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| The '''Indus Valley Civilization''' (c. 3300–1700 BC, flowered 2600–1900 BCE), abbreviated '''IVC''', was an ancient riverine ] that flourished in the ] river valleys in what is now Pakistan and north-west India. Another name for this civilization is the '''Harappan Civilization''', after the first excavated city of ]. Although IVC might have been known to the ]ians as ], the modern world rediscovered it only in the ] as a result of archaeological excavations. | The '''Indus Valley Civilization''' (c. 3300–1700 BC, flowered 2600–1900 BCE), abbreviated '''IVC''', was an ancient riverine ] that flourished in the ] river valleys in what is now Pakistan and north-west India. Another name for this civilization is the '''Harappan Civilization''', after the first excavated city of ]. Although IVC might have been known to the ]ians as ], the modern world rediscovered it only in the ] as a result of archaeological excavations. | ||
| The civilization is sometimes also called the '''Saraswati-Sindhu Civilization''', based on the possible identification of the Ghaggar-Hakra River with the ancient '']'' river (''Sindhu'' being local name for the river Indus) |
The civilization is sometimes also called the '''Saraswati-Sindhu Civilization''', based on the possible identification of the Ghaggar-Hakra River with the ancient '']'' river (''Sindhu'' being the local name for the river Indus); however, this is not the usage of mainstream scholarship.<ref name=sen>]. 2005. . Farrar, Straus and Giroux. 436 pages. ISBN 0374105839. Page 67, 68</ref> | ||
| ==Discovery and excavation== | ==Discovery and excavation== | ||
| ⚫ | The ruins of ] were first described by Charles Masson in his ''Narrative of Various Journeys in Balochistan, Afghanistan and Punjab, 1826-1838''; however, its significance was not realized until much later. Moreover, in ], British engineers unwittingly employed bricks from the Harappa ruins in the construction of the ] line connecting ] and ]. More than half a century later, in ], Harappan seals—with the then unknown symbols—were discovered by J. Fleet, prompting an excavation campaign under ] in 1921/22, and resulting in the discovery of the hitherto unknown civilization by . By ], much of ] had been excavated, but minor campaigns continued, such as that led by ] in ]. Following the ] in ], the area of the IVC was divided between ] and the ]. More discoveries followed for next three decades and the remnants of civilization were observed as far west as ] in Baluchistan, and as far east as ] in ]. Among the influential archaeologists working on the civilization were ], ] and ]. | ||
| The ruins of ] were first described by Charles Masson in his ''Narrative of Various Journeys in Balochistan, Afghanistan and Punjab, 1826-1838''; however, its significance was not realized until much later. | |||
| ⚫ | Moreover, in ], British engineers unwittingly employed bricks from the Harappa ruins in the construction of the ] line connecting ] and ]. More than half a century later, in ], Harappan seals—with the then unknown symbols—were discovered by J. Fleet, prompting an excavation campaign under ] in 1921/22, and resulting in the discovery of the hitherto unknown civilization by . By ], much of ] had been excavated, but minor campaigns continued, such as that led by ] in ]. Following the ] in ], the area of the IVC was divided between ] and the ]. More discoveries followed for next three decades and the remnants of civilization were observed as far west as ] in Baluchistan, and as far east as ] in ]. Among the influential archaeologists working on the civilization were ], ] and ]. | ||
| ==Periodisation== | ==Periodisation== | ||
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| for a more detailed map.]] | for a more detailed map.]] | ||
| The Indus Valley Civilization extended from Balochistan to Gujarat, with an upward reach to Punjab from east of the river ] to ] on the upper ]. Coastal settlements extended from ] in Western Baluchistan to ] in ]. Besides the western states of India, the Indus Valley Civilization encompassed most of Pakistan. An Indus Valley site has been found on the ] river at Shortughai in northern Afghanistan <ref>(Kenoyer 1998:96)</ref>, at Sutkagen dor (Western Baluchistan, Pakistan), |
The Indus Valley Civilization extended from Balochistan to Gujarat, with an upward reach to Punjab from east of the river ] to ] on the upper ]. Coastal settlements extended from ] in Western Baluchistan to ] in ]. Besides the western states of India, the Indus Valley Civilization encompassed most of Pakistan. An Indus Valley site has been found on the ] river at Shortughai in northern Afghanistan <ref>(Kenoyer 1998:96)</ref>, at Sutkagen dor (Western Baluchistan, Pakistan), at ] on the ] near ], and at ] on the ], only 28 km from Delhi. | ||
| There is |
There is evidence of another large river, now dried up, running parallel to the Indus River to the east. Dry river beds overlap with the ] channel in ] and the seasonal ] in ]. Over 500 ancient sites belonging to the Indus Valley Civilization have been discovered along the Ghaggar-Hakra River and its tributaries. Some Indian scholars have proposed that this was a major river during the third and fourth millennia BCE, and suggest that it may have been the ] of the ], however, this is not the mainstream view in IVC studies.<ref name=witzel-farmer>Witzel, Michael and Steve Farmer. 2000. , ''Frontline'', 17(20), September 30-October 13.</ref> | ||
