INDUS VALLEY CIVILISATION
By: Rahul Behera
Tags: Economics, Mohanjodaro, Harappa, Indus Valley Civilization, Social

1. It was the first Indus site to be discovered and excavated under the supervision of Daya Ram Sahni in 1921,on the river Ravi . The Indus civilization was originally called Harappa Civilization after the discovery of this site.

2. The vast mounds at Harappa were first reported by Masson in 1826 and visited by Cunningham in 1853 and 1873.

3. The six granaries here are located outside the citadel, but immediately next to it in the West .

4. Barracks or rows of single- roomed quarters are situated just below the walls of the citadel. The probably house laboures.

5. The location of Harappa has led several authors to conclude that it was a Gateway city. Two types of burial practices, one of typical R 37 type and other H type cemented are seen.

6. Harayana’s Bhirrana oldest Harappa site in Indian Subcontinent, according to new Archaeological Survey of India.

7. Other findings stone symbol of lingam and yoni, virgin goddess, wheat and barely in wooden mortar, copper scale and mirror, vanity box, dice, log chasing a deer, nude male and nude dancing female, naked male Torso has been found which shows traces of Jainism.

1. It is one of the largest site and was discovered by RD Bannerjee in 1922, situated on the river Indus. In Sindhi language, the word Mohenjodaro means mound of the dead .

2. Other bulinding include on oblong multipillared assembly hall and a big rectangular bulinding which must have served administrative purpose .

3. Other finding are Pashupati Seal , bronze image of a dancing girl , 3 cylindrical seals and steatite image of a bearded man , clay figures of mother goddess , dice , idol of yogi and granary .

4. The Great Bath is the most important place of public . It was used for religious bathing , steps at either end lead to the surface . There were changing rooms with inlet to the tank and outlet to drown water . It measured 39 feet (length) and 23 feet (breadth) and 8 feet (depth) .

1. Town planning was not uniform . Common feature was grid system i.e. streets cutting across one another at right angles , dividing the town into large rectangural blocks .

2. The towns were divided into two parts : upper part or citadel and lower part . The fortified citadel on the Western side house public building and members of ruling class . Below the citadel on the Eastern side lay the lower town inhabited by the common people .

3. Houses , often of two or more storeys , generally had side entrances and no window faced the main street . There was large- scale use of burnt bricks and complete absence of stone building . Round pillars were absent .

1. The drainage system was very impressive . In almost all cities every big or small house had its own courtyard and bathroom . Water flowed from the houses to the streets which had drains .

2. Underground drainage system connected all houses to the street drains , made of mortal , lime and gypsum , covered with either brick or stone slabs and equipped with manhole . This shows developed sense of health and sanitation .

3. Drains were built of brunt bricks .

4. The quality of domestic bathrooms and drains is remarkable .

1. It was the highly developed urban way of life . Society principally consisted of middle class urban people . Presence of various classes like priests , merchants , craftsman , peasants and laborers can be seen .

2. The dress of the men consisted of two garments : the upper and the lower cotton garments , which were generally used . Wool was also used . Different kinds of necklaces have been discovered . Bracelets were used quite commonly . The vanity case found at Harappa reveals , that the Harappa women knew the art of wall painting .

There is no clear idea about the political organization of the Harappa . No temple have been found at any site . We have no religious structure of any kind except the Great Bath , which was meant for ritual bathing . Therefore , it would be wrong to think that priests ruled in Harappa . It must be noted that Harappa were lacking in weapons .

1. Chief Female Diety A terracotta figure where a plant is shown growing out of the embryo of a women , represent Mother Goddess ( Goddess of Earth ) .

2. Chief Male Diety Pashupati Mahadeva ( proto-Siva ) , represent in seals as sitting in a yogic posture on a low throne and having three faces and two horns . He is surrounded by an elephant , a tiger , a rhino and a buffalo and two deer paper at his feet .

