Early Urbanization

UNIT 1 EARLY URBANIZATION

Contents
1.1 Introduction
1.2 Origin and Extent
1.3 Ecological Setting
1.4 Chronology
1.5 Origin and Development of the Harappan Culture
1.6 The Harappan Urbanization and Standardization (2500-2000BC)
1.7 Religion
1.8 The Harappan Society and Polity
1.9 Decline of the Harappan Civilization
1.10 Summary
Suggested Reading
Sample Questions

Learning Objectives &

After having studied this unit, you should be able to:
Ø discuss the characteristics of Civilization;
Ø understand the Harappan Culture as early civilization in Indian sub-continent;
Ø describe the rise and fall of Harappan Civilization; and
Ø discuss the continuity of the Harappan tradition in modern India.

1.1 INTRODUCTION
The period between the Stone Age and the Early Historic period was considered
to be the “Dark Age” in Indian History. However, the discovery of the Harappan
Civilization, the first Bronze Age Culture of South Asia, in the twenties of
twentieth century pushed back the antiquity of the settled life in India by two
thousand years at one stroke. This was considered to be the greatest archaeological
discovery of the twentieth century in the Indian subcontinent. The development
and spread of agriculture and pastoralism in South Asia are complex phenomena
that have taken place over the course of more than 9000 years. “First light on a
long forgotten Civilization” was probably the first reference to the discovery of
the today well known “Harappan Civilization” of the Indian Sub-continent by
John Marshall in his article in the Illustrated London News dated September 20th
1924 to the western world. However, today this Urban Civilization known for
its unique town planning, script, trade contacts with the Mesopotamians, well
developed craft techniques etc. is the focus of popular academic debate not just
within the sub-continent but international academic circles especially since even
today we have not been able to decipher their writings.

1.2 ORIGIN AND EXTENT

The earliest excavations and scholars (Mackay, 1928-29; Marshall, 1931; Vats,
1940) interpreted the rise of the Harappans as a result of a Near Eastern or external
5
Interpretation and stimulus based on simple diffusion models (Fairservis, 1956; Gordon and Gordon,
Explanation of
Archaeological Record
1940; Piggott, 1950; Sankalia, 1974; Wheeler, 1947, 1968). However, today
ideas of indigenous development (Durrani, 1986; Jarrige and Meadow, 1980;
Mughal, 1974b; Shaffer, 1982b) as a result of regional interactions among the
existing earlier groups of people is believed to be the cause for the development
of this civilization covering an area of 2.5 million sq. km nearly four times the
size of its contemporary Mesopotamian and Egyptian Civilizations. The
northernmost site is Manda on the River Beas in Jammu while Bhagtrav on the
Tapti in Maharashtra forms its southern boundary. Alamgirpur on the Hindon
river near Delhi and Sutkagendor on the Arabian sea shore near the Iranian border
form its eastern and western periphery respectively. Today the Harappans are
believed to be a complex of many ethnic groups (Mughal, 1990; Possehl, 1982,
1990b; Shaffer and Lichtenstein, 1989; Thapar, 1979), representing several
cultural identities with large regional urban centers like Harappa (Punjab), Mohen-
jodaro (Sindh), Rakhigarhi (Haryana), Dholavira (Kutch/Gujarat) and
Ganweriwala (Cholistan) (Fig. 1.1) supported by numerable craft centers, and
smaller village settlements practicing agriculture which supported this urban
and international trading economy.

Fig. 1.1: Map showing the spread of the Bronze Age (Harappan) Culture of South Asia
and the locations of important sites
6
 Early Urbanization

The Indus valley civilization was first discovered and recorded in the 1800s
by a British army deserter, James Lewis.

1.3 ECOLOGICAL SETTING

The environmental setting of the Harappan Civilization includes two major river
systems and its flood plains, the Indus and the Ghaggar-Hakra (now dry); the
highlands and plateaus of Baluchistan to the west, and the mountainous regions
of northern Pakistan, Afghanistan, and India to the northwest and north. These
geographical regions include highlands and lowlands, coasts and interior with
distribution of land suitable for agriculture and pastoralism, the location of specific
resources the procurement of which influenced the patterns of social and economic
interaction and helped define social status.

