Themes In Indian History I Chapter 1 Bricks, Beads And Bones

I. The following items of food were available to the people in Harappan cities:

1. Grains such as wheat, barley, lentil, chickpea and sesame, Millets (found from sites in Gujarat), Rice (although its find is very rare). etc.

2. Meat of cattle, sheep, goat, buffalo, pig.

3. Meat of wild species like deer, boar, gharial etc.

4. Plants and their products.

II. Identification of groups who would have provided the items of food:

1. Farmers would have provided the grains.

2. As cattle , sheep, goat, buffalo etc were domesticated Harappans themselves would have provided the meat.

3. Regarding the meat of wild species of animals we are not sure how Harappans procured it but we can guess that it could be either hunting communities or most probably some of the Harappans themselves hunted the different animals.

4.  For plants and their products Harappan themselves would have gathered it.

1. Archaeologists trace socio-economic differences in Harappan society by adopting the following methods and techniques:

1. Burials. a. Difference in burial pits.
                b. Presence of artefacts in the burial.
 
Archaeologist have found out that in Burials
  a. There is difference in burial pits, some are just hollowed out space whereas others are lined with bricks.
   b. Although Harappans rarely buried precious material along with their death one, however some graves did contain pottery, ornaments, jewellery which were made of semi precious stones.

   

2. Availability of Luxury goods.

Archaeologists assume objects to be luxuries if they are rare or made from costly, non-local materials or with complicated technologies.

Archaeologist have noticed that,

a. Larger settlements like Harappa and Mohenjodaro has large concerntration of Luxury goods whereas smaller settlements like kalibangan etc did not.

I do agree that drainage system in the Harappan cities indicates town planning because

1. It appears that drainage were laid first and then houses were built along it. Because we see that houses in the settlements were built on the platform as a base. And once the platforms were in place, all building activity within the city was restricted to a fixed area on the platforms, indicating signs of town planning.

2. We find that drain of each house were connected with main street drain and it had a soakpit so that only water could flow from it and collect the sediments. And it was covered with stone slabs and at regular interval it has holes for inspection.

3. We also find that the bricks that were used to built the drain and the houses  whether sun-dried or baked, were of a standardised ratio, where the length and breadth were four times and twice the height respectively. Such bricks were used at all Harappan settlements.

Thus clearly pointing out that Harappan cities were properly planned and built.

A large variety of material were used to make beads. It included red colour stone like carnelian, jasper, crystal, quartz and steatite. Besides copper, bronze, gold, shell, faience, terracota or burnt clay was also used.

The Process of Making Beads differed according to the materials. It had the following stages:

(i) First, Giving shapes to the beads, the process differed with the materials for example steatite being soft material was easily worked. 

(ii) Second phase- in this process colour was given to the beads, for example redness of Carnelian was obtained by firing the yellowish raw material and beads at various stages of productions.

(iii) Third phase- Nodules were chipped into rough shapes and then they were finely flaked into the final form.

(iv) The last phase of the process included grinding, polishing and drilling. The specialised drills have been found at many sites like Chanhudaro, Lothal and Dholavira.

By looking at the figure we can see that

1. Body is laid in the pit facing right side but i am unsure whether the pit is lined with bricks or without it.

2. We can see that there are certain artefacts along with the death one. Mostly potteries of varied shapes.

3. In the figure I cannot see any artefacts on the body. As it has been found out that Harappans rarely buried precious materials along with the death ones. 

4. By looking at the skeleton and the way it is buried it is hard to identify the sex of it.

1. A Planned Urban Centre: Harappa was a planned urban centre. It was divided into two sections. One section of this city was small. It was built on a higher place. The second section was large but it was at a lower place. The archaeologists has named the first section as Citadel and the second section as the Lower Town. The citadel owed its height to the fact that buildings were constructed on mud brick platforms. It had walls on all its sides. These walls separated it from the Lower Town.

2. The Citadel: The citadel had many buildings which were used for special public purposes. The most important were the following two structures: (i) The Warehouse, (ii) The Great Bath. With its special structure many scholars believe that Great bath to be for some ritual baths.

3. The Lower Town: The Lower Town was also a walled town. Most of the buildings were built on platforms. These platforms served as foundations. It has been estimated that if one worker moved about a cubic metre of earth daily, it would have needed four million person days. In other words, we can say that it required mobilisation of labour on a very large scale.

All the buildings in the city were built on the platforms. Thus the settlement was first planned and then implemented as per the building plan. This planning is also evident from the bricks which were both baked and sun-dried. These bricks were of standardised ratio. Their length and width was four times and twice the height respectively. Such bricks were used in all the settlements of the Harappan Civilisation.

4. Well Planned Drainage System: The drainage system of the Harappan cities were also carefully planned. All the roads and streets were laid out on a grid pattern. They intersected at right angles. It seems that streets having drains were laid out first. Thereafter houses were built along them. Every house had at least one wall along a street so that the domestic waste water could flow into the drain of the street.

5. Residence of Domestic Architecture: The Lower Town of Mohenjodaro had an expansion of residentail buildings. All these buildings had a courtyard. The rooms were on all the sides of the courtyard. In the hot and dry weather, this courtyard was perhaps the centre of activities like cooking and weaving. While constructing residential buildings, the people had full concern for their privacy. These buildings did not have any windows in the walls along the ground level. Besides this, the main entrance does not give a direct view of the interior of the courtyard.

Every house had its own bathroom. It was floored with bricks. Its gutter was connected to the street drain through the wall. Some houses also had stair-case to reach a second storey or the roof. Many houses had wells and these wells were in a room which was easily approachable. Any body could reach it even from outside. 

I. List of the raw materials required for craft production in the Harappan Civilisation:

(i) Stone, (ii) Clay, (iii) Copper, (iv) Tin, (v) Bronze, (vi) Gold, (vii) Faience (a material made of ground sand or silicon mixed with colour and a gum and then fired), (viii) Shell, (ix) Carnelian (a type of a beautiful red colour stone), (x) Jasper, (xi) Crystal, (xii) Steatite, (xiii) Quartz, (xiv) Timber etc

Different ways of obtaining raw material: Soil, wood etc. were the raw materials which were locally available. But stones, fine quality wood, metals etc. were procured from distant places. For this, different methods were used to obtain them and these were:

(i) Establishment of Settlements: Harappan people established their settlements at those places where raw material was easily available. For example shell was easily available in Nageshwar and Balakot. Few other places were also there like Shortughai in Afghanistan. This place was situated near to the source of lapis lazuli. In the same way Lothal for carnelian, Rajasthan and Gujarat were famous for copper.

