1. The Harappan Civilization
2. What Did The Harappans Do

Till 1920, the relics of the civilization were found only in the Indus valley region; therefore, it was known as the Indus civilization. In 1920-21, the Harappan civilization was discovered in the excavations by D. Salini (at Harappa) and by R. Banerjee (at Mohenjo Daro). Indian culture, therefore, is the Indian’s way of life. Because of the population diversity, there is immense variety in Indian culture. The Indian culture is a blend of various cultures in the world. India had an urban civilization even during the Bronze age. The Indus Valley Civilization (Harappan Civilization) dates back to 3300 BC. The Fall of Harappan Civilization. The possible reasons for the decline of Harappan civilization have long troubled scholars. Invaders from central and western Asia are considered by some historians to have been the 'destroyers' of Harappan cities, but this view is open to reinterpretation.

The social and economic life of the people of Indus Valley Civilization (Harappan Civilization) was systematic and organised.

In this article we will discuss about the food, social Dress, ornaments, house hold articles, amusements, trade, social class and structure, religion and funerary customs of the people of Indus Valley Civilization. This will give us an overview of the Socio-economic activities of the Indus People.

The people had good understanding of an urban civilization. The population of Mohenjo-Daro was about 35000.

Food of the people of Indus Civilization

The food of the Harappan people was supplied from extensive areas cultivated in vicinity of the city. Besides food was supplied from distant areas by boats plying on the rivers. Rice was probably grown in the Indus valley.

The staple food of the people comprised wheat, barley, rice, milk and some vegetables like peas, sesamums and fruits like date palms. Mutton, pork, poultry, fish etc. were also eaten by the Indus people.

Agriculture appears to be the main occupation of the Indus people. The discovery of a granary at Harappa lends support to this.

Social Dress of the Harappan People

Many spindles were discovered at the Harappan sites. This proves the use of cotton for weaving social cloths. Probably wool was also used. The garments might have been sewn.

Both men and women used two pieces of cloth. The men folk wore some lower garment like dhoti and upper garment like shawl. The upper garment wrapped the left shoulder.

Female attire was the same as that of men. Arts and crafts and trade formed one of the main occupations of the people.

The potter, the mason, the metal worker had high demand. The cotton and woolen dresses show the existence of cotton and woolen industries. Goldsmiths and silversmiths made ornaments.

Hair-style, Ornaments of people of Indus Valley

Men wore long hair, parted in the middle and kept tidy at the back. The women of Indus valley usually wore long hair in plait with fan-shaped bow at the end. Fillets made of gold or silver were used to keep the hair in particular position.

Both men and women of Harappa were fond of ornaments made of gold, silver and copper. The ornaments were decorated with precious stones like jade, carnelian, agate and lapis-lazuli. The female beauties of the Indus valley had a taste for toilet culture like their modern sisters. The “vanity case” and the toilet jars found at Harappa consisted of ivory powder, face-paint and many other varieties of cosmetics.

House-hold articles and Furniture’s of Indus People

Most of the house-hold articles were made of pottery or of metals like copper and bronze. The art of pottery attained a wonderful excellence at Mohenjo-Daro. This is proved by painted and glazed wares. Most of the kitchen utensils including jars, vessels, dishes etc. were made of earth and stone.

Domestic implements like axe, knife, needles, saws etc. were made of bronze or copper. Copper supply was limited as it had to be imported from outside. So copper had to be discretely used for making necessary implements and weapons like axe, lance, and dagger. There is lack of defensive weapons like sword. Chairs and tools were used for decorating rooms and for sitting comfortably.

The Harappan Civilization

Amusements of Indus Valley people

Dicing was a favorite pastime. Clay modeling was general social amusements of people. The Indus children had the advantages of playing with animal shaped toys made of clay. Rich people had spacious courtyards. They used to spend time with their friends and families.

Animals of Indus Valley

Some of animals living in the Indus valley were domesticated while others were wild. The remains of humped bull, buffalo, sheep, elephant, pig and camel have been found. Dogs, cats were also domesticated. Formerly, it was believed that the Indus people did not tame horses as domestic animals. However, the bones and skeletons of horses have been found at Kalibangan and Sukanjodaro in the upper layers. Perhaps at a late stage of the Indus civilization horses were domesticated. The existence of wild animals like rhinoceros, tiger, and bison in the Indus forests is confirmed by terracotta figures of these animals.

