The Harappa Culture/Indus Valley
Civilization
1. The Civilization was named “Indus Valley Civilization” by Sir John Marshal(1924), after its discovery by Daya Ram Sahni and Vatsa in 1921-’22. However, Indus Valley
Civilization is not limited to areas around Harappa or those lying in the Indus
valley alone.
2. The maximum number of sites were explored by S.R. Rao, in Gujarat (190 sites). At present there are over 350 sites which have been excavated.
3. Modern technique of carbon-14 dating has been employed to calculate the
date of the Indus Valley Civilization. Harappan seals, which have been obtained from Mesopotamia provide additional help.
4. The population was heterogeneous, and at Mohenjodaro four races
have been discovered. The people were not of Dravidian origin. The population
was mostly belonged to the mediterranean race.
5. Indus Valley Civilization people had contacts with West Asia and
Central Asia. Their contacts are proved by the discovery of terracota figures
of the mother goddess, bull seals, etc in West and Central Asia. Their weights and measures resemble those ofBabylon. Their drainage system resembles that at Tell Asmar.
6. The largest Indus Valley Civilization site is Mohenjodaro.
The smallest site is Allahdino.
The largest sites in India are Dholavira, Rakhigarhi.
The three nucleus sites are Mohenjodaro,
Harappa,Dholavira.
The
number of sites which are considered as cities are six.
7. Mohenjodaro is located on the banks of Indus river. Chanhudaro is located on Indus/Sutlej; Harappa on Ravi; Kalibangan on Ghaggar/Saraswati; Lothal onBhogavo; and Ropar on Sutlej.
8. Important Harappan sites, year of
discovery and discoverer
|
Harappan sites
|
Year of discovery
|
Discoverer
|
|
|
(a)
|
Harappa
|
1921
|
D.R. Sahni and M.S. Vatsa (under
Sir John Marshal)
|
|
(b)
|
Mohenjodaro
|
1922
|
R.D. Banerjee
|
|
(c)
|
Chanhudaro
|
1925
|
Earnest
Mackey/Majumdar
|
|
(d)
|
Kalibangan
|
1953
|
A.N. Ghosh
|
|
(e)
|
Kot Diji
|
1955
|
Fazal Ahmad
|
|
(f)
|
Lothal
|
1957
|
M.S. Vatsa/S.R. Rao
|
|
(g)
|
Suktagender
|
1962
|
George Dales
|
|
(h)
|
Surkatoda
|
1964
|
J.P. Joshi
|
|
(i)
|
Banawali
|
1973
|
R.S. Bisht
|
|
(j)
|
Dholavira
|
1967/91
|
Joshi/Bisht
|
|
(k)
|
Ropar
|
1953
|
Talwar and Bisht
|
9. The same type of layout, with a separate acropolis and lower
city is found at Mohenjodaro, Harappa and Kalibangan.
10. The citadel and the lower city are joined at Surkatoda and Banawali.
11. The citadel was normally smaller than the lower city and lay to
its West side.
12. Three divisions of town were discovered at Dholavira.
13. The town which shows marked differences in its
town planning and drainage system from other Indus Valley Civilization sites is Banawali.
14. The town which resembles European castles (due to
stone masonry) is Dholavira.
15. The Indus Valley Civilization site where houses are built
just next to the wall is Desalpur.
16. Stone rubble has been used at Kalibangan.
17. The site of Mohenjodaro was constructed at least
seven times.
18. The towns which resemble castles of merchants are Desalpur, Rojdi, Balakot.
19. The coastal towns are: Lothal, Surkatoda, Balakot, Allahdino and Rangpur.
20. The shape of citadel at Lothal is trapezium.
21. The houses were constructed on the pattern of gridiron (chess).
22. Fire altars have been discovered at Kalibangan.
23. Stupa, great bath, college, Hammam, granary and assembly hall belong to Mohenjodaro.
24. The cemetery R37, containing 57 burials, is located at
Harappa.
25. Lothal is famous for warehouse,
granary, merchant’s house, besides its warehouse.
26. The only site where guard rooms were provided at gates is Dholavira.
27. A ceramic bath tub was discovered at Balakot.
28. The major seal producing units were at Chanhudaro.
29. A huge palace-like building has been found at Banawali.
30. Bead-maker’s shop and equipments were found at Chanhudaro and Lothal.
31. Maximum number of seals have been found in Mohendojaro
(57%). Second maximum at Harappa (36%).
