The Harappan Civilization - I

Subject: History

Unit: The Harappan Civilization

Lesson: The Harappan Civilization - I

Lesson Developers: Nayanjot Lahiri and Deeksha Bhardwaj

College/Department: Prof. Nayanjot Lahiri Professor,

Department of History, University of Delhi
and
Deeksha Bhardwaj, Assistant Professor, Gargi College,
University of Delhi

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 The Harappan Civilization - I

Table of contents

Chapter 4: The Harappan civilization

• 4.1: The Harappan civilization - I
• Summary
• Exercises
• Glossary
• Further readings

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 The Harappan Civilization - I

4.1: The Harappan civilization - I

Introduction

The name ‘Harappan' or 'Indus civilization’ evokes the urban, literate culture of the 3rd and early
2nd millennia BC that was initially thought to flourish mainly in the area around the Indus river
and its tributaries. Its first known cities, Harappa and Mohenjodaro are both located in the
Indus valley, Harappa on the banks of a dried up bed of the Ravi river, an Indus tributary,
and Mohenjodaro, 570 kilometres downstream, in the vicinity of the Indus river itself.
Geographically, however, this civilization included much more than the Indus zone; it was a
combination of riverine lowlands that stretched towards the east and southeast into Uttar
Pradesh and Rajasthan, the highland and coastal areas of Baluchistan, and the coastal belt of
Gujarat.

A hundred years ago, Harappa and Mohenjodaro, the type sites and the most well known sites
of the Harappan civilization existed as sleepy hamlets in undivided northwest India, their tryst
with history still several decades away. Harappa had been visited by the adventurer, Charles
Masson, in 1826 and by Alexander Cunningham, the Director General of the Archaeological
Survey of India in the 1850s and 1872 but neither could anticipate the significance of the site. In
the early 1920s, R. D. Banerji started excavating the stupa mound at Mohenjodaro and it was
the unmistakable similarity of finds unearthed at this site with the antiquities recovered from
Harappa that made John Marshall, the then Director General of ASI (1902-28) announce this
exciting discovery to the world.

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Value addition: what the sources say

John Marshall’s announcement of the discovery of the Indus
civilization

“Not often has it been given to archaeologists, as it was given to Schliemann

at Tiryns and Mycenae, or to Stein in the desert of Turkestan, to light upon
the remains of a long forgotten civilization. It looks, however, at this moment,
as if we were on the threshold of such a discovery in the plains of the Indus”
– John Marshall, announcing the discovery of the Indus civilization in 1924.
Source: Lahiri, N. 2005, Finding Forgotten Cities. Delhi: Permanent
Black.
http://asi.nic.in/images/history/Sir_John_Marshall.jpg

It was almost as if in one stroke, the antiquity of the subcontinent was pushed back by over
a millennium and India could lay claim to being one of the centres of the ancient Bronze
Age civilizations. ‘A transformation occurred in the third millennium B.C. from an earlier,
less complex world to one with sophisticated technological innovations and social institutions
– one defined as civilization’ (Lamberg-Karlovsky 2000: xi).

Value addition: did you know?

Markers of a civilization
A civilization will involve the presence of several (though not necessarily all)
of the following conditions within a society or group of interdependent
societies:

1. Some form of government by which people administer to their political

needs and responsibilities
2. Development of urban society/city life so that the culture is not nomadic,
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dispersed and thus unable to leave significant and surviving physical

remnants of its presence.
3. A form of literacy to have developed enabling communication within groups
and from one generation to next.
4. Use of metals and tools so that humans would be able to transform their
physical and socio-economic environment.
5. Some degree of specialization of function
6. Emergence of social classes, whether antagonistic to or sustaining of one
another.
7. Concept of leisure time, especially for the development of an aesthetic
sensibility.
8. Concept of a higher being, though not necessarily through organized
religion.
9. Concept of time by which links to past and future drawn.
10. A faculty for criticism and reflection to help a society evolve.
Source: Brinton C., J. B. Christopher, R. L. Wolff & R. W. Winks. 1984.
A History of Civilization, Vol. I: Prehistory to 1715, 3.

Character of the Harappan civilization

Before looking at its various features, it is necessary to be clear about the character of the
Indus civilization in order to understand what set it apart from other contemporaneous cultures
in the Indian subcontinent and from the Bronze Age civilizations of West Asia and Egypt. The
Indus phenomenon is called a civilization because it incorporated within itself the social
configurations and organizational devices that characterize such a cultural form. It was the only
literate subcontinental segment of its time. More than 4000 Indus inscriptions have been found,
and even though they remain undeciphered, the script was used for mercantile purposes (as
suggested by the seals and sealings), personal identification (in the form of shallow
inscriptions on bangles, bronze implements etc.) and possibly for civic purposes (underlined
by the remains of a massive inscribed board at Dholavira). The civilization's essence was a
settlement pattern in which cities and towns were particularly prominent. That such urban
centres contained monumental structures whose construction required large outlays of labour
and resources, and were marked by heterogeneous economic activities, are other conspicuous
indicators. Earlier, Mohenjodaro and Harappa had alone stood out as the civilization's large
cities; today we know of many more whose dimensions qualify them for a similar status.
These are fairly spread out - Ganweriwala in Cholisatan, Dholavira in Kutch and Rakhigarhi in
Haryana are such centres - and symbolize the creation of aggregates of population on a scale
previously unknown. The largest variety and quantity of jewellery, statuary and seals, are found
in urban centres and indicate that craft production was, in the main, geared to the demands of
city dwellers. Further, the characters of planning, the necessity of written transactions, and the
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existence of a settlement hierarchy in which urban and rural settlements of various sizes and
types were functionally connected in important ways all indicate administrative organization on a
scale that was unprecedented in relation to other protohistoric subcontinental cultures. Many of
these are archaeological indicators of a state society as well. Whether there were several
states or a unified empire in Harappan times remains unclear. Urban settlements may have
functioned as city-states since their layout and character suggests the presence of local
aristocracies, merchants and craftspeople.

