Smart learning centre : CHAPTER -1 THE INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION

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THE INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION:

Indus valley civilization is also called as Harappan civilization because Harappa was the first site to be excavated in 1921 under the supervision of Daya Ram Sahni.
The known extent of this civilization in the west is upto Sutkagendor in Baluchistan, Alamgirpur (UP) in the east; Daimabad (Maharashtra) in South; and Manda (J & K) in the north.
This civilization belongs to Bronze Age/ Chalcolithic Age. Hence, it is also called Bronze Age civilization.
Contemporary civilizations of Harappan civilization are Mesopotamian or Sumerian civilization, Egyptian civilization and Chinese civilization.

Important Sites of Harappan Civilisation:

Site	Location	River bank
Harappa	Montgomery, Punjab (Pakistan)	Ravi
Mohenjodaro	Larkana, Sindh (Pakistan)	Indus
Sutkagendor	Baluchistan (Pakistan)	Dashta
Chanhudaro	Sindh (Pakistan)	Indus
Rangpur	Ahmedabad (India)	Meedar
Kalibangan	Ganganagar (Rajasthan)	Ghaggar
Lothal	Ahmedabad	Sabarmati & Bhogva
Banawali	Hissar (Haryana)	Saraswati

: The largest number of sites are found in Gujarat.

GENERAL FACTS ABOUT SOME SITES:

1. Harappa:

Working floors consisting of rows of circular brick platforms which were meant for threshing grain have been found here.
Six granaries and sixteen agnikundas (firepits) have been found here.
People of Harappa knew the process of making tarcoal.
Main gate for the entry in the houses of Harappa was in the north direction.
R-37 cemetery have been found here.
Terracotta figurine of Mother Goddess have been found here.

2. Mohenjodaro:

Mohenjodaro was discovered in 1922 under the supervision of R.D. Banerji.
The literal meaning of Mohenjodaro in Sindhi language is “mound of the dead”.
The Great Bath, a granary, big halls, a bronze statue of a dancing girl, idol of a yogi and numerous seals have been found here.
The evidences of assembly hall and proper planned houses with a kitchen and courtyard have been found at Mohenjodaro.
Seven layers of Mohenjodaro city directs that the city was destroyed and rebuilt seven times.

3. Lothal:

A dockyard have been found at Lothal.
In 1957, Lothal was discovered by S.R. Rao in Gulf of Cambay in Gujarat.
Red & black clay pots, copper tools, brick built tank like structure, a bead making factory and a seal from Iran have been found at Lothal.
Linear scale of bronze have been found here.

4. Kalibangan:

It was not as well planned or organised as Mohenjodaro was.
It did not have a drainage system.
A number of firepits agnikundas (firepits) have been found here.
Kalibangan was discovered in 1953. It is located in upper Rajasthan.
It saw two cultural phases viz. pre-Harappan and Harappan.
A ploughed field have been found.

5.Dholavira (Dholavira):

Dholavira in Gujarat was discovered in 1992 by J.P. Joshi.
Dholavira shows all the three phases of Harappan civilization.
Script consists of big alphabets has been found on a gate in Dholavira.

IMPORTANT FEATURES OF INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION:

Town planning was the most distinguishable feature of the Harappan civilization. Hence, this civilization is also called first urbanisation.
Towns were divided into parts viz. Citadel and lower town. Citadels were occupied by members of ruling class and lower town was inhabited by common people.
Dholavira is an exception because it existed in three parts.
Harappan cities were developed in Block Pattern/ Chess Board Pattern because roads of these cities cut each other at right angles.
Most peculiar feature of town planning was their drainage system. Drains were built of burnt bricks and covered by stone lids and manholes for cleaning. It shows that Harappan people were very conscious of hygiene.
Harappans knew the art of measurement as scale sticks inscribed with measure marks have been found at some sites.
Complete burial was the most common method of disposal of the dead.
Banawali and Kalibangan shows two phases viz. pre-Harappan and Harappan.
Amri, Desalpur and Surkotada faced all the three stages of Harappan civilization viz. pre-Harappan, urban and post-Harappan.
Chanhudaro was the only city without a citadel.