32. Persian-gulf seal was found at Lothal—it is a button seal.
 |
| ANCIENT LOTHAL |
33. A Tiger seal was found at Banawali.
34. Iraqi cylindrical seal was found at Mohenjodaro.
35. A crucible for making bronze articles was discovered at Harappa.
36. Maximum bronze figures have been found in Mohenjodaro.
38. Mostly limestone was used for sculptures.
39. Limestone sculpture of a seated male priest was found at Mohenjodaro.
40. An atta chakki (grinding stone) was discovered at Lothal.
41. Deluxe pottery was discovered at Banawali.
42. The only place where pottery depicting
humans has been found is in Harrappa.
43. Pottery inkpots and writing tablets (leafs) were found at Chanhudaro.
44. War-tools made of copper and bronze were discovered at Mohenjodaro.
45. The site where oxen driven carts were found was Harappa.
46. A terracota model of a ship was found at Lothal.
47. A seat latrine has been found at Mohenjodaro.
48. A house floor containing the design of intersecting circles was found at Kalibangan.
49. The seals depicting the lord Pasupati Siva, Sumerian
Gilgamesh and his two lions were found at Mohenjodaro.
50. Agricultural implements were found in Mohenjodaro.
51. Ploughed field were found in Kalibangan.
52. Jowar (Jau) was found in Banawali.
53.Cotton spindles, (and sewing needles) have been found in Mohenjodaro.
54. Rice husk was discovered in Lothal and Rangpur.
55. The foreign site where Indus Valley Civilization cotton cloth has been
discoveredis Sumer.
56. Indus Valley Civilization people disposed of the dead bodies in three forms. At Mohenjodaro, we
find three forms of burials:
(a) Complete burial—whole body buried
along with the grave goods.
(b) Fractional burial—only bones (after
exposure to beasts, birds, etc.) were buried along with goods.
(c) Cremation burials—body was cremated
in urns and then buried under house floors or streets.
57. Four pot burials containing bone ashes were discovered at Surkatoda.
58. Bodies were found buried in oval pits at Ropar.
59. Important measurements:
_ Great Bath: 12 m x 7 m
x 2.4 m.
_ Hammam/Granary:46 m x
23 m.
_ Collegiate building: 10
m square court.
_ Cubical bricks:10 x 20
x 40 cm3.
_ Average brick size: 5.5
x 12.5 x 26 cm.
_ Ratio of length, breadth and height
of bricks: 4 : 2 :
1.
_ Stone weights used for trade were
in the denominations of: 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32,
..... 160 and decimal multiples of
16. Eg. 16, 320, 6400, 8000, 12800, etc.
_ Length was generally measured in:
Foot (37.6 cm) and cubit (52 cm approx).
_ Granary at Lothal: 214 x 36 x 4.5
m.
_ Harappan storehouse: 50 m x 40 m,
with a 7 m central passage.
60. The interesting evidences about the horse during Indus Valley Civilization are:
_ Horse bones have been found in Surkatoda.
_ Horse tooth has
been found in Ranaghudai.
_ Terracota figure of
a horse has been found in Lothal.
_ Ashes of a horse have
been found in Suktagendor.
61. Seals mostly depict the “humpless” bull (unicorn).
62. 75% terracota figures are of the “humped” bull.
63. The Garuda is depicted on a seal from Harappa.
64. Evidence of the rhinoceros comes from Amri and Kalibangan. It also tells us that there was
plenty of rainfall there.
65. The Sumerian Gilgamesh seal also shows two tigers.
66. Some other known animals were bull, dog, rabbit and bird.
67. Though lot of buildings and bricks were found, no brick kilns have been found so far.
68. The customary vessels for drinking were goblets with pointed bases,
which were used only once.
69. The most extensively used metal in Indus Valley Civilization was pure
copper (unalloyed copper).
70. The metal which made earliest
appearance during the Indus Valley Civilization was Silver.
71. The Indus Valley Civilization forts were not meant for defence from enemies. They were
mere entry points and provided safety from petty robbers. They also
stood as a symbol of “social authority” on an area.
72. The best information on social life comes from the terracota
figures.
73. The weapons used were: axes, bows, arrows and the “Gada”. No defensive weapons have beenfound here. No swords were discovered. They are considered to be overall a
peaceloving race.
74. Houses never opened towards the main roads. They opened towards
the galis. Exception is houses found in Lothal.