| ==Early Harappan== | ==Early Harappan== | ||
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| Various sculptures, seals, ], gold jewelry and anatomically detailed figurines in ], bronze and steatite have been found at the excavation sites. | Various sculptures, seals, ], gold jewelry and anatomically detailed figurines in ], bronze and steatite have been found at the excavation sites. | ||
| A number of gold, terracotta and stone figurines of girls in dancing poses reveal the presence of some ] form. ] is known to have reacted with surprise when he saw the famous Indus bronze statuette of a slender-limbed "dancing girl" in Mohenjo-daro: | A number of gold, terracotta and stone figurines of girls, and boys, in dancing poses reveal the presence of some ] form. ] is known to have reacted with surprise when he saw the famous Indus bronze statuette of a slender-limbed "dancing girl" in Mohenjo-daro: | ||
| :"… When I first saw them I found it difficult to believe that they were prehistoric; they seemed to completely upset all established ideas about early art, and culture.. Modeling such as this was unknown in the ancient world up to the Hellenistic age of Greece, and I thought, therefore, that some mistake must surely have been made; that these figures had found their way into levels some 3000 years older than those to which they properly belonged. … Now, in these statuettes, it is just this anatomical truth which is so startling; that makes us wonder whether, in this all-important matter, Greek artistry could possibly have been anticipated by the sculptors of a far-off age on the banks of the Indus." | :"… When I first saw them I found it difficult to believe that they were prehistoric; they seemed to completely upset all established ideas about early art, and culture.. Modeling such as this was unknown in the ancient world up to the Hellenistic age of Greece, and I thought, therefore, that some mistake must surely have been made; that these figures had found their way into levels some 3000 years older than those to which they properly belonged. … Now, in these statuettes, it is just this anatomical truth which is so startling; that makes us wonder whether, in this all-important matter, Greek artistry could possibly have been anticipated by the sculptors of a far-off age on the banks of the Indus." | ||
| Some make-up and toiletry items (a special kind of combs (kakai), the use of ] and a special three-in-one toiletry gadget) that were found in Harappan contexts have similar counterparts in modern India.<ref>Lal 2002:82ff</ref> Terracotta female figurines were found (ca. 2800-2600 BCE) which had red color applied to the "manga" (line of partition of the hair), a tradition which is still seen in India.<ref>Lal 2002:82ff</ref> | |||
| Seals have been found at ] depicting a figure standing on its head, and one sitting cross-legged; perhaps the earliest indication, at least illustration, of the practice of ]. A horned figure in an advanced yogic pose (see image, ''Pashupati'', below right) has been interpreted as one of the earliest depictions of the Lord ]. | Seals have been found at ] depicting a figure standing on its head, and one sitting cross-legged; perhaps the earliest indication, at least illustration, of the practice of ]. A horned figure in an advanced yogic pose (see image, ''Pashupati'', below right) has been interpreted as one of the earliest depictions of the Lord ]. | ||
| A harp-like instrument depicted on an Indus seal and two shell objects found at Lothal indicate the use of stringed musical instruments. The Harappans also made various toys and games, among them cubical dices (with one to six holes on the faces) which were found in sites like Mohenjo-Daro. |
A harp-like instrument depicted on an Indus seal and two shell objects found at Lothal indicate the use of stringed musical instruments. The Harappans also made various toys and games, among them cubical dices (with one to six holes on the faces) which were found in sites like Mohenjo-Daro. | ||
| ===Trade and transportation=== | ===Trade and transportation=== | ||
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| ]]] | ]]] | ||
| A possible natural reason for the IVC's decline is connected with ]: The Indus valley climate grew significantly cooler and drier from about 1800 BCE. A crucial factor may have been the disappearance of substantial portions of the ] system. A ] event may have diverted the system's sources toward the ], though there is some uncertainty about the date of this event. Although this particular factor is speculative, and not generally accepted, the decline of the IVC, as with any other civilisation, will have been due to a combination of various reasons. |
A possible natural reason for the IVC's decline is connected with ]: The Indus valley climate grew significantly cooler and drier from about 1800 BCE. A crucial factor may have been the disappearance of substantial portions of the ] system. A ] event may have diverted the system's sources toward the ], though there is some uncertainty about the date of this event. Although this particular factor is speculative, and not generally accepted, the decline of the IVC, as with any other civilisation, will have been due to a combination of various reasons. | ||