1.4 CHRONOLOGY
The Harappan culture cannot be studied as a homogeneous cultural phenomena
as the cultural assemblages are varied, and include the Pre/Early-Harappan
between 3500-2500 BC; Mature Harappan between 2500-2000 BC and the Post/
Late Harappan after 2000 BC. A date of 2600 B.C. marks the approximate
beginning of the urban fabric of the Harappans with the unification of the urban
settlements, the use of writing, weights, Harappan-type ceramic designs, civic
planning, etc. and is believed to have disintegrated by 2100-1900 B.C. (Shaffer,
1991).

1.5 ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE

HARAPPAN CULTURE
The earlier hypothesis that the Mesopotamian civilization that flourished in the
confluence of Tigris and Euphrates rivers in Iraq was directly responsible for the
origins of the Harappan Civilization is no more valid. The excavations carried
out at the site of Mehrgarh at the Bolan pass in Baluchistan in seventies and
eighties have produced sufficient evident to indicate that the origin is indigenous
in the Indian subcontinent. There has been a gradual growth from the beginning
of settled life at Mehrgarh around 7000 BC, which ultimately culminated in the
formation of the Harappan Civilization. At Mehrgarh, seven developmental stages
have been identified and in each stage is evident introduction of some Harappan
elements.

The favourable climatic conditions, strong agricultural base in the Indus and
Ghaggar and Hakra basins and Saurashtra, rich sea-coast and desert for natural
resources were responsible for the development of the Harappan culture. Also
the society was becoming ready for such a change.

7
Interpretation and
Explanation of 1.6 THE HARAPPAN URBANIZATION AND
Archaeological Record
STANDARDIZATION (2500-2000 BC)
The urban or the mature Harappan Phase includes a wide range of urban and
non-urban rural sites that are varied in size and function but are inherently known
for several features like the town planning with defensive walls with impressive
gates around the site, two or more divisions of the settlement at the site, drains,
baked brick structures, brick size (4:2:1 ratio), pottery, script, similarity in craft
products and techniques (etched carnelian beads, copper-bronze artefacts, lithic
blades), seals, weights and measures, evidence of external trade etc which help
identify and denote them as a Harappan settlement irrespective of their size or
urban/rural character. Some of these features have been touched upon in the
following section.

Town planning
From excavated remains, it is clear that the Harappan Civilization possessed a
flourishing urban architecture laid out on a grid pattern with provisions for an
advanced drainage system and the most important innovation was the
standardization of the bricks in a size ratio very close to 4:2:1. The citadel, defense
walls, dams etc prove to the existence of monumental architecture. Mohenjo-
Daro, Harappa, Rakhigarhi and Dholavira were by far the largest urban centers
of the Indus civilization evidently as important political and administrative
regional centers. The metropolitan centers were internally divided into two or
more parts: the Citadel for rulers and the Lower Town for the common people.

The private houses were oriented towards a central space, with access from the
street by an entrance that blocks the view of the interior of the house. A group of
houses are associated with one or more private wells and approximately 700
wells have been identified in the core area of Mohenjodaro (Jansen, 1989). The
number of wells and their association with neighbourhoods could indicate a need
for discrete and relatively private water sources.

The large public structures have open access or provide a thoroughfare from one
area of the site to another like the “Great Bath” of Mohenjodaro, and the
“granaries” at Mohenjodaro and Harappa. The “Great Bath” is a large, water-
proof tank but its exact purpose remains unknown. The so-called granaries at
Mohenjo-daro, Harappa and Lothal are today massive foundation platforms for
a superstructure no longer evident.

The cities and smaller settlements also had carefully designed and well maintained
drainage systems. Wells and bathing platforms were lined with bricks, and small
drains carried water away from the wells or living area to larger street drains
(Fig. 1.2). The street drains were equipped with sump-pits and the streets had
bins for non-liquid waste, which was presumably collected and dumped outside
the settlement.

