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Evolutionary Origins of the Harappan Civilisation
BA(H) History (University of Delhi)
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The Evolutionary Origins of the Harappan Civilisation
In 1932, E.J.H Mackay found potsherds in Mohenjodaro that were not mature Harappan but ‘wet
wares’ and these were also commonly found in Damb Sadaat I-II in Quetta Valley (3100-2700 BCE). In
1950, Mortimer Wheeler found ‘crude, vigorous, unstandardized pottery’ in Harappa which he
viewed as belonging to an alien culture. However, ceramic materials were found in Kot Diji that were
identical to the ones discovered by Wheeler. These ceramic materials have been called Kot Dijin
wares, and the ones in Baluchistan have also been found to occur in association with the wet wares
of Mohenjodaro as well as the Amrian occupation, with an approximate radiocarbon dating of 3155-
2590 BCE.
This goes to show that the early assemblages of the Harappan culture show a remarkable degree of
uniformity. There have also been similarities in fortification, drainage systems, houses and
settlement patterns, animals found (humped bulls, sheep, goat, etc.), tool technology, and red
ceramic ware. This is indicative of the fact that the geographical range of cultural assemblage from
the early 3rd millennium BCE duplicates the range of mature Harappan culture. (Mughal, 1988)
G.L. Possehl further elaborates on the evolutionary theory, and says that we see very few
archaeological indicators of impending urbanisation are found from the early Harappan period. The
settlements are small, there is no evidence of public architecture, social differentiation, or craft
specialisation. There is no evidence of a ‘proto’ stage of the Indus script, and no prototype for the
characteristic mature Harappan square stamp seals. Therefore Possehl suggests that all this must
have developed in a transition period between the early and mature stages. The early Harappan
stage did not abruptly become the mature Harappan, but there was a ‘transitional phase between
two cultural peaks’, which he places to be from 2800-2600 BCE. Evidence for this transitional phase
have been found at Nausharo (1C, 1D), Mehrgarh (VIIC), Dholavira (I), Harappa (II), and at Amri.
Jim Shaffer and Diane Lichtenstein, from their study of radiocarbon dates, have found that the
Harappan civilisation was the result of a very rapid fusion of the Bagor, Hakra, and Kot Diji ethnic
groups. Shaffer and Lichtenstein suggest a period of a hundred years (2600-2500 BCE) for this fusion,
and within the next hundred years, the fused Harappan culture became the largest ethnic group in
the Indus Valley. This indicates a very rapid distribution rate as well, and although we may not know
what exactly the nature of the Harappan group’s organisational complexity was, it was a cultural
system promoting rapid territorial expansion.
Evidence for the evolutionary theory can be obtained from artefacts from the Amri, Sothi, and
Mehrgarh cultures. At Amri, we find four layers of settlement. In the earliest layer, Period I, we see
the gradual increase in refinement and variety of pottery. Mudbrick stuctures begin to appear, and
artefacts found include chert-blades, stone balls, bone tools, and a few fragments of copper and
bronze. In Period IA, 82% of pottery is found to be handmade while the rest are wheel-turned. We
also see a few examples of black and red pottery in this period. In Period IB, mud brick buildings
begin to emerge and the proportion of wheel made pottery increases. In Period IC we see the
maximum development of Amri culture and the presence of bichrome and trichrome pottery. In
Period ID, new elements begin to emerge. For example, free style animals such as the bull (which is
more of a Harappan element than an Amrian one) began to be seen. Less than half of all pottery was
handmade at this point. In Period II we observe a transitional phase where the increasing mixture of
Harappan culture with the Amrian culture is evident. Period III has been divided into four phases
again, and of these four, the first three are mature Harappan phases.
Thus, there is a clear continuity from the early, transitional, and mature Harappan phases to be seen
in the layers of artefacts found at Amri and other settlements.
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References
1. Sothi-Siswal Ceramic Assemblage: A Repraisal, Tejas Garge
2. POSSEHL, G. L. “THE EARLY HARAPPAN PHASE.” Bulletin of the Deccan College Research
Institute, 60/61, 2000, pp. 227–241. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/42936617.
3. Kenoyer, Jonathan Mark. “Birth of a Civilization.” Archaeology, vol. 51, no. 1, 1998, pp. 54–
61. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/41771345.
4. Thakran, R.C. “Change and Continuity of a Protohistoric Tradition in the Sutlej-Yamuna
Divide.”, Proceedings of the Indian History Congress, Vol. 47, Volume II (1986), pp. 150-160.
Indian History Congress
5. Madhu Bala. “A Survey of the Proto-Historic Investigation in Punjab and the Emergent
Picture.”. Indian Anthropologist, Vol. 8, No. 2 (December 1987), pp. 89-118
6. Wheeler, R.E.M. “The Indus Civilisation.” (1953)
7. Mughal, M.R. “Genesis of the Indus Valley Civilisation, Lahore Museum Bulletin, Vol. I (1):
45-54” (1988)
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