(ii) Sending Expeditions: Sending expeditions was another policy of obtaining raw material. For example expedition was sent to Khetri region of Rajasthan for copper and to South India for gold. Local communities were contacted through these expeditions. Availability of Harappan evidences in distant places indicates toward these contacts. Evidences found in Khetri region were given the name of Ganeshwar-Jodhpura culture by archaeologists. Huge reserves of copper products are found over here. Probably inhabitants of this area used to send copper to Harappan people.

Archaeologists reconstruct the past in the following manners:

(i) They excavate the ancient sites related with culture or civilisation. They find out remains from the site such as seal, material remains of houses, buildings, pots, ornaments, tools, coins, weights, measurements and toys etc.

(ii) Sometimes they find skull a, tones, teeth, jaws, and some articles kept with the bodies. Archaeologists take help of botanists, who are specialists in ancient plant remains. They also study the animal bones found at different sites with the help of zoologist.

(iii) Archaeologists try to identify the tools and implements used for cultivation and harvesting. They try to find out traces of means of irrigation such as wells, canals, tanks etc.

(iv) They used present day analogies to try and understand what ancient artefact were used for. Sometimes they compare the ancient findings with present day articles.

(v) Archaeologists observe the different layers of sites and try to find out different things which give pictures of socio-economic conditions, religions and cultural life of the past people in different times.

(vi) In order to identify centres of craft production, archaeologists usually look for the following: raw material such as stone needles, shells, copper ore; tools; unfinished objects; rejects and waste material. In fact, waste is one of the best indicators of craft work. For instance, if shell or stone is cut to make objects, then pieces of these materials will be discarded as waste at the place of production.

(vii) Sometimes, archaeologists have to take recourse to indirect evidence. For instance, though there are traces of cotton at some Harappan sites, to find out about clothing we have to depend on indirect evidence including depictions in sculpture.

(viii) Archaeologists have to develop frames of reference. We have seen that the first Harappan seal that was found could not be understood till archaeologists had a context in which to place it - both in terms of the cultural sequence in which it was found, and in terms of a comparison with finds in Mesopotamia.

(ix) Attempts have also been made to reconstruct religious beliefs and practices by examining seals, some of which seem to depict ritual scenes. Others, with plant motifs, are thought to indicate nature worship. Some animals - such as the one-horned animal, often called the “unicorn” - depicted on seals seem to be mythical, composite creatures. In some seals, a figure shown seated cross-legged in a “yogic” posture, sometimes surrounded by animals, has been regarded as a depiction of “proto-Shiva”, that is, an early form of one of the major deities of Hinduism. Besides, conical stone objects have been classified as lingas.

Regarding ruler in Harappan society, it is a highly contested field. Because scholars tend to differ in their view regarding it. some scholars believe that there was no ruler and everybody enjoyed equal status, whereas some scholars believe that there were several rulers, for example Mohendaro had one as well as Harappa. There are other group who thinks that such an elaborate city planning could not be achieved unless there was a single ruler. As of now, the last theory seems the most plausible, as it is unlikely that entire communities could have collectively made and implemented such complex decisions.

(i) There are indications of complex decisions being taken and implemented in Harappan society. Take for instance, the extraordinary uniformity of Harappan artefacts as evident in pottery, seals, weights and bricks. Hence one of the function of the ruler could be making decision and implementing it.

(ii) Notably, bricks, though obviously not produced in any single centre, were of a uniform ratio throughout the region, from Jammu to Gujarat. We have also seen that settlements were strategically set up in specific locations for various reasons. Thus, another function of ruler could be maintaining production centre and devising strategies and locating settlements at the strategic locations.

(iii) Another function of the ruler looks like to be mobilising the work force, planning for the construction of the settlements and its structure.

(iv) Important function of the ruler would also have been to look after the economic condition of his territory, as we can see there are uniformity in seals, weight etc. Enhancement of trade and agriculture would also be rulers main function.

(v) During the natural calamity such as flood, earthquake, epidemic etc. the ruler would have provided for the masses and during foreign attact would have protected the one upon whom he/she ruled.

 (i) Sites of agriculture: Harappa, Manda, Rakhigarhi, Banawali, Kalibangan, Mohenjodaro, Lothal, Dholavira (Gujarat).

(ii) Sites of craft production: Chanhudaro, Nageshwar, Balakot.

(iii) Sites of raw material: Nageshwar, Balakot, Khetri.

For self study. Try to go to National Museum in Delhi under the guidance of history teacher or any museum nearby your town.

Hint: Ten items:

(i) Seals related with Harappan Civilisation.

(ii) Beads related with Indus Valley Civilisation.

(iii) Pots

(iv) Terrakotta figurines

(v) Toys

(vi) Tools

(vii) Some stone implements and querns

(viii) Pictures or designs of drains related with Harappan culture.

(ix) Picture of bathroom or courtyard of Mohenjodaro.

(x) Figure or picture of copper mirror.

(xi) Bronze vessels.

(xii) Jar of Harappa.

(xiii) Statue of priest king.

Most of the above items are of the Harappa and they are nearly five thousands years old.

They were found at different sites/cities/ places related with Indus Valley Civilisation.

All these items are displayed to give us some knowledge about socio-economic and cultural life (atleast some related aspects) of the people of Harappa.

Collection of different things - it is to be done by the students themself.

List of things made of stone, metal and clay:

Stone: Statues, toys, tools, implements, beads, models.

Metal: Knife, sword, ring, axe, ornaments, coins, toys, machine, idols, models, signboards, locks, keys, scissors.

Clay: Pots, toys, models.

The people of Harappa used to make idols of stone, metal and clay.

They used to make toys of clay, metal and stone.

Tools and implements were made of stone and metal by the Harappans.

Differences: Stone, metal and clay used to play most important role in the life of Harappans then the people of modern society.