Value addition: did you know?

Nomenclature: Harappan civilization
It is important to explain at this point why this civilization is called the
‘Harappan’ or ‘Indus civilization’. The civilization was first identified in Pandit
Daya Ram Sahni’s excavations at Harappa in 1920-21, and following the
practice of identifying an archaeological assemblage by the name of the site
where it was first discovered, the civilization is called the Harappan
civilization. As far one is aware, it was Mortimer Wheeler who first used the
term ‘Harappa culture’ in the report on his excavations at Harappa in 1946.
However, in 1953 Wheeler himself named his book on the subject Indus
civilization, following the precedent set up by John Marshall under whose
leadership of the Archaeological Survey of India the identity of this civilization
was achieved.
Source: Chakrabarti, D. K. 2006. The Oxford Companion to Indian
Archaeology. 136.

The Indus civilization, while sharing many general features with the contemporary Bronze
Age cultures such as the Sumerian civilization of Mesopotamia and Old Kingdom Egypt, had its
own distinct identity. For one thing, with a geographical spread of more than a million square
kilometers, this was the largest urban culture of its time. Unlike Mesopotamia and Egypt, there
were no grand religious shrines nor were magnificent palaces and funerary complexes
constructed for the rulers. Instead, its hallmark was a system of civic amenities for its
citizens rarely seen in other parts of the then civilized world - roomy houses with
bathrooms, a network of serviceable roads and lanes, an elaborate system of drainage
and a unique water supply system. Dholavira's network of dams, water reservoirs and
underground drains and Mohenjodaro's cylindrical wells, one for every third house,
epitomize the degree of comfort that townspeople enjoyed in relation to contemporary
Mesopotamians and Egyptians who had to make do with fetching water, bucket by bucket,
from the nearby rivers.

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Figure 4.1.1: The priest king, Mohenjodaro

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Mohenjo-daro_Priesterk%C3%B6nig.jpeg

Figure 4.1.2: Harappan seal

Source: http://www.historyforkids.org/learn/india/literature/pictures/harappa2.jpg

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Figure 4.1.3: Remains of the Granary at Harappa

Source: http://www.imagesofasia.com/html/mohenjodaro/images/large/granary-
harappa.jpg

Background and origin

Indus settlements mainly, though not exclusively, flourished in that segment of the Indian
subcontinent which lies west of the Delhi-Aravalli-Cambay geographical axis. Several
segments of that zone had seen the birth and development of agricultural communities,
between c. 7000 BC and the genesis of urban centres in the first part of the third millennium
BC. The subsistence pattern that is widely seen at Harappan sites - a combination of wheat
and barley cultivation and domesticated animal species in which cattle was most preferred -
goes back to Mehrgarh in the Kachhi plain of Baluchistan which has also yielded the earliest
evidence of agricultural life in South Asia (c. 7000 BC). From the 5th millennium BC
onwards, this pattern is found spread all over the major areas of Baluchistan, from the Zhob-
Loralai region in the northeast to Las Bela towards the south.

At the same time, a majority of classic Indus sites are in riverine lowlands and the
manner in which settlements and subsistence patterns had evolved in those areas, over a

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span of more than a thousand years prior to the efflorescence of the Harappan civilization,
is central to understanding its evolution. In several lowland areas, there was a long period
of antecedence. At the beginning of the fourth millennium BC, the Cholistan tract saw a well-
defined phase of occupation, known as the 'Hakra ware' culture, named after the river
around which its distinctive ceramic assemblage was first discovered. Although the largest
concentration of sites is around the Hakra river, its spread included Jalilpur in Multan and
Kunal in Haryana. Most of the sites seem to be small camps with a few permanently
established settlements of substantial size (such as Lathwala in Cholistan, with an area of
26.3 hectares). The Hakra horizon is the first culture of the lowlands, which utilized both the
desert and the riverine environments, using a variety of stone and copper tools. There are
also occasional manufactured goods in raw materials that were not locally available, as is
indicated by Jalilpur's repertoire of semi-precious stone, coral and gold beads. Towards
the western fringe of the Indus lowlands, the fourth millennium BC witnessed the birth of
another culture, known as the Amri culture (after the type site of Amri) which dominated
the Kirthar piedmont and Kohistan. What is most significant is that some Amri sites are
marked by an 'acro-sanctum/lower town' division, a settlement plan that can be
witnessed subsequently, in a highly developed and sophisticated form, in the layout of
Indus cites. The spatial exclusiveness of the 'acro-sanctum' is emphasized by a highly
elevated, conically shaped hill with encircling, terraced stone walls and remnants of
ramps/stairways. The general habitation area, which was lower down, possibly contained
domestic structures.