Trade and Commerce and Economy of Harappa

The Indus people used copper and tin. Copper, gold, tin, silver were brought from the Nilgiri region of South India, Mysore, Rajputana, Kashmir, Afghanistan and Persia. That the Indus people had a brisk trade link with Western Asia is clear from the discovery of the Indus seals in these areas. Silver and sapphire were imported from Persia and Afghanistan. That the Indus cities had brisk trade with Sumeria is proved by the discovery of numerous Indus seals in Sumeria. At Umma and Akkad two bales of Indus clothes with Indus seals have been discovered. Indus cities had a lucrative market of cotton goods in Sumeria and Western Asia. Besides ivory works, combs, pearls were exported to West Asia from the Indus cities. It is presumed that large number of merchants from the Indus cities lived in Sumeria. The Indus cities had maritime trade with Sumeria through the Persian Gulf. The skeletal remains of camels have prompted scholars to think that trade with Turkomania and West Asia was also carried by overland route.

The domestic articles used by the Indus people and the comfortable houses in which they lived convey the prosperity of the Indus people. It was a rich bourgeois civilization. Rich people used gold instruments studded with jewels. The excellence in art and craft is proved by fine ornaments, stone and copper implements and the potters. Weaving was a principal occupation of the people. Apart from trade and industry, agriculture was the chief occupation of the Indus people. The Indus people used various types of weights and measures. A strict control was exercised to maintain proper standard of weight. The decimal system was also known to them.

Social Class and Social Structure of Indus Valley Civilization

The humped bull, buffalo, ship etc. and the granary indicate the existence of a prosperous agricultural community. Some scholars believe that there was a prosperous and powerful ruling class in the Indus cities who imposed their domination on the rest. All men of the cities and the nearby areas did not enjoy social and economic equality. Those who lived in the upper portion of the cities near the forts formed a ruling class. The existence of forts has led Prof. Wheeler to surmise that the ruling class dominated over the workers and peasants from these forts. As copper was scarce, common men could hardly afford to possess copper weapons. The ruling class had a monopoly of the copper weapons by which they terrified the people and exploited the resources produced by them by fanning or by craft. The existence of two roomed tenements has led Sir Mortimer Wheeler to guess that they were perhaps workers’ quarters.

In respect of the social life of the Indus people, it is suggested by scholars that there was strong family organizations among them. The craftsmen taught their skill in crafting to their children. The toys were used by children of the family. The large number of seals engraved with letters conveys the idea that there was good percentage of literacy among the Indus people. The sanitary system, the drainage system also speaks of their cleanliness and public hygiene. The seals, the terracotta figurines, the images of dancing girls prove the artistic taste of the Indus men.

Indus Religion: Religion of Indus People

The religion of the Indus people had some interesting aspects. There is a striking absence of any temple among the remains of the Indus valley. Some scholars like to believe that the large buildings found at Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro was in fact temples. But Dr. Basham has rejected this view on the ground that no idol has been found within these buildings.

The prevalence of the worship of the Mother Goddess (Sakti) has been suggested. The worship of Siva is suggested by the discovery of figure of a deity with three faces, with horned head-dress, seating cross-legged in a Yogic posture, surrounded by animals like buffalo, rhinoceros, deer, tiger, etc. The figure has been identified by Prof. Marshall with that of Siva (Shiva); Trimukha (three faced), Pasupati (lord of animals), Mahayogin. Two more figures representing Siva(Shiva) have been unearthed also. In these figures Siva seats in a Yogic posture and plants or flowers emerge from his head. Shiva has infinite and limitless powers. Lord Shiva blesses his devotees in every-way. The worship of Shiva Linga was prevalent.

Animal worship is attested by seals and terracotta figurines.

Worship of tree, fire, water and probably sun seems to have been in vogue among the Indus people. The discovery of a few seals bearing Swastika symbol and Wheel symbol also indicates Sun worship. As Swastika is the symbol of the Sun. The discovery of a sacrificial pit of Lothal lends support to the view that the Indus people performed animal sacrifices. But we are not sure on this point and must wait for further proof.