The two sections of the Harappans settlements are 

1. Citadel

2. Lower town.

The main features of each settlements were:

(i) The first settlement was smaller in size but it was located on the higher ground because it was built upon mud platform. It has the Great Bath and the Warehouse.

(ii) The second settlement was much larger than the first one but it was situated on lower location. The scholar had named it Lower Town. It was the residential area where each houses had its own bathroom with drains connected with the street drain.

(i) The Harappans was planned cities. Most cities were divided into two parts. The upper part (Citadel) and lower part (Lower Town).

(ii) Streets of the cities cut each other at right angles. The cities had proper town-planning of houses, roads, drains etc.

Two features of the Harappan settlement were:

(i) The first settlement was smaller but located at the higher ground. It was called Citadel. Its buildings were constructed on mud brick platforms. It was walled and separated from the other settlement of the town.

(ii) The second settlement was called Lower Town. It was also walled like the first settlement. And it too was built on the mud brick platform however it was also a residential town.

Main items found in the graves of Harappans are:

Pottery, ornaments, jewellery, shell rings, beads, etc. Copper mirrors have also been found in the graves.

Two strategies adopted to identify social differences among the Harappans are:

1. Burials- How the death are buried, what artefacts are buried along with it does help in identifying social differences.

2. Luxury goods-  Archaeologists assume objects were luxuries if they are rare or made from costly, non-local materials or with complicated technologies. By the availability of it we can assume the existence of social differences. For example larger town like Harappa or Mohenjodaro have large
evidence of luxury goods whereas smaller settlement like kalibangan did not.

The red colour of Carnelian was obtained by firing the yellowish raw material and beads at various stages of production.

Seals and sealing were used mainly for the long distance communication and it was also used by many associations and merchants for stamping purposes. They were usually made of steatite.
Harappan seals usually have line of writing which is still undeciphered and they also bear figures of real animals.

The evidences are

i. Evidence of large-scale burning at some places or sites.

ii. The abandonment of certain settlements.

We get information about Indus Valley Civilisation from the archaeological things or evidences which were left behind by people of that age for example their houses, pots, ornaments, tools seals etc.

some of the features of Pre Harappan settlements are:

i. The settlements of the pre-Harappan period were often small. with no large buildings.

ii. They had a distinct, specialised style of making pottery and other crafts.

iii. And they depended on agriculture and on pastoralism.

Pet Animals: Pet animals were those which were domesticated. They were kept in the homes. They included the cattle, sheep, goat, buffalo and pig.

Wild Animals: They were boar, deer, gharial etc.

The Harappan culture was named after the place where it is located called Harappa in modern day Pakistan.

The culture has following two stages:

(i) Early Harappa.

(ii) Late Harappan or Mature Harappan culture.

Some of the important buildings in the Harappan Civilisation were:

(i) The Citadel (ii) Great Bath,

(iii) Fillared Hall (iv) Granary.

Scholars have stated many reasons for the decline of the Indus valley civilization:

i. Some scholars suggest that it could be due to natural calamities like floods, earthquakes, droughts or epidemics.

ii. some scholar suggest that it could be due to the end of strong unifying element. or the end of Harappan state which lead to the decline of the civilization.

The following two kinds of grinding instruments have been found:

1. Those on which another smaller stone was pushed or rolled to and fro. It was probably used solely for grain.

2. And the others with which a second stone was used as a pounder, eventually making a large cavity in the nether stone. it was possibly used only for pounding herbs and spices for making curries.

Four cities were:

(i) Harappa  (ii) Mohenjodaro

(iii) Lothal   (iv) Dholavira.

Most Important Cities: Harappa and Mohenjodaro.

The characteristics are:

i. The bricks were sun-dried or baked in kilns.

ii. The bricks had a standardised ratio. The length and breadth were four times and twice the height respectively.

When we look at the residential building of Mohenjodaro we can see their concern for privacy, for example:

1. There are no window in the walls along the ground level.

2. Main entrance does not give a direct view of the interior or the courtyard.

The features that indicates are

1. The drainage system and the streets, which appears to be laid first and then houses were built along them.
2. The division of the town into two part, citadel and lower town.

Saddle Quern is stone tools used for grinding varieties of material with ones hand. It is produced by rocking or rolling the handstone using parallel motions (i.e., pushing and pulling the handstone), which forms a shape looking like a saddle. They were roughly made of hard, gritty, igneous rock or sandstone and mostly show signs of hard usage. As their bases are usually convex, they must have been set in the earth or in mud to prevent their rocking. 

Tips: -

M. Imp.

(i) The Harappans domesticated cattle like sheep, goat, buffalo and pig.

(ii) The people of Indus Valley Civilisation new about boar, deer and gharial.

Harappa was the first site to be discovered by archaeologists. It was badly destroyed by the brick robbers.

If we look at the structure of domestic architecture we notice that Harappans did have high concern for their privacy because on the ground level wall we do not see any windows, so that people from outside could not see the inside. Moreover the main entrance was built in such a way that it did not give away any view of the courtyard inside.

Tips: -

Imp.

Tips: -

V. Imp.

Chanhudaro was exclusively devoted to

(i) Bead making, (ii) Shell cutting, (iii) Metal work, (iv) Seal making and (v) Weight making.

(i) Bullock carts (ii) Boats and (iii) Ships.

These were somewhere between 375 to 400 signs in Harappans script.

There are many objects on which wrting of Harappans are found:

(i) Seals, (ii) Copper tools, (iii) Rims of black slipped jar, (iv) Tablets made of copper and terracotta (v) Jewellery (vi) Bones rods (vii) Sign board.

Although we have evidences of wrting on varieties of objects, we even have evidence of signboards. But we are still not sure how literate were the Harappans.

Alexander Cunningham is generally called the father of Indian archaeology.

Tips: -

Imp.

The courtyard was most probably the centre of activities such as cooking and weaving, particularly during hot and dry weather.

The Harappan Civilisation developed in the areas surrounding present day Pakistan, southern Afghanistan, Punjab, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Haryana and western UP in India.

The Indus Valley Civilisation was first discovered in 1921 and 1922. Excavations at Harappa and Mohen-jo-daro led to the discovery of this civilisation. The four sites are Harappa, Mohen-jo-daro, Chanhudaro and Lothal.