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Figure 4.1.4: Distribution map of the Harappan civilization

Source:
http://www.columbia.edu/itc/mealac/pritchett/00routesdata/bce_500back/indusvalley/maps
/overviewmap.gif

The immediate backdrop to the Indus civilization is formed by the next phase, known as the
Kot Diji culture, when elements of a common culture ethos can be seen across the Indus-
Hakra plains, Gujarat and the Indo-Gangetic divide. There are several planned and fortified
settlements; the construction of habitational areas aligned around a grid of north-south and
east-west streets at Harappa, and the use of mud bricks in the Indus ratio of 1:2:4, along
with a drainage system based on soakage pits in streets at Kunal are especially
noteworthy. There is also an extensive but partly standardized repertoire of ceramic
designs and forms (some of which are carried over into the Harappan civilization),
miscellaneous crafts and a sophisticated metallurgy that includes the manufacture of silver
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tiaras and 'armlets' as also disc-shaped gold beads (typical of the Indus civilization), wide
transport and exchange of raw materials, square stamp seals with designs, the presence of at
least two signs of Indus writing at Padri and Dholavira (both in Gujarat) and ritual beliefs
embodied in a range of terracotta cattle and female figurines. Considered in totality, the term
early Harappan is appropriate for this phase since a number of features related to the
mature Harappan period (a designation used for the classic urban, civilizational form) are
already present. Several of these features also evoke the presence of commercial and other
elite social groups. When one considers the intensification of craft specialization, dependent on
extensive networks through which the required raw materials were procured, or the necessity of
irrigation for agriculture in the Indus flood plain, without the risk of crop failure, for which a
degree of planning and management was essential, the emergence and the character of the
controlling or ruling elites becomes clear.

Value addition: more details

Early Harappan
M. R. Mughal put forward the concept of an Early Harappan stage of cultural
development in the greater Indus valley and northern Baluchistan. ‘In my opinion the
term ‘pre-Harappan’ is misleading because it creates the impression that a
chronological gap exists between the ‘pre-Harappan’ period of the first half of the
third millennium B.C. and the mature period of the Harappan culture belonging to
the latter half of the third millennium B.C.’
Source: Mughal, M. R. 1971. The Early Harappan Period in the Greater Indus
Valley and Northern Baluchistan (c. 3000-2400 BC.). Unpublished
dissertation, University of Pennsylvania, 5-6.

On the whole, there is little doubt that the Harappan civilization had indigenous roots and that
its cultural precursors were the chalcolithic cultures of the northwest that flourished in the
fourth and third millennia BC. Contrary to the views of some early scholars, Indus cities were
not created either through the dissemination of the 'idea’ of civilization or by migration of
population groups from West Asia.

Chronology

It is unlikely that civilizational efflorescence was a simultaneous process in all parts of the
Harappan distribution area. By 2600 BC, this civilization was in existence, as it had clear

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contacts, at that point of time, with Mesopotamia. It appears increasingly probable that it
matured first in lower Sind, Cholistan and presumably, the Kutch region, which was linked by a
river to the Cholistan area. Cities like Harappa, Kalibangan and Banawali came up a little later.
The end was also staggered in time. Urban decline at Mohenjodaro had set by 2200 BC and by c.
2100 BC, it had ceased to exist as a city. However, the civilization continued after c. 2000 BC in
other areas and at some sites survived till c. 1800 BC.

Ancient Indus Chronology

Yrs.
Period Phase
(B.C.E.)

Late Harappan ?1700-

5
(Cemetery H) 1300

Harappan/Late
1900-
4 Harappan
?1700
Transitional

Harappan c. 2200-
3C
Phase 1900

Harappan c. 2450-
3B
Phase 2200

Harappan c.2600-
3A
Phase 2450

Early
c. 2800-
2 Harappan/Kot
2600
Diji Phase

Early
c. 3300-
1A/B Harappan/Ravi
2800
Phase

Figure 4.1.5: Time line: ancient bronze age civilizations

Source: http://www.harappa.com/indus2/timeline.html

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Geographical distribution

Indus settlements (between 500 and 600 in number) are spread over a wide swathe of
northwest India and Pakistan and their distribution illuminates the various ways in which this
varied geographical area was exploited. In the lower Indus basin of Larkana, Mohenjodaro
dominated the flood plain, agriculturally the richest part of Sind. Larkana is also marked by lake
depressions, such as the Manchhar, where fishing settlements existed. Towards the west,
there were clusters of sites in the foothills of the Kirthar mountain range and the Kohistan.
There, agriculture must have depended on spring water and rains. Routes linking up with
Baluchistan also, passed through this area. In upper Sind, the Sukkur-Rorhi hills saw
settlements of workmen in and around flint quarries, the raw material from which Harappan
blades were manufactured. The course of the Indus river in the third millennium BC was more
southeasterly and it flowed into the Arabian sea in the vicinity of the Rann of Kutch. The Indus
river adopted its present course only between the tenth and the thirteenth centuries AD.

