Indus Valley Civilization

Introduction

The greater Indus region was home to the largest of the four ancient urban civilizations of Egypt, Mesopotamia, South Asia and China. It was not discovered until the 1920's. Most of its ruins, even its major cities, remain to be excavated. The ancient Indus Civilization script has not been deciphered.

Many questions about the Indus people who created this highly complex culture remain unanswered, but other aspects of their society can be answered through various types of archaeological studies.

Harappa was a city in the Indus civilization that flourished around 2600 to 1700 BCE in the western part of South Asia.

Cities and Context

The Harappans used the same size bricks and standardized weights as were used in other Indus cities such as Mohenjo Daro and Dholavira. These cities were well planned with wide streets, public and private wells, drains, bathing platforms and reservoirs. One of its most well-known structures is the Great Bath of Mohenjo Daro .

There were other highly developed cultures in adjacent regions of Baluchistan, Central Asia and peninsular India.Material culture and the skeletons from the Harappa cemetery and other sites testify to a continual intermingling of communities from both the west and the east. Harappa was settled before what we call the ancient Indus civilization flourished, and it remains a living town today.

The Saraswati River

In fact, there seems to have been another large river which ran parallel and west of the Indus in the third and fourth millenium BCE. This was the ancient Saraswati-Ghaggar-Hakra River (which some scholars associate with the Saraswati River of the Rg Veda).

Its lost banks are slowly being traced by researchers. Along its now dry bed, archaeologists are discovering a whole new set of ancient towns and cities. 

Meluhha

Ancient Mesopotamian texts speak of trading with at least two seafaring civilizations - Magan and Meluhha - in the neighborhood of South Asia in the third millennium B.C. This trade was conducted with real financial sophistication in amounts that could involve tons of copper. The Mesopotamians speak of Meluhha as a land of exotic commodities. A wide variety of objects produced in the Indus region have been found at sites in Mesopotamia. 

This site tells the story of the ancient Indus Civilization through the words and photographs of the world's leading scholars in the US, Europe, India and Pakistan. It starts with the re-discovery of Harappa in the early 19th century by the explorer Charles Masson and later Alexander Burnes, and formally by the archaeologist Sir Alexander Cunningham in the 1870's. This work led to the the first excavations in the early 20th century at Harappa by Rai Bahadur Daya Ram Sahni, and by R.D. Banerji at another Indus Civilization city, Mohenjo Daro .

