The discovery of IVC was

significant as it helped countering

British colonial narratives of
their superior civilisational values and
traditions

STUDY
Britishers took advantage of white man's burden
idea to justify their 200 years of rule

In 1921, Daya Ram Sahni discovered

the ruins of the ancient city of Harappa
The term 'Indus valley civilization' (IVC) was first used by
John Marshall .It is also known as 'Harappan civilization'

The IVC was contemporary to Mesopotamia, Ancient Egypt

and Chinese civilisations

The oldest record of Harappan ruins is first traced to the

Charles Masson's book “Narrative of Various Journeys
in Baluchistan, Afghanistan and the Puniab"

Insofar, more than 2000 sites have been excavated and

found in the Indus Valley Civilisation

The discovery of Stone Inscription and Indus Signboard at

Dholavira by R. S Bisht in 1990s was the most major discovery

The second major discovery was Rakhigarhi site by

Amrendra Nath in 1997

The recent excavation in Rakhigarhi by Vasant Shinde in

2014 made it the largest site of Harappan civilization

The first period of IVC is called

\*Pre-Harappa'
which goes back to 3300 BCE.
During this time,
the nomadic people started
living settled lives and
picked up agriculture.

Early Harappa
The period between
3300 BCE -2600 BCE
was called 'Early Harappa'.
Massive villages
and urban centres
emerged during this period.

‘Mature Harappan' is referred

to the period between
(2600 BCE to 1900 BCE)
During this time period,
large urban centres flourished
in the Indus valley civilisation

'Late Harappan'
phase is between
1900 BCE and 1300 BCE.
During this period,
the civilisation declined

The fertility of the Indus valley

is said to have facilitated
the settlements in this region.
But later the environmental
changes caused famines and
the decline of the civilisation. .

Most of the cities were

located in the present day
India and Pakistan.
Except Shortughai
which is located at Afghanistan.

Effective town planning of IVC is perhaps its most striking characteristic.

Si

Stratified Town Planning

Most of IVC cities have fortified citadel in western part of city,
which accommodated ruling class while the brick houses
in the eastern part of cities accommodated commoners

Social Stratifications
Such stratification of residential infrastructures points out to
possible social stratification in the Indus valley civilisation society.

Chanhudaro has no citadel

while the citadel at port city of
Lothal has no fortifications.

The town planning of IVC sites was based on the 'Grid System'.
Most of streets crossed each other at right-angles

Extensive underground drainage system was yet another feature of Harappan Town
planning.
Almost every house in these cities was connected with network of street drains.
2012

The great Granary was located at Mohenjo Daro.

It was used to store the grains garnered in form of tax

The Harappan people also had well-developed

knowledge of variety of artefacts and sculptures

The Bearded man sculpture

is also one of the famous
sculptures of IVC.
This sculpture has been
identified as a possible
'priest' in ancient time.

The Trefoil patterned shawl

on the sculpture indicates
the existence of embroidery
practice in the civilisation.
The Bronze casting was also
very popular in IVC and there
has been a continuity in the
Bronze sculpture practice
as we see similar bronze casting
techniques during
Chola period in 11th Century.

A 4-inch-tall bronze figure

Dancing Girl in Tribhanga
posture was found in
Mohenjo-Daro

The terracotta figures were

also found in the IVC sites,
but the terracotta figures
were not as much detailed
as bronze and stone statutes.

The terracotta figure of

Mother Goddess is the
most famous terracotta figure
found at the IVC sites.
The figure is adorned with
necklaces, loin cloth and girdles

Variety of seals made of

terracotta, steatite, agate,
chert, copper, faience,
gold, ivory and silver
have been recovered
from excavated sites of IVC.

The pottery recovered from

IVC sites are wheel-made.
Red and Black ware pottery
has been found in abundance
as compared to other potteries.

Harappans were also

aware of boat-making craft
and the boats were
used in sea trades with
other civilisations.

The Harappan also used

standard weight measures
which were in multiple of 16 units
It is similar to modern
weight measures system.

The excavations at Harrapa

has lead us to
primary evidences to
understand politics, society,
economy, religion, culture
and decline of the
civilization
The archaeologists identifies Citadels as the 'seat of power' while
the 'Great granary of Mohenjodaro' was assumed to be State's treasury.
Tiles o: Esri; Source: US National Park Service

The political system of Indus Valley Civilisation reached

its zenith in the mature Harappan phase.
Tiles O; Esri; Source: US National Park Service

No evidence of an organized military was found from any of the sites, yet
historians believe the existence of standing army due to depiction of
soldiers on some stones
Source: US National Park Service

No archaeological evidence of temples or religious

places has been found so far.

According to an alternative theory, the polity of IVC was not centralised,

instead the different Harappan cities were ruled by different rulers.

Agriculture was the main economic activity in the Indus valley civilisation
Wheat, barley, sesamum, mustard and peas were the
main crops of the Indus valley. The evidences of rice have also
been found at Lothal and Rangpur
Fri Se

The IVC is also possibly the first civilisation in the world to

raise cotton crop and develop cotton out of it

The evidences of spindle whorls have been found at Mohenjodaro

indicating about the existence of weaving

No evidence of metallic plough has been found

at any of the sites of Indus valley

But the evidences of ploughed fields at Rakhigarhi and Kalibangan

indicates the possible existence of wooden ploughs and
ploughing practice

The evidences of fields at Kalibangan suggest that the Indus

people raised two crops simultaneously at the same field and
same time

Animal domestication was also very common in the Indus

valley. Ox, buffalo, goats, sheep, pigs and Humped bull
were the animals reared by the people of Indus valley

The Harappan society probably had a well-developed social

hierarchy as it is reflected in the existence of Citadels and lower towns.

The difference in quality of seals and sculptures also reflects

the existence of social differentiation.

Indus valley people were not aware of 'Horses' as there

has no conclusive evidence of this has been found so far
Pun Sarvine
The evidences of seals, uniform script and the weights & measures
shows the importance of trade in this civilisation.

The trade was largely based on 'barter system' since there was no
existence of currency.

The commercial links of the IVC has been traced upto

Tigris and Euphrates rivers in the middle east.

Harappans trading goods were-terracotta pots, gold, silver,

metals, beads, seashells, pearls, coloured gemstones, etc.

The occurrence of the evidences of valuable materials in some particular

regions also indicates the existence of regional divisions in the Indus valley

The rich sense of fashion is reflected in widespread

Beads or ornaments evidences excavated from the IVC sites.

The Bead industries flourished in IVC cities of Chanhudaro and Lothal

The evidences of modern cosmetics such as Lipstick, face

paint etc. have also been recovered from several IVC sites.

Other than the 'Great Bath', no religious structure

has been found so far from any of the IVC sites.

Harappan people probably considered earth as

the fertility goddess and worshipped her.

Pashupati Mahadeva was also regarded as a deity by the

Harappan people. He was shown in a seal in a yogic posture.

The Harppans also worshipped trees as the evidences of seals

with depiction of Peepal tree have been recovered.

The archaeological evidence of one horned unicorn seal

indicates the existence of animal worship in the Indus valley.

The evidences of languages used in Harappan civilization have

been recovered but could not be deciphered insofar

The Harappan Script was largely pictographic and

the alphabets were diagrammatic symbols.

The writing style of Harappan script is called “Boustrophedon"

and it is written in right to left and then left to right directions.

Three types of burial practices were mainly prevalent in Mohenjodaro

complete burial, fractional burials and the post-cremation burial

The most common burial practice was the 'extended inhumation'

which was mainly prevalent in Northern part of the IVC.

The evidence of a 'wooden coffin'

and reddish cloth have been found at Harappa.
Pot-Burial evidence has been recovered from Surkotada.
les o

The practice of double burial was prevalent in Lothal in

which male and females were buried together in a coffin.

The absence of widespread evidences of

double burial negates the theory of 'widow-sacrifice'.

The occurrence of burial evidences with artefacts such as bangles and

beads indicates that the Indus valley people might have believed in afterlife.

The decline theory of harappan civilisation is a contentious issue and

presently there is no consensus on any of the propounded theories.

The decline of Indus cities started in around 1700 BC.

They Esri; Sou

According to the 'Aryan-Invasion' or 'Migration Theory'.

the Indus valley civilisation was destructed by the Aryan invaders.

There is no evidence of any direct battles in Indus valley sites

which possibly indicates the deaths of IVC people by a disease.

WG
Environmental
Factors
The next propounded theory behind the decline of
IVC gives primacy to the environmental factors.
Tiles Esri: Source: Us

The dryness of Hakra-Ghaggar rivers due to the changed course of Yamuna

and Sutlej rivers might have led to the extinction of the Harappan civilisatio

The declining rainfall and reduced soil fertility

also contributed to the decline of the civilisation.
Tiles Es Source:

The 'Trade Collapse Theory' propounds that the political

crisis in Mesopotamia and thereby the resultant collapse of trade
relations led to the decline of Indus urban centres
Esri Source US Nons Park Service

After 1900 BC, the Harappan cities lost their charm and
people started settling elsewhere in the subcontinent from these cities