| The region lies on the ancient route used by successive waves of migrations from Aryans to Huns, and later by Turks and Mughals to South Asia over the passes in the ]. The ] of northern Pakistan is a likely candidate for the first settlements of ] in the subcontinent. It is in this context of the aftermath of a civilisation's collapse that the hypothesis of an ] into northern India is discussed. In the early twentieth century, this migration was forwarded in the guise of an "]", and when the civilization was discovered in the 1920s, its collapse at precisely the time of the conjectured invasion was seen as an independent confirmation. In the words of the archaeologist ], the Indo-Aryan war god ] "stands accused" of the destruction. | |||
| It is however far from certain whether the collapse of the IVC is the result of an Indo-Aryan invasion; it seems rather likely that, on the contrary, a gradual Indo-Aryan migration, as opposed to a sudden "invasion" was as a result of the collapse, comparable with the decline of the ] and the incursions of relatively primitive peoples during the ]. This makes it seem more likely that the adoption of ] was the result of cultural mixing and integration of the Cemetery H people (likely ]) and Indo-Aryans rather than invasion. | |||
| ⚫ | ===Legacy=== | ||
| ⚫ | In the aftermath of the Indus Civilization's decline, regional cultures emerged, to varying degrees showing the influence of the Indus Civilization. In the formerly great city of Harappa, burials have been found that correspond to a regional culture called the ]. At the same time, the ] expanded from ] into the ]. The Cemetery H culture has the earliest evidence for ], a practice dominant in Hinduism until today. | ||
| ⚫ | ===Legacy=== | ||
| The curve of the Harappa Culture, which began to shoot up around 2600 BC and reached its peak, in the centuries that followed, began its downward journey around 2000 BC. Several factors seem to have contributed to it. Over‑exploitation and consequent wearing out of the landscape must have led to a fall in agricultural production. Added to it was probably a change in the climate towards aridity. And no less significant was a marked fall in trade, both internal as well as external. As a result of all this, there was no longer the affluence that used to characterise this civilization. The cities began to disappear and there was a reversion to a rural scenario. Thus, there was no doubt a set‑back in the standards of living but no extinction of the culture itself. Same IVC practices of agriculture, cooking habits, personal make‑up, ornaments, objects of toiletry, games played by children or adults, transport by road or river, folk tales, religious practices and so on were continued later on by people.<ref> ] 's paper http://www.geocities.com/ifihhome/articles/bbl002.html </ref> | |||
| ⚫ | In the aftermath of the Indus Civilization's decline, regional cultures emerged, to varying degrees showing the influence of the Indus Civilization. In the formerly great city of Harappa, burials have been found that correspond to a regional culture called the ]. At the same time, the ] expanded from ] into the ]. The Cemetery H culture has the earliest evidence for ], a practice dominant in Hinduism until today. | ||
| In the course of the ], the Late Harappan (Cemetery H culture would amalgamate with other cultures (notable that of the ] in ] scenarios), eventually resulting in the rise of ] in ]. | |||
| Incidentially, the demise of the ] (BMAC; 2200 BC -1700 BC ) coincides with that of the IVC, both having trading relations. BMAC settlements were burnt where as IVC towns do not show any signs of burning or invasion. | |||
| ==See also== | ==See also== | ||
Revision as of 16:16, 8 February 2007
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The Indus Valley Civilization (c. 3300–1700 BC, flowered 2600–1900 BCE), abbreviated IVC, was an ancient riverine civilization that flourished in the Indus river valleys in what is now Pakistan and north-west India. Another name for this civilization is the Harappan Civilization, after the first excavated city of Harappa. Although IVC might have been known to the Sumerians as Meluhha, the modern world rediscovered it only in the 1920s as a result of archaeological excavations.
The civilization is sometimes also called the Saraswati-Sindhu Civilization, based on the possible identification of the Ghaggar-Hakra River with the ancient Saraswati river (Sindhu being the local name for the river Indus); however, this is not the usage of mainstream scholarship.
Discovery and excavation
The ruins of Harappa were first described by Charles Masson in his Narrative of Various Journeys in Balochistan, Afghanistan and Punjab, 1826-1838; however, its significance was not realized until much later. Moreover, in 1857, British engineers unwittingly employed bricks from the Harappa ruins in the construction of the East Indian Railway line connecting Karachi and Lahore. More than half a century later, in 1912, Harappan seals—with the then unknown symbols—were discovered by J. Fleet, prompting an excavation campaign under Sir John Hubert Marshall in 1921/22, and resulting in the discovery of the hitherto unknown civilization by Dayaram Sahni. By 1931, much of Mohenjo-Daro had been excavated, but minor campaigns continued, such as that led by Mortimer Wheeler in 1950. Following the partition of British India in 1947, the area of the IVC was divided between Pakistan and the India. More discoveries followed for next three decades and the remnants of civilization were observed as far west as Sutkagan Dor in Baluchistan, and as far east as Lothal in Gujarat. Among the influential archaeologists working on the civilization were Aurel Stein, Nani Gopal Majumdar and Michael Jansen.
