The Harappan Civilization

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CHAPTER - 2 THE HARAPPAN CIVILIZATION

Salient Features • Early Harappan - Amri - growth of large 1.Urban Civilisation villages and towns 2.Bronze Age Civilisation (Flourished during • Mature Harappan - Kalibangan - rise of Circa 2500-2000 B.C.) great cities 3.The largest Civilisation in geographical area • Late Harappan - Lothal mature as well as of the ancient world. decling phase. 4.Town-planning and well developed drainage Town planning system. Facts on Town Planning 5.Gridiron layout and fortification. 1. Features of Town Planning Origin • A great uniformity in town planning, the 1.Origin lies in various indigenous Pre-Harappan fundamental lay-out of prominent urban cultures. settlements exhibits apparent similarities. 2.Indus Civilisation was culmination of a long • Based on ‘Grid Pattern’: streets and lanes series of cultural evolution. cutting across one another at right angles 3.Emerged out of the farming communities of dividing the city into a number of Sind and Baluchistan, Haryana Oujarat and rectangular blocks. Main streets ran from Rajasthan. north to south and were as wide as 30 feet. Streets and lanses were not paved. 4.Continuous cultural evolution from 6000 BC onwards in North West India which finally 2.Entire city complex was bifurcated into two culminated in the rise of Indus Civilisation. distinct parts: the ‘CITADEL’ a fortified area which housed important civic and religious Phases of Development public buildings including granaries and 1.Archaeological excavation & research have residences of the ruling class and the ‘LOWER revealed phases of cultural development TOWN’, somewhat bigger in area and invariably bursting up in the emergence of a full-fledged located east to the former, meant. for civilization at Kalibangan, Banavali and commoners. Evidence of fortification of the Rakhigarhi. lower towns as well from a few urban centres 2.Began in Baluchistan & Sind are then extended like Surkotada and Kalibangan and evidence into the plains. of division of the city into three parts instead of two from Dhaulvira. 3.These phases are Pre-Harappan, Early Harappan, Mature Harappan and Late Harappan 3.Use of standardized burnt bricks on massive scale in almost all types of constructions (an 4.Extent of Harrappa:- From in North Manda (J & extraordinary feature of the contemporary K) to 1600 k.m Daimabad (Maharastra.) in East civilizations), circular stones were used at Alamgirpur (U.P.) to 1100 K.m Sutkangedor Dholavira. (Bluchistan). Total Area was 12,99,600 Sq. k.m. 4.Elaborate and planned underground drainage 5.These phases of cultural evolution are system. Houses were connected to the main represented by Mehargarh, Amri, Kalibangan drain equipped with manholes. Mostly made up and Lothal respectively. of bricks with mud mortar. Use of gypsum and Different Phases and Transformation lime to make it watertight. Cesspits were • Pre-Harappan - Mehargarh - nomadic there inside the houses to deposit solid waste. herdsrnen to settled agriculture Bricks culverts meant for carrying rain and