75. The Indus Valley Civilization was probably ruled by the merchant class.
76. Mostly all cities had a citadel or Acropolise. It stood on a high mound, was called upper city and was fortified. Chanhudaro had no citadel.
77. The greatest work of art, of Indus Valley Civilization are the seals. They were mostly rectangular or
square and were made from “steatite”.
78. The crossing point of the First street and East street of
Mohenjodaro has been named Oxford Circus.
79. The various minerals (metals) used by Indus Valley Civilization
people and their sources are:
|
Major Imports by
the Harappans
|
|
|
Material
|
Source
|
|
Gold
|
Afghanistan, Persia, Karnataka
|
|
Silver
|
Afghanistan, Iran
|
|
Copper
|
Baluchistan and Khetri(Rajasthan)
|
|
Tin
|
Afghanistan, Central Asia
|
|
Agates
|
Western India
|
|
Lead
|
Rajasthan, South India,
Afghanistan, Iran
|
|
Coins
|
Copper seals from Lothal and
Desalpur
|
|
Jade
|
Central Asia
|
Iron was not known to Indus Valley Civilization people.
80. Though pottery has been discovered, no potter’s wheel has been found (probably because it was wooden and hence perished).
81. The first mention of the possibility of the Harappan
civilization was made as early as 1826, by Charles Masen.
82. “Sindon” is the Greek word for cotton and it was grown
earliest in the Indus Valley Civilization period only.
83. The Mesopotamian king, whose date is known with certainty (2,350
B.C.), who claimed that ships from Indus Valley Civilization traded with him
was King Sargon of Akkad.
84. In Dholavira (Rann of Kutch, Gujarat) Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has
found elaborate stone gateways with rounded columns, apart from giant
reservoirs for water. A board inlaid
with large Harappan script characters—probably the world’s first hoarding— was
also found here.
85. In recent times, archaeologists have excavated or are in the
process of digging up 90 other sites, both in India and Pakistan,that are
throwing up remarkable clues about this great prehistoric civilisation.
Among them are: Indus Valley was probably the largest prehistoric urban
civilisation.
The empire was ruled much like a
democracy and the Indus people were the world’s top exporters. And, instead of
the Aryans it was possibly a massive earthquake that did them in.
86. As per latest estimates, Indus Valley Civilization encompassed a
staggering 1.5 million sq km—an area larger than Western Europe. In size, it
dwarfed contemporary civilisations in the Nile Valley in Egypt and in the
Tigris and Euphrates valleys in Sumer (modern Iraq). Its geographical
boundaries are now believed to extend up to the Iranian border on the west,
Turkmenistan and Kashmir in the north, Delhi in the east and the Godavari
Valley in the south.
87. While Mohenjodaro and Harappa are rightly
regarded as principal cities of Indus Valley Civilization, there
were several others, such as Rakhigarhi in Haryana and Ganweriwala in Pakistan’s Punjab province, that match
them both in size and importance.
88. Along with the Etruscan of Italy, the Indus Valley script is the last script of the Bronze Age that is yet to be
deciphered. So far no such bilingual artefact has been found that
could help break the Indus writing code.
89. The Indus Valley civilization’s inscriptions are usually short,
made up of 26 characters written usually in one line. The script, largely glyptic in content, has
around 419 signs. The writing system is believed to be based
on syllables. The Indus people also wrote from right to left(Boustrophedon), as is manifest by the strokes.
90. The excavation of Lothal, an Indus port town located off the
Gujarat coast, shattered notions that the Civilization was landlocked and
isolated.
A 700 ft long dock—-even bigger than
the one’s in many present day ports—has been discovered.
It took an estimated million bricks
to build. Hundreds of seals were found, some showing Persian Gulf origin,
indicating that Lothal was a major port of exit and
entry.
91. A lapis lazuli bead factory, discovered in Shortugai in Afghanistan, is believed to have been a major
supplier to Harappan traders.
92. Harappans are credited with being the earliest growers of rice and cotton.
93. Outside the Indus system a few sites occur on the Makran Coast (Pakistan-Iran
border), the westernmost of which is at SutkagenDor, near the modern frontier with Iran. These sites were probably
ports or trading posts, supporting the sea trade with the Persian Gulf, and
were established in what otherwise remained a largely separate cultural
region. The uplands of Baluchistan, while showing clear evidence of trade
and contact with the Indus Civilization, appear to have remained outside the
direct Harappan rule.
94. East of the Indus system, toward the north, a number of sites
occur right up to the edge of the Himalayan foothills, where at Alamgirpur, east of
Delhi, the easternmost Harappan (or
perhaps late Harappan) settlement has been discovered and partly excavated.