Periodisation
Main article: Periodization of the Indus Valley CivilizationThe mature phase of the Harappan civilization lasted from c. 2600 BCE to 1900 BCE. With the inclusion of the predecessor and successor cultures—Early Harappan and Late Harappan, respectively—the entire Indus Valley Civilization may be taken to have lasted from the 33rd to the 14th centuries BCE. Two terms are employed for the periodization of the IVC: Phases and Eras. The Early Harappan, Mature Harappan, and Late Harappan phases are also called the "Regionalisation," "Integration," and "Localisation" eras, respectively, with the Regionalization era reaching back to the Neolithic Mehrgarh II period:
| Date range | Phase | Era |
| 5500-3300 | Mehrgarh II-VI (Pottery Neolithic) | Regionalisation Era |
|---|---|---|
| 3300-2600 | Early Harappan (Early Bronze Age) | |
| 3300-2800 | Harappan 1 (Ravi Phase) | |
| 2800-2600 | Harappan 2 (Kot Diji Phase, Nausharo I, Mehrgarh VII) | |
| 2600-1900 | Mature Harappan (Middle Bronze Age) | Integration Era |
| 2600-2450 | Harappan 3A (Nausharo II) | |
| 2450-2200 | Harappan 3B | |
| 2200-1900 | Harappan 3C | |
| 1900-1300 | Late Harappan (Cemetery H, Late Bronze Age) | Localisation Era |
| 1900-1700 | Harappan 4 | |
| 1700-1300 | Harappan 5 |
Geography
The Indus Valley Civilization extended from Balochistan to Gujarat, with an upward reach to Punjab from east of the river Jhelum to Rupar on the upper Sutlej. Coastal settlements extended from Sutkagan Dor in Western Baluchistan to Lothal in Gujarat. Besides the western states of India, the Indus Valley Civilization encompassed most of Pakistan. An Indus Valley site has been found on the Oxus river at Shortughai in northern Afghanistan , at Sutkagen dor (Western Baluchistan, Pakistan), at Mandu on the Beas River near Jammu, and at Alamgirpur on the Hindon River, only 28 km from Delhi.
There is evidence of another large river, now dried up, running parallel to the Indus River to the east. Dry river beds overlap with the Hakra channel in Pakistan and the seasonal Ghaggar River in India. Over 500 ancient sites belonging to the Indus Valley Civilization have been discovered along the Ghaggar-Hakra River and its tributaries. Some Indian scholars have proposed that this was a major river during the third and fourth millennia BCE, and suggest that it may have been the Sarasvati River of the Rigveda, however, this is not the mainstream view in IVC studies.
Early Harappan
The development of these farming communities ultimately led to the accretion of larger settlements from the later 4th millennium.
The Early Harappan Ravi Phase, named after the nearby Ravi River, lasted from circa BC 3300 until BC 2800. It is related to the Hakra Phase, identified in the Ghaggar-Hakra River Valley to the west, and predates the Kot Diji Phase (BC 2800-2600, Harappan 2), named after a site in northern Sindh near Mohenjo Daro. Some of the most important discoveries in the Ravi Phase relate to writing. The earliest examples of the Indus script date from around BC 3000, placing the origins of writing in South Asia at approximately the same time as those of Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia.
The mature phase of earlier village cultures is represented by Rehman Dheri and Amri. Kot Diji (Harappan 2) represents the phase leading up to Mature Harappan, with the citadel representing centralised authority and an increasingly urban quality of life. Another town of this stage was found at Kalibangan in India on the Hakra River.
This distinctive, regional culture which emerged is called Early or Pre-Harappan. Trade networks linked this culture with related regional cultures and distant sources of raw materials, including lapis lazuli and other materials for bead-making. Villagers had, by this time, domesticated numerous crops, including peas, sesame seeds, dates and cotton, as well as a wide range of animals, including the water buffalo.
Mature Harappan
By BC 2500, the Early Harappan communities had been turned into urban centers. Such urban centers include Harappa and Mohenjo Daro in Pakistan and Lothal in India. In total, over 1,052 cities and settlements have been found, mainly in the general region of the Ghaggar and Indus Rivers and their tributaries.
By 2500 BCE, irrigation had transformed the region.
Cities
A sophisticated and technologically advanced urban culture is evident in the Indus Valley Civilization. The quality of municipal town planning suggests knowledge of urban planning and efficient municipal governments which placed a high priority on hygiene. The streets of major cities such as Mohenjo-daro or Harappa were laid out in perfect grid patterns. The houses were protected from noise, odors, and thieves.
As seen in Harappa, Mohenjo-daro and the recently discovered Rakhigarhi, this urban plan included the world's first urban sanitation systems. Within the city, individual homes or groups of homes obtained water from wells. From a room that appears to have been set aside for bathing, waste water was directed to covered drains, which lined the major streets. Houses opened only to inner courtyards and smaller lanes. The house-building in some villages in the region still resembles in some respects the house-building of the Harappans.
The ancient Indus systems of sewerage and drainage that were developed and used in cities throughout the Indus Empire, were far more advanced than any found in contemporary urban sites in the Middle East and even more efficient than those in some areas of Pakistan and India today. The advanced architecture of the Harappans is shown by their impressive dockyards, granaries, warehouses, brick platforms and protective walls. The massive citadels of Indus cities, that protected the Harappans from floods and attackers, were larger than most Mesopotamian ziggurats.