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storm water have also been found. Bricks were 4.Pottery had plain bases. Few ring bases have made in ratio of I 2 4. Size of Bricks - 7 C.m in been found. Thick, 5.Mainly famous colour of pot was pink. General - 14 C.m Width design was on the red base horizontally black - 28 C.m Long. line on pots. 5.Features of Houses Seals • Houses were plain and did not exhibit, any 1.Seals are the greatest artistic creation of the refinement and beauty. So far as the Harappan people — cutting &polishing decorative value of the houses was craftmanship is excellent. concerned, they lacked it. In general they 2.No of seals discovered is approx. 2000 gave plain and un-decorative look. 3.Made of steatite (Soft stone), Sometimes of • An average house comprised a courtyard Copper, Shell, Agate, Ivory, Faience, Terracotta. and four to six rooms, a bedrooms, a 4.Size— 4 inch to 2Y2 inch. kitchen, and a well presence of staircase 5.Shape — Square, Rectangular, Button, Cubical, gives indication of the second storey. Cylinder, Round Houses had side-entrances and windows were conspicuously absent. Except Lothal, 6.Two main types:- where enterance were on main road and • Square — carved animal & inscription, windows were found. small boss at the back. • Houses varied from a single-roomed • Rectangular— inscription only, hold on the tenements to houses with a number of back to take a cord. rooms and having even a second storey. 7.Colour — White appearance. Famous colour of Floors were generally of beaten earth coated seal was green. with cowdung. Fire-places were common in 8.Displays symbols - Circles, Crosses, Dots, rooms. Walls were thick and square holes Swastiks, Leaves of the Pipal tree. in them suggest of use of wooden beams. Every house was separated by another by a 9.Most frequently depicted animal - Unicorn narrow space of ‘no-man’s land’. Staircases 10.Other animals : Elephant, Tiger, Rhino, were usually wooden but some made up of Antelope, Crocodile. burnt bricks have been found too. Roofs 11.No bird were depicted on Harappan seal. were flat. Doors were set in wooden frames and the average width of a door was one 12.Purpose: Marked ownership of property. Used metre. Square and rectangular pillars of in applying to bales of merchandise. (Discovery burnt bricks were used in larger rooms, of such seals beside the dockyard of Lothal). round pillars were absent. Kitchen was 13.Pashupati Seal has been found from small in size. A round oven meant for Mohanjodaro. It depicts Siva seated on a stool baking chappatis has been found. flanked by an elephant, a tiger, a. rhinocerous, a buffalo and two antelopes / goats. Marshall Art and Craft identified it with Proto — Siva. Pottery 14. ‘Persian Gulf Seals’ have been discovered from 1.Mainly two types Plain pottery and Red and Lothal. Black Pottery with decoration, the majority TECHNICAL ACHIEVEMENTS being the former. • Lost-Wax technique, used for making 2.Widespread use of potter’s wheel made up of bronze images. wood, use of firing technique, use of kiln. • English Bond method-Bonding system for 3.Variety of Pleasing Design — Horizontal strips, bricks. Check, Chess-Board Pattern, Interesecting Circles (Pattern exclusively found), Leaves & • Flemish Bond method-used for making Petals, Natural Motif — Birds, Fish, Animals, staircases. Plants, Human Figure — Rare (A Man & A Child • Kiln Bricks — Evidence of Kiln has been found from Harappa), Triangles. found at Rakhigarhi

• Water Harvesting System—Dholaveera 23. Seal depicting Mother Mohanjodaro • For small measurement binary system and Goddess with a plant for big measurement decimal system were growing from her womb used in Harappa. 24. Painting on a jar resembling FINDINGS AND EVIDENCES the story of the cunning fox of panchtantra Lothal 1.Cemeteries ‘H’ & ‘R 37’ Harappa 25. Harappan game similar to 2.Furrow mark Kalibangan chess Lothal 3.City divided into three parts Dholvira 26. Copper rhinocerous Daimabad 4.Fragment of Woven cloth Mohanjodaro 27. Copper chariot Daimabad 5.City without a citadal Chanhudaro 28. Copper Elephant Daimabad 6.Small pot (Probably an ink-pot)Chanhudaro 29. Devastation by flood Dhanhudaro, Mohanjodaro 7.Cities where lower towns Kalibangan & & Lothal were fortified Surkotada 30. Collegiate building Mohanjodaro 8.Cities having both proto— Kalibangan & Harappan and mature Banwali 31. Assembly Hall Mohanjodaro Harappan evidences and 32. Granaries Mohanjodaro Harappan Cultural Phases & Harappa 9.Dockyard Lothal 33. Steatite figure of a bearded man Mohanjodaro 10. Evidence of Rice Rangpur & Lothal 34. Bronze dancing girl (11.5 cm) Mohanjodaro 11. Evidence of Coffin Burial Lothal 35. Cylindrical seals of Gigamesh and Ekindu Mesopotamian 12. Remains of Bones of Horse Surkotada type, three in number Mohanjodaro 13. Fire altars Kalibangan, 36. Warehouse Lothal Banarvali, 37. Granary outside citadel Harappa Lothal and Rakhigarhi 38. Working platcform Harappa 14. Terracotta Models of ships/ 39. Sandstone male dancer Harappa boats Lothal 40.Terracotta figurine of a horseMohanjodaro 15. Temple— like structure Mohanjodaro 41.Absence of mother goddess figurines Rangpur 16. Human skeletons huddled together indicating 42. Bead-making factory Chanhudaro & violent death/massacre Mohanjodaro Lothal 43. Absence of seals Alamgirpur 17. Houses having front entrances Lothal 44. Shell-ornament makers Chanhudaro, factory Balakot and 18. Bronze rod/stick with Lothal measure marks Lothal 45. Metal workers factory Chanhudaro & 19. Single — roomed barracks Harappa Lothal 20. Bronze models of’ikkas’ Harappa, 46. Persian Gulf seals Lothal and ‘bullock-carts’ Chandudaro 47. City having a middle town 21. Pasupati Mahadev seal apart from the citadel (As said by John Marshall) Mohanjodaro and the lower town Dholvira 22. Medical Beliefs, surgery of Lothal & 48.A merchant house Lothal skull Kalibangan 49. Impressions of cloth on sealingLothal

