Indus valley civilization (2600-1900BC)
In 1921 john marshall discovered
RD banerjee
REM wheeler
Origin and evolution
The early sites like amri , kot diji,kalibangan ,jalilpur,kunal and harappa.
Important cites of the civilization
1) Mohenjodro
2) Harappa
3)kalibangan
4) Lothal
5) sutkagen dor
6)Banavali
7)Dholovira
8) Rangpur
9)Rakhi greshi
MAJOR CHARACTERSTICS
1) TOWN PLANING TRADE AND ITS NETWORK
2)AGRICULTURE
The Harappans cultivated wheat and barley , peas and dates and also sesame and mustard which were used for oil . However , the people in Lothal cultivated rice as early as 1,800 BC . The Harappans grew cotton . Irrigation depended on the irregular flooding of the rivers of Punjab and Sind . Canal irrigation was not practiced . The evidence of a furrowed field in Kalibangan indi cates that the Harappans were using some sort of wooden plough . It has also been suggested that the Harappan people used a toothed harrow
3)STOCK BREEDING
No less important than agriculture was stock breeding . Besides sheep and goats , humped cattle , buffalo , pig and elephant were domesticated . The camel was rare and the horse was probably not known to the Harappans . A number of wild animals were hunted perhaps for food . Bones of a large number of wild animals have been found such as boar , deer and gharial . Several varieties of deer were used as game by the Harappans . From Amri , a single instance of the Indian rhinoceros has been reported
4)TRADE AND NETWORK
CRAFTS
Pottery:
The potteries found at the excavation sites can be broadly classified into two kinds – plain pottery andpainted pottery. The painted pottery is also known asRed and Black pottery as it used red colour to paintthe background and glossy black paint was used todraw designs and figures on the red background. Trees,birds, animal figures and geometrical patterns were therecurring themes of the paintings.Most of the potteries that have been found are veryfine wheel-made wares, with a very few beinghandmade. Some examples of polychrome potteryhave also been found, though very rare. The potterieswere used for three main purposes:Plain pottery was used for household purposes,mainly storage of grains and water.Miniature vessels, generally less than half an inchin size, were used for decorative purposes. They are so marvellously crafted, even now they evokeawe.Some of the potteries were perforated – with alarge hole in the bottom and small holes across thesides. They might have been used for straining liquor.
SEAL MAKING
ORNAMENTS
TERACOTTA MANUFACTURE
COTTEN AND WOOL
BEAD MAKING
METAL WORKING
SCIENCE
POLITICAL ORGANIZATION
Political Organisation : It is not clear as to what sort of political organisation the Harappans had . Unlike the people of Egypt and Sumer , they have not left behind any inscriptions describing their system of government , their so ciety and their religion . It is only on the seals made of clay or stone that , besides a picture , there is a line of pictograph - the Harappan script.
INDUS SCRIPT
The Harappan script is logo - syllabic in character and was written in the boustrophedon style , its most Kalibangan show that the writing was boustrophedon seder Yooo Poker South Indian prolific use urband of the At Moto ent in are free standa being on seals . The script has not been deciphered progre or from right to left and from left to right in alternate lines . It has been referred to as Proto - Dravidian . Most inscriptions are short ; the longest containing about 26 signs . In all though there are too many signs - around 373 to 400.
RELIGION
Clay figures of the motiter Goddess , worshipped by the people as the symbol of fertility , have been found . A seated figure of a male god , carved on a small stone seal , have also been found . The seal immediately brings to mind the traditional image of Pasupati mahadeva . In addition to
this , we come across numerous symbols of the phallus and of female sex organs made of stone , which may have been ob is jects of worship . Certain trees seem to have been treated as sacred , such as the pipal . They also held the bull sacred . Some Indus people buried their dead in graves , as is evident from the discovery of a large cemetery at Harappa , while others practiced urn burial . They probably believed that there was life after death , hence , their graves often con tained household pottery , ornaments and mirrors belonging to the dead persons . The bodies were buried fully extended with the head generally pointing towards the north . Various clues for Harappan religious beliefs come from terracotta female figurines , phallic emblems and seals and suggest a shamanistic component .
DECLINE
It may be that a strong unifying element, perhaps the Harappan state, came to an end. This is evidenced by the disappear- ance of seals, the script, distinctive beads and pottery, the shift from standardized weight system to the use of local weights, and the decline and abandonment of cities in Sind and West Pakistan, Many people moved into newer, smaller settlements to the east and the south. Thus the urban phase ended with the Harappan communities merging into the surrounding agricultural groups still retaining some of their traditions. That is, the civilization did not 'collapse' or disappear all of a sudden but was gradually transformed into a rural culture with no big structures, specialized craft or exchange system. Around 1,800 BC, the major cities in the core region decayed and were finally abandoned. The process of urban decline appears to have unfolded in various ways. At Mohenjodaro, there was a steady deterioration, appar- ent in the fact that the walls of the terminal level structures are frequently thin, haphazardly laid out and made of un- standardized bricks. This is also true of Dholavira whose progressive impoverishment was hastened by two spells when the city was deserted. As urbanism crumbled, rickety, jerry-built structures and reused stones robbed from older structures came to be commonly encountered. On the other hand, Kalibangan was abandoned relatively suddenly and the same is true for Banawali. In other words, it is not one event but different kinds of events that must have led to the disappearance of urban life. There is, however, no unanimity about these events or about their relative importance. In fact, the collapse of the Harappan civilization continues to be a focus of great historical speculation and debate. Several explanations have been put forward. The ex- planation for the end of the civilization - Aryan massacre, desiccation, tectonic plate shifts, and the changing of river Courses have been cited as some of the reasons.