The purpose of the citadel remains debated. In sharp contrast to this civilization's contemporaries, Mesopotamia and Ancient Egypt, no large monumental structures were built. There is no conclusive evidence of palaces or temples - or of kings, armies, or priests. Some structures are thought to have been granaries. Found at one city is an enormous well-built bath, which may have been a public bath. Although the citadels were walled, it is far from clear that these structures were defensive. They may have been built to divert flood waters.
Most city dwellers appear to have been traders or artisans, who lived with others pursuing the same occupation in well-defined neighborhoods. Materials from distant regions were used in the cities for constructing seals, beads and other objects. Among the artifacts discovered were beautiful beads of glazed stone called faïence. The seals have images of animals, gods and other types of inscriptions. Some of the seals were used to stamp clay on trade goods and most probably had other uses.
Although some houses were larger than others, Indus Civilization cities were remarkable for their apparent egalitarianism. All the houses had access to water and drainage facilities. This gives the impression of a society with low wealth concentration.
Science
Further information: ]The people of the Indus Civilization achieved great accuracy in measuring length, mass and time. They were among the first to develop a system of uniform weights and measures. Their measurements were extremely precise. Their smallest division, which is marked on an ivory scale found in Lothal, was approximately 1.704mm, the smallest division ever recorded on a scale of the Bronze Age. Harappan engineers followed the decimal division of measurement for all practical purposes, including the measurement of mass as revealed by their hexahedron weights.
These brick weights were in a perfect ratio of 4:2:1 with weights of 0.05, 0.1, 0.2, 0.5, 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200, and 500 units, with each unit weighing approximately 28 grams, similar to the English Imperial ounce or Greek uncia, and smaller objects were weighed in similar ratios with the units of 0.871. The weights and measures later used in Kautilya's Arthashastra (4th century BC) are the same as those used in Lothal.
Unique Harappan inventions include an instrument which was used to measure whole sections of the horizon and the tidal dock. In addition, Harappans evolved new techniques in metallurgy and produced copper, bronze, lead and tin. The engineering skill of the Harappans was remarkable, especially in building docks after a careful study of tides, waves and currents.
In 2001, archaeologists studying the remains of two men from Mehrgarh, Pakistan made the startling discovery that the people of the Indus Valley Civilisation, even from the early Harappan periods, had knowledge of dentistry. The physical anthropologist who carried out the examinations, Professor Andrea Cucina from the University of Missouri-Columbia, made the discovery while he was cleaning the teeth from one set of remains. Later research in the same area found evidence of teeth having been drilled, dating back 9,000 years.
A touchstone bearing gold streaks was found in Banawali, which was probably used for testing the purity of gold (such a technique is still used in some parts of India ).
Arts and culture
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Various sculptures, seals, pottery, gold jewelry and anatomically detailed figurines in terracotta, bronze and steatite have been found at the excavation sites.
A number of gold, terracotta and stone figurines of girls, and boys, in dancing poses reveal the presence of some dance form. Sir John Marshall is known to have reacted with surprise when he saw the famous Indus bronze statuette of a slender-limbed "dancing girl" in Mohenjo-daro:
- "… When I first saw them I found it difficult to believe that they were prehistoric; they seemed to completely upset all established ideas about early art, and culture.. Modeling such as this was unknown in the ancient world up to the Hellenistic age of Greece, and I thought, therefore, that some mistake must surely have been made; that these figures had found their way into levels some 3000 years older than those to which they properly belonged. … Now, in these statuettes, it is just this anatomical truth which is so startling; that makes us wonder whether, in this all-important matter, Greek artistry could possibly have been anticipated by the sculptors of a far-off age on the banks of the Indus."
Some make-up and toiletry items (a special kind of combs (kakai), the use of Collyrium and a special three-in-one toiletry gadget) that were found in Harappan contexts have similar counterparts in modern India. Terracotta female figurines were found (ca. 2800-2600 BCE) which had red color applied to the "manga" (line of partition of the hair), a tradition which is still seen in India.
Seals have been found at Mohenjo-daro depicting a figure standing on its head, and one sitting cross-legged; perhaps the earliest indication, at least illustration, of the practice of yoga. A horned figure in an advanced yogic pose (see image, Pashupati, below right) has been interpreted as one of the earliest depictions of the Lord Shiva.
A harp-like instrument depicted on an Indus seal and two shell objects found at Lothal indicate the use of stringed musical instruments. The Harappans also made various toys and games, among them cubical dices (with one to six holes on the faces) which were found in sites like Mohenjo-Daro.
Trade and transportation
The Indus civilization's economy appears to have depended significantly on trade, which was facilitated by major advances in transport technology. These advances included bullock-driven carts that are identical to those seen throughout South Asia today, as well as boats. Most of these boats were probably small, flat-bottomed craft, perhaps driven by sail, similar to those one can see on the Indus River today; however, there is secondary evidence of sea-going craft. Archaeologists have discovered a massive, dredged canal and docking facility at the coastal city of Lothal.