The Harappan culture grew and developed in India at the same time as other civilisations in the other parts of Asia and Africa mainly in the valleys of the rivers Nile, Euphrates, Tigris and Hwang-Ho. The Harappan culture became important about 4,500 years ago or in about 2,500 B.C.

Harappan Civilisation occured during chalcolithic age. The people of Harappa used copper, bronze, tin, gold and silver. They were not acquainted with iron. A copper mirror is an important find from city of Harappa.

The four centres of  Indus Valley civilization that are in Pakistan are Chanhudaro, Kotdiji, Mohenjodaro and Harappa.

The period of the Harappan culture could be traced back to 2600 BCE.

The houses of the Indus Valley had:

1. Courtyard where most probably all the activities such cooking, weaving etc were done.

2. It also had bathroom with drains connected to the street drains.

The two functions of Lothal town were

1. To act as port.
2. To provide large godown.

The statue of the metallic dancer has been found in Mohen-jo-daro and it is made out of bronze.

Only material and physical evidences give us information about Harappan Civilisation and these are:

(i) Remains of cities and towns.

(ii) Beads, querns, stone blades and pots.

(iii) Burials and bones of animals.

(iv) Seals and weights.

Shamans are men and women who claim magical and healing powers, as well as an ability to communicate with the other world.

The Harappan places and culture witnessed many changes after 1900 B.C.

1. Disappearance of distinctive artefacts of the civilization for example weights, seals, special beads.

2. Writing, long-distance trade, and craft specialisation also disappeared.

3. The technique of building houses deteriorated and we rarely see large structure building.

4. in overall we see a rural way of life.

It cannot be denied that evidence of uniformity could be seen when it comes to Harappan artefacts. This is evident in pottery, distinguished by its red background with designs painted in black, seals, weights and bricks. Some of these artefacts, such as bricks, were obviously not manufactured in any single centre; neverthe less, the idea of uniform ratio for brick-making was prevalent throughout the region. 
Thus these evidence of uniformity in the artefacts has lead scholars to speculate that Harappan civilization was a single state because such uniformity could only be achieved if it was so otherwise it is hard to imagine how such a large civilization produced such uniform artefacts.

Although Terracotta figurines and seals does give us ideas to speculate but overall it is a speculation because archaeologist tend to move from 'known to unknown' or rather from present to past and reconstruction of religion which is done by achaeologist are based on the assumption that later traditions provide parallels with earlier ones. Such assumption could work for stone querns but when we apply same methods to religious symbol it becomes more speculative.

For example the seal which depicts a male in a yogic position, surrounded by animals which is called as ' proto shiva' seal, now Rigveda mentions a god named Rudra who is later known as lord shiva. But we find in Rigveda that Rudra is neither a yogi or is he depicted as Pashupati ( lord of animals and cattle in general). Hence the figure in the seal and the Rudra ( or proto Shiva)does not match. So there is fair chance that he could be a shaman. Or as Ernest Mackay said about the cones made out of lapis lazuli, jasper etc which are thought to be Lingas could also be a pieces for a board games.

Hence it is very hard to know about the religious life of the Harappan with the help of Terracotta figures and seal.

Tips: -

V. Imp.

The following examples show that the Harappan culture was an urban one:

(a) The cities were well planned and thickly populated.

(b)  The houses were made of burnt bricks and contained more than one storey.

(c) Every house had a well and a bathroom.

(d) The drainage system was excellent with house-drains emptying into street-drains.

(e) There was uniformity in weight, seals etc which could only meant that there was flourishing trade, a trait of urban centre.

(f) Lothal had a dockyard and was an important trading centre.

(g) There were places like Chanhudaro who specialized in craft production, it could only mean that they had market for their production. A needed trait for an urban centre.

Difference between the Lower Town and the Citadel:
 
Lower Town:

i.  It was located on the lower part of the town.

ii. This part of the town was much larger than the citadel.

iii. This part of the town had the residential housing.

iv. Mundane activities of the people for example trade, craftmaking etc were done here.


Citadel:

i. It was located higher than the lower town because of the raised platform on which it was built.

ii. It was fairly small in size as compared to the lower town.

iii. Upper town is believed to be used for public purposes.

iv. It differed from the lower town because of its massive buildings, for example great bath, granaries. It is speculated that Great bath was used for some ritual baths. Hence it is believed that the citadel was kept way from the mundane activities.

The Great Bath:

(i) It is located at the citadel. It is a large rectangular tank surrounded by corridor on all four side, with flights of steps on the north and south leading into the tank.

(ii) The floor of the tank is water tight due to finely fitted bricks laid on edge with gypsum plaster and the side walls were constructed in a similar manner. To make the tank even more water tight, a thick layer of bitumen (natural tar) was laid along the sides of the tank and presumably also beneath the floor.

(iii) Across a lane to the north lay a smaller building with eight bathrooms, four on each side of a corridor, with drains from each bathroom connecting to a drain that ran along the corridor.

(iv) The unique structure, as well as the context in which it was found (the Citadel, with several distinctive buildings), has led scholars to suggest that it was meant for some kind of a special ritual bath.

Tips: -

V. Imp.

Script of the Harappan civilization:

(i) Till date we have not been able to decipher Harappan script. Although we are sure that it was not alphabetical (where each sign stands for a vowel or a consonant) as there are just too many signs-somewhere between 375 and 400.

(ii) The script was written from right to left. We know this because some seals show a wider spacing on the right and cramping on the left, as if the engraver began working from the right and then ran out of space.

(iii) The Indus Script has both word signs and symbols with phonetic value. This view is based on the fact that roughly 400 signs have been identified, which makes it unlikely that the Indus Script was solely phonetic. 

Weights:

1. The weights were usually made of a stone called chert and were generally cubical in shape with no markings.

2. These weights were used for regulating exchanges.

3.  The lower denominations of weight weere binary whereas higher denomination were in decimal with fractional weights.

4. The smaller weights were probably used for weighing jewellery and beads. Scale-pans of metal have also been found.

There are many reasons that are being put forward by scholars regarding the decline of the Harappan civilization,

1. climatic change, deforestation, excessive floods, the shifting and/or drying up of rivers, to overuse of the landscape. Although some of these “causes” may hold for certain settlements, but they do not explain the collapse of the entire civilisation.