95. Besides Mohenjodaro and Harrapa, other major sites excavated
includeDholavira and Surkotada in the Rann of Kach; Nausharo Firoz in Baluchistan;Shortughai in northern Afghanistan; Amri, Chanhu-daro, and Judeirjodaro in Sindh (Pakistan); and Sandhanawala in Bahawalpur (Pakistan).
96. Of all the Indus Valley Civilization sites, Harappa, Mohenjo-daro, Kalibangan and Lothal have been most extensively excavated.
97. At major three sites excavated, the citadel mound is on a north-south
axis and about twice as long as it is
broad. The lower city is laid out in a grid pattern of
streets; at Kalibangan these were of regularly controlled
widths, with the major streets running through, while the minor lanes were
sometimes offset, creating different sizes of blocks. At all three sites the citadel was protected by a massive, defensive wall of brick, which at Kalibangan was strengthened at intervals by square or rectangular bastions.
In all three cases the city was situated near a river, although in modern times
the rivers have deserted their former courses.
98. The most common building material at every site was brick, but the
proportions of burned brick to unburned mud brick vary.
Mohenjo-daro employs burned brick, perhaps because
timber was more readily available, while mud brick was reserved for fillings
and mass work.
Kalibangan, on the other hand, reserved burned
brick for bathrooms, wells, and drains. Most of the domestic architecture at Kalibangan was in mud
brick.
100. There is surprisingly little evidence of public places of worship,
although at Mohenjo-daro a number of possible temples were
unearthed in the lower city, and other buildings of a ritual character were
reported in the citadel.
101. Decline of Indus Valley:
|
Decline of Indus
Valley
|
|
|
Theorists
|
Reasons of decline
|
|
Gorden Childe, Stuart Piggot
|
External Aggression
|
|
H.T.Lambrick
|
Unstable river system
|
|
K.U.R.Kenedy
|
Natural calamity
|
|
Orell Stein and A.N. Ghosh
|
Climate change
|
|
R. Mprtimer Wheeler
|
Aryan invasion
|
|
Robert Raikes
|
Earthquake
|
|
Sood and Aggarwal
|
Dryness of river
|
|
Walter Fairservis
|
Ecological imbalance
|
102. Towns Associated with different industries:
|
Town Associated
with Different Industries
|
|
|
Levan
|
Stone tools factory
|
|
Sukar
|
Stone tools factory
|
|
Lothal
|
Stone tools factory
Factory for metallic finished goods |
|
Balakot
|
Factory for pearl finished goods,
Bangle's factory
|
|
Chanhudaro
|
Beads Factory
Pearl finished goods factory Metallic finished goods factory Bangle's factory |
103.
|
Evidence from Chief
Sites
|
|
|
Cemetery H & R-37
|
Harappa
|
|
Prepared Garments
|
Mohenjodaro
|
|
Lower fortified town
|
Kalibangan
|
|
Port town
|
Lothal
|
|
Evidence of Rice
|
Lothal, Rangpur
|
|
Coffin Burial
|
Harappa
|
|
Horse Bone
|
Surkotada
|
|
Fire Altar
|
Kalibangan & Lothal
|
|
Temple like palace
|
Mohenjodaro
|
|
Horse's Tooth
|
Rana Ghundai
|
|
Pashuptai Seal
|
Mohenjodaro
|
|
Goddesses
|
Mohenjodaro
|
|
Copper Rhino
|
Diamabad
|
|
Copper Chariot
|
Diamabad
|
|
Copper Elephant
|
Diamabad
|
|
Granery
|
Mohenjodaro & Harappa
|
|
Bronze Female Dancer
|
Mohenjodaro
|
|
Granery outside fort
|
Harappa
|
|
Beads Factory
|
Chanhudaro, Balakot
|
|
Copper ox
|
Kalibangan
|
|
Bangles Factory
|
Chanhudaro, Balakot
|
|
Graveyard
|
Harappa, Lothal
|
|
Phallur Worship
|
Harappa
|
|
Bronze Bufallo
|
Diamabad
|
|
Evidence of Earthquake
|
Kalibangan
|
|
Evidence of Plough
|
Kalibangan
|
|
Copper dog
|
Lothal
|
|
Camel's Bone
|
Kalibangan
|
|
Stone Covered Grave
|
Surkotada
|
|
Canals
|
Malavan
|
|
Woodenn Drainage
|
Kalibangan
|
104. Sites at a glance:
|
Name of Sites
|
Year of Excavation
|
Excavators
|
Region/River
|
Features
|
|
Harappa
|
1921
|
Daya Ram Sahni
|
Montgomery district of Punjab
(Now in Pak) on the left bank of Ravi
|
1.