As one moves west, Baluchistan is reached where Harappan settlements are found in a variety
of terrain - across the northern, mountain rim, on the flat Kacchi plain, in the district of Las
Bela towards the south and along the coastal country known as the Makran. In the latter area,
the fortified sites of Sutkagendor and Sotka-koh were important in terms of the Indus
civilization's sea trade with the Persian Gulf and Mesopotamia. Both were suitable landing
places for maritime traffic and from these points, convenient routes linked up with the interior. In
other parts of Baluchistan, Indus sites are found in areas that are still agriculturally viable and
lie on arterial routes. Pathani Damb, for instance, was near the Mula pass, from where a
route went across the Kirthar range while Naushahro was in the general vicinity of the Bolan,
through which a major route led to Afghanistan. Such routes were important because
through them, Baluchistan's metalliferrous ores (copper and lead) and semi-precious stone
(lapis lazuli and turquoise) could be procured by the resource-poor Indus valley. The
northernmost site of the Indus civilization, Shortughai, is in northeast Afghanistan.
Shortughai provided access to Badakshan's lapis lazuli and possibly to the tin and gold
resources of Central Asia.

To the northeast of Sind is the Pakistan province of Punjab. A large part of the province is
comprised of doabs or tracts lying between two rivers. Of these, the Bari doab (or land
between the Ravi and an old bed of the Beas) sites are noteworthy, especially the sprawling city
of Harappa. There are no settlements in the interfluves of the Jhelum and the Indus or that of
the Jhelum and Chenab. South of the Sutlej river, is Bahawalpur. Part of it is made up of the
desert tract of Cholistan, through which the Hakra river flowed. The largest cluster (174) of
Indus settlements is found here. Geographically, this tract connects the Indus plains with
Rajasthan, which has vast copper deposits. There were several exclusive, industrial sites (79 of

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them) in Cholistan, marked by kilns, devoted to large-scale craft production that included the
melting and smelting of copper.

East of the Sutlej is the alluvial terrain of the Indo-Gangetic divide, a transitional area between
the Indus and the Ganga river systems, made up of the Indian states of Punjab, Haryana, Delhi
and Ghaggar river course in Rajasthan. A large part of the riverine and stream drainage from
the Siwalik ridge between the Sutlej and Yamuna used to converge into the Ghaggar, the Indian
name for the river known as the Hakra in Pakistan. There were several provincial urban centres
in this region such as Kalibangan and Banawali although Rakhigarhi (in the Hissar district of
Haryana) was the largest city and is said to be as large as Harappa. Classic Indus sites are also
found in the Yamuna-Ganga doab, with a preponderance in its most northerly portion around
Saharanpur.

Finally, the spread of the Harappan civilization included the quadrilateral of roughly 119,000
square kilometers between the Raun of Kutch and the Gulf of Cambay. Dholavira was the city
par excellence of the Rann, with its vast expanse of tidal mud flats and dead creeks. Further
east, the great mass of Kathiawad, now known as Saurashtra, is formed of Deccan lava and on
its eastern edge flourished the port town of Lothal. The mainland of Gujarat is alluvial, formed
by the Sabarmati, Mahi and minor parallel streams, actively prograding into the Gulf of
Cambay. Here, Bhagatrav, on the estuary of the Kim river, forms the southernmost extension
of the Harappan civilization.

Settlement pattern and town planning

The settlement pattern was a multi-tiered one with urban and rural sites that were markedly
varied in terms of size and function. There were cities of monumental dimensions like
Mohenjodaro, Harappa, Dholavira and Rakhigarhi that stand out on account of their size (more
than 100 hectares each) and the character of their excavated remains. While the older premise
that such cities were based on a gridiron system of planning has been shown by recent
research to be invalid, there is impressive evidence of centralized planning. City space was
divided into public and residential sectors. At Harappa and Mohenjodaro, the separation of the
largely (though not exclusively) public administrative sector from the residential part of the city
took the form of two separate mounds. Dholavira's city plan was more intricate. At its fully
developed stage, it had three parts made up of the citadel which was divided into a 'castle' and
a 'bailey' area, the middle town and the lower town, all interlinked and within an elaborate
system of fortification.

