Harappan / Indus Civilization (2500 BC – 1750 BC) || हरप्पन / सिंधु सभयता (2500 BC - 1750 BC) ||

The oldest name – Indus Civilization. According to archaeological tradition, the most appropriate name – Harappan Civilization (Harappa – the first discovered site). British historian A. J. Toynbee called ‘Indus Civilization’. According to the geographical point of view, the most suitable name – Indus – Saraswati Civilization (the largest concentration of settlement – along the Indus – Saraswati river valley; 80% settlement along the Saraswati). The most accepted period – 2500 BC – 1750 BC (by carbon – 14 dating). This civilization belongs to Proto – Historic Period (Chalocolithic Age / Bronze Age). The Indus Civilization was spread over Sindh, Baluchistan, Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Western U.P and Northern Maharashtra. Scholars generally believe that Harappa – Ghaggar – Mohenjodaro axin represents the heartland of the Indus Civilization. The Northern most site of Indus Civilization – Ropar (Sutlej) / Punjab (Earlier); Manda (Chenab) / Jammu-Kashmir (Now). The Southernmost site of Indus Civilization – Bhagatrav (Kim) / Gujarat (Earlier); Daimabad (Pravara) / Maharashtra (Now). The Easternmost site of Indus Civilization – Alamgirpur (Hindon) / Uttar Pradesh. The Westernmost site of Indus Civilization – Sutkegendor (Dashk) / Makran Coast (Pakistan – Iran Border).

Capital Cities – Harappa, Mohenjodaro.

Port Cities – Lothal, Sutkegendor, Allahdino, Balakot, Kuntasi.

Sites	Rivers	Districts	States / Provinces	Countries	Excavators
Harappa	Ravi	Sahiwal	Punjab	Pakistan	Daya Ram Sahni (1921), Madho Swaroop Vatsa (1926), Wheeler (1946)
Mohenjodaro (Nakhlistan i.e., Oasis of Sindh)	Indus	Larkana	Sindh	Pakistan	Rakhal Dan Banerji (1922), Mackay (1927), Wheeler (1930)
Chanhudaro	Indus	Nawabshah	Sindh	Pakistan	Mackay (1925), N. G. Mazumdar (1931)
Lothal	Bhogava	Ahmedabad	Gujarat	India	S. R. Rao (1954)
Kalibanga (i.e., the bangles of black colour)	Ghaggar	Hanumangarh	Rajasthan	India	Amalanand Ghosh (1951), B. V. Lal and B. K. Thapar (1961)
Banwali	Ghaggar	Fatehabad	Haryana	India	R. S. Bist (1973)
Dholavira	Dholavira	Dholavira	Dholavira	Dholavira	Dholavira

Site	Archaeological Finds
Harappa	6 Granaries in row, working floors, Workmen’s quarters, Virgin-Goddess (Seal), Cemetery (R-37, H), Stone symbols of Lingam (male sex organ) and Yoni (female sex organ), sandstone statuette of male torso, steatite statuette of male dancer, Painted pottery, Clay figures of Mother Goddess, Wheat and Barley in wooden mortar, Copper scale, Crucible for bronze, Copper – made mirror, Vanity box, Dice.
Mohenjodaro	Great Granary, Great Bath (the largest building of civilization), Assemble hall, shell strips, Pashupati Mahadeva / Proto-Shiva (seal), Bronze Image of a nude woman dancer, Steatite statuette of Priest / Priest King (bust of a bearded man), Human skeletons huddled together, Painted seal (Demi-God), Clay figures of Mother Goddess, A fragment of woman cotton, Brick Kilns, 2 Mesopotamian seals, 1398 seals (56% of total seals of civilization), Dice.
Chanhudaro	City without a citadel, Inkpot, Lipstick; Metal – worker’s, shell – ornaments maker’s and bead – maker’s shops; Imprint of dog’s paw on a brick, Terracotta model of bullock cart, Bronze toy cart.
Lothal	Dockyard, Rice husk; Metal-worker’s, shell-ornaments maker’s and bead-maker’s shops; Fire altars, Terracotta figurine of a horse, Double burial (burying a male and a female in a single grave), Terracotta model of a ship, Dying vat, Persian / Iranian seal, Baharainean seal, Painted jar (bird and fox).
Kalibanga	Ploughed field surface (Pre - Harappan), 7 Fire altars, Decorated bricks, Wheels of a toy cart, Mesopotamian cylindrical seal.
Banwali	Lack of chess-board or iron-grid pattern of town planning, Lack of systematic frainage system, Toy plough, Clay figures of Mother Goddess.
Dholavira	A unique water harnessing system and its storm water drainage system, a large well and a bath (gaint water reservoirs), only site to be divided into 3 parts, Largest Harappan inscription used for civic purposes, A stadium.
Surkotada	Bones of horse, Oval grave, Pot burials.
Daimabad	Bronze images (Charioteer with chariot, ox, elephant and rhinocerous).