50. Six types of pottery Kalibangan 4.Tree worship — Pipal. 51. Evidence of double burial Lothal 5.Fertility Cult — Phallus worship. 52. Evidence of pot-burial Surkotada 6.Nature worship. 7.Amulets and Talisman (Mohanjodaro) 53. Furnace Rakhigarhi 8.Sacred bath — Water Cosmology 54.Kiln Rakhigarhi BURIALS 55. Boustro phedon Kalibangan 1.Bodies were extended in north-South direction. 56. Camel bones Kalibangan 2.Cemeteries of Harappa, Mohanjodaro, Lothal, 57. Horse skeleton Surkotada Kalibangan, Rakhigarhi and Ropar located around the outskirts. 58.Horse teeth Rana Ghundai 3.Three forms of burials — complete burial, 59.Regalia Kunal Fractional burial and post-cremation burial. 60.Stone cut water reservoir Dholavira 4.General practice was body lying on its back and head to the north. Indus Civilisatlon-General Aspects 5.Coffin burial from Harappa. CUSTOMS AND AMUSEMENTS • A good number of toys — Clay Cart, Rattles, 6.Pot burial from Surkotada (Sacrophagus Bulls with mobile heads, Monkey with tradition). movable arms, Dices, Chessboard. 7.Double burial from Lothal. • Hunting, Fishing, Cock-Fighting. 8.Pit burial from KaIibangan. COSMETICS 9.Cemetety —R-37 (Harappa). Tweezers, Ear-scoop, Piercer, Antimony rods, Ivory 10.Cemetery — (Post Harappan) comb, Mirrors, Hair pins, Round buttons, Minor WEIGHTS & MEASURE razors, Kohl pots and sticks 1.Standard weights and measures, uniformity DRESS AND ORNAMENTS and accuracy of denominations. 1.Females were scantily dressed, they wore a 2.Weights were made of a variety of material — short skirt especially figurines of mother state, jasper, chert, alabaster, limestone and Goddess. quartzile, but main1 polished chert. 2.The male wore a robe, sometimes embroidered. 3.For larger weights decimal system was used 3.Cotton was used, no evidence of Linen and Silk. and for smaller ones binary system was followed. 4.No evidence of footwear. 4.The unit weight had the calculated value of 5.Special care of hair, reference of pony-tail, bun 0.8 750 gms, the largest weights was 10970 and braided hair. gms. 6.Curley hair (clay figure from Mohanjodaro). 5.A few specimens of scales used with the 7.Beards (not very long), shaven upper lips in the weights appear to be a very ordinary patterns figure of Yogi. comprising a bronze bar with suspended copper pens. 8.Necklaces, Beads, Girdle, Bracelet, Fillets, Finger rings, Bangles, Nose Ornaments, 6.Broken Ivory were used as a scale in Anklets. Chanhudaro. RELIGION 7.Bronze scale was used in Lothal. 1.Predominance of Mother Goddess, denotes WEAPONS people’s faith in fertility cult. 1.Mainly offensive weapons were found in 2.Male deity — Pasupati Shiva. Harrappa. 3.Animal worship (200l atry)— Unicorn bull and 2.Spears, Axes, Arrow-heads. humped bull. 3.No defensive weapons were found in Harrappa.

