NATIONAL IAS ACADEMY SUPER40 (BOOKLET NUMBER – 05) CONTACT: 9632334466
PRESENTS
SUPER 40 SERIES TOP 40 PDFS FOR UPSC PRELIMINARY EXAM 2019
BOOKLET NUMBER – 05
INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION 2500 BC- 1750 BC
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AN OVER VIEW:
The Indus River Valley Civilization, 3300-1300 BCE, also known as the Harappa Civilization, extended from modern-day northeast Afghanistan to Pakistan and northwest India. Important innovations of this civilization include standardized weights and measures, seal carving, and metallurgy with copper, bronze, lead, and tin. Little is understood about the Indus script, and as a result, little is known about the Indus River Valley Civilization’s institutions and systems of governance. The civilization likely ended due to climate change and migration.
EXTENT: Indus valley extends from Sutkagandor in West to Alamgirpur (Western UP) in the East from Mandu (Jammu) in the North to (Daimabad Ahmednagar in Maharashtra) in the South.
IMPORTANT CITIES
Early (Pre Mature (Harappa) Late Phase (Post Harappa)
Harappa)
Kalibangan Harappa (Pakistan @ Ravi) Rakhigarhi
Banawali Mohenjodaro (Pakistan @ Indus) Dholavira
Rakhigarhi Chanhudaro (Pakistan @ Indus) Bhagwanpura
Dholavira Sutkagendor (Pakistan) Manda (Jammu), Chandigarh,Shangol (Punjab), Daulatpur,Mitthal (Haryana), Alamgirpur Hulas (West UP)
Surkotada (Gujarat)
Lothal (Gujarat @ Bhogava)
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Kalibangan (Rajasthan @ Ghaggar)
Banawali (Hissar @Ghaggar)
Rakhigarhi (Hissar @Ghaggar)
Dholavira (Kutch)
DEVELOPMENTS IN INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION
Citadel / Acropolis at cities for member of ruling class (west side) & brick houses below citadel in town for commoners Remarkable grid system of roads → Roads cutting at right angle to each other Large scale use of burnt bricks & total absence of stone buildings
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Remarkable underground drainage system connecting all houses & streets covered by bricks / stone slabs Agriculture technology was well developed (But no use of ploughshare) : Wheat, Rice, Barley, Peas etc. + Domesticated large scale of animals Cotton was 1st produced by Indus people hence Greeks called it Sindon which is derived from Sindh. Harappan were 1st to produce silver in the world + wore gold, silver & beads Jewelry Practiced boat making, seal making, Bronze smith, Weavers etc. Granaries & seals show Harappan carried on considerable trade but only through Barter system No temples has been found at any of the site hence can be said that it was ruled by merchants not priests Worshiped Goddess Earth, Pipal Tree, Pashupati Mahadeva & Animals (Bull / Unicorn Rhino) 1st to invent the art of writing – Right to left – (Pictographic only → Not deciphered so far) Used weights for trade (Mostly in multiple of 16) & Bronze made marked sticks for measurements Were expert in Potter’s wheel & pottery making Their greatest artistic creation was ” Seals” Mostly limestone was used for sculptures.
Indus Valley Civilization Site Remarkable Feature
Mohenjodaro . Great Bath (Largest Brick Work)
. Great Granary (Largest Building)
. Impressive drainage system
. Bronze image of dancing girl
. Image of steatite bearded man
. Piece of woven cotton
. Seal of pashupati
. Prepared Garments
. Skeletons on stairs of well (Mount of the dead) 4 | P a g e
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Harappa . 2 rows of 6 granaries . Impressive drainage system
. Citadel
Lothal . Artificial Dock (Manchester of Harappan civilization)
. Art of double burial
. Cotton cultivation Kalibangan . Granary & Wooden plough
. Wells in every house
. Camels Bone Chanhudaro . Lancashire of India
. Only city without citadel
. Bangles Factory
. Beads Factory Rakhigarhi . Biggest Site
SEALS – INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION
. Engraved in pictographic script – writing is right to left – yet to be deciphered
. Used on soft river stone, steatite, gold & ivory → mainly for trade and commerce . Used as an amulet → to ward off the evil . Use as an educational tool → presence of pie sign . Prominent Seals → Pashupati, humped bull, elephant and rhinoceros . Indus seals found in Mesopotamia → Sign of possible trade
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SCULPTURE – INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION
. 2 Stone male figures → Torso in red sandstone + Bust of a bearded man in steatite . Bronze casting was widely used following lost wax technique
Lost Wax Technique
. wax figures are covered with a coating of clay and allowed to dry
. Then it is heated and the molten wax is allowed to drain out through a tiny hole at the bottom of the clay
. The hollow mould is then filled with bronze or any other metal
. Once the metal is cooled, the clay is removed
. Examples → statue of a ‘Dancing Girl’ + buffalo with its uplifted head, back & horns
Terracotta – Indus Valley Civilization
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. Terracotta is a fire baked clay and is handmade using pinching method
. Examples include Mother Goddess, Toy carts with wheels etc.
. Compared to stone and bronze statues the terracotta representations of human form are crude
POTTERY – INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION
. Mainly plain, red and black painted – Plain pottery is more common than painted
. Consists chiefly of very fine wheel- made wares, & very few being hand-made
. Used for household purpose (storage of water, food grains etc.)
. Used For decoration- Miniature vessels used for decoration (Less than 1/2 inch)
. Used as perforated pottery (large hole at the bottom and small holes all over the wall, and probably was used for straining liquor)
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BEADS AND ORNAMENTS
. Made of precious metals, gemstones, bone and even baked clay
. Necklaces, armlets and finger rings were common
. Evidences of dead bodies buried along with ornaments have also been found
. Cinnabar was used as cosmetic, Lipstick, & face-paint
. Even eyeliner’s were all known to them
EXTENSIVE TOWN PLANNING
. Citadel / Acropolis at cities for member of ruling class (west side) & brick houses below citadel in town for commoners
. Evidence of public buildings, administrative or business centres, pillared halls and courtyards.
. Fortifications with gateways enclosing the walled cities shows that there may have been a fear of being attacked
. The concept of two-storied houses was also present
. Large scale use of baked bricks as building material
. Granaries in Citadels with strategic air-ducts → gives an idea of an organised collection and distribution system . Remarkable grid system of roads → Roads cutting at right angle to each other . Remarkable underground drainage system connecting all houses & streets covered by bricks / stone slabs
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NATIONAL IAS ACADEMY SUPER40 (BOOKLET NUMBER – 05) CONTACT: 9632334466
. No temples has been found at any of the site hence can be said that it was ruled by merchants not priests
. Used weights for trade (Mostly in multiple of 16) & Bronze made marked sticks for measurements
. Great Bath → public bathing place shows the importance of ritualistic bathing and cleanliness in this culture.
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THEORY OF DECLINE OF INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION:
. Natural Calamities such as floods, Earthquakes etc.
. Decrease in Land fertility
. Outbreak of an epidemic
. Decline of trade & Invasion of Aryansported in Ashoka’s times from Persia. There is abundant evidence of stone masons mark similar to those at Persepolis (Persia).
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