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Notes on Harappan/Indus Civilization

Harappan /Indus Civilization

  • The most accepted period 2500 BC- 1750 BC
  • The oldest name- Indus Civilization
  • According to archaeological tradition, the most appropriate name- Harappan Civilization (Harappa- the first discovered site.)
  • According to the geographical point of view, the most suitable name- Indus-Saraswati Civilization
  • The largest concentration of settlement- along with the Indus-Sarasvati river valley. About 80% settlement was along the Saraswati.
  • The first scholar to use the term “Indus Civilization”- John Marshall
  • The civilization belongs to Proto-Historic Period
  • It was spread over Sindh, Balochistan, Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Western U.P. and Northern Maharashtra.
  • The general belief of scholars was that Harappa-Ghaggar-Mohenjo Daro axis represents the heartland of the Indus Civilization.
  • Northernmost site:
    • Earlier: Ropar (Sutlej)/ Punjab
    • Now: Manda (Chenab)/ Jammu-Kashmir
  • Southernmost site:
    • Earlier: Bhagatrav (Kim)/ Gujarat
    • Now: Daimabad (pravara)/ Maharashtra
  • Easternmost Site:
    • Alamgirpur (Hindon)/Uttar Pradesh
  • Westernmost Site:
    • Sutkagendor (Dashk)/ Makran Coast (Pakistan-Iran border)
  • Capital cities:
    • Harappa
    • Mohenjo Daro
  • Port Cities:
    • Lothal
    • Sutkagendor
    • Allahdino
    • Balakot
    • Kuntasi


    • SiteRiverDistrictState/ProvinceCountryExcavators
    HarappaRaviSahiwalPunjabPakistanDaya Ram Sahni (1921), Madho Swaroop Vatsa (1926), Wheeler (1946)
    MohenjodaroIndusLarkanaSindhPakistanRakhal Das Bannerji (1922), Mackay (1927), Wheeler (1930)
    ChanhudaroIndusNawabshahSindhPakistanMackay (1925), N.G. Mazumdar (1931)
    LothalBhogavaAhmedabadGujaratIndiaS.R.Rao (1954)
    KalibangaGhaggarHanumangarhRajasthanIndiaAmaland Ghosh (1951), B.V. Lal and B.K. Thapar (1961)
    BanawaliGhaggarFatehabadHaryanaIndiaR.S.Bist (1973)
    DholaviraLuniKutchhGujaratIndiaJ.P.Joshi (1967-68)

    • Mohenjodaro:
      • The largest site of Indus Civilization
    • Rakhigarhi:
      • The largest Indian site of Indus Civilization
    • Common features of Major Cities:
      • Systematic town planning
      • Use of burnt bricks in constructions
      • Underground drainage system
      • Fortified Citadel (secured fort)
    • Surkotada:
      • The only Indus site where the remains of a horse have been found.
    • Main crops:
      • Wheat and Barley
      • Evidence of cultivation of rice in Lothal and Rangpur only.
      • Other crops: Dates, Mustard, Sesamum, Cotton (Indus people were the first to produce cotton in the world), etc.
    • Animals:
      • Sheep, Goat, Humped and Humpless bull, Buffalo, Boar, Dog, Cat, Pig, Elephant, Camel, tiger, etc.
      • The lion was not known to Indus People.
    • Inland and foreign trades were done on a huge scale. Foreign trades with Mesopotamia or Sumeria (Modern Iraq), Bahrain, etc, flourished.
    ImportsFrom
    GoldKolar (Karnataka), Afghanistan, Persia (Iran)
    SilverAfghanistan, Persia (Iran), South India
    CopperKhetri (Rajasthan), Balochistan, Arabia
    TinAfghanistan, Bihar
    Lapis Lazuli and SapphireBadak-shan (Afghanistan)
    JadeCentral Asia
    SteatiteShahr-i-Sokhta (Iran), Kirthar Hills (Pakistan)
    AmethystMaharashtra
    Agate, Chalcedonies and CarneliansSaurashtra and West India

    • Exports: Agricultural products, cotton goods, terracotta figurines, pottery, certain beads (from Chanhudaro), conch-shell (from Lothal), ivory products, etc.
    • Iron was not known to this civilization.
    • As there is no evidence of coins, barter is assumed to have been the method used.
    • The ruling authority of Indus Civilization was a class of merchants.
    • No temples have been found. An idea of their religion is formed from the statues and figurines found, with the commonly found figurine of Mother-Goddess (Matridevi or Shakti.)
    • The chief male deity was the “Pashupati Mahadeva”, the lord of animals.
    • Shiv Shakti worship, the oldest form of worship in India, appears to have been a part of the religious belief.
    • The remains and relics also reveal that zoolatry i.e. animal worship and trees worship were popular back then.
    • There is evidence of pictographic script. Though they have not been deciphered so far, it is found that the writing was boustrophedon, i.e. from right to left and from left to right in alternate lines. Referred to as Proto-Dravidian
    • Harappan script: oldest script in the Indian subcontinent.
    • Brahmi script: oldest deciphered script.
    • Steatite was mainly used in the manufacture of seals
    • Humpless bull is represented in most of the Indus seals.
    • Inhumation or complete burial was the usual method of the disposal of the dead.
    • The origin of “Swastika” symbol can be traced back to the civilization.
    • The majority of scholars believe that the makers of this civilization were Dravidian.
    • Contemporary civilizations of Indus Civilization- Mesopotamia, Egypt and China.
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