Funerary Custom of Indus People

The Indus people had three funeral custom viz.,

1. Complete burial of the dead body.
2. Burial of the bones of the dead body after wild beasts ate of it.
3. Burial of ashes and bones after burning the dead body.

Many historians have discovered existence of different classes in the Harappan society from the difference of the funeral custom.

The Indus Script : Scripts of Harappa

The Indus script is yet a closed realm to scholars as it is undeciphered. There are various theories about the origin of the Indus Script. According to Waddel it was of Sumerian origin. Hunter believes it to be of Egyptian origin. But, David Diringer suggests it to be of Elamite origin. It is true that there are many resemblances between the Indus Script and that of Sumer, Elam, Egypt, Crete, Chinese etc. But the similarities go up to the certain points only. Indications are there that fundamentally the Indus Script is different from them. Mr. Langdon holds it to be of purely indigenous origin. According to him Brahmi Script was derived from the Indus Script. Dr. Pran Nath of Benaras Hindu University holds it to be of Sanskrit Origin. Some other scholars suggest the theory of Dravidian origin of the Indus Script.

All these assumptions are merely clever guesses. No authentic explanation is yet possible about the origin of the Indus Script. The only indubitable things which we know of the Indus Scripts are that originally they were pictographic and later on they became standardized. Four hundred distinct signs have so far been listed from it. The direction of writing is from right to left, and in few classes from left to right.

Harappan Civilisation

This article deals with ‘Harappan Civilisation’ . This is part of our series on ‘Ancient History’ which is important pillar of GS-1 syllabus . For more articles , you canclick here.

Introduction

• Indus Valley Civilisation represents the first phase of urbanisation in India contemporaneous with the civilisations of Mesopotamia and Egypt
• This civilisation did not appear all of a sudden. It developed gradually on the foundations provided by Neolithic villages in the area. For example, Neolithic villages in this region go back to about 7000 BCE at the Neolithic site of Mehrgarh.
• It is known by various names like
  1. Indus Valley Civilization : It was mainly spread in valley of Indus and it’s tributaries.
  2. Harappan Civilization : As Harappa was the first site of this civilisation to be discovered.

Area of spread

• Civilization was spread over nearly 1.5 million sq. km area.
• Its core area was in the regions of Pakistan, Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and Gujarat.
• It is spread between
  1. Sutkagen-dor (on Pakistan-Iran border) in the west
  2. Manda (Jammu and Kashmir) in the north
  3. Alamgirpur (Uttar Pradesh, India) in the east
  4. Daimabad (Maharashtra, India) in the south

Phases of Harappan Civilisation

Harappancivilisation is dated between c. 2600 and 1900 BC. There were earlier and latercultures, often called Early Harappan and Late Harappan. The Harappancivilisation is sometimes called the Mature Harappan culture to distinguish itfrom these cultures.

Note : The urbanphase was prevalent in the mature Harappan period and began to declineafterwards.

Town Planning

1 . Planned Towns

• Harappan Cities were well planned .
• There was Grid Pattern of streets cutting each other at right angles . The streets were wide enough for too and fro movement of traffic.
• City was divided into two distinct parts i.e.
  • Citadel : Small , higher & fortified (walled) which housed importantbuildings like Granaries, Great Bath etc.
  • Lower Town : Bigger , lower and separately walled housing common public .
• Since the city was walled, it meant that once the wall was built, it couldn’t be expanded. It corroborates the fact that city was first planned and then built according to the plan.

2 . Fortified Towns

• Harappan cities were fortified .
• These fortifications could have served following purposes :-
  • Protection from attacks .
  • Exclude outsiders .
  • Helps to control activities inside the fortification.
  • If traders bring goods from places faraway they can demand share for allowing access to potential buyers inside

3 . Impressive drainage system

• It was the most complete ancient drainage system seen in any ancient civilization. Perhaps no other Bronze civilization paid such emphasis on health and cleanliness as Harappans.
• Every house was connected to street drains.
• Main channels were made of bricks set in mortar and covered with loose bricks that could be removed for cleaning. House drains first emptied into a sump or cesspit into which solid matter settled while waste water flowed out into the street drains.
• Drainage systems were not unique to the larger cities, but were found in smaller settlements as well.

