Extensive inland trade
  • Extensive foreign trade

Trade Partners

• • Mesopotamia
  • Sumeria (Modern Iraq)
  • Bahrain

Sumerian Name for Indus Region : Meluha

Intermediate Trade Stations

• • Dilmun (Bahrain)
  • Makan (Makran Coast)

Mesopotamian Places Where Harappan Seals Were Found

• • Susa
  • Ur

Major import items during Harappan Civilization

Major exports during Harappan Civilization

• • Agricultural products
  • Cotton goods
  • Terracotta figurines
  • Pottery
  • Beads (especially from Chanhudaro)
  • Conch shells (especially from Lothal)
  • Ivory products
  • Copper articles

Economy during Harappan Civilization

Important Facts

• • Iron was unknown to Harappans.
  • No evidence of coins.
  • Barter system was the normal mode of exchange.
  • Civilization was primarily urban.
  • Lothal was an important ancient port.

Polity of Harappan Civilization

Political System

• No clear evidence exists regarding the political system.
• However, historians believe that the ruling authority may have been dominated by a class of merchants.

Religion during Harappan Civilization

Mother Goddess Worship

• • Most commonly found figurine:
    • Mother Goddess
    • Matridevi
    • Shakti
  • Evidence of Yoni worship

Pashupati Mahadeva (Proto-Shiva)

• Chief male deity – Pashupati Mahadeva
• Characteristics:
• • Lord of Animals
  • Seated in Yogic posture
  • Surrounded by:
    • Elephant
    • Tiger
    • Rhinoceros
    • Buffalo
  • Two deer appear near his feet

Shiva Worship

• Evidence of:
• • Phallic worship
  • Linga worship

Shiva-Shakti worship is considered one of the oldest forms of worship in India and appears to have roots in Harappan beliefs.

Other Religious Features

• • No temple has been discovered.
  • Religious ideas are inferred from seals, statues and figurines.
  • Animal worship (Zoolatry) was prevalent.
  • Tree worship was common.
  • Peepal tree was especially revered.

Additional Important Facts: Harappan / Indus Civilization

Seals

• • Steatite was mainly used in the manufacture of Harappan seals.
  • The hump-less bull is represented on most of the Indus seals.
  • The Swastika symbol traces its origin to the Indus Civilization.

Burial Practices

• • Inhumation (complete burial) was the most common method of disposal of the dead among the Harappans.

Decline of the Civilization

• • According to Sir Mortimer Wheeler, Indra was responsible for the destruction/decline of the Indus Civilization.
  • Wheeler based this view on references found in the Rigveda.

Rigvedic Reference

• • The Rigveda mentions a battle fought at a place called Hariyumpia.
  • Many historians identify Hariyumpia with Harappa.

Racial Identity

• • The majority of scholars believe that the makers of the Indus Civilization were Dravidians.

Contemporary Civilizations

The major contemporary civilizations of the Indus Civilization were:

1. 1. Mesopotamian Civilization (Iraq)
   2. Egyptian Civilization (Egypt)
   3. Chinese Civilization (China)