During 4300 - 3200 BC of chalcolithic period ( copper age ), Indus Valley Civilization area shows ceramic similarities with southern Turkmenistan and northern Iran which suggest considerable mobility and trade. During Early Harappan period about 3200–2600 BCE, similarities in pottery, seals, figurines,ornaments etc. document intensive caravan trade with Central Asia and the Iranian plateau.
Judging from the dispersal of Indus civilisation artifacts, the trade networks, economically, integrated a huge area, including portions of Afghanistan, the coastal regions of Persia, northern and central India, and Mesopotamia.
There was an extensive maritime trade network operating between the Harappan and Mesopotamian civilisations as early as the middle Harappan Phase, with much commerce being handled by "middlemen merchants from Dilmun" (modern Bahrain and Failaka located in the Persian Gulf). Such long-distance sea-trade became feasible with the innovative development of plank-built watercraft, equipped with a single central mast supporting a sail of woven rushes or cloth.
Several coastal settlements like Sotkagen-dor (Dasht River, north of Jiwani), Sokhta Koh (Shadi River, north of Pasni) and Balakot (near Sonmiani) in Pakistan alongwith Lothal in India testify to their role as Harappan trading outposts. Shallow harbours located at the estuary of rivers opening into the sea, allowed brisk maritime trade with Mesopotamian cities.
Agriculture
The nature of the Indus Civilization's agricultural system is still largely a matter of conjecture due to the limited amount of information surviving through the ages. Some speculation is possible, however.
Earlier studies (prior to 1980) often assumed that food production was imported to the Indus Valley by a single linguistic group ("Aryans") and/or from a single area. But recent studies indicate that food production was largely indigenous to the Indus Valley. Already the Mehrgarh people used domesticated wheats and barley and the major cultivated cereal crop was naked six-row barley, a crop derived from two-row barley (see Shaffer and Liechtenstein 1995, 1999). Archaeologist Jim G. Shaffer (1999: 245) writes that the Mehrgarh site "demonstrates that food production was an indigenous South Asian phenomenon" and that the data support interpretation of "the prehistoric urbanization and complex social organization in South Asia as based on indigenous, but not isolated, cultural developments."
Indus civilization agriculture must have been highly productive; after all, it was capable of generating surpluses sufficient to support tens of thousands of urban residents who were not primarily engaged in agriculture. It relied on the considerable technological achievements of the pre-Harappan culture, including the plough. Still, very little is known about the farmers who supported the cities or their agricultural methods. Some of them undoubtedly made use of the fertile alluvial soil left by rivers after the flood season, but this simple method of agriculture is not thought to be productive enough to support cities. There is no evidence of irrigation, but such evidence could have been obliterated by repeated, catastrophic floods.
The Indus civilisation appears to contradict the hydraulic despotism hypothesis of the origin of urban civilization and the state. According to this hypothesis, all early, large-scale civilizations arose as a by-product of irrigation systems capable of generating massive agricultural surpluses.
It is often assumed that intensive agricultural production requires dams and canals. This assumption is easily refuted. Throughout Asia, rice farmers produce significant agricultural surpluses from terraced, hillside rice paddies, which result not from slavery but rather the accumulated labor of many generations of people. Instead of building canals, Indus civilization people may have built water diversion schemes, which—like terrace agriculture—can be elaborated by generations of small-scale labour investments. It should be noted that Indus Civilisation people built their lives around the monsoon, a weather pattern in which the bulk of a year's rainfall occurs in a four-month.
Writing or symbol system
Main article: Indus script
Well over 400 distinct Indus symbols have been found on seals or ceramic pots and over a dozen other materials, including a "signboard" that apparently once hung over the gate of the inner citadel of the Indus city of Dholavira. Typical Indus inscriptions are no more than four or five characters in length, most of which (aside from the Dholavira "signboard") are exquisitely tiny; the longest on a single surface, which is less than 1 inch (2.54 cm) square, is 17 signs long; the longest on any object (found on three different faces of a mass-produced object) has a length of 26 symbols.
While the Indus Valley Civilization is often characterized as a "literate society" on the evidence of these inscriptions, this description has been challenged on linguistic and archaeological grounds: it has been pointed out that the brevity of the inscriptions is unparalleled in any known premodern literate society. Based partly on this evidence, a controversial paper by Farmer, Sproat, and Witzel (2004), argues that the Indus system did not encode language, but was related instead to a variety of non-linguistic sign systems used extensively in the Near East. It has also been claimed on occasion that the symbols were exclusively used for economic transactions, but this claim leaves unexplained the appearance of Indus symbols on many ritual objects, many of which were mass produced in molds. No parallels to these mass-produced inscriptions are known in any other early ancient civilizations.