2. Invasion of Aryans- It is believed by some scholars that invasion of aryan lead to the decline of Harappan civilization however this hypothesis has been refuted.

3. End of an unifying element- It is believed that a strong unifying element perhaps came to an end because we see disappearance of seals, scripts, weight etc.

By 1800 BCE we find that most of the Harappan site abandoned and people shifting towards new settlements in Gujarat, Haryana, Western UP etc and people began to forget about its existence. It was in 1842 where it was first described by charles Masson in his book Narrative of Various Journeys in Balochistan, Afghanistan, and the Punjab. 

However it was ASI director general Alexander Cunnigham who started excavating the site but he made the mistake of placing the dug object between 6th century BCE to 4th century BCE because he like many others, thought that Indian history began with the first cities in the Ganga valley. But the significance of the objects found from the sites came into limelight only in the early twentieth century when Daya Sahni, Rakhal Das Bannerjee began to find objects in the layer of soil which were much older than 6th century BCE. 
Later on with John Marshall as the director General of the ASI the view changed, he was the one who declared the find of new civilization. Though he was a trained archaeologist he ignored while digging the stratigraphy of the soil, hence many important context of the finds were lost. It was only with R E M Wheeler who became the Director General of the ASI in 1944 that rectified this problem. Wheeler recognised that it was necessary to follow the stratigraphy.
Later new archaeologist discovered new sites. And we began to have new understanding of civilization which was not discovered till late in the 19th century.

Tips: -

V. Imp.

We get information about the Indus Valley Civilisation from varieties of sources:

(a) The ruins of various buildings, streets, bath etc. excavated at Harappa, Mohenjodaro and other sites throw a lot of lights on Harappan Civilisation. The ruins give an idea of city dwelling with good planning.

(b) Various specimens of art such as the clay-toys, metal-articles reveal that they were very skilled craftsmen. Harappan artisans made beautiful images of metal. A woman dancer made of bronze is the best specimen.

(c) Another important source of Harappan culture is their seals. About 2000 seals have been found and of these a great majority carry short inspirations with pictures of the one-homed bull, the buffalo, the tiger and the elephant.The 

(d) The terracotta figurines made of the fire-baked earthen clay have been excavated, seals with cross legged person, seal with motif of plants etc has lead scholars to understand about the religion of the people of Harappan civilization.

There are few characteristics of Bronze age, first and foremost is the use of metal tools especially copper and its alloys, secondly we see rise of organized settlements and early evidence of written scripts. 
Now when we look into harappan settlements we find that:


1. There was high usage of metal implements made out of copper and its alloys. for example the famous Dancing girl was made out of bronze and we find that Lothal was one important site where bronze was produced. 

2. Harappan civilization was also a highly organized settlements, it was well planned with systematic drainage, streets and housing facilities.

3. There are also evidence of written scripts, unfortunately we are unable to decipher it.

Thus we can see that Harappan civilization was a Bronze age civilization.

I. Five Harappan sites are:

1. Harappa, 2. Mohenjodaro, 3. Amri, 4. Balakot, 5. Kot Diji, 6. Manda, 7. Rakhigarhi, 8. Banawali, 9. Kalibangan, 10. Lothal. (any five)

II. Three territories under British control: 1. United Province, 2. Central India, 3. Eastern India, 4. Sindh, 5. North-Western India.

III. Names of two cities: 1. Calcutta, 2. Bombay, 3. Madras, 4. Delhi, 5. Lucknow,6. Jhansi.

If we look into the city of Mohenjodaro its most starking feature is how it has been built. The remarkable planning is easily visible

1. Division of lower town and citadel- we see that the town is divided into two. Upper town located on a higher ground and the lower town. The citadel was built on a raised platform.

2. The streets- Roads and streets were laid out along an approximate “grid” pattern, intersecting at right angles. And it was laid in such a way that blowing wind could sweep it clean.

3. Drains- every house had its own drain and it was connected with the street drains.

Now if we look into the drainage system. 

1. It was marvel of the architecture, it appear that it was laid first and houses were built after that. And drains had inspection hole, so that it could be cleaned. And on top of it drain was covered with a large bricks.

There are many reasons put forth by the scholars regarding end of the Harappan civilization:

(i) Climatic change,  Deforestation,  Excessive Flood, Drying up of rivers,  Earthquake, Landslide etc. These reasons could explain end of one or two settlements. Hoever it cannot explain the end of whole civilization.

(ii) some scholars believes that it was the invasion of Aryan that lead to the end of Harappan civilization. As there are mentions in Rigveda how Lord Indra also known as Puramdar or the 'destroyer of fort'has destroyed forts. R E M Wheeler believes that it is not possible such civilization could just vanish unless it was destoyed and was taken over by a new one. There also was evidence of large number of skeleton to prove the point. However this argument has been refuted and no longer holds true.

(iii) Other scholars believe that it was due to the end of one unifying element, it could be state or a ruler. Because after 1800 BCE we find that there are sudden disappearance of seals, weights and other uniform productions. Which scholars believe could be possible if there was an unifying element because such uniformity in size, weights etc could not coincident.

However the mentioned points are all hypothesis and we are still not sure of what could have brought such civilization to an end.

Through material evidences and use of ingenuity archaeologist have come up with some notion of how harappan societies were



1. Burial is one of the strategies used by archaeologist. Through studies of burial archaeologist have found out that there are certain differences in the way graves are made: for example some pits are laid with bricks whereas some are not, thus bringning forth the notion of social differences. However, it is still a specualtion.

2. Evidence of luxury goods too are a good indicator that shows how social structures were, for example most of the evidences of luxury goods were found at the larger settlements like, Harappa and Mohenjodaro. Thus it could be possible that social differences were prominent in the larger settlement due to large population.

3. There are  Some graves that contain pottery and some ornaments, it has lead archaeologist to believe that these things are indicating a belief  in the after life.

4. On the basis of evidences related with different occupations the archaeologists (or archaeo-botanists or archaeo-zoologists) indicate that the people of different occupations or of different socio-economic positions used to live in the Harappan cities.

5. Some archaeologists are of the opinion that Harappan society had no rulers, and that everybody enjoyed equal status. Others feel there were no single ruler but several, that Mohenjodaro had a separate ruler, Harappa another, and so forth, yet others argue that there was a single state, given the similarity in artefacts, the evidence for planned settlements, the standardised ratio of brick size, and the establishment of settlements near sources of raw material. As of now, the last theory seems the most plausible, as it is unlikely that entire communities could have collectively made and implemented such complex decisions.

When archaeologist classify there finds and when they try to understand its function they take recourse to many steps and one of it is trying to understand the function of the finds with its similarities in shapes with pressent day things.

One of the foremost reason of doing this is because many reconstructions of Harappan civilization are made on the assumption that later traditions provide parallels with earlier ones. This is because archaeologists often move from the known to the unknown, that is, from the present to the past.

For example there are evidences of pottery, tools, ornaments, households object etc. We can easily deduce its function because the shapes resembles the present day objects. There are also evidences of toy carts, boats found from Harappa whose function can be known because of its resemblance with the present toys of the children.

Although such thing's function can be easily deduced the main problem the archaeologist face is when they try to apply same methods to reconstruct the religious beliefs of the Harappan people. For example The ' Proto Shiva seal'  and the various cones of small size made out of Lapis Lazuli, jasper etc, this things when looked looks like the present day objects hence they are given named like Proto Shiva and Lingas respectively but it is mere speculation, there are possibilites tha seal could be depicting a Shaman or someone else and those cones could be just cones used for board games.
For example The Great Bath at Mohenjo daro, is believed to be a place for bathing for ritual purposes because there are such places here in India. However we are not sure if it was use for such a purposes during that time.

Hence, the method to look for the present day resemblance in the object is useful when the objects are obvious as in pottery, jewelleries etc but it becomes tricky when same methods are applied to unerstand something else like beliefs, religious practices etc.

for the reconstruction of the past archaeologist first have to excavate and discover artefacts. However the main issue emerges after finding the artefacts. Which leads to the issue of classification.

1. classifiacation according to their materials- this part is easy, because only thing to be done is see what artefacts are made of and classify it, for example, stones, clay, ivory , metals etc.


2. Second and more complex classification is based on the function of artefacts. For example, archaeologists have to decide whether an artefact is a tool or an ornament. And there are chances that some artefacts can be both.

Thus for understanding the Function of Artefact archaeologist looks at :

(i)  Its resemblance with present day things like querns, beads, pots, stone blades etc.

(ii) Archaeologists try to understand function of  artefact in the context in which it was found. For example, whether it was  found in the  house, or in grave, in kiln etc

iii. Indirect Evidences: Many a times archaeologists have to take help of indirect evidences. For example pieces of cotton have been found at some Harappan sites, even then we have to take help of indirect evidences, like pictures or statues, to know about the clothing. Assumptions have been made, regarding clothing by using indirect evidences.

iv.To develop frames of references: Many a times archaeologists have to develop frames of reference. For example the first Harappan seal could not be understood till archaeologists had a context in which it was found and in terms of a comparison with finds in Mesopotamia.

There are many evidences tha shows that Harappans did have certain trade relations with the outside countries or areas of the world. For example:

(i) Recent archaeological finds suggest that copper was probably brought from Oman, on the south eastern tip of the Arabian peninsula. As Chemical analyses have shown that both the Omani copper and Harappan artefacts’ have traces of nickel, suggesting a common origin.

(ii) There are other traces of contact. A distinctive type of vessel, a large Harappan jar coated with a thick black layer of clay called a slip, was found at Omani sites. Such thick coating prevent the percolation of liquids. What was carried in these vessels? We are not sure. May be the Harappans exchanged the contents of these vessels for Omani copper.

(iii) Harappan seals, weights, dice and beads have been found from a number of Mesopotamian sites. 

(iv) Mesopotamian texts mention a place named Meluhha, possibly the Harappan region. They mention the produce from Meluhha: carnelian, lapis lazuli, varities of wood, copper, gold. 

(v) Certain seals show that there was a sharing of ideas as well. This is a cylinder seal of the type commonly made and used in Mesopotamia, but the design, with a humped bull, appears to be derived from the Indus region.

(vi) Mesopotamian texts refer to Meluhha as a land of seafarers. Besides, we find depictions of ships and boats on seals in large from Harappan sites, it could be possible this is how they travelled to other places.

Looking at the complexities of how the cities were built, uniformity in seals, bricks, weight and moreover looking at the overall townplanning. Scholars asks how can such things be achieved. Thus postulating the ideas of ruler.

Although archaeological evidences provides no immediate answers but scholars looking at the huge structures at Mohenjodaro has named it as ' Palace' but from here no spectacular artefacts were found. And there is a stone statue which was labelled as ' Priest King' This is because archaeologists were familiar with Mesopotamian history and its “priest-kings” and have found parallels in the Indus region. But the ritual practices of the Harappan civilisation are not well understood yet nor are there any means of knowing whether those who performed them also held political power. Thus the label ' Priest King' is also an issue.

Thus regarding political and ruling system various scholars have come out with various points. They are:

1. Harappan society had no rulers, and that everybody enjoyed equal status.

2. There was no single ruler but several, that Mohenjodaro had a separate ruler, Harappa another, and so forth.

3. There was a single state, given the similarity in artefacts, the evidence for planned settlements, the standardised ratio of brick size, and the establishment of settlements near sources of raw. This last theory is considered the most feasible. But disagreement still reamins among scholars.

It is hard to imagine an egalitarian society especially in a place like Harappa which was highly developed because:

1. Let us look at the town planning, it was divided into two section upper and lower town. The way it was built was different and it was walled and seperated from the lower town. Thus there was certain distinction betweent the two.

2. If we look at the burial, we see that there are few graves that are lined with bricks and some with potteries and other artefacts Such differences could be because of the social distinction. Although we cannot be sure about it.

3. When we look at the distribution of luxury goods, we find that large cities had the evidences of it whereas smaller one like kalibangan did not. Through this we can guess that there did exist inequality in Harappan cities.