4 . Extensive use of standardised baked bricks

• Size of bricks was uniform (ratio = 4:2:1).
• Standardised size of bricks indicate that brick making was organised on large scale.
• Various brick laying techniques were used including ENGLISH BOND STYLE (for maximum strength).
• Note : In contemporary Egyptian Culture, dried bricks were used . Although, baked bricks were used in Mesopotamia but they were used much widely in Harappan culture.

5 . Houses

• People lived in houses of different sizes showing that stratification was present in the society.
• Staircases were present in some houses which might have led to roof .
• Although most of houses were single storied . But two and three storied houses were also present.
• Floors were made of high packed earth.
• Small houses attached to large ones might have been quarters of service groups .
• Toilets & Bathrooms : Houses had separate bathing & toilet areas . Floor of these was made of tightly fitted bricks .
• Houses were without much decoration showing utilitarian outlook of Harappan people .

Crafts and Techniques

• Harappans mass – produced standardised items.
• Some were quintessentially Indus, i.e. they are neither found prior to the advent of civilization nor after its collapse. Eg : Indus seals .

1 . Harappan Pottery

• Harappan Pottery reflects efficient mass production .
• Features of typical Harappan Pottery were
  • Harappan pottery was well baked .
  • Harappan Pottery was made with potter’s wheel.
  • Pottery has bright red slip decorated with black designs .
  • Shapes – There was great variety of shapes like pots, large Jars (to store grains or water), flattish dishes (used as plates), perforated jars (use not clear) etc.
  • Decorative designs on pottery include – fish scales, pipal leaves , horned deity , intersecting circles, zig-zag lines etc.

2 . Copper Objects

• Harappan civilisation was a ‘Bronze Age civilisation’ and Harappans knew how to make copper and bronze tools. They did not have the knowledge of iron.
• Harappans used pure copper as well as copper alloyed with Arsenic , Tin or Nickel .
• Artefacts include vessels , spears, knives, short swords, mirrors , rings & bangles etc.
• With time %age of bronze increases.

Side Topic : Dancing Girl

• Most of metal objects found are Utilitarian .
• Most important Non-Utilitarian Copper Object excavated from Harappan Civilization is Dancing Girl found at Mohenjodaro .
• It was made using LOST WAX TECHNIQUE .
• Features of Dancing Girl
  • She is standing in Tribhanga posture .
  • She is naked .
  • She is wearing a necklace, 24-25 bangles in left arm & just 4 on right arm .
• John Marshall called it DANCING GIRL (thought her to be equivalent of Nautch Girl dancing on music) . Although name struck , but she might not have been dancing at all .

3 . Seals

• Use of seals was to facilitate long distance communication. They might have been used
  • For stamping on bag’s rope knot .
  • Insignia / images on seal conveyed the identity of sender.
• Seals were square or rectangular .
• Average size of square seal was 2.54 cm .
• Material used – Steatite
• Carvings are in intaglio ie sunken engravings with impression appearing in relief
• Motifs on seals include elephant, tiger, humped bull, rhinoceros , one horned unicorn etc.
• Most seals have short inscription. The longest inscription has about twenty six signs.

4 . Beads and Bangle making

• This craft was known in earlier cultures too but Harappans used new materials and better techniques

Beads

• Material used included Steatite, Carnelian , Lapis Lazuli ,etc.
• Harappan long barrel cylinder carnelian beads were so beautiful that they are found in royal burials of Mesopotamia.
• Main centres of Bead making were Chanhudaro & Lothal . Bead making tradition in Gujarat today give us clue on how Harappan craftsmen might have made beads

Bangles

• Bangles were often made from conch shell .
• Nageshwar (near Jamnagar) and Balakot , situated near the coast, were exclusively devoted to Bangle making from shell .
• Dancing girl found at Mohenjo-Daro is shown wearing bangles in large numbers .

Water Management System

Harappan sewage & drainage was far more advancedthan any other found in contemporaryurban sites in the Middle East.