CROPS • Cylindrical seals of Mesopotamian type 1.Main crops: Wheat & Barley. have been found in Indus valley (Mohanjodaro). 2.Others Peas, Rai, Linseed, Mustard, Cotton, Dates. • “Persian Gulf Seals” of intermediate trading stations have been discovered from Indus 3.No evidence of sugarcane. region (Lothal). 4.Rice was produced region (Rice husk has been • Discovery of”Reserved slip ware” of found from Lothal & Rangpur). Mesopotamian type from Harappa & Lothal. ANIMALS & BIRDS Internal Trade Elephants, Cats, Dogs, Camels, Asses, Buffalo, With Saurashtra, Maharastra, South India, Dear, Rhino, Goat, Unicorn, Pigs, Tortoise, Fowls, Rajasthan, ports of western UP. Ox; Fish, Stag, Antelope, Patridge. Ports METALS Port was found in Lothal. This is the first man- Copper, Silver, Gold, Jade, Lapis Lazulli, Lead. Tin, made port in the world. Ingot (Lead+Silver), Electrum (Silver & Gold) External Trade TOOLS With Mesopotamia (Modern Iraq), Persian Gulf Needles, Razors, Sickles, Fish-hooks, Saws, region and probably Egypt. Chappers, Spades, Knoves, Chisels, Spoons Item of Imports PROFESSIONS Gold, Silver, Copper, Tin, Lapis Lazuli,-Amethyst, Potters, Copper and Bronze workers, Stone workers, Agate, Jade, Shells. Builders, Brick-makers, Priests, Faience workers, Items of Exports Farmers, Traders. • Agricultural products Wheat, Barley, Peas, RARITIES Oil Seeds Rice, Horse, Round Cylindrical seals, Plough, • Finished Products Cotton goods, Pottery1 Whetstones. Beads, Shells, Terrocotta Products, Ivory ABSENCE Products. Iron, Winows, Tp1e, Fork, Hair dyes, Round Main Imports And Areas columns, Silk fabrics, Swords, Sheilds, Metalic Agate Saurashtra Money, Water closets Brick-Lamps, Footwares, Linen, Wool, Golden finger rings, Indigenous, Amethyst Maharashtra Gradual decline. Carnelians Saurashtra, West India LANGUAGE & SCRIPT Chalcedonies Saurashtra, West India Yet not deciphered, pictographic or ideographic Copper Rajasthan (Khetri), South approximately 450 signs have been listed, written India, Arabia, Baluchistan from right from left and left to in alternate lines style known as Boustrophedan, inscriptions are Gold North Karnataka, short. Afganistan, Persia TRADE Jade Central Asia Evidences Lapis Lazuli Afghanistan • Sumerian text make a mention of Meluha Lead East India/South India which is identified with Indus Civilization and two intermediate trading stations Shells Saurashtra, Deccan Dilmun (Bahrain) and Makan (Makaran Silver Afghanistan of Iran Coast). Tin Afghanistan, Jharkhand • Appearance of Indus seals in the (Hazaribagh) Mesopotamian cities of Ur, Kish,Susa, Tell Asmar, Lagash. Turquoise Persia