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Figure 4.1.6: Aerial view: Mohenjodaro excavations

Source: http://themanyfacesofspaces.com/mohenjo_daro_4.jpg

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Figure 4.1.7: Dholavira: site map

Source: http://www.asi.nic.in/asi_exca_2007_dholavira.asp

Figure 4.1.8: Harappa, excavated remains

Source: http://interiors.indianetzone.com/images/interiors_028.jpg

The character of some of the structures is also worth considering. Mohenjodaro's citadel, for
instance, was constructed on a gigantic artificial platform (400 x 100m) made of a mud brick
retaining wall (over 6m thick) enclosing a filling of sand and silt. This platform, after being
enlarged twice, attained a final height of 7 metres and provided a foundation on which further
platforms were built in order to elevate important structures such as the Great Bath and the
granary, so that the highest buildings were about 20 metres above the surrounding plains and
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could be seen on the horizons for miles around. Another architectural marvel is Dholavira's
system of water management, crucial in an area, which is prone to frequent droughts. Rain
water in the catchment areas of the two seasonal streams - Manhar and Mansar - was
dammed and diverted to the large reservoirs within the city walls. Apparently, there were 16
water reservoirs within the city walls, covering as much as 36 percent of the walled area. Brick
masonry walls protected them, although reservoirs were also made by cutting into the
bedrock. Furthermore, drains in the 'castle-bailey' area carried rainwater to a receptacle for
later use.

Figure 4.1.9: The Great Bath and its surroundings, Mohenjodaro

Source: http://www.imagesofasia.com/html/mohenjodaro/mohenjodaro-1960s.html

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Figure 4.1.10: Dholavira

Source: http://www.globalheritagefund.org/uk/news/releases/images/site_image1_hires.jpg

The intermediate tier of the urban hierarchy was made up of sites that in several features recall
the layout of the monumental cities of the civilization but are smaller in size. Kalibangan, Lothal,
Kot Diji, Banawali and Amri are some of them and they can be considered as provincial centres.
Kalibangan, like Mohenjodaro and Harappa, comprised of two fortified mounds - the smaller
western one contained several mud brick platforms with fire altars on one of them. Most of the
houses on the eastern mound had fire-altars of a similar type. Lothal was also a fortified town
with its entire eastern sector being taken up by a dockyard (219x13m in size) which was
connected with the river through an inlet channel. In its vicinity was the 'acropolis' where the
remains of a storehouse, in which clay sealings, some with impressions of cords and other
materials on them, were discovered. Lothal's urban morphology also suggests that there is no
necessary relationship between the size of a city and its overall planning. Mohenjodaro was at
least 25 times the size of Lothal but the latter shares with it the presence of two separate areas,
burnt brick houses, and regularly aligned streets and drains. In fact, its paved streets and lanes
are unrivalled in the Indus context.

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Figure 4.1.11: Site plan: Lothal

Source: Joshi, J. P. & R. S. Bisht. 1994. India and the Indus Civilization. New Delhi: National
Museum Institute.

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Figure 4.1.12: A reconstruction of the town of Lothal

Source: http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_zTqIoHQeTQ4/TB-
UhzYEioI/AAAAAAAADSU/rmupflPqsjw/s1600/lothal.jpg

Figure 4.1.13: Site plan: Kalibangan

Source: Joshi, J. P. & R. S. Bisht. 1994. India and the Indus Civilization. New Delhi: National
Museum Institute.

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The third tier of the Harappan settlement hierarchy is made up of small, urban sites. These
show some evidence of planning but no internal sub-divisions. Notwithstanding their size and
structurally unprepossessing character, they had urban functions. Allahadino in Sind is one
such site, which had a diameter of only 100 metres but was an important metalcrafting
centre. Similarly, Kuntasi in Gujarat is a small Harappan fortified settlement where semi-
precious stones and copper were processed

Finally, urban centres were supported by and functionally connected with rural hinterlands
of sedentary villages and temporary / semi-nomadic settlements. While the latter are generally
small with thin occupational deposits, in the case of villages, outlines of huts and relatively
thick deposits have been encountered. Kanewal in Gujarat, for instance, is 300 square metres
and its cultural deposit (of 1.5 metre thickness) is suggestive of a secure village
settlement. Similarly, the archaeological deposits of the Harappan phase in the Yamuna-Ganga
doab - 1.8 metres at Alamgirpur and 1.4 metres at Hulas - indicates that the pioneer
colonizers of that area lived there for a long period of time. What is worth remembering is that,
on the basis of size, it is not wise to distinguish rural and urban sites of the Indus civilization.
In Cholistan, there are a few large sites, one of which covers 25 hectares (and, thus, is larger
than Kalibangan), which have been described as nomadic settlements, not urban ones. On the
other hand, Kuntasi was only 2 hectares in size but has been rightly classified as an urban
settlement because of its functional role as a provider of craft objects.

Agrarian base

A stable system of agriculture, supplemented by animal husbandry, hunting and plant gathering,
provided economic sustenance to urban networks. In view of the widely differing ecological
conditions of the distribution area of this civilization, the subsistence strategy is not likely to
have been a single or uniform one. The Harappans were familiar with the plough. Terracotta
ploughs have been found at Indus sites in Cholistan and at Banawali and a ploughed field was
revealed through excavation at Kalibangan. Though it belonged to the early Harappan period,
there is no reason to doubt that the pattern continued during the mature Harappan period.
The Kalibangan field contained two sets of furrows crossing each other at right angles, thus
forming a grid pattern, and it is likely that two crops were raised in the same field. In modern
fields in that zone, mustard is grown in one set of furrows and horse gram in the other. Mixed
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cropping is suggested by other evidence as well as, for instance, in the mixture of wheat and
barley at Indus sites. Such mixed cropping is practiced even today in many parts of north India
as an insurance against weather hazards so that if wheat fails to ripen, the hardier barley is
sure to yield a crop.