ECONOMY OF HARAPPAN CIVILIZATION:

Agriculture & Animal husbandry:

They grew wheat and barley on a large scale. The crops grown were pulses, cereals, cotton, dates, melons, peas, sesame and mustard.
No clear evidence of rice has been found except Rangpur and Lothal where some grains of rice found, but they may be of later period.
Harappan people were mostly peasants and thus Harappan civilization was an agro-commercial economy.
Evidence of plough has been found in Banawali.

FAUNA (Animals):

Harappans domesticated sheep, goat, buffalo and pig. They also knew about tiger, camel, elephant, tortoise, deer, various birds etc. However, they did not know about lion.
Humpless bull or ox was the most important animal.
They did not know about horse except a jaw bone of horse which has been recovered from Surkotada in Gujarat in upper layers of excavation.
The Harappans were the earliest people to produce cotton because cotton was first produced in this area. The Greeks called it sindon which is derived from Sindh.

Crafts:

The Harappan culture belongs to the Bronze Age as the people were very well acquainted with the manufacture and use of bronze.
They manufactured not only images and utensils but also various tools and weapons such as axes, saws, knives and spears.
Weavers wove clothes of wool and cotton. Leather was also known to them but no evidence of silk has been found.
Harappans used to make seals, stone statues, terracotta figurines, etc.
Huge brick structures made up of burnt bricks and mud bricks suggest that brick laying was an important craft.
Harappans did not know about iron.
The potter’s wheel was used to produce their characteristic pottery which was made glossy and shining.
They knew boat making also, as it is evident from their seals.

Seals:

Their most important artistic work is seals.
Seals are made of steatite and they are square in shape.
The most depicted animal is bull. Ram, elephants, tigers, rhinoceros are also depicted but cow is not found on them.
Seals were meant for marking goods and perhaps as identity cards.
About 2000 seals have been recovered from Harappan sites.
Some seals have been found in Mesopotamia also.

The goldsmiths made jewellery of gold, silver and precious stones

Bangle making and shell ornament making was also practised which is evident from the findings of Chanhudaro, Balakot and Lothal.

Trade:

Land and sea trade was in vogue.
A dockyard has been found at Lothal which is the longest building of the Harappan civilization.
Most important trading partner was Mesopotamia. It is evident from the inscriptions of Mesopotamia.
Other trading partners were Afghanistan, Persia, central Asia and various parts of India.
The Mesopotamian inscriptions refer to trade relations with Meluha which was the ancient name given to Indus region.
Two intermediate trading stations called Dilmun and Makan are identified with Bahrain and Makran coast (Pakistan) respectively.
The mode of trade was barter system.

RELIGION OF HARAPPANS:

Pashupati seal has been found from Mohenjodaro in which a Yogi figure has been depicted.
The Yogi on the seal is surrounded by buffalo, tiger, elephant, rhinoceros and deer. Hence, the Yogi is said to be proto-Shiva.
Signs of phallic worship have been found.
Harappans worshipped Mother Goddess. It is evident from the terracotta figurine recovered from Harappa.
A building called Great Bath have been found at Mohenjodaro which was meant for ritual bathing.
They were superstitious as they wore amulets.
Harappans worshipped pipal tree.
No evidences of temples have been found in this civilization.

SCRIPT OF HARAPPANS:

The Harappans knew the art of writing. There are nearly 4,000 specimens of Harappan writing on stone seals and other objects.
The Harappan script is not alphabetical but mainly pictographic.
The Harappan script has not been deciphered so far.
Script was consisted of about 400 symbols, out of which 75 were original and remaining were their variants.

DECLINE OF HARAPPAN CIVILIZATION:

There are different view points of the historians on the decline of Harappan civilization.
According to Wheeler Aryan attack was the cause of decline of Harappan civilization.
As per G.F. Dales and Marshall, Aryans were not responsible for the decline of Harappan civilization.
James Marshall stated that natural calamities were responsible for the decline of Harappan civilization. This theory is widely accepted for the decline of Harappan civilization

Disclaimer:

This content is prepared for educational and informational purposes only. The notes are simplified for better understanding and exam preparation (UPSC and State Exams). Readers are advised to refer to standard textbooks and official sources for detailed study

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Wednesday, April 22, 2026

CHAPTER -1 THE INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION