Indus Valley Civilization

Introduction: Almost about 5000 years ago, a highly advanced urban civilization called
the Indus Valley or Harappan Civilization is one of the oldest known civilizations in the
world which exists along the river Indus. It is contemporary of Sumerian Culture. Its
existence came to light through unexpected archeological discoveries from 1922
onwards at Harappa in the Punjab and Mohenjo – daro in Sind (now in Pakistan). The
first discoveries of this civilization were made in the valley of the Indus river and in the
Punjab, but later excavations prove that this civilization had a far greater extension
because some sites have been found scattered in the other parts of (now known as)
Pakistan, extending from Balochistan to Sindh, and extending it into modern day Indian
states of Gujarat, Rajasthan, Haryana, and Punjab.

It was in 1922 at Mohenjo-daro that Mr. R.D Banerjee, an Indian officer of the
archeology survey who was in quest of Kushan Stupa, accidentally discovers a brick of
an unknown type which lead to the identification of Asian civilization in Indian history.
Simultaneously Mr. Dayaram Sahni discovered similar remains at Harappa. Later on Sir
John Marshall, The Director General of Archeology personally took up this work and
announced in 1924 that about 5000 years ago a highly advanced urban civilization
called the Indus Valley or Harappan Civilization, existed along the river Indus.

Their towns were well planned, which have commercial centers, sophisticated
craftsmanship, freedom of religion and thought which shows that a highly developed
intellectual society existed there, and they had brick houses which were situated along
the roads. Every house was furnished with stairs, a kitchen and several rooms. Their
courtyards had wells, bathrooms and they had proper drainage systems. These people
used to make ornamental terracotta utensils. These utensils were decorated with
human figures, birds, animals and geometrical patterns. Such items have been found in
Mohanjo-daro, Harappa, Lothal and Chanudaro. Some utensils have been decorated
with lines, angles, leaves, flower and circles. The harappans wore ornaments made of
gold, silver, ivory, shell, clay, semi-precious stones and others. They made figurines and
toys and a variety of seals. They farmed the land near their cities, and grew wheat,
barley, cotton, dates and other fruits. The Indus Valley Civilization, so named because
many of its settlements were situated along the Indus River, turned out to be one of the
great cultures of the ancient world.

Important sites of Indus Valley Civilizations

Major sites:

1. Harappa was an urban center. It is in Punjab Province of Pakistan, located on an

old river-bed of River Ravi.
2. Mohenjo Daro is located in Sindh province of Pakistan, which is next to the river
Indus.
3. Dholavira is situated on ‘Khadir Beyt’, which is an island in Rann of
Kutch,Gujarat, India.
4. Lothal is located near the Sabarmati River and Arabian Sea, in the Gulf of
Khambat, Gujarat, India.
5. Rakhigarhi was discovered in Haryana, India only in 1990.
6. Ganeriwala is located in Punjab province of Pakistan and is very near to the
Indian border.

Minor Sites were also excavated with reference to Indus Valley Civilization:

7. ‘Gola Dhoro’ or Bagasara is a site located in Gujarat, India.

8. Daimabad is located in Maharashtra near Mumbai.
9. Chanhudaro is located just 80 miles south of Mohenjo Daro in Sindh, Pakistan.
It has been established a manufacturing center.
10. Sutkagen Dor is located in Baluchistan. It is also the westernmost site of
Harappan civilization.

Town Planning and Architecture of Indus Valley Civilization:

The perfection of town planning constitutes the most striking feature of both
Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro. Three types of building were found there

a) Residential Buildings
 b) Large Buildings
c) Public Bath

All houses were built of bricks which are usually of two types

a) Burnt Clay Bricks

b) Sun - dried Bricks

Burnt clay bricks were used in

the construction of outer walls for
important buildings and the walls
of houses, while they generally
employed sun – dried bricks for
inner walls of the houses or to
raise platforms and to fill in floor
areas and courtyards inside the
houses. These houses have
inner courtyard surrounded by rooms. The doors are open towards courtyards. There
are windows and the kitchen in the houses. Their houses also had a narrow staircase.
There is only one main entrance which was open towards the main road. Well was
made inside the houses and toilets are found outside.

The perfection of
town planning constitutes
the most striking feature
of the excavated cities of
Indus Valley Civilization.
On the west of both cities
rose the citadel with
fortified walls enclosing
big buildings, probably
used for some public, royal or religious purposes – assembly halls, granaries, baths and
may have been some form of temples. These buildings rested on high mud – brick
platforms.

The lower city on the east was laid out on the gridiron pattern, with main streets
nearly ten meters wide, running in a crisscross direction and intersecting each other at
right angles. These main streets divided the area into regular squares or rectangular
blocks, containing residential houses, shops and factories, with access to smaller, less
orderly streets and lanes. The houses always opened on these alleys and side streets.