Sewage System

• Every house was connected to street drains.
• Main channels was made of bricks set in mortar and was covered with loose bricks that could be removed for cleaning.
• House drains emptied into cesspit where solid matter settled and waste water flowed into street drains

Water Management in various cities

Agriculture

• Harappans were producing enough food to sustain urban population which was engaged in activities other than agriculture. Their subsistence base was wide and diverse as it was situated on alluvial plains , mountains , plateaus & sea coasts .

• Today the rainfall in Sindh is about 15 cm, but in the fourth century BCE , one of the historians of Alexander informs us, that Sindh was a fertile part of India. In earlier times, the Indus region had more natural vegetation which contributed to rainfall. Along with that , annual inundation of Indus made the region very fertile. Just as the Nile created Egypt and ​supported its people, so too the Indus created Sindh and fed its people

• Crops : Harappans cultivated diverse crops such as
  • Wheat
  • Barley
  • Lentil
  • Chickpea
  • Sesame
  • various millets
  • Note : although rice husk has been found at sites like Rangpur but it wasn’t the main crop of Harappan civilisation.

• Cotton : Cotton was cultivated in Harappan civilisation . Following evidences prove this fact
  • Figurines wearing clothes (eg : Priest King, Mother Goddess).
  • Mesopotamian texts state that cotton was important import from Meluha .

• Ploughing : Harappans used ploughs. They ploughed the land and then sowed the seeds increasing the agricultural output. Ploughed fields have been found at Kalibangan. Terracotta models of the plough have been found at at Banawali (Haryana).

• Irrigation : Most Harappan sites are located in semi-arid lands, where irrigation was probably required for agriculture. Harappans built embankments and dams for irrigation. For example :-
  • Irrigation canals have been found at Shortughai .
  • Water drawn from wells was also used for irrigation.
  • Water reservoirs found in Dholavira (Gujarat).

Animal Domestication

• Animals were domesticated by the Harappans for meat, milk and draught purposes.
• They domesticated sheep, goat, buffalo , fowl etc.
• They also ate fish . In states like Gujarat, Molluscs were widely consumed. Marine catfish bones have been found at Harappa showing coastal community traded in dried fish .
• Evidence from seals show region also housed humped bulls, rhinoceros, ibexes , boar, deer and gharial .
• Issue of Horse is controversial
  • Horse remains have been reported from Harappa , Lothal, Surkotda & Kalibangan . But analysis of bones is questioned by other scholars .
  • In any case, the Harappan culture was not horse-centered. Representation of horse has not been found on seals or pottery .
  • For UPSC exam, we can say that horse was not known to them.

Trade and Exchange

• Harappans did not use metal money, and in all probability carried exchanges through a barter system.
• Two types of trade was going on

External Trade

• Evidences showing External Trade are as follows
  1. Harappan seals and materials found in the Sumerian and Mesopotamian sites as well as in Oman, Bahrain and Iran.
  2. Mesopotamian inscriptions mention the trade between Mesopotamia and Harappans. The mention of “Meluha” in the Mesopotamian inscriptions refers to the Indus region.
• Important exports were
  • Carnelian beads – found even in Mesopotamian Royal Graves
  • Textile – Mesopotamian Records of King Sargon mention this
  • Ivory & Ivory objects
  • Lapis Lazuli,Gold, Silver , copper, tortoiseshell , chicken like bird
• Import imports were
  • Fish, grain , wool, woollen garments & silver from Mesopotamia

Internal Trade

• Harappans also interacted with various regions of India and acquired raw materials and processed them.
• These regions were as follows

Weights and Measures

• Harappans had developed proper weights and measures. Since they were involved in commercial transactions, they needed standard measures.
• Cubical weights made of chert, chalcedony, black stone etc. have been found at excavated sites.
• Weights exhibit a binary system. The ratio of weight is doubled as 1:2:4:8:16:32.
• They also used a measuring scale in which one inch was around 1.75 cm. Sticks inscribed with measure marks have been found, and one of these is made of bronze.

Faiths and Belief System

Harappan people had wide faiths and belief systems.