3. Numerous symbols of one phallus ( lingam ) and female sex organ made of stone indicates the prevalence of lingam and yoni worship .

4. Trees ( pipal ) , animals ( bull ) , birds ( dove , pigeon ) and stone were worshipped . No temple has been found through idolatry was practiced .

5. Indus people believed in ghost and evil force and used amulets as protection against them .

The Harappa economy was based on irrigated surplus agriculture , cattle rearing , proficiency in various crafts and brisk trade .

1. Agriculture was the backbone of the civilization . The soil was fertile due to inundation in the river Indus and flooding .

2. They used wooden plough share and stone sickles for harvesting . Gabarbands or Nalas enclosed by dam for storing water a feature in parts of Baluchistan .

3. Crops produce were wheat , barley , dates , peas , sesamum , mustard , millet , ragi , bajra and jowar . At Lothal and Rangpur , rice husks were found .

4. First to produce cotton in the world , which Greek called as Sindon derived from Sindh .

5. A fragment of women cotton cloth was found at Mohenjodaro . Indigo was evident from Rojdi , well irrigation from Aldinho , dams and irrigation canals from Dholavira . Sugarcane was not known to Indus people .

1. Animal rearing was practiced . They domesticated buffaloes , sheep , oxens , asses , pigs , goats , elephants , dogs , and cats etc. Camel bones are reported at Kalibangan .

2. They did not know about the horse , except a jaw bone of horse which has been recovered from Surkotada in Gujarat . However , they did not know about lion .

1. Agriculture , industry and forest produce provided the basis for internal and external trade . Trade was based on Barter System . Coins are not evident .

2. Weights and measures were made of limestone , steatile etc , generally , in cubical shape . They were in multiples of 16 . Several sticks inscribed with measure marks have been discovered . It points that liner system of measurement was in use . They had trade relation with Shortughai and Mundigak in Afghanistan , Altyn Depe and Namazga in Turkmenistan and Tepe Yahya and Shahri- Sokhta in Iran . Dilmun ( Bahrain ) and Makan ( Makran coast ) were two intermediate stations . Indigo was exported to Egypt .

3. Indus valley civilization mentioned as Meluha in Sumerian literature , evidence of trade between Dilmun and Makan from Sumerian text .

4. Seals of Indus valley have been noticed from Ur , Kis , Susa and Logas town of Mesopotamia .

5. Mesopotamia cylindrical seals have been found from Mohenjodaro . Figure of humped bull on Mesopotamian seals . Use of Mesopotamian cosmetic products by the Harappans .

6. Coffin made burials have been a foreign phenomenon which were found in Harappa and Mesopotamia .

The Harappans were utilitarians although not completely devoid of artistic sense . Their most notable artistic achievement was their seal engraving .

1. Harappan pottery is bright or dark red and is uniformaly sturdy and well baked : Script is also engraved on it . It is chiefly wheel made and consist of both plain and painted ware , the plain variety being more common .

2. Harappan people used different types of pottery such as glazed , polychrome , incised perforated and knobbed . The glazed Harappan pottery is the earliest example of its kind in the ancient world .

3. On the whole , Harappan pottery was highly utilitarian in character , though the painted designs on some pieces show a remarkable artistic touch .

1. The seals commonly are made of steatile ( soft stone ) . The technique of cutting and polishing these seals with white lustre was a unique invention of the Harappans .

2. The majority of the seals have an animals engraved on them with pa short inscription . Unicorn is the animals most frequently represented on the seals . The famous Bull seal was found from Mohenjodaro .

1. Script and language are undeciphered , script is pictographic in nature . Fish symbol is most represented .

2. Overlapping of the letters show that it was written from right to left in the first line and then left to right in the second line . The style is called Boustrophedon . A signboard inscription bearing 10 pictographs has been found from Dholavira in Gujarat .

Fire backed clay was used to make toys , objects of worship , animals and both male and female figurines .