4. In Harappa people of different occupations lived, some were definitely merchants, other were small traders, some were farmers other were artisans and so on. The people in different types of work and occupations of different nature cannot have the same income. Thus we can safely assume the existence of inequality.

5. Moreover there are archaeological evidences that shows the existence of  goods like spindle whorls made out of items that are considered luxurious. It could be possible that it was used by someone rich.

Through the above points one cann assume that everybody in Harappan society could not have been equal.

Cunningham’s main interest was in the archaeology of the Early Historic (c. sixth century BCE-fourth century CE) and later periods. He used the accounts left by Chinese Buddhist pilgrims who had visited the subcontinent between the fourth and seventh centuries CE to locate early settlements. . A site like Harappa, which was not part of the itinerary of the Chinese pilgrims and was not known as an Early Historic city, did not fit very neatly within his framework of investigation. So, although Harappan artefacts were found fairly often during the nineteenth century and some of these reached Cunningham, he did not realise how old these were. Thus looking into the interest of his it is highly doubtful that any of the themes in this chapter would have interested him.

Tips: -

V. Imp.

Features of the Harappan culture:

1. Urban Civilisation: The sight of the towns of Mohenjodaro and Harappa reflect the supremacy of the then architecture and town planning. There were wide roads ranging from 9 to 34 feet in width. The horizontal roads cut the vertical ones on right angles. The towns had brick houses, both big and small ones. There was provision of cross ventilation and sufficient lighting. The sight of drains and huge dustbins outside the houses revealed that there must have been some local institution to manage sanitation and such other activities smoothly.

2. Architecture: There were varieties of building that were unearthed:

(i) Buildings for the dwelling of the citizens.

(ii) Buildings for public purposes.

(iii) Public fire places.

3. The Great Bath: The Great Bath, discovered during excavations was 39 feet in length, 23 feet in width and 8 feet in depth.

Verandahs and rooms were constructed around it. There was a provision of filling the bath with water and emptying it. There was a well closely which might have been serving as the source of filling fresh water into the bath. This structure is an excellent symbol of the Indus Valley Civilisation.

4. Food: The people of Indus Valley ate barley, wheat, fruit and flesh also.

5. Clothes: The available needles and spinning and weaving tools and button show that the people knew spinning and weaving. Both the cotton and woollen clothes were worn. The people wore coloured clothes. There was a close similarity in the clothes of men and women-folk.

6. Ornaments: Both the men and the women wore ornaments. The chief ornaments used to be armlets, necklace, ear-rings, metal ring (bangle), belt etc.

7. Cosmetics: Hair used to be decorated in many forms. Brass combs, mirrors, piece of decoration made of ivory and a type of colour used to redden the lips like lipstick too have been found.

8. Amusements: The people used to utilise their time in hunting, playing chess, music, dance, drawing and painting, taming birds and catching fish. These formed the sources of their recreation.

9. Art and craft: Patterns of fine drawing are available on the seals of the times. The clay carts and toys too are fine specimen of the grand art.

10. Religion: There are various hypothesis regarding religion but we still do not know, there are indication that they could have worshipped nature, mother goddess, proto shiva etc.

Tips: -

V. Imp.

A. John Marshall has called the lane of Mohenjodaro as the Deadman Lane because in this narrow street a part of the skull and the bones of the thorax and upper arm of an adult were discovered. A few fragments of a tiny skull has also been found. Sixteen skeletons of people with the ornaments that they were wearing, when they died, were found from the same part of Mohenjodaro in 1925. It is these remains that the lane owes its name.

B. Some scholars and archaeologists conclude from this information that climatic, economic or political deterioration may have weakened the firmly settled Indus Valley Civilisation. But its ultimate extinction is more likely to have completed by deliberate and large scale destruction. It may be no more chance that at a late period of Mohenjodaro men, women and children, appear to have been massacred there.

C. John Marshall was a great historian, scholar and archaeologist. His famous historical work ‘Mohenjodaro and the Indus Civilisation’ was published in 1931. Marshall tended to excavate to know the possible causes of decline and decay of the well-settled civilisation of the Indian subcontinent, known as the Harappan Culture or the Indus Civilisation.

D. Earlier interpretations are sometimes reversed because new facts are brought to light by new scholars and archaeologists by doing excavation at new sites and places, related with the same civilisation.

(i) Dholavira, (ii) Kalibangan, (iii) Harappa, (iv) Mohenjodaro, (v) Chanhudaro

The Strategies for procuring materials by the Harappans for craft production are:

(i)The Harappans procured materials for craft production in various ways . They established settlements such as Nageshwar and Balakot in areas where shell was available.

(ii)Other sites like Shortughai , in far off Afghanistan , the best source of lapis lazuli , a blue stone that was apparently very highly valued. From Lothal and Bharuch –carnelian was procured , steatite from south Rajasthan and North Gujarat.

(iii) Another strategy for procuring raw material may have been to send expeditions to areas such as Khetri region of Rajasthan for copper and South India for Gold.

(iv)Recent Archaeological finds suggest that Harappans procured material from other countries like – they got copper from Oman a region called Magan in Mesopotamian texts. It is likely that communication with Oman , Bahrain or Mesopotamia was by sea. 

The examples:

 (i) The settlements is divided into two sections, one smaller but higher and other much larger but lower.

 (ii) Archaeologists designate these as the Citadel and Lower Town respectively. The citadels owes its height to the fact that buildings were constructed on mud brick platforms. It was walled, which meant that it was physically separated from the lower town.

 (iii) One of the most distinctive features of Harappan cities was the carefully planned drainage system. The roads and streets were laid out along an approximate grid pattern, intersecting at right angles.

 (iv) The lower Town at Mohenjodaro provides examples of residential buildings. Every house had its own bathroom paved with bricks, with drains connected through the wall to street drains.

 (v) Many houses had wells, often in a room that could be reached from the outside and perhaps used by passer-by. Some houses have remains of staircases to reach a second storey or the roof.

Cunningham was the Director-General of the ASI.

He used the accounts left by Chinese Buddhist pilgrims who had visited the subcontinent between the fourth and seventh centuries CE to locate early settlements.

The most unique feature of Mohenjodaro was the planned urban centre:

(i) The settlement is divided into two sections, one smaller but higher and the other much larger.