In 1921 john marshall discovered
RD banerjee
REM wheeler
Origin and evolution
The early sites like amri , kot diji,kalibangan ,jalilpur,kunal and harappa.
Important cites of the civilization
1) Mohenjodro
2) Harappa
3)kalibangan
4) Lothal
5) sutkagen dor
6)Banavali
7)Dholovira
8) Rangpur
9)Rakhi greshi
MAJOR CHARACTERSTICS
1) TOWN PLANING TRADE AND ITS NETWORK
2)AGRICULTURE
The Harappans cultivated wheat and barley , peas and dates and also sesame and mustard which were used for oil . However , the people in Lothal cultivated rice as early as 1,800 BC . The Harappans grew cotton . Irrigation depended on the irregular flooding of the rivers of Punjab and Sind . Canal irrigation was not practiced . The evidence of a furrowed field in Kalibangan indi cates that the Harappans were using some sort of wooden plough . It has also been suggested that the Harappan people used a toothed harrow
3)STOCK BREEDING
No less important than agriculture was stock breeding . Besides sheep and goats , humped cattle , buffalo , pig and elephant were domesticated . The camel was rare and the horse was probably not known to the Harappans . A number of wild animals were hunted perhaps for food . Bones of a large number of wild animals have been found such as boar , deer and gharial . Several varieties of deer were used as game by the Harappans . From Amri , a single instance of the Indian rhinoceros has been reported
4)TRADE AND NETWORK
CRAFTS
Pottery:
The potteries found at the excavation sites can be broadly classified into two kinds – plain pottery andpainted pottery. The painted pottery is also known asRed and Black pottery as it used red colour to paintthe background and glossy black paint was used todraw designs and figures on the red background. Trees,birds, animal figures and geometrical patterns were therecurring themes of the paintings.Most of the potteries that have been found are veryfine wheel-made wares, with a very few beinghandmade. Some examples of polychrome potteryhave also been found, though very rare. The potterieswere used for three main purposes:Plain pottery was used for household purposes,mainly storage of grains and water.Miniature vessels, generally less than half an inchin size, were used for decorative purposes. They are so marvellously crafted, even now they evokeawe.Some of the potteries were perforated – with alarge hole in the bottom and small holes across thesides. They might have been used for straining liquor.
SEAL MAKING
ORNAMENTS
METAL WORKING
SCIENCE
POLITICAL ORGANIZATION
Political Organisation : It is not clear as to what sort of political organisation the Harappans had . Unlike the people of Egypt and Sumer , they have not left behind any inscriptions describing their system of government , their so ciety and their religion . It is only on the seals made of clay or stone that , besides a picture , there is a line of pictograph - the Harappan script.
INDUS SCRIPT
The Harappan script is logo - syllabic in character and was written in the boustrophedon style , its most Kalibangan show that the writing was boustrophedon seder Yooo Poker South Indian prolific use urband of the At Moto ent in are free standa being on seals . The script has not been deciphered progre or from right to left and from left to right in alternate lines . It has been referred to as Proto - Dravidian . Most inscriptions are short ; the longest containing about 26 signs . In all though there are too many signs - around 373 to 400.
RELIGION
Clay figures of the motiter Goddess , worshipped by the people as the symbol of fertility , have been found . A seated figure of a male god , carved on a small stone seal , have also been found . The seal immediately brings to mind the traditional image of Pasupati mahadeva . In addition to
this , we come across numerous symbols of the phallus and of female sex organs made of stone , which may have been ob is jects of worship . Certain trees seem to have been treated as sacred , such as the pipal . They also held the bull sacred . Some Indus people buried their dead in graves , as is evident from the discovery of a large cemetery at Harappa , while others practiced urn burial . They probably believed that there was life after death , hence , their graves often con tained household pottery , ornaments and mirrors belonging to the dead persons . The bodies were buried fully extended with the head generally pointing towards the north . Various clues for Harappan religious beliefs come from terracotta female figurines , phallic emblems and seals and suggest a shamanistic component .
DECLINE
It may be that a strong unifying element, perhaps the Harappan state, came to an end. This is evidenced by the disappear- ance of seals, the script, distinctive beads and pottery, the shift from standardized weight system to the use of local weights, and the decline and abandonment of cities in Sind and West Pakistan, Many people moved into newer, smaller settlements to the east and the south. Thus the urban phase ended with the Harappan communities merging into the surrounding agricultural groups still retaining some of their traditions. That is, the civilization did not 'collapse' or disappear all of a sudden but was gradually transformed into a rural culture with no big structures, specialized craft or exchange system. Around 1,800 BC, the major cities in the core region decayed and were finally abandoned. The process of urban decline appears to have unfolded in various ways. At Mohenjodaro, there was a steady deterioration, appar- ent in the fact that the walls of the terminal level structures are frequently thin, haphazardly laid out and made of un- standardized bricks. This is also true of Dholavira whose progressive impoverishment was hastened by two spells when the city was deserted. As urbanism crumbled, rickety, jerry-built structures and reused stones robbed from older structures came to be commonly encountered. On the other hand, Kalibangan was abandoned relatively suddenly and the same is true for Banawali. In other words, it is not one event but different kinds of events that must have led to the disappearance of urban life. There is, however, no unanimity about these events or about their relative importance. In fact, the collapse of the Harappan civilization continues to be a focus of great historical speculation and debate. Several explanations have been put forward. The ex- planation for the end of the civilization - Aryan massacre, desiccation, tectonic plate shifts, and the changing of river Courses have been cited as some of the reasons.
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