The drainage and

water supply system show
a very great advancement
for such an early age.
Most of the houses in
Mohenjo-daro had their
own private bathrooms
and privies, supplied with
soakage jar as well as pipe drains to dispose of waste. The bathroom floors had a slope
into one corner from where the house drains carried the solid water to the main drain.

The high standard of town planning and sanitation, with sufficient water supply and
drainage system makes the Indus Valley or Harappan culture outstanding among all the
ancient cultures.

Basic features of Indus Valley Civilization:

 The Indus Valley civilization is the first known Urban Culture in India.
 Majority of the sites developed on the banks of river Indus, Ghaggar and its
tributaries.
 This civilization is credited for building cities complete with: town planning,
sanitation, drainage system and broad well-laid roads.
  They also built double storied houses of burnt-bricks complete with bathroom,
kitchen, and a well.
 Their Walled cities had important buildings such as, the Great Bath, Granaries
and the Assembly Halls.
 Their Agriculture was considered major occupation for rural areas. While the City
residents were involved in internal & external trade which led to developed
contacts with other civilizations (e.g. Mesopotamia).
 Harappans were excellent potters as is evident by their artifacts.
 Harappans also had technical knowledge of metals & process of alloying (e.g.
bronze sculpture of dancing girl found in Mohenjo-Daro).
 Also, Shell, ivory, bone and faience were used as material for different crafts.
 Here, Lothal deserves special mention as the site for dockyard. It is situated in
Ahmedabad, Gujarat.
 Lothal was a well planned walled city which was an important centre of sea trade
with the western world.
 Other important cites were- Dhaulavira (Guj.) & Kalibangam (Rajasthan).
 Harappans used to worship plants, animals and the forces of nature.
 They also worshipped male god resembling Lord Shiva of later times and a
mother goddess.
 They also probably believed in life after death and also in charms and spells.
 Their Seals were engraved with animal figures (e.g. humped bull, elephant and
rhinoceros). This suggests that these animals were considered sacred.
 The image of ‘Peepal’ tree is found depicted on many seals.
 Harappan script is yet to be deciphered. Hence, our knowledge of Harappan
civilization is solely based on archaeological evidence alone.
 Harappans were the first people to cultivate cotton. They knew the art of spinning
& weaving.

Art of Sculptures

The sculptural history of India opens with the chapter of Indus Valley. The roots of
this civilization took place in 2 nd and 3rd millennium B.C. Indus Valley people were very
proficient in sculptural art which can be seen in the terracotta figurines, sculptures,
seals, etc. Indus Valley people were great lovers of fine arts especially dancing, painting
and making of sculptures. The most important thing is that their art is highly realistic in
nature. The most interesting part of the discovery relates to the seals more than two
thousand in number made in different materials such as soapstone, terracotta and
copper. Also, these seals are found in different shapes especially circular, rectangular
or square. Some of these seals were used for trading, stamping as well as worn as a
piece of jewellery as a necklace or an armlet.

Stone Sculpture

In stone, the two important sculptures are ‘Male Torso’ and ‘Bearded Man/Priest’.

Bearded Man/Priest: The Bearded Man/Priest is a height of 17cm made in Soapstone

and the time period is C. 2000 to 1750B.C.
This steatite figure of the bearded man is interpreted
as a priest or priest king, draped in a shawl coming
under the right arm and covering the left shoulder.
His shawl is decorated with trefoil patterns. His eyes
are a little elongated, and half-closed as in
meditation. The nose is well formed, broken and of
medium size; the mouth is of average size with
close-cut moustache and a short-stylized beard; the
ears resemble double shells with a hole in the
middle. The hair is parted in the middle, and a
narrow ribbon is shown tied on the forehead. An
armlet is worn on the right hand and holes around
the neck indicate a necklace. The shawl on the shoulder of the bearded priest indicates
that the handicraft of embroidery was commonly practiced in Indus Valley Civilization.
Male Torso: This sculpture of male torso is a height of
3inches and is made in red sandstone and the period is
C. 2300 to 1750 B.C. In this sculpture, the image is
shown completely nude. The head and hands are
missing. The legs from the thighs are broken away.
This torso has socket holes in neck and shoulders for
attachment of head and arms. The frontal posture of
the torso has been consciously adopted. The shoulders
are well carved and the abdomen looks slightly
prominent. This nude male torso is considered to be a
remarkable sculpture as it is made in three-dimensional
view which implies a mature knowledge in the rendering of human form.