Note:

Mohenjodaro – The largest site of Indus Civilization,

Rakhigarhi – The largest Indian site of Indus Civilization.

Common Features of Major Cities:

1.      Systematic town- planning on the lines of ‘grid system’.

2.      Use of burnt bricks in constructions.

3.      Underground drainage system (giant water reservoirs in Dholavira).

4.      Fortified citadel (Exception - Chanhudaro).

Ø  Surkatoda (Kutchh district, Gujarat): the only Indus site where the remains of a horse have actually been found.

Ø  Main Crops: Wheat and Barely; Evidence of cultivation of rice in Lothal and Rangpur (Gujarat) only.

Ø  Other Crops: Dates, Mustard, Sesamum, Cotton etc. Indus people were the first to produce cotton in the world.

Ø  Animals: Sheep, Goat, Oxen (ox & cow), Humped and Humpless bull, Buffalo, Boar, Dog, Cat, Pig, Fowl, Deer, Tortoise, Elephant, Camel, Rhinoceros, Tiger etc.

Ø  Lion was not known to Indus people. From Amari, a single instance of the Indian rhinoceros has been reported.

ØThere was extensive inland and foreign trade. Foreign trade with Mesopotamia or Sumeri (Modern Iraq),Bahrain etc. flourished.

Imports and Exports

Imports	From
Gold	Kolar (Karnataka), Afghanistan, Persia (Iran)
Silver	Afghanistan, Persia (Iran), South India
Copper	Khetri (Rajasthan), Baluchistan, Arabia
Tin	Afghanistan, Bihar
Lapis Lazuli and Sapphire	Badak – shan (Afghanistan)
Jade	Central Asia
Steatite	Shaher-i-Sokhta (Iran), Kirthar Hills (Pakistan)
Amethyst	Maharashtra
Agate, Chalcedonies and Carnelians	Saurashtra and West India

Exports: Agricultural products, Cotton goods, Terracotta figurines, Pottery, certain beads (from Chanhudaro), conch-shell (from Lothal), Ivory products, Copper etc. A very interesting feature of this civilization was that Iron was not known to the people.

The Sumerian texts refer to trade relations with ‘Meluha’ which was the name given to the Indus region. Shatughai and Mundigaq were the Indus sites found in Afghanistan. The Sumerian texts also refer to two intermediate stations – Dilmun (Bahrian) and Makan (Makran coast). Susa and Ur are Mesopotamian places where Harappan seals were found. The Harappans were the earliest people to produce cotton (It was called ‘Sindon’ by the Greeks). As there is no evidence of coins, barter is assumed to have been the normal method of exchange of goods. Lothal was an ancient port of Indus Civilization. The Indus Civilization was primarily urban. There is no clear-cut evidence of the nature of polity, but it seems that the ruling authority of Indus Civilization was a class of merchants. The Harappan people didn’t worship their gods in temple. No temple in fact has been unearthed. And idea of their religion is formed from the statues and figurines found. The most commonly found figurines is that of Mother-Goddess (Matridevi or Shakti). There is evidence of prevalence of Yoni (female sex organ) worship. The chief male deity was the ‘Pasupati Mahadeva’ i.e. the lord of Animals (Proto-shiva) represented in seals as sitting in yogic posture; he is surrounded by four animals (elephant, tiger, rhino, and buffalo) and two deer appear at his feet. There was the prevalence of Phallic (lingam) worship. Thus Shiva-Shakti worship, the oldest form of worship in India, appears to have been part of the religious belief of Harappan people (esp. humped bull which is somparable to Nandi bull, the ride of Lord Shiva, Trident / Trishul which is inscribed on pottery shreds found from Chandigrah). The remains and relics also reveal that Zoolatry i.e. animal worship and there tree worship (esp. peepal) were in vogue in those days. There is the evidence of pictographic script, found mainly on seals. The script has not been deciphered so far, but overlap of letters on some of the potsherds from Kalibanga show that writing was boustrophedon or from right to left and from left to right in alternate lines. It has been referred to as Proto-Dravidian.

Note: The oldest script in Indian subcontinent is the Harappan script, but the oldest deciphered script is Brahmi script known from about 5^th century BC. Most of the later Indian scripts derived from Brahmi.

Steatite was mainly used in the manufacturing of seals. Hump less bull is represented in most of the Indus seals. Inhumation or complete burial was the oldest common method of disposal of the dead. The origin of the ‘Swastik’ symbol can be traced to the Indus Civilization. The Rigveda speaks of a battle at a place named ‘Hariyumpia’ which has been identified with Harappa. The majority of scholars believe that the makers of this civilization were Dravidian. Contemporary civilizations of Indus Civilization – Mesopotamia, Egypt and China.

“Indra is accused of causing the decline of Indus Civilization”

 --- M. Wheeler.