Important Sites & Archaeologist Bhadar Rangpur Sites Year Archaeologist Bhogava and Sabarmati Lothal Harappa 1921 Daya Ram Sahni Chenab Manda Mohanjodaro 1922 R. D. Banerjee Ghaggar (Left bank) Kalibangan Aniri 1929 M. G. Majumdar Hindan Alamgirpur Chanhu-Daro 1931 M. G. Majumdar Indus Chanhudaro Suktagendor 1927 Aurel Stein Indus Gumala Kot Diji 1935 Ghurey Indus (Left bank) Kot Diji Ropar 1953 Y.D. Sharma Indus (Right bank) Mohenjodaro Banawali 1973 R.S. Bist Pravara Daimabad Kalibangan 1953 A. Ghosh Rangoi (Saraswati) Banwali Lothal 1957 S.R. Rao Ravi (Left bank) Harappa Alamgirpur 1958 Sutlaj Kotla Nihang Khan Rangpur 1931 M.S. Vats Other Related Facts Surkodata 1964 Jagatpati Joshi 1.Mandu (J & K) Dalimábad (Maharashtra) Dholvira Dr. J.P. Joshi and Sutkagendor (PAK) and Alamgirpur (western R.S. Bist U.P.) are the northernmost, southernmost, westernmost and eastemmost points Area-Wise Distribution of Settlements respectively. 1.Sind -Mohenjodaro, Amri, Kot Diji, Pandiwahi, 2.The four Harappan sites in descending order Tarkai Quila, Othmaujo Butha, Sukkur, (the first being jhe largest) are: Allahdino, Chanhudaro, Rohri, Lohumjo darn, All Murad, Jhukar. • Mohenjodaro in Sind (Pak) 2.Baluchistan-Mehargarh, Damb Sadaat, Killi • Ganeriwala in Bahwalpur (Pak) Ghul Mohmmed, Rana Ghundai, Siah Damb, • Harappa in West Punjab (Pak) Moghul Ghundai, Anjira, Na!, Kulli, Leval, Dabar • Dholvira in Gujarat (India). KOt, Balakot. 2.The largest Harappan settlement in India is 3.Afghanistan-Mundigak, Shortu Ghai Rakhigarhi in Haryana. 4.West Punjab-E-Iarappa, Jalilpur, Ganeriwala, 3.Mepotamian literature stopped mentioning Jhang, Saidhanwala, Derawar. Meluha by the end of 1990 BC — Indicates 5.Gujarat-Dholvira, Lothal, Surkotada, closure of trade links. Bhagatrav, Rangpur, Rojadi, Desalpur. 4.Crossed furrows, widely spaced in one direction 6.Rajasthan-Ka!ibangan, Siswal, Bara, and closely spaced in other, gram or seasmum Bhagwanpura, Hulas. sown at the former and mustard at the later 7.Uttar Pradesh-Alamgirpur, Manpur, Bargaon, have been found at Kalibangan. Hulas and Mandi 5.The ‘great bath’ ofMohenjodaro measures l2 x 8.Haryana-Banwali, Rakhigarhi and Kunal. 7 x 3 metres. 9.Punjab-Ropar, Sarai Khola, Kotla Nihang Khan. 6.Harappan wheels were solid without spokes. Settlements and their Riverine Locations 7.Harappan Weight & Measures systems were Bhadar Desalpur as follows: • Of lower denomination — followed Binary Bhadar Rojdi system — 1, 2, 4, 8, 64 . . .160

• Of higher denomination — followed Decimal system — 16, 320, 640, 1600, 3200 8.The largest number of settlements are in Ghaggar — Hakar valleys. 9.Principal Harappan Crops and the areas of their distribution are as follows: • Barley — Rajasthan • Wheat & Barley — Sind & Punjab • Rice & Millet — Gujarat 10Sinage on wall — Dholavira 11.Double fortification — Kuntasi 12.Thirteen roomed house from the overlap period- Bhagvanpura 13.Double spiral headed copper pin-Manda

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