8
 Early Urbanization

Fig. 1.2: Recent evidence of town planning excavated at the site of Farmana in Haryana
State of India
The sites were laid out on a rectangular grid of main streets and smaller lanes
with an efficient drainage system. The grid-like arrangement of the streets and the
stark uniformity of the houses suggest rigid state control, the first instance of town
planning in the world. Such a layout is not indicative of a town that has developed
from village beginnings; rather, it is the sign of a newly conceived, or relocated,
settlement (c.f. Gupta, 1997). The citadel was raised on high mud platforms and its
architectural units may have functioned like a palace complex combining the
functions of defense stronghold, meeting place, storage area, ceremonial centre,
and perhaps the site of community feasting. In the major cities a defensive wall
made of mud-brick protected the citadel and often the lower towns as shown by
the excavations at Dholavira (Bisht, 1993; Gupta, 1997).

Subsistence and Economy

The economy was largely based on agriculture, animal husbandry and trade with
specialised exchange networks for the procurement and distribution of raw
materials and manufactured items within and beyond the civilization in existence.
All the evidence indicates that the subsistence base of the economy remained
much as it had already developed at Mehrgarh some two millennia earlier. The
Harappan civilization apparently evolved from their predecessors, using irrigated
agriculture with sufficient skill to reap the advantages of the spacious and fertile
Indus River basin while controlling the formidable annual flood that
simultaneously fertilizes and destroys (Kenoyer, 1991).

Even though most settlements were located in semi-arid areas with winter rainfall
their wealth was based on a subsistence economy of wheat and barley. These
winter crops, together with chickpeas, mustard, and field peas, were the staples.
The other crops grown were rice, dates, melons, green vegetables (primarily
legumes), and cotton. Cotton, a summer crop, was grown for fibre. The Harappans
cultivated a variety of grains and harvested two crops a year. Fishing and hunting
supplemented the diet. The Harappans developed an elaborate water management
system and at the site of Dholavira in Kutch a network of dams, canals and
reservoirs were used to manage the meagre and crucial water resources (Bisht,
1993).
9
Interpretation and Industry
Explanation of
Archaeological Record The Harappan civilization boomed with industrial activity and a wide range of
mineral resources were worked at various sites notably marine shells, ivory,
carnelian, steatite, faience, lapis lazuli, gold, and silver. Craftsmen made items
for household use (pottery and tools), for public life (seals), and for personal
ornament (bangles, beads, and pendants) for elite markets and long-distance trade.
The crafts were seen as producing standardized artifacts that were distributed
throughout the Indus region. Often there is evidence of specialised crafts being
segregated in specific sites (Shortugai, a lapis lazuli mining and processing center,
Nageshwar, a shell-working site) and also specific areas of the sites (Chanhu-
daro had many groups of artisans involved in the production of elite status items
such as seals, long carnelian beads and copper objects). The standardization of
crafts is attributed to centralised control of production, organised by a state-level
organisation (Piggott, 1950; Wheeler, 1968) or the result of a conservative
ideology (Fairservis, 1984a; Miller, 1985).
Terracotta Art
Harappan pottery is perhaps the finest in India and is betokening of the
achievement of the Harappan potter. It is made of extremely fine, well-levigated
clay, free from impurities, and is uniformly well fired. The surface is treated
with a red slip over which designs are executed in black. The painted patterns
are rich in variety and the characteristic ones include intersecting circles, fish
scales, the pipal leaf, etc. but the bulk of the pottery is plain. Typical Mature
Harappan shapes include S-shaped jars, the dish-on-stand and perforated
cylindrical jars.
Terracotta figurines of humans and animals are an important part of the cultural
assemblage of a Harappan site along with beads.
Copper/Bronze Metallurgy
Use of copper and bronze for shaping tools, vessels and ornaments was a
characteristic feature of the Harappans. Most of the artifacts found are tools of
everyday use such as axes, adzes, knives fish hooks, chisels (Fig. 1.3) including
pots and pans and items of personal use such as jewellery in form of bangles,
beads, diadem strips, while relatively few weapons of war have been found. Though
the technique of manufacture of these objects is advanced, we do not witness any
elaborate ornamental decorative aspects to these items and were at large of a
simplistic and modest style probably very typical to the Harappan ideology.