(ii) On the Citadel buildings were constructed on mud brick platforms.

(iii) The Lower Town was walled and buildings were built on platforms.

(iv) There were signs of planning like bricks, sun-dried or baked, were in a standardized ratio.

(v) Roads and streets were laid out along a 'grid' pattern intersecting at right angles, streets with drains were laid out first, and then houses built along them.

Drainage system of Harappan cities-

(i) The drainage system was planned very carefully.

(ii) Road and streets were laid out along an approximate grid pattern intersecting at right angles.

(iii) Streets were laid out with drains and he drains were covered.

(iv) The houses were built along them. Domestic waste water had to flow into the street drains.

(v) The drains could be cleaned at regular intervals. The drains were made of burnt bricks

The settlement is divided into two sections, one smaller but higher and the other much larger but lower. 
Archaeologists designate these as the Citadel and the Lower Town respectively. The Citadel owes its height to the fact that buildings were constructed on mud brick platforms. It was walled, which meant that it was physically separated from the Lower Town. The Lower Town was also walled. Several buildings were built on platforms, which served as foundations.

John Marshall was an archaeologist
He announced the discovery of a new civilization i.e. Indus Valley Civilization/ Harappa culture

Changes observed after 1900 BCE in Harappan Civilization:

i. There is a decline in the material culture and disappearance of distinctive artefacts.

ii. Long distance trade disappeared along with craft specialisation.

Reasons for changes:

i. Climatic change and deforestation.

ii. Excessive floods and overuse of the landscape.

The trade of Sixth Century BCE:
(i) From the sixth century BCE, land and river routes criss-crossed the subcontinent and extended in various directions – overland into Central Asia and beyond, and overseas, from ports that dotted the costline-extending across the Arabian Sea to East and North Africa and West Asia, and through the Bay of Bengal to Southeast Asia and China.
(ii) A wide range of goods were carried from one place to another – salt, grain, cloth ,metal ores and finished products, stone, timber, medicinal plants, to name a few. Spices, especially pepper, were in high demand in the Roman Empire, as were textiles and medicinal plants, and these were all transported across the Arabian Sea to the Mediterranean.

Cunningham’s Confusion were:

(i) Cunningham’s main interest was in the archaeology of the Early Historic and later periods. Cunningham tried to place Harappan seals within the time-frame with which he was familiar.

(ii) He used the accounts left by Chinese Buddhist pilgrims who had visited the subcontinent between the fourth and seventh centuries CE to locate early settlement.

(iii) Cunningham also collected, documented and translated inscriptions found during his surveys. When he excavated sites he tended to recover artefacts that he thought had cultural value.

(iv) A site like Harappa which was not part of the itinerary of the Chinese pilgrims, did not fit very neatly within his framework of investigation. Cunningham did not realize how old Harappa artifacts were.

The inscriptions of Asoka on rocks and pillars are often regarded as most valuable sources to know about dhamma.

(i) The name of the ruler, Asoka, is mentioned as “devanampiya” , beloved of the gods and “piyadassi”, or “pleasant to behold”.

(ii) It reflects the anguish of the ruler as well as marks a change in his attitude towards warfare.

(iii) Asoka also tried to hold his empire together by propagating dhamma, the principles of which were simple and virtually universally applicable.

(iv) It was to ensure the well-being of people in this world. He appointed special officers, known as the dhamma mahamatta to spread the message of dhamma.

The agricultural technologies followed by the Harappans were:

(i) Representations on seals and terracotta sculpture indicate that the bull was known, and archaeologists extrapolate from this that oxen were used for ploughing.

(ii) Terracota models of the plough have been found at sites in Cholistan and at Bannawali.

(iii) The fields had two sets of furrow at right angles to each other, suggesting that two different crops were grown together.

(iv) Water reservoirs found in Dholavira may have been used to store for agriculture.

The Economic and Social differences in Harappa:
(i) In Harappan sites the dead were laid in pits.
(ii) In some instances the hollowed out spaces were lined with bricks
(iii) Some graves contained pottery and ornaments, indicating a belief that these could be used in the afterlife.
(iv) Jewellery has been found in burials of both man and woman. (shell rings, a jasper beads and micro beads were found)
(v) In some instances the dead were buried with Copper mirrors.
(vi) It appears that Harappan did not believe in burying precious things with the dead.

Evidences to explain the collapse of the Harappa civilization
(i) After 1900 BCE there were disappearance of the distinctive
(ii) Writing, long distance trade and craft specialization also disappeared.
(iii) House construction techniques deteriorated.
(iv) Large public structure were no longer produced.
(v) Artefacts and settlements indicated a rural life called as Late Harappan and Successive Culture.
(vi) Disappearance of the seals, the script, distinctive beads and pottery.
(vii) There was the shift from a standardized weight system to the use of the local weights.
(viii) There were decline and abandonment of cities.
(ix) Abandonment of Cholistan.
(x) Shift/ expansion of population into new settlements into Gujarat, Haryana , western UP.
(ANY FOUR)

(15.1) The irrigation technology as observed by the emperor:

(i)Young trees water is made to flow by means of buckets or wheels.

(ii)People water by means of wheel .Two circles of rope long enough to suit the depths of the well

(iii)Between the circles there are fixed strips of wood fastened with pitchers.

(iv)The ropes with the wood and attached pitchers are put over the wheel well.

(v)At one end of the wheel axle a second wheel is fixed and another on an upright axle.

(vi)The bullock turns the last wheel.

(vii)A trough is set where the water empties and from this the water is conveyed everywhere.

(viii)At the well as they set up a fork of wood having a roller adjusted between the forks, tie a rope to a large bucket pulled by a bullock.

(15.2) The necessity of irrigation was:

(i)The greater part of Hindustan is situated on level land.

(ii)Lack of rainfall.

(iii)It nowhere has running water.

(iv)To water young trees.

(15.3) Three factors which are responsible for the expansion of agriculture in India:

(i)Its level land which can be cultivated without running water.

(ii)Autumn crops can grow by the down pour of the rains.

(iii)Spring crops grow even when no rains fall.

(iv)Better irrigation technology.

(v)The abundance of land.

(vi)Availability of labour.

(vii)Mobility of peasants.