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Indus Valley Civilization
The Indus Valley in the Indian sub-continent was one of the early centers where man settled down and progressed to-lead
a highly civilized life. Geographical factors like climate, fertility of the soil and the physical features greatly contributed to
the progress and development of man there. This civilization, familiar to the world as the Indus Valley Civilization or the
Harappan Culture, flourished about 5000 years ago.

Why is it called Harappan Culture?

Initially historians called this civilization the Indus Valley Civilization. But of late historians prefer to call it the Harappan
Culture. Most of the sites of this civilization discovered earlier were in the Indus Valley only. The sites included Harappa
and Mohenjo-Daro. But in recent years, a large number of sites belonging to this civilization have been found in areas far
away from the Indus Valley. For example, the sites at Kalibangan and Lothal revealed features similar to those of the Indus
Valley. Therefore, historians feel that the name Indus Valley Civilization is not appropriate. Further, most of these sites
have many similarities to the urbanized culture of the people of Harappa, the first site of this culture to be discovered in
1921. Therefore, this civilization is called the Harappan Culture.

Extent of the Harappan Culture

It covered parts of Punjab, Haryana,

Sindh, Baluchistan, Gujarat,
Rajasthan and the fringes of western
Uttar Pradesh. It extended from
Jammu in the north to the Narmada
estuary in the south and from the
Makran coast of Baluchistan in the
west to Meerut in the east. It
covered an area of about 1,299,600
square kilometers. It covered a much
larger area than the ancient Egyptian
or Mesopotamian culture did. t in
the north-east. It covered an area of
about 1,299,600 square kilometers.
It covered a much larger area than

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the ancient Egyptian or Mesopotamian culture did.

Antiquity of the Civilization

lndus Valley Civilization the Harappan Culture existed between 2500 B.C and 1800 B.C. Its mature phase lay between 2200
B.C and 2000 B.C. The Harappan Culture is a Bronze Age civilization. Copper and bronze tools were used extensively during
that period.

Geographical Factors which helped the growth of this Civilization

The geographical conditions in the Indus Valley must have been quite conducive for human settlement and progress. This
region today is very dry and not too fit for human habitation. What makes us believe that 5000 years ago it was quite
different? The Indus seals are 1 found to have figures of a variety of plants and animals which can exist only in moderately
wet, conditions. Therefore, it is assumed that the climatic conditions were quite moderate. Added to this, the vast plains
along the Indus were very fertile. The floods deposited rich alluvial soil on these plains every year and irrigated the lands.
These geographical factors greatly helped the prosperity of Indus habitations.

Important Sites of IVC

Important Sites of IVC

Site Excavated by Location Important Findings

Harappa Daya Ram Sahini in 1921 Situated on the bank of  Sandstone statues of
river Ravi in Human anatomy
Montgomery district of  Granaries
Punjab (Pakistan).  Bullock carts

Mohenjodaro R.D Banerjee in 1922 Situated on the Bank of  Great bath

(Mound of Dead) river Indus in Larkana  Granary
district of Punjab  Bronze dancing girl
(Pakistan).  Seal of Pasupathi
Mahadeva
 Steatite statue of beard man
 A piece of woven cotton

Sutkagendor Stein in 1929 In southwestern  A trade point between

Balochistan province, Harappa and Babylon
Pakistan on Dast river

Chanhudaro N.G Majumdar in 1931 Sindh on the Indus river  Bead makers shop
 Footprint of a dog chasing a
cat

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Amri N.G Majumdar in 1935 On the bank of Indus  Antelope evidence

river

Kalibangan Ghose in 1953 Rajasthan on the bank  Fire altar

of Ghaggar river  Camel bones
 Wooden plough

Lothal R.Rao in 1953 Gujarat on Bhogva river  First manmade port

near Gulf of Cambay  Dockyard
 Rice husk
 Fire altars
 Chess playing

Surkotada J.P Joshi in 1964 Gujarat  Bones of horses

 Beads

Banawali R.S Bisht in 1974 Hisar district of Haryana  Beads

 Barley
 Evidence of both pre-
Harappan and Harappan
culture

Dholavira R.S Bisht in 1985 Gujarat in Rann of  Water harnessing system

Kachchh  Water reservoir

Chief Characteristics of IVC

 Town Planning

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Perhaps the most unique feature of the Harappan civilization was the development of urban centers. Let us look at one
such centre, Mohenjo-Daro, more closely. Although Mohenjo-Daro is the most well-known site, the first site to be
discovered was Harappa. The settlement is divided into two sections, one smaller but higher and the other much larger
but lower. Archaeologists designate these as the Citadel and the Lower Town respectively. The Citadel owes its height to
the fact that buildings were constructed on mud brick platforms. It was walled, which meant that it was physically
separated from the Lower Town. The Lower Town was also walled. Several buildings were built on platforms, which served
as foundations. It has been calculated that if one laborer moved roughly a cubic metre of earth daily, just to put the
foundations in place it would have required four million person-days, in other words, mobilizing labour on a very large
scale. Consider something else. Once the platforms were in place, all building activity within the city was restricted to a
fixed area on the platforms. So it seems that the settlement was first planned and then implemented accordingly. Other
signs of planning include bricks, which, whether sun-dried or baked, were of a standardised ratio, where the length and
breadth were four times and twice the height respectively. Such bricks were used at all Harappan settlements.

1. Laying out drains

One of the most distinctive features of Harappan cities was
the carefully planned drainage system. If you look at the
plan of the Lower Town you will notice that roads and
streets were laid out along an approximate “grid” pattern,
intersecting at right angles. It seems that streets with
drains were laid out first and then houses built along them.
If domestic waste water had to flow into the street drains,
every house needed to have at least one wall along a street
built at a height.
2.Domestic architecture
The Lower Town at Mohenjo-Daro provides examples of
residential buildings. Many were centered on a courtyard,
with rooms on all sides. The courtyard was probably the
centre of activities such as cooking and weaving, particularly during hot and dry weather. What is also interesting
is an apparent concern for privacy: there are no windows in the walls along the ground level. Besides, the main
entrance does not give a direct view of the interior or the courtyard. Every house had its own bathroom paved
with bricks, with drains connected through the wall to the street drains. Some houses have remains of staircases
to reach a second storey or the roof. Many houses had wells, often in a room that could be reached from the
outside and perhaps used by passers-by. Scholars have estimated that the total number of wells in Mohenjo-Daro
was about 700.
3. The Citadel
While most Harappan settlements have a small high western part and a larger lower eastern section, there are
variations. At sites such as Dholavira and Lothal (Gujarat), the entire settlement was fortified, and sections within
the town were also separated by walls. The Citadel within Lothal was not walled off, but was built at a height. It is
on the Citadel that we find evidence of structures that were probably used for special public purposes. These

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include the warehouse – a massive structure of which the lower brick portions remain, while the upper portions,
probably of wood, decayed long ago – and the Great Bath. The Great Bath was a large rectangular tank in a
courtyard surrounded by a corridor on all four sides. There were two flights of steps on the north and south leading
into the tank, which was made watertight by setting bricks on edge and using a mortar of gypsum. There were
rooms on three sides, in one of which was a large well. Water from the tank flowed into a huge drain. Across a
lane to the north lay a smaller building with eight bathrooms, four on each side of a corridor, with drains from
each bathroom connecting to a drain that ran along the corridor. The uniqueness of the structure, as well as the
context in which it was found (the Citadel, with several distinctive buildings), has led scholars to suggest that it
was meant for some kind of a special ritual bath.

 Social Life

a) Social classes: The fact that there were different types of houses indicates that there were different social
classes. Trading being the major activity, the merchants seem to have formed the upper class. The artisans and
farmers might be the common people.

b) Dress: No definite account is available about the type of dresses used by the Indus people. The discovery of a
number of spindles suggests the use of cotton and woolen fabrics. The bronze statues too give some information
about the dress of the people. The women wore a skirt and an upper garment. Men wore a band of cloth around
their loin and a loose garment over their shoulders.
c) Ornaments: A large number of ornaments like necklaces, armlets, finger-rings, bangles, etc., have been found
from these sites. These were made of gold, silver, ivory and precious stones. Some of the ornaments were also
made of shells, bones, copper and bronze. It appears that both men and women wore ornaments. The statues of
a dancing girl and a bearded man suggest that these people used hair pins and knew different hair styles.

d) Recreation and amusements: The people of Harappa seem to have had a great liking for dance and music. They
were also familiar with indoor games like dice. A large number of terracotta toys were found in Mohenjo-Daro.