Fig.1.3. Some of the copper/bronze artefacts of the Bronze Age Culture

10
Interestingly most copper artifacts have been found at larger and economically Early Urbanization
developed settlements in comparison to small agricultural settlements which
indicates that it was not in popular use and could have been a symbol of wealth
and status. However, most copper artifacts including ornaments and vessels have
been found in a non-hoard context which include burials (out of 168 total copper/
bronze ornaments 130 were found in non-hoard context) as against other metal
objects especially gold and silver (largely hoards and catches), though some
copper vessels and beads in hoards cannot be ignored completely. Also the amount
of copper/bronze artifacts found at Harappan sites (burial, on sites and hoards) is
much less in comparison to the contemporary civilizations, probably as an object
of scarce availability and a symbol of wealth and status it was passed over from
one generation to another and also recycled as is the case today in the region
(Agrawal, 2007).
The source for this copper has yet not been identified but the Khetri mines on the
Aravalli is the most plausible option. Some scholars have also identified the
copper mines in northern and southern Baluchistan, Afghan Seistan as an
important source since the Harappans seem to have established flourishing trade
relations with the Helmand tradition of this region. The Oman peninsula with
evidence of Harappan artifacts and short term Harappan settlements is a candidate
for the source of Harappan copper as well. Agrawal (2007) considers the Aravallis
as the most likely source for the Harappans especially as the Ganeshwar complex
sites have yielded more than 5000 copper objects, with some typical Harappan
types like thin blades, arrow-heads etc. Besides Mesopotamians imported copper
from Melluha which is traditionally identified as the Indus region and hence the
idea of a local source holds stronger ground than import from an outside source
though the other mentioned sources could also have been tapped for recasting,
fabricating and then export to Mesopotamia. However, Kenoyer and Miller argue
that there is no direct evidence of Harappan phase mines or smelting sites in the
Aravalli copper source areas, even though the area has been explored by numerous
scholars (Piggot, 1999) and hence we are still at no particular consensus as far as
the source for Harappan copper is concerned.
The Harappans are referred to as a Bronze Age culture, though they seemed to
have preferred use of pure copper since a larger repertory of the artifacts are
made of pure copper. Copper alloying though was a common aspect of metallurgy
within the contemporary civilizations of the Harappans, only 30% of the 177
copper artifacts analysed from Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro indicate tin, arsenic,
nickel or lead alloying, of which tin is the most common. The amount of tin
ranged from 1-12% in the bronze artifacts studied.
The manufacture of copper/bronze objects involves two- three levels of industry.
The first and the foremost is obtaining the metal from its ore through smelting
for which we do not have any direct evidence in form of slag or the ore at either,
the settlement sites or at the Khetri mines the so-called source for Harappan
copper. Hence, right from the outset we are at a loss for the source of this metal
and it has to be put forth that most likely the Harappans obtained the metal from
outside as ingots which could be worked by casting through melting and shaping
the molten metal through a stone, terracotta or sand mould or direct fabricating
or forging and shaping the metal through heating and beating techniques. There
is evidence of plano-convex disc shaped ingots with an uneven puckered top
surface from Mohenjodaro, Chanhudaro, Harappa and Lothal which it seems
was further worked by the copper smiths for producing the objects required. 11
Interpretation and A detailed analysis of the copper artifacts indicate that the Harappans were aware
Explanation of
Archaeological Record
of the lost wax process or cire perdue as the two dancing figurines and a covered
cart without its wheels and another complete with the driver from Chanhudaro
are manufactured using this closed casting technique. According to Mackay
(1938), a large number of blade axes were manufactured using closed casting
technique and “were so faulty and full of blow holes as to be unusable except for
re-melting”. However the absence of moulds at any site except Lothal (not
accepted by Agrawal, 2007) is suggested as a result of use of sand based moulds
which disintegrate when exposed to nature and hence create a vacuum in the
archaeological context.
Several other objects especially the flat celts and axes indicate open mould casting
with slow and controlled cooling of the cast metal.
However the maximum objects are of the forged category which is basically the
shaping and modification of non-molten metal using the force of a hammer on
hot or cold metal. Forging helps shape and hardens the objects and hence is an
important aspect of manufacture of edged tools of every day and industrial use,
which are the most common finds at Harappan sites (of 521 objects for
Chanhudaro, 645 are tools, 26% are ornaments, 7% were vessels and 3% percent
included the miscellaneous objects). The most common example is the Harappan
chisel which was forged from a cast copper bars, while thin razors were cut from
copper sheets and then forged to form a sharp cutting edge. Most of the copper
vessels were also manufactured by beating the copper sheet into the required
shape.
Besides copper the Harappans worked with gold, silver and lead as is exhibited
from the artifactual evidence.
Shell
Gujarat was one of the main centres for production of shell objects from the
Turbinella Pyrum which was cut and worked using a bronze saw. Nageshwar,
Bagasra, Kuntasi etc have been identified as important shell working centres for
procuring raw material and processing finished goods like bangles, beads,
pendants, decorative inlay pieces, spoons and ladles etc.