1 . Nature worship

• Harappan seals, sealings, amulets & copper tablets depict number of trees , plants & animals . Some might have cultic significance as well and these include
  • Pipal (Ficus Religosa)
  • Bull which is symbol of male virility . Seal from Chanhu-daro depict a bull bison with erect penis, fecundating a supine human figure.
  • One horned animal probably Unicorn.
  • Composite animals like Tiger-Human. Conception of composite gods like Narsimha can be traced back to this .

2 . Mother Goddess

• Worship of female goddesses is historically associated with fertility .
• Mother Goddess is slim female with fan shaped headdress & wearing short skirt . She is heavily ornamented with necklaces and earrings.

3 . Proto Shiva

• Harappans also worshipped male god represented on seal discovered at Mohenjodaro known as Pashupati Seal. The god is surrounded by an elephant, a tiger, a rhinoceros, and below his throne there is a buffalo, and at his feet two deer.
• Note : It resembles with Shiva who is Mahayogi (the great yogi) & Pashupati( lord of animals)

4 . Priest King

• Found at Mohenjo Daro known as Priest king.
• He was called Priest King because archaeologists were familiar with Mesopotamian history and its “priest-kings” .

5 . Fire Alters

• Citadel at Kalibangan consists of fire alters where offerings were made into fire.
• Fire Alters have also been reported at Banawali, Lothal, Amri & Rakhigarhi .
• Fire ritual was central to Vedic religion . These evidences indicate that Aryans might have adopted this from Harappans when they came & settled down in these areas .

6 . The Great Bath

• The Great Bath found at Mohenjodaro might have religious significance as well.
• The Great Bath was a large rectangular tank with two staircases on the north and south leading into the tank. There were rooms on three sides, in one of which was a large well. Water from the tank flowed into Great Bath . Across a lane to the north lay a smaller building with eight bathrooms. The uniqueness of the structure and fact that it was found on citadel led scholars to suggest that it was meant for some kind of a special ritual bath.

Burial Systems

• Harappans buried the dead.
• The Harappan burials have grave goods in the form of pottery, ornaments, jewellery, copper mirrors and beads. This suggest their belief in an afterlife.
• Compared with other civilisations, it can be said that on the whole, it appears that the Harappans did not believe in burying precious things with the dead.
• Note : Although Harappans buried their dead but Harappan civilisation hasn’t yielded a monument for the dead which could equal Pyramids of Egypt or Royal Cemetery of Ur .

Nature of Writing

• The biggest mystery about the Harappans is which language(s) they spoke.
• Harappan script consists of 400-450 basic signs.
• Harappan script was pictographic in nature (i.e. picture used to represent a word).
• It was written from right to left corroborated by the fact that some seals show a wider spacing on the right and cramping on the left.
• Although larger inscriptions were rare. In large inscriptions , they followed Boustrophedon Style (i.e. first line in right to left , then next line in left to right)

• Nature of Language
  • Some scholars argue that Harappan script and language belonged toDravidian family . Father Heras was strong advocate of this view . He argued that Brahui , language still spoken in this region , belongs to Dravidian family .
  • Others historians believe that it belonged to Indo-Aryan languages .
  • Yet others believe that it belonged to the Sumerian language.

• Harappan script has not been deciphered yet . Mortimer Wheeler writes the conditions requisite for the interpretation of the script are (1) bilingual inscriptions with known language and (2) long inscription with significant recurrent features . Both these conditions aren’t present in Harappan inscriptions.

Nature of Polity

State waspresent in Harappan Civilisation . Following things prove the existence ofstate

1. Uniform culture over such a large area wasn’t possible without central authority.
2. Granaries at Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa where surplus was collected and stored , most probably by the rulers.
3. Control of labour as indicated by elaborate drainage system, citadels and public buildings which were made by mobilising labour on large scale.
4. Standardisation , site specialisation and establishment of trading outpost at Shortughai .
5. Common system of writing across wide area .
6. FORTIFICATIONS especially imposing ones like Dholavira, Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro.
7. We have no clear idea of an organized force or standing army, but a heap of sling stones and the depiction of a soldier on a potsherd at Surkotda may suggest a standing army.
8. Harappan civilisation lasted for 700 years & artefacts continued unaltered which suggests strong political stability .