Photos of many of the thousands of extant inscriptions are published in the Corpus of Indus Seals and Inscriptions (1987, 1991), edited by A. Parpola and his colleagues. Publication of a final third volume, which will reportedly republish photos taken in the 1920s and 1930s of hundreds of lost or stolen inscriptions, along with many discovered in the last few decades, has been announced for several years, but has not yet found its way into print. For now, researchers must supplement the materials in the Corpus by study of the tiny photos in the excavation reports of Marshall (1931), Mackay (1938, 1943), Wheeler (1947), or reproductions in more recent scattered sources.
Religion
Further information: Prehistoric religionJudging from the abundant figurines, which may depict female fertility, that they left behind, IVC people worshipped a Mother goddess (compare Shakti and Kali). However, there is no firm agreement among experts as to whether or not these figurines actually depict female fertility, or if they depict something else. Also these people buried their dead. IVC seals depict animals, perhaps as the objects of veneration, comparable to the zoomorphic aspects of some Hindu gods. Seals resembling Pashupati in a yogic posture have also been discovered.
Late Harappan
Main article: Late HarappanAround 1800 BCE, signs of a gradual decline began to emerge, and by around 1700 BCE, most of the cities were abandoned. However, the Indus Valley Civilisation did not disappear suddenly, and many elements of the Indus Civilization can be found in later cultures. Current archaeological data suggests that material culture classified as Late Harappan may have persisted until at least c. 1000-900 BCE, and was partially contemporaneous with the Painted Grey Ware and perhaps early NBP cultures. Archaeologists have emphasised that there was a continuous series of cultural developments that link "the so-called two major phases of urbanisation in South Asia".
A possible natural reason for the IVC's decline is connected with climate change: The Indus valley climate grew significantly cooler and drier from about 1800 BCE. A crucial factor may have been the disappearance of substantial portions of the Ghaggar Hakra river system. A tectonic event may have diverted the system's sources toward the Ganges Plain, though there is some uncertainty about the date of this event. Although this particular factor is speculative, and not generally accepted, the decline of the IVC, as with any other civilisation, will have been due to a combination of various reasons.
The region lies on the ancient route used by successive waves of migrations from Aryans to Huns, and later by Turks and Mughals to South Asia over the passes in the Hindu Kush. The Swat culture of northern Pakistan is a likely candidate for the first settlements of Indo-Aryans in the subcontinent. It is in this context of the aftermath of a civilisation's collapse that the hypothesis of an Indo-Aryan migration into northern India is discussed. In the early twentieth century, this migration was forwarded in the guise of an "Aryan invasion", and when the civilization was discovered in the 1920s, its collapse at precisely the time of the conjectured invasion was seen as an independent confirmation. In the words of the archaeologist Mortimer Wheeler, the Indo-Aryan war god Indra "stands accused" of the destruction.
It is however far from certain whether the collapse of the IVC is the result of an Indo-Aryan invasion; it seems rather likely that, on the contrary, a gradual Indo-Aryan migration, as opposed to a sudden "invasion" was as a result of the collapse, comparable with the decline of the Roman Empire and the incursions of relatively primitive peoples during the Migrations Period. This makes it seem more likely that the adoption of Indo-Aryan languages was the result of cultural mixing and integration of the Cemetery H people (likely Dravidians) and Indo-Aryans rather than invasion.
Legacy
In the aftermath of the Indus Civilization's decline, regional cultures emerged, to varying degrees showing the influence of the Indus Civilization. In the formerly great city of Harappa, burials have been found that correspond to a regional culture called the Cemetery H culture. At the same time, the Ochre Coloured Pottery culture expanded from Rajasthan into the Gangetic Plain. The Cemetery H culture has the earliest evidence for cremation, a practice dominant in Hinduism until today.
In the course of the 2nd millennium BCE, the Late Harappan (Cemetery H culture would amalgamate with other cultures (notable that of the Indo-Aryan peoples in Indo-Aryan migration scenarios), eventually resulting in the rise of Vedic culture in Iron Age India.
See also
- Sokhta Koh - A Coastal Harappan Settlement
- Meluhha - the name used in Mesopotamia to refer to the Indus Civilisation
- Synoptic table of the principal old world prehistoric cultures
Notes
- Sen, Amartya. 2005. The Argumentative Indian: Writings on Indian Culture, History, and Identity. Farrar, Straus and Giroux. 436 pages. ISBN 0374105839. Page 67, 68
- Kenoyer, J. Mark (1991). "The Indus Valley tradition of Pakistan and Western India". Journal of World Prehistory. 5: 1–64.
- Jim G. Shaffer. 1992. "The Indus Valley, Baluchistan and Helmand Traditions: Neolithic Through Bronze Age." In Chronologies in Old World Archaeology. Second Edition. R.W. Ehrich, (Ed.). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. I:441-464, II:425-446.
- (Kenoyer 1998:96)
- Witzel, Michael and Steve Farmer. 2000. Horseplay in Harappa, Frontline, 17(20), September 30-October 13.