Stone
Various types of stone was worked for different purposes which varied from
lithic tools made of chert and chalcedony, seals carved of steatite for public
utility to objects of personnel use especially ornaments like beads, bangles
pendants etc made of, technologically altered and transformed materials like
faience, carnelian, paste. Some of this was not only for the local but the
international market as well since Harappan carnelian beads have been found at
the royal cemetery of Ur.

The Harappans and their crafts have been identified as a technologically

innovative group with an indifference towards the regular precious stones like
lapis and turquoise. Jarrige sums up their attitude by saying that “they didn’t like
them because they couldn’t play with them” (Agrawal, 2007:323) while Vidale
goes on to say “ the Indus people are noteworthy of their cultural expression of
not power of conquering, but rather power of creating; from abstract universe
created in their urban organisation to artificial stone of their microbeads ”
12 (Agrawal, 2007:323).
Trade Early Urbanization

The evidence for trade/exchange is primarily artifacts made from raw materials
with regionally restricted sources, such as marine shell, agate, carnelian, lapis
lazuli, turquoise, coloured cherts and jaspers, serpentine, steatite and copper.
Transport of objects was probably overland by human porters, cattle carts, and
on the backs of sheep, goat, cattle etc. The locations of major settlements were
related to the importance of riverine or sea transport as is the case with settlements
like Lothal, Balakot, Sutkagendor etc. (Ratnagar, 1981; Jansen, 1989).

Evidence from sites in Mesopotamia suggests that the Harappans (Meluhha)

exported wood, shell, ivory, gold, decorated carnelian beads, lapis lazuli and
perishable items like textiles, cotton and food grains; and much of this trade
would have been routed via the Gujarat coast due to its strategic location at the
delta of the Indus River. Other goods found are indicative of the trade networks
include gold from southern India or Afghanistan, silver and copper from Oman
or Rajasthan, lapis lazuli from Afghanistan and turquoise from Iran and
Afghanistan. It is believed that trade existed between Egypt and the Harappans
on the basis of two terracotta mummies from Lothal. Also the blue colour used
by the Egyptians is said to have come from Indigo cultivated in India (Zarins,
1992), evidence of which is found at Rojdi. Trade with the west seem to have
received a major boost around 2300-2200 BC, and this is when the Harappans
set-up small industrial centres all along the resource and coastal regions for
promoting their trade. However by 1900 BC trade with Mesopotamia started to
decline and by 1700 it had completely disappeared (Dhavalikar, 1997). The
presence of cubical weights of precise measures and impressions of seals
(sealings) also point to a well-developed and structured system of trade with
control and distribution methods. The well developed though undeciphered script
was probably also an integral part of this network.

The Harappan script

The urban Harappans can be easily differentiated from their predecessors and
successors on the basis of their use of writing which was used for identification
of ownership of goods or economic transactions, accounting, the recording of
socio-political or ritual events (Fairservis, 1983; Parpola, 1986). The origins of
this writing system is not clear and till date has not been deciphered due to the
lack of a bilingual text and also because the inscriptions are very short, usually
only of about five discrete symbols (Parpola, 1979).

However this has not restricted academic debate and linguists suggest affinities
with Proto-Dravidian or Indo-Aryan language (Fairservis, 1983; Parpola, 1986)
without any consensus or proof. Though now it is generally agreed that writing
was from right to left and is most commonly found on the intaglio seals, made of
carved and fired steatite, steatite, clay or faience tablets and numerous incised
tools and ornaments and often on pottery before or after firing, stamped on pottery,
terra-cotta cakes or terra-cotta cones (Joshi and Parpola, 1987).