Side Topic : A Priest King

• In ancient Mesopotamian & Egyptian civilisations, rulers were portrayed extensively in stone reliefs & sculptures to proclaim their power . But Harappan case is strikingly different because here no such things have been found .
• Taking view from Egypt & Meso Civilisation , stone bust of Male found at Mohenjodaro is given label of Priest King . However whether he represent priest or king or both is far from certain.

Contemporary Cultures of the Harappan Civilisation

• While the Indus Civilisation was flourishing in the north-western part of India, several cultures were developing in different parts of India..

Kashmir

• Kashmir was under Neolithic culture during this phase. Sites like Burzahom belong to this phase.

Deccan and Western India

• Chalcolithic cultures were prevalent in Deccan and western India.
• Chalcolithic culture in the form of Ganeshwar-Jodhpura culture was prevalent in Rajasthan. Harappans imported copper from here (Khetri copper mines).

South India

• Kerala and Sri Lanka were still under hunting and gathering phase.
• Northern part of South India, i.e. the Karnataka and Andhra region, had Neolithic cultures, engaged in pastoralism and plough agriculture.
• Harappans used to send expeditions to South India to import gold especially from region surrounding Kolar gold fields.

Morphology of Harappan Cities

1 . Mohenjo Daro

2. Harappa

3. Kalibangan

4. Lothal

5. Dholavira

6. Chanhudaro

7. Rakhigarhi

8. Banawali

9. Ropar

10 . Rangpur

11. Surkotda

12. Suktagendor

13. Shortughai

Decline of Harappan Civilization

It was a gradual decline

• Roughly around 1900 BCE, there is a visible change in the material record.
  • Population seems to have either perished or moved away . Number of settlements in Core Harappan areas decreased but number of settlements in the outlying areas of Gujarat, East Punjab, Haryana and upper Doab increased (explained by the emigration of people from the core regions of Harappan Civilisation to outlying areas) .
  • In few Harappan sites that continued to be occupied after 1900 BCE, Material culture underwent a change – a far smaller, and that too more locally exploited raw materials was utilized . There was disappearance of weights, seals, special beads, writing, long-distance trade, and craft specialisation .

Overall, artefacts and settlements indicate a rural way of life in whatare called “Late Harappan”

• Mesopotamian literature stops referring to Meluha by the end of 1900 BCE .

Many theories are given for decline of Harappan Civilisation by various scholars

Reason 1 : Aryan Invasion

• Theory was given by Ramaprasad Chanda in 1926 but elaborated by Mortimer Wheeler .
• References to various kinds of forts of Dasas & Dasyus, attacks on fortified cities & epithet Puramdara(fort destroyer) given to Indra reflect invasion of Aryans on Harappan cities .
• Rig Veda mentions a place called Hariyupiya located on the bank of Ravi where Aryans fought a battle . Name of the place sounds very similar to that of Harappa. Based on this, Wheeler concluded that it was the Aryan invaders who destroyed the city.

Arguments againstthis theory

• Historians like George Dale & BB Lal argue that Rig Veda is a religious text of uncertain date & taking it as evidence on face value is not correct .
• Harappans & Aryans are unlikely to have met each other. Harappan Civilisation declined around 1900 BCE whereas Aryans arrived in India around 1500 BCE.
• No evidences of military assault have been found . Earlier Deadman Lane Theory of John Marshall has been discarded . Deadman lane is a street in Mohenjodaro where dead-bodies of 17 people were excavated. But later it was found that they didn’t belong to same period. No bodies of warriors clad in armour and surrounded by the weapons of war have been found. The citadel, the only fortified part of the city, yielded no evidence of a final defence.

Reason 2 : Fall in Mesopotamian Trade

• There was sudden end of long distance land and sea trade with Mesopotamia. Trade in luxurious items like lapis lazuli, beads etc. passed through Elam (located on eastern border of Mesopotamia) . In 2000 BC, Elam emerged as powerful state impacting Harappan exports to Mesopotamia and Mesopotamian Imports including tin to Harappa. Decline of trade led to decline of Harappan Civilisation as well.