Figure 4.1.14: Kalibangan: part of a ploughed field showing a grid of furrows

Source: Joshi, J. P. & R. S. Bisht. 1994. India and the Indus Civilization. New Delhi: National
Museum Institute.

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Figure 4.1.15: Terracotta plough, Banawali

Source: Joshi, J. P. & R. S. Bisht. 1994. India and the Indus Civilization. New Delhi: National
Museum Institute.

Earlier, a broad division of cultivated crops among those areas in and around the Indus valley
on the one hand and Gujarat on the other hand, used to be recognized. In the Indus area, the
cereal component was considered to be exclusively of wheat and barley while in Gujarat, rice and
millets were more important. However, both rice and finger millet have now been discovered in
Harappa. There is a range of other cultivated crops including peas, lentils, chickpeas, sesame,
flax, legumes and cotton. The range suggests that in a few areas, double cropping was
practiced, aided by irrigation. Take the case of cotton. In Sind, cotton is usually a summer
crop and such crops have generally been cultivated with the help of irrigation. This is because
rainfall is extremely scanty, at about 8 inches. In any part of the Indian subcontinent which has
less than 10 or 12 inches of rainfall, if agriculture on any scale has to be carried out with a
substantial reduction of the risk factor, it can only be done with irrigation.

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Figure 4.1.16: Charred wheat grains from Harappa

Source: Original (courtesy: National Museum)

Cattle meat was the favourite animal food of the Indus people and cattle bones have been found
in large quantities at all sites that have yielded bones. In addition to their meat, cattle and
buffaloes must have supported agricultural operations and served as draught animals, Among
other things, this is suggested by their age of slaughter. At Shikarpur in Gujarat, a majority of
the cattle and buffaloes lived up to the age of maturity (approximately three years) and were
then killed at various stages till they reached eight years of age. Mutton was also popular and
bones of sheep/goat have been found at almost all Indus sites. Hunting of animals was not a
negligible activity; the ratio of the bones of wild animals in relation to domesticated varieties is
1:4. The animals include wild buffalo, various species of deer, wild pig, ass, jackal, rodents and
hare. The remains of fish and marine molluscs are frequently found as well as. As for food
gathering, wild rice was certainly consumed in the Yamuna-Ganga doab although the most
striking evidence comes from Surkotada in Gujarat where the overwhelming majority of
identified seeds are of wild nuts, grasses and weeds. In general, the Indus food economy was
a broad-based, risk-mitigating system - a pragmatic strategy, considering the large and
concentrated population groups that had to be supported.

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Craft production and trade

A spectacular range of artisanal production is encountered at Indus cities. On the one hand,
specialized crafts that had roots in the preceding period became more complex in terms of
technological processes, and on the other hand, the combinations of raw materials being used,
expanded. Along with the production of objects of daily use such as pottery and stone blades,
there was a widespread urban demand for shell artefacts, semi-precious stone and steatite
beads, faience objects, and implements as also jewellery in base and precious metals. It is now
reasonably clear that the Harappan civilization was not, in the main, a bronze using culture.
Pure copper was the dominant tradition. Additionally, there was a variety of alloys ranging from
low and high grade bronzes to copper-lead and copper-nickel alloys.

Some of the crafted objects are quintessentially Harappan, in the sense that they are neither
found prior to the advent of the urban civilization nor after its collapse. Indus seals (inscribed,
square or rectangular in shape, with representations of animals, most notably the 'unicorn') for
example, are rarely found in the late Harappan and post-Harappan contexts since the commercial
transactions for which they were used had dramatically shrunk. This is also true for the series of
Indus stone statues of animals and men, of which the most famous is that of the 'Priest King'.
These appear to have had a politico-religious significance and are in a sculptural idiom that is
very much within the realm of 'High Art'. The disappearance of this stone carving tradition can
be linked to the abandonment of urban centres, along with the migration and transformation of
elite groups. Similarly, long barrel carnelian beads are a typical Indus luxury product, which
were primarily manufactured at Chanhundaro. Their crafting demanded both skill and time; the
perforation in a 6 to 13 cm length bead required between three to eight days. Evidently, the
largely deurbanized scenario that followed the collapse of cities could not sustain such a
specialized production.