City followed grid planning
2.
Row of six granaries
3.
Only place having evidences of
coffin burial
4.
Evidence of fractional burial and
coffin burial
5.
Cemetery-H of alien people.
|
|
Mohenjo-daro
|
1922
|
R.D.Banarjee
|
Larkana district in Sind on the
right bank of Indus(Now in Pak)
|
1.
City followed grid planning
2.
A large granary and Great Bath, a
college
3.
Human skeletons showing invasiona
and massacre.
4.
Evidence of Horse come from
superficial level.
5.
A piece of woven cotton alongwith
spindle whorls and needles
6.
Town was flooded more then seven
times.
|
|
Chanhu-daro
|
1931
|
N. Gopal Majumdar, Mackey
|
Situtated in Sind on the bank of
Indus
|
1.
The city has no citadal
2.
Famous for bead makers shop
3.
A small pot, possibly an inkpot
4.
Foot prints of a dog chasing a
cat
5.
Three different cultural layers,
Indus,Jhukar and Jhangar
|
|
Kalibangan
|
1953
|
A. Ghosh
|
Situated in Rajasthan on the Bank
of Ghaggar
|
1.
Shows both Pre Harappan and
Harappan phase
2.
Evidence of furrowed land
3.
Evidence of seven fire altars and
camel bones
4.
Many houses had their own well
5.
Kalibangan stand for black
bangles
6.
Evidence of wooden furrow
|
|
Lothal
|
1953
|
S.R. Rao
|
Situated in Gujarat on Bhogava
river near Gulf of Cambay
|
1.
A titled floor which bears
intersecting design of circles
2.
Remains of rice husk
3.
Evidence of horse from a
terracotta figurine
4.
A ship designed on a seal
5.
Beads & trade ports
6.
An instrument for measuring
angles,pointing to modern day compass
|
|
Banwali
|
1974
|
R.S. Bisht
|
Situated in Hissar district of
Haryana
|
1.
Shows both Pre-Harappan and
Harppan phase
2.
Good quantity of barley found
here
|
|
Surkotada
|
1964
|
J.P. Joshi
|
Situated in Kutch (Bhuj) district
of Gujarat
|
1.
Bones of horses, Bead making
shops
|
|
Sutkagendor
|
1927
|
Stein, R.L.
|
Situated in Baluchistan on Dast
River
|
1.
Trade point between Harappa and
Babylon, belong to mature phase
2.
Evidence of horse
|
|
Amri
|
1935
|
N.G. Majumdar
|
Situated in Sind on the bank of
Indus
|
1.
Evidence of antelope
|
|
Dholavira
|
1985-90
|
R.S. Bisht
|
Situated in Gujarat in Rann of
Kutch
|
1.
Seven cultural stages
2.
Largest site
3.
Three party of city
4.
Unique water management
|
|
Rangpur
|
1953
|
M.S. Vats, B.B. Lal & S.R.
Rao
|
Situated on the bank of Mahar in
Gujarat
|
1.
Rice was cultivated
|
|
Kot Diji
|
1953
|
Fazal Ahmed
|
Situated on the bank of Indus
|
1.
Wheel made painted pottery
2.
Traces of defensive wall and well
aligned streets
3.
Knowledge of metallurgy, artistic
toys etc
|
|
Ropar
|
1953
|
Y.D. Sharma
|
Situated in Punjab of the banks
of Sutlej
|
1.
Evidence of burying a dog below
the human bural
2.
One example of rectangular
mudbrick chamber was noticed
3.
Five fold cultures - Harappan, PGW,
NBP, Kushana - Gupta and Medieval
|
|
Balakot
|
1963-76
|
George F Dales
|
Situated on the Arabian Sea
|
1.
Remain of pre Harappan and
Harappan civilisation
2.
The mounds rise to the height of
about 9.7mts and are spread 2.8 sq hectare of area
|
|
Alamgirpur
|
1958
|
Y.D. Sharma
|
Situated on Hindon in Ghaziabad
|
1.
The impression of cloth on a
trough is discovered
2.
Usually considered to be the
eastern boundary of the Indus culture
|