These writings or symbols regardless of its understanding by the modern scholars

do represent a shared belief and ideology that was distributed over an extremely
large area which was undoubtedly a key factor in the integration of the urban and
rural populations spread over varied ecological settings.

13
Interpretation and
Explanation of 1.7 RELIGION
Archaeological Record
Wheeler (1968) emphasised that religious and secular activities were indivisible
concepts, and this fact applies not just to ancient past but even today as can be
often seen from the religious symbolism of modern Indian sub-continent. Even
today several tools and toys used in secular form acquire a “ritual status” with
changing contexts. Many objects and symbols have been seen as representing
Harappan “religious” beliefs and practices and include seals, horned male deities,
Mother Goddess figurines, fire-altars, etc. However all attempts to correlate these
objects and scenes to Indian mythology and religion or to the contemporary
Mesopotamian religious belief have failed due to lack of deciphered text (Allchin,
1985; Ashfaque, 1989; Dhavalikar and Atre, 1989; Fairservis, 1975, 1984b;
Parpola, 1984, 1988).

Religious traditions and beliefs are also witnessed in the death rituals and
Harappan burials also indicate localised patterns (Kennedy and Caldwell, 1984).
The cemeteries are small and do not appear to represent the entire society, hence,
it is possible that certain groups practiced burial while others used cremation or
exposure while variation in the mode of burial and the quantity of grave goods
also indicate difference of social and religious norms.

Wheeler (1968) had put forth local cults and a state religion) n, which is similar
to what he witnessed in the living traditions of numerable local cults and a larger
religious ideology indicating a pantheon which is-all inclusive. Fairservis (1986)
proposed that cities such as Mohenjodaro were primarily ceremonial centers and
that “religion” was an integrating factor using a complex system of shared beliefs
and rituals legitimizing the economic and political control.

1.8 THE HARAPPAN SOCIETY AND POLITY

It is still impossible to do more than a guess about the social organisation or the
political and administrative control implied by this vast area of cultural uniformity.
The evidence of widespread trade in many commodities, the apparent uniformity
of weights and measures, the common script, and the almost common currency-
of seals, all indicate some measure of political and economic control probably
originating from the large regional centres. The presence of status objects
throughout the Indus region indicates a strong socio-political and religious system
of beliefs that demanded and prompted the acquisition and use of such items. A
sufficient supply would have been ensured by economic networks and the spread
of specialised artisans and technologies to major sites and interestingly there is
no evidence for acquisition by force which is obvious in the near absence of
weapons of war. The acquisition of exotic goods must be seen as the accumulation
of grain or livestock surplus - in an increasing status differentiation between
those who have and those who have not.

There is no clear idea about the composition of Harappan population in spite of

the fact that a number of their grave-yards have been excavated. The sites like
Harappan, Kalibangan, Rakhigarhi, Lothal, Farmana (Shinde et al. 2009) (Fig.
1.4) have produced separate cemeteries, but due to lack of sufficient scientific
analyses such as DNA, Isotope and Trace Element, etc features like genetic
aspects, health and dietary habits of the people are not sufficiently known yet.
14 However, social stratification is evident in their burials.
 Early Urbanization

Fig.1.4: Burials of the Bronze Age culture excavated at the largest Necropolis discovered
at Farmana, Haryana State of India

1.9 DECLINE OF THE HARAPPAN CIVILIZATION

The decline of the Harappan civilization commenced from around 2000 BC.
Wheeler had hypothesized in sixties on the basis of human skeletal remains in
the upper levels at Mohenjodaro that the Harappans were massacred by the Aryan
god Indra. However, subsequent scientific studies on the human skeletal data
revealed no injury marks and hence his theory was discarded. Recent research
on this aspect revealed that climatic factor was the most important for the decline
of the Harappan Civilization. The data on rainfall pattern gathered from all over
the globe clearly indicated that the climate had gone dry considerably, which
affected their agriculture. The Ghaggar/Hakra, the most important river for the
Harappans, went dry and the Harappans had to move away from the river banks to
the inland areas. The Indus river was blocked near the site of Mohenjodaro creating
huge pools around, which buried its most of the satellite settlements. The sea level
went down considerably which rendered most of the Harappan ports useless
affecting severely its international trade with Persian Gulf and Mesopotamia. All
these factors combinely led the downfall of the Harappan Civilization.