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Figure 4.1.17: Harappan pottery

Source: http://www.theancientweb.com/images/explore/India_Harappa_Pottery.jpg

Figure 4.1.18: Bronze ‘Dancing Girl’

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Dancing_Girl_of_Mohenjo-daro.jpg

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Figure 4.1.19: Stone head

Source: Original (courtesy: National Museum)

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Figure 4.1.20: Metal tools

Source: Original (courtesy: National Museum)

One of the most striking features of the Indus craft traditions is that they are not region-
specific. Shell objects were manufactured at Nagwada and Nageshwar in Gujarat and at
Chanhundaro and Mohenjodaro in Sind. Similarly, metal artefacts were produced at Lothal in
Gujarat, at Harappa in the Bari doab of Punjab and at Allahadino and Mohenjodaro in Sind.
While craft objects were manufactured at many places, the manufacturing technology could be
surprisingly standardized. In the case of shell bangles, at practically all sites they had a uniform
width of between 5 mm and 7 mm and they were almost everywhere sawn by a saw that had a
blade thickness of between 0.4 mm and 0.6mm. What is equally striking about the wide
distribution of craft production is that, in a number of cases, manufacture depended on raw
materials that were not locally available. At Mohenjodaro, shell artifacts were manufactured
from the marine mollusc, Turbinella pyrum, found along the Sind and Baluchistan coast which
was brought in a raw state from there. Similarly, there is impressive evidence of manufacture of
copper based craft items at Harappa ranging from furnaces to slag and unfinished objects, even
though the city was located in a minerally poor area.

Such craft production could survive and prosper because of a highly organized trading system.
Indus people had the capacity to mobilize resources from various areas ranging from Rajasthan
to Afghanistan and, considering the scale of manufacture, it is likely that there were full-time
traders that helped in providing the necessary raw materials. Most of these resource-rich
areas also show evidence of contact with the Indus civilization. For example, at Chalcolithic Kulli
culture sites, Harappan unicorn seals and pottery have been found. Similarly, the
exploitation of Rajasthan's raw materials is underlined by Harappan pottery at some sites of the
Ganeshwar-Jodhpura chacolithic complex and by the strong stylistic similarities in the copper
arrowheads, spearheads and fish hooks of the two cultures.

In addition to raw materials, other types of objects were traded. On the one hand, there was
trade in food items as is underlined by the presence of marine cat fish at Harappa, a city that
was hundreds of kilometers away from the sea. Craft items were also traded. Small
manufacturing centres like Nageshwar were providing shell ladles to Mohenjodaro which also
received chert blades from the Rorhi hills of Sind. It is now possible to visualize the exchange
of finished objects between the monumental cities of the Indus civilization as well. For
instance, stoneware bangles - a highly siliceous, partially sintered ceramic body with low
porosity -manufactured at Mohenjodaro have been found 570 kilometres north, at Harappa.
The nature of the social process involved in this exchange is unknown but is unlikely to be a
case of satisfying an economic demand, since Harappa was also producing such
bangles. Possibly, the unidirectional movement of some bangles from Mohenjodaro to

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Harappa is related to social transactions among related status or kin groups in the two
cities.

The Indus civilization had wide ranging contacts with cultures and civilizations to the
northwest and west of its distribution area. Indus and Indus-related objects have been
found in north Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, north and south Iran, Bahrain, Failaka and the
Oman Peninsula in the Persian Gulf, and north and south Mesopotamia. The objects include
etched carnelian and long barrel-cylinder carnelian beads, square/ rectangular Indus
seals, pottery with the Indus script, 'Indus' motifs on local seals, ivory objects, and various
terracottas such as ithyphallic specimens that have strong Indus analogues. Externally
derived objects and traits have been found at Indus sites such as seals with
Mesopotamian and Persian Gulf affinities, externally derived motifs on seals and steatite/
chlorite vessels.

At the same time, the importance that has been attached in Indus studies to the regions
west of Baluchistan as the main areas from which the Indus civilization procured its raw
materials, whether it is copper from Oman or carnelian of Persian Gulf origin is, somewhat
misplaced. There is an abundance of raw materials on the peripheries and within the area
where Indus cities and settlements flourished. Before the advent of Indus urbanism, these
raw materials were being used by the various cultures that were antecedent to the Indus
civilization and subsequently as well, they continued to be a part of the repertories of
late/post-Harappan horizons, albeit on a reduced scale as compared to the situation during
the civilizational phase. While, there may have been some raw materials involved in long
distance trade, there is no reason to argue that the Indus civilization was in any way either
solely or significantly dependent on the regions to the west for such resources.

Summary

• The Harappan civilization, dated c. 2600-1900 BC, emerged in the northwestern part
of the subcontinent, and is one of the Bronze Age civilizations of antiquity.

• All the ancient civilizations – Mesopotamian, Egyptian, Chinese and Harappan are
believed at have evolved from a pre-existing, indigenous socio-cultural and
technological matrix and not because of the diffusion of the idea of civilization.

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• Different parts of the northwest of the subcontinent were precursors of the Harappan
civilization and show some, if not all the features related to the Early Harappan
phase.

• The Early Harappan phase came into existence in the last quarter of the 4th and early
3rd millennium BC at different sites like Amri, Kot Diji, Kalibangan, Jalilpur, Kunal and
Harappa.

• The vast expanse of this civilization has revealed a multi-tiered settlement pattern
with urban, intermediate urban and rural sites that varied in terms of size and
function.

• The monumentality of the civilization can be seen in structures like the Great Bath at
Mohenjodaro, the Granary at Harappa and the water management system at
Dholavira.

• The Harappan civilization was a product of, and based on, intensive and diverse
subsistence strategies of agriculture, animal husbandry, hunting and plant gathering.