Indus Civilization Geography

The Largest Bronze Age Urban Civilization Indus civilization remnants have been discovered from as far south as Mumbai [Bombay], in Maharashtra State, India, and as far north as the Himalayas and northern Afghanistan. The westernmost sites are on the Arabian sea coast in Baluchistan, Pakistan, right next to the Iranian border. A thousand miles to the east in India, Harappan settlements have been found beyond India's capital, New Delhi in Uttar Pradesh State. Discoveries in Lothal and Gola Dhoro and Dholavira in Gujarat State suggest a southern coastal network spanning hundreds of miles. A structure once considered a granary is now thought to have been a large building with ventilated air ducts. A set of working platforms to the south of this structure are also of great interest to archaeologists. An abundance of terracotta figurines at Harappa provided the first clues in the 19th century to the ancient Indus - often abbreviated as Harappan - civilization Cultural Development Indus culture seems to have gradually spread from west to east, with sites towards central and southern India flourishing after Harappa and Mohenjo Daro had declined. The drying up of the ancient Saraswati or Ghaggar-Hakra River, east of and parallel to the Indus, may also have affected the civilization. There are numerous Indus sites along that river bed. Earlier scholars thought that Indo-Aryan invaders destroyed the Indus cities and pushed the remnant populations into southern India. This model is no longer supported, but the decline of the Indus people and the language that they spoke is still a subject of study. It is unclear whether the ancient Harappans would have spoken an Indo-Aryan or Dravidian language, or possibly have spoken even other languages such as Mundari. The existence of the Brahui tribe in Baluchistan, to the west of the Indus, who speak a Dravidian language like Tamil spoken in southeast India, suggests that some migration of people or culture did occur. However, the date for these migrations is not confirmed. The possible endurance of certain Indus signs like the arrow sign is suggestive of some continuity, but this too needs to be studied further. There also seems to be much greater cultural continuity between ancient Indus times and the era after 1700 BCE until today than earlier archaeologists have tended to recognize. An archaeological look at a contemporary Baluchi fishing village by William Belcher is one such example. New Research and Writing From a look at the mysterious ancient flint mines in the Rohri Hills which date to thousands of yearsbefore the greater Indus Civilization (2300 BCE) byDr. Paolo Biagi [University of Venice] to a tour of new discoveries in Baluchistan by Dr. Ute Franke-Vogt [Aachen University], this site covers some of the exciting discoveries in the larger geographical and cultural stratum that gave birth to the Indus and later Indian civilizations. This site also covers the continuing attempts to decipher the ancient Indus signs and what most scholars regard as one of the world's oldest written languages [for exceptions see Steve Farmer, Richard Sproat [University of Illinois], and Michael Witzel [Harvard University], The Collapse of the Indus-Script Thesis: The Myth of a Literate Harappan Civilization] . This includes publishing in 2006 the essay Study of the Indus Script recent paper by Dr. Asko Parpola [University of Helsinki], the dean of Indus script research. In 2006 we published his response to Farmer, et. al. In May 2006 we published India's script expert, Iravatham Mahadevan's report on the possible find of a stone axe in Tamil Nadu, south India, with ancient Indus signs on it. There is much more work by both these scholars, as well as Pakistan's Ahmad Hasan Dani, who disagrees with the Indus and Dravidian language link. Geoffrey Cooke has an essay which looks at a single unicorn seal find in Mohenjo Daro. This site also reported the first early Indus script find dating to 3300 BCE in Harappa in 1999, which puts the origin of Indus signs as early as those of ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia. Much new research is being undertaken on the ground in India and Pakistan, as well as in Oman and Afghanistan. Radiocarbon chronologies are proving very useful. Satellite imaging is exposing old trade routes. Answers to questions about "Aryan invaders" and the drying up of river beds are likely to be answered in the coming years. Harappa Harappa was an Indus civilization urban center. It lies in Punjab Province, Pakistan, on an old bed of the River Ravi. The latest research has revealed at least five mounds at Harappa that 3-D renditions of Harappa show to have been surrounded by extensive walls. Two mounds have large walls around them, perhaps as much for trade regulation as defense. Mohenjo daro Mohenjodaro is probably the best known Indus site. Mohenjo Daro is in Sindh, Pakistan, next to the Indus River, not far from the very early human flint mining quarries at Rohri. The Indus may once have flowed to the west of Mohenjo Daro, but it is now located to the east. Here the Great Bath, uniform buildings and weights, hidden drains and other hallmarks of the civilization were discovered in the 1920's. This is where the most unicorn seals have been found. Due to a rising water table, most of the site remains unexcavated, and its earliest levels have not been reached. Dholavira Dholavira is located on Khadir Beyt, an island in the Great Rann of Kutch in Gujarat State, India. It has only been excavated since 1990. As large as Harappa and Mohenjo Daro, it has some of the best preserved stone architecture. A tantalizing signboard with Indus script has also been discovered. Dholavira appears to have had several large reservoirs, and an elaborate system of drains to collect water from the city walls and house tops to fill these water tanks. Lothal Lothal is on the top of the Gulf of Khambat in Gujarat, India, near the Sabarmati River and the Arabian Sea. It is the most extensively researched Harappan coastal site. A bead factory and Persian Gulf seal have been found here suggesting that like many sites on the Gulf of Khambat, it was deeply into trading. Rakhigarhi Rakhigarhi is a recently discovered city in Haryana, India. Partial excavations have revealed that it is as large as Harappa, Mohenjo Daro and Ganweriwala. Ganweriwala Ganeriwala is in Punjab, Pakistan near the Indian border. It was first discovered by Sir Aurel Stein and surveyed by Dr. M. R. Mughal in the 1970s. It spreads over 80 hectares and is almost as large as Mohenjo Daro. It is near a dry bed of the former Ghaggar or Sarasvati River, and has not been excavated, yet. Equidistant between Harappa and Mohenjo Daro, Ganweriwala may have been a fifth major urban center. Smaller Settlements Gola Dhoro (also known as Bagasara) is a site in Gujarat, India, excavated from 1996 to 2004.A distinctive ancient Indus seal was found there, as well as extensive evidence for the sudden evacuation of this tiny town with well stocked manufacturing facilities. Daimabad is in Maharashtra near Bombay. Discovered in 1958, it is a controversial site. Some suggest that the pottery and single shard with ancient Indus signs on it is definitive of Harappan settlement; others say the evidence is not sufficient. A unique hoard of exquisite bronze chariots and animals that may or may not be of Indus Civilization style was also found here. Chanhudaro is 80 miles south of Mohenjo Daro in Sindh. It was a manufacturing center. Various tool, shell, bone and seal-making facilities which involved writing were found. Beads were made using efficiently layered floors. Chanhudaro seems also to have been hastily abandoned. Sutkagen Dor in Baluchistan is the westernmost known Harappan site located on the Pakistani border with Iran. It is thought to have once been on a navigable inlet of the Arabian Sea. The usual citadel and town are present, as well as defensive walls 30 feet wide. Sutkagen Dor would have been on the trade route from Lothal in Gujarat to Mesopotamia and was probably heavily involved in the fishing trade similar to that which exists today in the coast along Baluchistan. All these sites flourished for various periods between 3500 and 1700 BCE. There are probably many more important Indus sites. Some must have been lost or destroyed by shifting river paths. Others are probably buried under modern towns.  