Reason 3 : Raike’s Hypothesis – Floods

• RL Raikes was famous hydrologist .
• He believes that the Harappan civilization declined because of catastrophic flooding. But such flooding which could drown buildings 30 feet was not result of normal flooding . Geomorphologically , the Indus area is a disturbed seismic zone. Earthquakes might have raised the level of the flood plains of the lower Indus river along an axis roughly at right angles . This led to the ponding of the waters of the river Indus.

Reason 4 : Shifting away of Indus

What Did The Harappans Do

• Indus was unstable river system which altered its course many times .
• River Indus shifted about 30 miles away from Mohenjodaro. People deserted the area because they were starved of water.
• But this cannot explain the decline of the Harappan civilization in totality. At best, it can explains the desertion of Mohenjodaro.

Reason 5 : Drying up of Ghaggar

• Ghaggar-Hakra area represented one of the core regions of Harappan civilization. Ghaggar was a mighty stream . Rivers Sutlej and Yamuna used to be the tributaries of this river. Because of some tectonic disturbances, the Sutlej stream was captured by the Indus river and the Yamuna shifted east to join the Ganges. This kind of change in the river regime, which left the Ghaggar waterless, would have catastrophic implication for the towns located in this area.

Reason 6 : Increased Aridity

• This theory was given by DP Aggarwal & Sood .
• Basing their conclusions on the studies conducted in the U.S.A., Australia and Rajasthan , they have shown that there was an increase in the arid conditions by the middle of the second millennium B.C. In semi-arid regions like those of the Harappa, even a minor reduction in moisture and water availability could spell disaster. It would affect agricultural production which in turn would put the city economies under stress.

Reason 7 : Ecological Imbalance

• “Harappans were over-exploiting their environment through over-cultivation, over-grazing, and excessive cutting of trees for fuel and farming. This would have resulted in decreasing soil fertility, floods, and increasing soil salinity.”
• Deforestation was carried out on large scale for fuel to make bricks. Deforestation also reduced the rainfall in the area.
• To sustain the city population, agriculture was to be done on large scale decreasing the soil fertility . Exhaustion of the soil may have diminished cereal production and starved the urban people.
• Gradual movement away to other areas was already happening so as to reduce the pressure on the limited land. Harappan communities moved towards Gujarat and eastern areas, away from the Indus.

Localisation Phase

• Debate on Terminology : Late Harappan vs Post Harappan
  • Those historians who are in favour of decline of Harappan Civilisation prefer to call it Post Harappan Civilisation .
  • Whereas those who argue for Transformation of Harappan Civilisation call it Late Harappan. Later Harappan terminology is preferred by most historians now a days.

• Scholars working on the Indus civilization no longer look for the causes of its decline because of the fact that the scholars who studied the Harappan civilization right upto the 1960s believed that the collapse of the civilization was sudden. It was towards the end of the 1960s that scholars like Malik and Possehl focused their attention on various aspects of continuity of Harappan tradition

• Archaeologically speaking some changes are observable-
  • Some of the settlements were abandoned .
  • Tradition of uniform writing, seals, weights and pottery was lost.
  • Objects showing intensive interaction among the far flung settlements were lost.

In other words the activitiesassociated with city-centred economies were given up.

• But there was continuity as well.

• Three prominent cultures which came after Mature Harappan Phase declined & Localisation Phase started were
  1. Cemetery H
  2. Jhukar/Late Kulli
  3. Rangpur

1 . Cemetery H

• Cemetery H is a site in Harappa . Here, large Urn Burials dateable to Post Urban Culture were found.
• Dated from 1900-1300 BCE.
• Cemetery H Culture had Black on Red pottery with similar shapes of pottery as that of Mature Harappan Culture , although motifs on pottery differed .

2. Late Kulli / Jhukar

• Found in Southern Sindh, Chanhu–Daro , Jhukar etc .
• Some of typical Harappan elements like Stamp Seals continued but it was made of Terracotta or Faience .
• They were still staying in brick houses but they gave up the planned lay out.

3. Rangpur

• Found in Gujarat . Main sites were Rangpur & Lothal & Prabhas Patan (Somnath) .
• There were fewer number of sites and settlements were smaller.
• They were using ‘Lustrous Redware‘ characterised by bright & burnished slipped surface.

This marks the end of our article on ‘Harappan Civilisation’ .