Dancing Girl: The most important among the

bronze statues is the Dancing Girl, which is now in
the collection of National Museum, New Delhi. She
gets the name ‘Dancing Girl’ because of her
posture which is in dancing pose. This bronze
sculpture is a height of 10.8 cms and the time
period is C.2300 to 1750 B.C. The figurine is the
jewel of realism and is completely urban in pose. It is
a three-dimensional sculpture. She has large eyes,
flat nose, well-fed cheeks, bunched curly hair and a
broad forehead. The Girl stands in a dancing pose
with her right hand on her hip. She wears a stack of
25 bangles on her left arm and also, she is holding
some kind of object on the same hand which is
resting on her left leg. She has very long legs and
arms if compared to her torso; her head is tilted slightly backward and her left leg is bent
at the knee. On her right arm are four bangles, two at the wrist, two above the elbow;
that arm is bent at the elbow, with her hand on her hip. She wears a necklace with three
large pendants, and her hair is in a loose bun, twisted in a spiral fashion and pinned in
place at the back of her head that is resting on her shoulder.

This sculpture is made with a technique known as Lost Wax Process. The fact
that the Indus Valley knew how to melt bronze shows how well advanced they were in
metalwork.

Lost Wax Process

Bronze casting was a widespread practice during the Indus Valley Civilization,
particularly at Harappa. Bronze statues were made by the “lost wax technique”. This
practice is still prevalent in many parts of the country particularly the Himachal Pradesh,
Odisha, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal. In each region, a slightly different
technique is used. Under this technique, the beeswax is first melted over an open fire
and then strained through a fine cloth into cold water. The beeswax immediately
solidifies and it is now passed through a pharni, so that the wax comes out of it in the
shape of noodle like wires. These wax wires are now used to make a shape of the
entire image first. After that, this image is covered with a paste of clay, sand and other
materials such as cow dung. On one side, an opening is kept. When it becomes dry, the
wax is heated and the molten wax is drained out through a tiny hole. The hollow mold
thus created was filled with molten metal which took the original shape of the object.

Seals of Indus Valley Civilization:

The most interesting part of the discovery of

Indus Valley Civilization relates with the seals, of
which more than 2000 in number have been found.
They form the main body of the pictorial records of
those times. These seals consist of some four
hundred signs in all, of which around two to eight
occur on each seal. The seals generally represent
one or more animals or human and mythological
figures with short inscriptions on top. The seals were generally made of steatite material
but are also found in terracotta and in copper. The seals measures about two or three
cms in size and are generally in square or rectangular in shape.

Pashupati Seal: The Pashupati Seal is a steatite seal that was discovered in C. 2500-
2400 BC at the Mohenjo-daro, archaeological site of the Indus Valley Civilization and
measures 3.56 cm X 3.53 cm, with a thickness of 0.76 cm.

This seal depicts the Central figure seated upon a low throne in a Yogi position
probably Lord Shiva. The legs of the central figure are bent at the knees with the heels
touching and the toes pointing downwards. The arms are shown covered with bangles
and are extended outwards over the knees in a perfect yoga pose. He is shown wearing
a head gear or a headdress having large horns whose shape is just like a Trishul of
Lord Shiva. He is surrounded by four wild animals: an elephant and a tiger to its one
side, and a buffalo and a rhinoceros on the other. Under the throne are two deer looking
backwards, so that their horns almost meet the center. At the top of the seal some kind
of unidentified motifs or language is written. This seal shows that Lord Shiva was
worshiped and he was considered as the Lord of animals.

The Unicorn Seal: The white fired glazed

Steatite seal measures 5.08 x 5.08 cm. The
animal depicted in this seal is known as
Unicorn, which is a mythological creation of
the people of Indus Valley Civilization. This
seal shows that at a very early stage of
civilization, humans had produced many
creations of imagination in the shape of bird
and animal motifs that survived in later art. In
the left corner of the seal a mysterious
offering stand is placed below the head of the
animal. Some kind of unidentified motifs or language is written at the top of the seal.
The unicorn is by far the most common motif found impressed on clay tags originally
attached to knots or binding on a bundle of goods. This suggests that the unicorn seal
owners were mostly involved in trade and commerce.

The Bull Seal: This seal depicts a humped bull

of great strength. The figure shows the artistic
skill and a good knowledge of animal
anatomy. The majestic bull, with its heavy
dewlap and wide curving horns is perhaps the
most impressive motif found on the Indus seals.
Generally carved on large seals with relatively
short inscriptions, this motif is found almost
exclusively at the largest cities of Mohenjo-daro
and Harappa.

Mother of Goddess: C. 2700-2100 B.C. The recovery of a large number of Mother

Goddess figurines almost from every excavated site suggests that the Mother Goddess
worship cult was very wide-spread during Indus days. The figurine has been cast with
an elaborate headgear supported by a pair of bands and a brooch, tight-fitted short tunic
with skirt part fastened with a broad waist-band using a medallion like clasp, and tight-
fitted trousers, and ear-
ornaments. She has been
adorned with two necklaces
smaller one has a set of four
cylindrical pendants, while the
longer one hangs between her
breasts. The eyes have been
conceived with two round
pieces of clay, and the nose as
pinched.