- It has been noted that the courtyard-pattern and techniques of flooring of Harappan houses has similarities to the way house-building is still done in some villages of the region.(Lal 2002:93-95)
- Sergent, Bernard. Genèse de l'Inde, 1997, p.113.
- BBC News. Stone age man used dentist drill.
- Lal 2002
- Lal 2002:82ff
- Lal 2002:82ff
- `Study of the Indus Script' by Asko Parpola, May 2005 Page 2,3
- Neyland, R.S. (1992) “The seagoing vessels on Dilmun seals”, in D.H. Keith & T.L. Carrell (ed.), Underwater archaeology proceedings of the Society for Historical Archaeology Conference at Kingston, Jamaica 1992 pp. 68-74. Tucson (AZ): Society for Historical Archaeology.
- These and other issues are addressed in Parpola, Study of the Indus Script] (2005)
- Shaffer, Jim. 1993:58, Reurbanization: The eastern Punjab and beyond. In Urban Form and Meaning in South Asia: The Shaping of Cities from Prehistoric to Precolonial Times, ed. H. Spodek and D.M. Srinivasan.
- Shaffer, Jim. 1993:58, Reurbanisation: The eastern Punjab and beyond. In Urban Form and Meaning in South Asia: The Shaping of Cities from Prehistoric to Precolonial Times, ed. H. Spodek and D.M. Srinivasan.
Bibliography
- Basham, A.L., The Wonder That Was India, Sidgwick & Jackson, London, 1967, p 11-14.
- Chakrabarti, D.K. (2004). Indus Civilization Sites in India: New Discoveries. Mumbai: Marg Publications. ISBN 81-85026-63-7.
{{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - Dani, Ahmad Hassan, Short History of Pakistan, Book 1, 1984, University of Karachi.
- Gupta, S.P. (1996). The Indus-Saraswati Civilization : Origins, Problems and Issues. ISBN 81-85268-46-0.
{{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - Gupta, S.P. (ed.). 1995. The lost Sarasvati and the Indus Civilisation. Kusumanjali Prakashan, Jodhpur.
- Kathiroli et al. 2004. "Recent Marine Archaeological Finds in Khambhat, Gujarat". Journal of Indian Ocean Archaeology No 1, p. 141-149.
- Kenoyer, J. Mark. 1998. Ancient cities of the Indus Valley Civilisation. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-577940-1.
- Kenoyer, J. Mark (1991). "The Indus Valley tradition of Pakistan and Western India". Journal of World Prehistory. 5: 1–64.
- Lahiri, Nayanjot (editor) (2000). The Decline and Fall of the Indus Civilisation. ISBN 81-7530-034-5.
{{cite book}}:|first=has generic name (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - Lal, B.B. (1998). India 1947-1997 : New Light on the Indus Civilization. ISBN 81-7305-129-1.
{{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - Lal, B.B. (1997). The Earliest Civilisation of South Asia (Rise, Maturity and Decline).
{{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - Lal, B.B. (2002) The Sarasvati flows on.
- McIntosh, Jane, A Peaceful Realm: The Rise And Fall of the Indus Civilization, Boulder: Westview Press (2001), ISBN 0813335329.
- Parpola, Asko (2005) "Study of the Indus Script", 50th ICES Tokyo Session, Tokyo, May 19, 2005
- Possehl, Gregory. 2002. The Indus Civilisation. Walnut Creek: Alta Mira Press.
- Rao, S.R. (1991). Dawn and Devolution of the Indus Civilisation. ISBN 81-85179-74-3.
{{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - Shaffer, Jim G. (1995). Cultural tradition and Palaeoethnicity in South Asian Archaeology. In: Indo-Aryans of Ancient South Asia. Ed. George Erdosy. ISBN 3-11-014447-6.
- Shaffer, Jim G. (1999). Migration, Philology and South Asian Archaeology. In: Aryan and Non-Aryan in South Asia. Ed. Bronkhorst and Deshpande. ISBN 1-888789-04-2.
{{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|1=(help) - Jim G. Shaffer. 1992. "The Indus Valley, Baluchistan and Helmand Traditions: Neolithic Through Bronze Age." In Chronologies in Old World Archaeology. Second Edition. R.W. Ehrich, (Ed.). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. I:441-464, II:425-446.
- Witzel, M., The Languages of Harappa, EJVS Feb. 2000 .
External links
- Harrapa and Indus Valley Civilisation at harrapa.com
- An invitation to the Indus Civilisation (Tokyo Metropolitan Museum)
- The Harappan Civilisation
- A Fresh Look at Ancient Indian History - By B. B. Lal - Director General (Retd.) - Archaeological Survey of India
- The Indus-Sarasvati Civilization Essay by Michel Danino
- Indus Artifacts
- Indus-Sarasvati Resources Index
- Sarasvati-Sindhu Civilisation
- Cache of Seal Impressions Discovered in Western India
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