What does seem clear is that the important sites were ancient commercial centers. They are on rivers or near the coast. Various specialized manufacturing facilities suggest that they were heavily involved in trade with each other and far outside the region. Hariyupia and the Aryan Invasion of India Hariyupia in the Rg Veda In aid of Abhyavartin Cayamana, Indra destroyed the seed of Varasikha. At Hariyupiyah he smote the vanguard of the Vrcivans, and the rear fled frighted. Rg Veda (VI.27.5) - - - Is the Hariyupiyah mentioned in this Hymn from theRg Veda the Harappa of the Indus Civilization? The Vedas contain the oldest recorded history of the subcontinent. The gap between the demise of Harappa and Vedic history has been traditionally estimated at 1,000 years. Yet new work suggests that the Vedas could be much older. One cannot say if Hariyupia refers to Harappa. The place is never again mentioned in the Rg Veda. According to some commentators, it may refer to a river. Varasika and the Vrichivat are not mentioned again either. Nevertheless, the Rg Veda presents much relevant information for understanding the Indus Civilization. A number of other ancient texts, from Mesopotamia, China and Greece, can help shed light on what happened to the Harappans. Aryan Invasion of India? There is no evidence for an Aryan invasion of the subcontinent, as some old archaeologists once thought. But large amounts of new research need to be done to better understand the complex interactions between the Indus Saraswati river basins and the neighboring areas. Below is an excerpt on the connection with Hariyupia and a possible Indo-Aryan invasion from an essay by Jonathan Mark Kenoyer in Edwin Bryant's recent book compiling evidence from many scholars Indo-Aryan Controversy: Evidence and Inference in Indian History (Routledge Curzon, 2005). Hariyupia and the Rg Veda  "Many scholars have argued that the site of Harappa can possibly be associated with a reference in the Rg Veda(VI.27.4-8) to a place called Hariyupia (Majundar, Raychaudhuri, Datta, 1961; Wheeler 1968; Singh 1995). In this Vedic reference, there is a description of a battle between two forces, one led by Abhyavartin, son of Chayamana (Puru clan) and the other by Turuvasa (Turuvasa Clan); leader of the Vrichivat, seed of Varasika (Sen 1974; Majumdar, Raychaudhuri, Datta, 1961:25-26). The batttle was fought at Hariyupiyia, which appears to have been situated to the east of the Yabyabati River (possibly the Ravi). Half of the attacking force was scattered in the west, presumably on the other side of the river, while the other portion was defeated by Abhyavartin, aided by Indra (Singh 1995). There is no evidence for a battle of conflagration in either the Harappan or later Harappan levels at the site of Harappa, but given the nature of many historical conflicts it is possible that the battle may have taken place outside the city. Since the invading forces were defeated, there is no need to find destruction levels in the city itself and the identification of the place called Hariyupia remains un-resolved." After many decades of research, the Indus Civilization is still something of an enigma -- an ancient civilization with a writing system that still awaits convincing decipherment, monumental architecture whose function still eludes us, no monumental art, a puzzling decline, and little evidence of the identity of its direct descendants. In a civilization extending over an area so vast, we expect to find monumental art and/or architectural symbols of power displaying the names of the powerful. Instead, we find an emphasis on small, elegant art and sophisticated craft technology. In this so-called "faceless civilization," three-dimensional representations of living beings in the Harappan world are confined to a few stone and bronze statues and some small objects crafted in faience, stone, and other materials - with one important exception. Ranging in size from slightly larger than a human thumb to almost 30 cm. (one foot) in height, the anthropomorphic and animal terracotta figurines from Harappa and other Indus Civilization sites offer a rich reflection of some of the Harappan ideas about representing life in the Bronze Age. 2. Ox- or water buffalo-drawn cart with driver from Harappa.   Terracotta figurines have long been considered toys, often without question. Other objects such as carts, wheels, and charpoi (cots) made of terracotta at a similar scale may reinforce this interpretation for at least some of the terracotta figurines. Several styles of carts as well as wheels made of terracotta have been found at Harappa. These were probably originally held together by wooden components that have not preserved. These terracotta carts are very similar to carts drawn by oxen or water buffalo today in South Asia. A realistic scene can easily be created with the addition of anthropomorphic figurines representing human drivers accompanied by miniature pottery and bundles of straw. '