After the downfall, the Harappan culture disintegrated and broke into a number
of small local cultures. They continued the Harappan tradition upto 1500 BC.
The Harappans almost deserted the core region and began to move towards the
periphery part. In UP, they came in contact with the local OCP culture, in Central
India with Malwa and in the Deccan with the Jorwe culture. Slowly but surely,
they became part of the culture they came in contact with. However, the Harappan
elements survived through these cultures to the modern times. The Harappan
legacy is evident in their structures, agricultural technology, food habits, etc. A
modern house in Punjab and Haryana is based on a typical Harappan plan. The
shapes of the modern vessels used by the farmers are similar to that of the
Harappans, the only difference being in the medium. The agricultural tools used
today are based on the Harappan tools. This clearly suggests that though the
Harappan culture has disappeared their legacy has still survived.
15
Interpretation and
Explanation of 1.10 SUMMARY
Archaeological Record
To sum up, a short survey of the Harappan cultural material indicates a sufficiently
advanced socio-economic and technological fabric capable of developing a
complex economic infrastructure and political organisation which involved
international relations. As technologically and economically advanced people
they were able to expand into a number of ecozones with different environmental
variables and economic potential as shown by the location of most of the sites in
areas of importance such as resource areas or on trade routes. The Harappans
were traders par excellence, which to a certain extent formed the basis of their
urbanised status through trade contacts.

Suggested Reading
Agrawal, D.P. (2007). The Indus Civilization an Interdisciplinary Perspective,
New Delhi: Aryan books International.

Bisht, R.S. 1993. Harappan Civilization in Recent Perspective ed. G.L Possehl,
New Delhi: Oxford and IBH Publications.

Fairservis, W. A. 1975. The Roots of Ancient India. (2nd ed., revised). Chicago:
Univ. of Chicago Press.

Gupta SP, 1996. The Indus-Saraswati Civilisation, Origins, Problems and Issues.
New Delhi: Pratibha Prakashan.

Kenoyer, J. M. 1991. Ornament Styles of the Indus Tradition. Paper presented at

the American Committee for South Asian Art, Washington, D.C.

Possehl GL, 2003. Indus Civilization a Contemporary Perspective, New York:

Alta Mira Press.

Ratnagar, S. 1981. Encounters, The Westerly Trade of the Harappa Civilization.

Delhi: Oxford University Press.

Sample Questions
1) Discuss the factors responsible for the origins and growth of First
Urbanization in South Asia.
2) Describe the distribution of the Early Harappan Cultures in northwest India.
3) Evaluate various theories about the Origins of the Harappan Civilization
and the evidence from the site of Mehrgarh.
4) What is a Civilization? Discuss various characteristic features of a
Civilization.
5) “SorathHarappan” in Saurashtra is a regional manifestation of the Harappan
Culture. Discuss elaborately.
6) Describe various phases of the Harappan Culture based on the excavations
at the site of Harappa.
7) Discuss the Harappan hinterland trade and trade mechanism.
8) Describe the Harappan burial custom with special reference to the evidence
16
from the site of Farmana.
9) “Harappan international trade was one of the most important factors for the Early Urbanization
development of the culture”. Discuss.
10) What are various theories about the decipherment of the Harappan script?
Discuss the recent theory in detail.
11) How do you compare Harappan Religon with their counterparts in
Mesopotamia and Egypt?
12) Elaborate on the functional aspects of Harappan seals and weights.
13) Discuss classical Harappan pottery from technological and functional point
of view.
14) Evaluate the evidence from Harappan sites in respect to the Socio/political
organisation.
15) What are the causes and consequences of the decline of the Harappan
Civilzation?
16) Discuss the characteristic features and settlements of the Late Harappan
culture of Gujarat.
17) “The Harappan Legacy continues till the modern times”. Elaborate.
18) Discuss the interaction between the Harappans and their contemporaries the
Chaclolithic cultures.

17