• A spectacular range of craft production is encountered in what constitutes the

‘Harappan repertoire’ – the typical black-on-red pottery and variety of artefacts.

• This rich artisanal production tapped and prospered on a highly organized trading
network in which the resource potential of the hinterland as well as neighbouring
areas was exploited.

• The external trade of the Harappan civilization included the areas of north
Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, north and south Iran, Bahrain, Failaka, Oman peninsula
and north and south Mesopotamia.

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4.1: Exercises

Essay questions

1) The Harappan civilization was a product of, and culmination of, a long process of
technological and socio-cultural developments. Examine this statement in the light of
the early Harappan cultures of the subcontinent.

2) Write an essay on the distribution and settlement pattern of the Harappan

civilization.

3) Write a short note on Sir John Marshall’s discovery and announcement of the Indus
Valley Civilization.

Objective questions

Question Number Type of question LOD

1 Match the following 1

Question
Match the following:

a) Terracotta plough i) Kalibangan

b) Largest Harappan site in Kutch ii) Mohenjodaro

c) Hakra ware iii) Banawali

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d) Fire altars iv) Dholavira

e) Great Bath v) Cholistan

Correct Answer / a) and iii), b) and iv), c) and v), d) and i), e) and ii)
Option(s)

Justification/ Feedback for the correct answer

a) A model of a terracotta plough was found at Banawali.

b) Dholavira is the largest Harappan site so far discovered and excavated in Kutch.

c) Hakra ware is the typical pottery, first identified in and found most prolifically, in
the valley of river Hakra, Cholistan.

d) Fire altars were unearthed at the citadel mound of Kalibangan.

e) The Great Bath is the most well-known structure at the site of Mohenjodaro.

Resource/Hints/Feedback for the wrong answer

Reviewer’s Comment:

Question Number Type of question LOD

2 Fill in the blanks 2

Question
Match the following:

a) _________ is the northernmost site of the Harappan civilization and __________

its southernmost extension.

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b) The site of ________ is well-known for its dockyard.

c) The evidence of an early Harappan ploughed field comes from _________.

d) ________ is the mythical animal represented on Harappan seals.

e) The city of __________ was divided into three parts – citadel, middle town and
lower town.

Correct Answer / a) Shortughai and Bhagatrav

Option(s) b) Lothal
c) Kalibangan
d) Unicorn
e) Dholavira

Justification/ Feedback for the correct answer

a) The northernmost site of the Indus civilization, Shortughai, is in northeast

Afghanistan. Bhagatrav, on the estuary of the Kim river, forms the southernmost
extension of the Harappan civilization.

b) The dockyard at Lothal is a defining Harappan structure.

c) A ploughed field was revealed during excavations at Kalibangan.

d) The unicorn is the only mythical animal depicted on Harappan seals, all other animals
being real ones like tiger, bull, elephant etc.

e) Dholavira, in Kutch, has a tripartite division into upper, middle and lower town.

Resource/Hints/Feedback for the wrong answer

Reviewer’s Comment:

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Glossary

Acro-sanctum: an elevated/citadel kind of sacred/ritual space

Assemblage: in archaeology, refers collectively to all the industries found at a site
Bronze Age: a period of human culture between the Stone Age and Iron age, characterized
by weapons and implements made of copper-bronze and the earliest monumental remains,
urban life, use of script etc
Carnelian: a reddish or reddish-brown variety of chalcedony, used in jewellery
Doab: land between two rivers
Early Harappan: the early, formative, proto-urban phase of the Harappan culture.
Mature Harappan: the urban phase of the Harappan culture
Seal: a die or signet having a raised or incised emblem/design, used to stamp an
impression upon a receptive substance such as wet clay/wax/cloth
Sealing: the impression of a seal
Type site: a site where the characteristic traits of a culture are first identified

Further readings

Agrawal, D. P. 1985. THE Archaeology of India. London: Curzon Press.

--------------- 2007. The Indus Civilization: An Interdisciplinary Perspective. New Delhi:

Aryan Books International.

Allchin, B. & R. Allchin. 1982. The Rise of Civilization in India and Pakistan. Cambridge: The
University Press.

------------------------. 1997. Origins of a Civilization: The Prehistory and Early Archaeology

of South Asia. New Delhi: Viking, Penguin Books.

Chakrabarti, D. K. 1999, India: An Archaeological History. New Delhi: Oxford University

Press.

---------------------. 2006. The Oxford Companion to Indian Archaeology. New Delhi: Oxford
University Press.

Joshi, J. P. & Bisht, R. S. 1994. India and the Indus Civilization. New Delhi: National
Museum Institute.

Lahiri, N. 2005.Finding forgotten Cities: How the Indus Civilization was Discovered. Delhi:
Permanent Black.
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Possehl, G. L. 2002. The Indus Civilization: A Contemporary Perspective. New Delhi: Vistaar
Publications.

Singh, U. 2009, A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India. New Delhi: Pearson
Education.

Thapar, B. K. 1985. Recent Archaeological Discoveries in India. Paris: UNESCO.

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