3. Early Harappan stylized female figurine from Harappa. The earliest anthropomorphic figurines from Harappa thus far are from the Early Harappan (Ravi Phase, Period 1, and Kot Diji Phase, Period 2) levels. Among these are stylized seated female figurines with exaggerated buttocks and thighs and joined legs extended in front. 4. Early Harappan female figurine with painted features from Harappa. Another style of Early Harappan female figurine holds a round object, possibly a vessel, with both hands at the waist above a flaring lower body which ends in a (broken) forward-extending base. The hair is bound at the back of the head into a tiered hairstyle. Details such as a necklace with long pendants, bangles, and grid-like lines possibly depicting textile designs are painted in black. At the peak of the Indus Civilization or the Harappan Period (Period 3), the most common dress for female figurines was the belt and/or short skirt usually situated at the same point on the hips as the figurine’s hands. The fan-shaped headdress was one of the most commonly depicted Indus headdresses. Figurine headdresses were typically decorated in a variety of ways through the addition of terracotta cones, twisted ropes (possibly representing hair), flowers and other applied ornaments. Male figurine from Harappa Approximately 1052 cities and settlements belonging to the Indus Valley Civilization have been excavated till date, mainly in the general region of the Ghaggar and Indus Rivers and their tributaries. The artifacts discovered in these cities suggest a sophisticated and technologically advanced urban culture. The concept of urban planning is also widely evident. There is also the existence of the first urban sanitation systems in the world. the sewerage and drainage system found in the each and every city of Indus Valley comes across as even more efficient than those in some areas of Pakistan and India today.  Dockyards, granaries, warehouses, brick platforms and protective walls have been found in almost all the cities of the Indus Valley Civilization. The evidence suggests that most city dwellers were traders or artisans, who lived with others belonging to the same occupation in well-defined neighborhoods. Social equality seems to be widely prevalent in the cities of Indus Valley, though there are some houses that are bigger than the others.  Geography The Ancient Indus River Valley Civilization extended from Balochistan to Gujarat and from the east of the river Jhelum to Rupar. Some time back, a number of sites were also discovered in Pakistan's NW Frontier Province. Harappan Civilization covered most of Pakistan, along with the western states of India. Even though most of the sites have been found on the river embankments, some have been excavated from the ancient seacoast and islands as well. As per some archaeologists, the number of Harappan sites, unearthed along the dried up river beds of the Ghaggar-Hakra River and its tributaries, is around 500. Apart from that, those along the Indus and its tributaries are approximately 100 in number. Phases The three main phases of the Indus Valley Civilization are: Early Harappan (Integration Era) Mature Harappan (Localization Era) Late Harappan (Regionalization Era) Early Harappan Phase The Early Harappan Phase lasted from 3300 BC to 2800 BC. It is related to the Hakra Phase, identified in the Ghaggar-Hakra River Valley. The earliest examples of the Indus script date back to 3000 BC. This phase stands characterized by centralized authority and an increasingly urban quality of life. Trade networks had been established and there was also domestication of crops. Peas, sesame seeds, dates, cotton, etc, were grown during that time. Kot Diji represents the phase leading up to Mature Harappan Phase. Mature Harappan Phase By 2600 BC, Indus Valley Civilization had entered into a mature stage. The early Harappan communities were turning into large urban centers, like Harappa and Mohenjodaro in Pakistan and Lothal in India. The concept of irrigation had also been introduced. The following features of the Mature Phase were more prominent:  Late Harappan Phase The signs of a gradual decline of the Indus River Valley Civilization are believed to have started around 1800 BC. By 1700 BC, most of the cities were abandoned. However, one can see the various element of the Ancient Indus Valley Civilization in later cultures. Archaeological data indicates the persistence of the Late Harappan culture till 1000-900 BC. The major reasons of the decline of the civilization are believed to be connected with climate change. Not only did the climate become much cooler and drier than before, but substantial portions of the Ghaggar Hakra river system also disappeared. Science The people of Indus Valley are believed to be amongst the first to develop a system of uniform weights and measures. Their smallest division was approximately 1.704 mm. Decimal division of measurement was used for all practical purposes. The brick weights were in a perfect ratio of 4:2:1. The numerous inventions of the Indus River Valley Civilization include an instrument used for measuring whole sections of the horizon and the tidal dock. The people of Harappa evolved new techniques in metallurgy and produced copper, bronze, lead and tin. They also had the knowledge of proto-dentistry and the touchstone technique of gold testing.  Arts and Culture Various sculptures, seals, pottery, gold jewelry and figurines in terracotta, bronze and steatite, etc, have been excavated from the sites of the Ancient Indus Valley Civilization. Other crafts that have been unearthed include shell works, ceramics, agate, glazed steatite bead making, special kind of combs, etc. There is also evidence of seals, toys, games and stringed musical instruments in the Indus Valley.  Trade and Transportation Trade seems to the major occupation of the people of the Harappan Civilization. The main forms of transport include bullock carts and boats. Archaeologists have also discovered an enormous, dredged canal and docking facility at the coastal city of Lothal. The pottery, seals, figurines, ornaments, etc, of the civilization show great similarities with those of Central Asia and the Iranian plateau, indicating trade with them. Then, there are signs of maritime trade network between the Harappan and Mesopotamian civilizations also.  Agriculture The major cultivated cereal crop was naked six-row barley, a crop derived from two-row barley. However, not much information is available on the farmers and their agricultural methods.  Symbol System As many as 400 distinct Indus symbols have been found on seals, ceramic pots and other materials excavated from the Indus Valley. Typical Indus inscriptions are, at the most, four or five characters in length and quite small. The longest inscription on any object is 26 symbols long. Indus symbols have been found on ritual objects also, many of which were mass-produced.  Religion The large number of figurines found in the Indus Valley Civilization suggests that the Harappan people worshipped a Mother Goddess, who symbolized fertility. Some of the seals of that time also have the swastikas engraved on them. Then, there are some others in which a figure is seated in a yoga-like posture and is surrounded by animals. The figure is quite similar to that of Lord Pashupati, the Lord of Creatures.