 Economic Conditions

a) Agriculture: Agriculture was the main occupation of the Indus people. They grew I wheat, barley, peas and in
some places rice. They not only produced enough for themselves but also for trade. They did not irrigate their
lands by canals. The annual flood provided enough moisture to grow crops. Fields were ploughed using a wooden
ploughshare. We are not sure whether animals were used.

b) Domestication of animals: On the basis of the Indus seals, it can be said that a large number of animals
including goats, buffaloes, oxen, elephants, dogs and camels were domesticated. But the Harappan seems not to
have been familiar with the horse.

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c) Crafts: The Harappan people were good craftsmen. Bronze work had reached a degree of perfection. Brick-
making and masonry were other important occupations. Pottery made on potter's wheel was decorated with
different designs and painted red and black. Spinning and weaving too were a common craft.

d) Trade: The urban culture and highly specialized manufacturing activity suggest that the Harappan cities had a
flourishing trade. There was flourishing internal trade between the cities. The river Indus served as the high
waterway through which most of this trade was carried out. They also traded with Mesopotamian cities. Many
Harappan seals have been found from Mesopotamian cities. They exported grain, jewellery and pottery and
imported thin copper and precious stones.

 Art of Writing

The Indus seals are a unique source available to us to how about the Harappan culture. They are small rectangular
tablets of terracotta on which some figures of plants, animals, etc. are drawn. There is some kind of pictorial
writing too on them. About 1500 such seals have been found so far. Since this pictorial script has not been
deciphered yet our knowledge about the Harappan is largely limited to those pictures only.
1. Seals, Script, Weights
Seals and sealing were used to facilitate long distance communication. Imagine a bag of goods being sent from one
place to another. Its mouth was tied with rope and on the knot was affixed some wet clay on which one or more seals
were pressed, leaving an impression. If the bag reached with its sealing intact, it meant that it had not been tampered
with. The sealing also conveyed the identity of the sender.
2. An enigmatic script
Harappan seals usually have a line of writing, probably containing the name and title of the owner. Scholars have also
suggested that the motif (generally an animal) conveyed a meaning to those who could not read. Most inscriptions
are short, the longest containing about 26 signs. Although the script remains undeciphered to date, it was evidently
not alphabetical (where each sign stands for a vowel or a consonant) as it has just too many signs – somewhere
between 375 and 400. It is apparent that the script was written from right to left as some seals show a wider spacing

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on the right and cramping on the left, as if the engraver began working from the right and then ran out of space.
Consider the variety of objects on which writing has been found: seals, copper tools, rims of jars, copper and terracotta
tablets, jewellery, bone rods, even an ancient signboard! Remember, there may have been writing on perishable
materials too.
3. Weights
Exchanges were regulated by a precise system of weights, usually made of a stone called chert and generally cubical,
with no markings. The lower denominations of weights were binary (1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, etc. up to 12,800), while the
higher denominations followed the decimal system. The smaller weights were probably used for weighing jewellery
and beads. Metal scale-pans have also been found.

 Religious Practices

We do not have any specific information about the religious beliefs of the Harappan people. However, on the basis of
archaeological finds we can come to certain conclusions. No temples have been found from any of the Harappan sites.
Figurines resembling a female deity have been found. They suggest worship of Mother Goddess. A seal with a male figure
sitting in a logic posture with a trident-like headgear, surrounded by animals, has been found. This has a lot of similarities
with Shiva. From this it is figured that the Harppans might be worshipping Shiva.

 Political Organization
As in the case of religion, we are equally ignorant of the political life of the Harppans. One thing we can be sure
of is that absence of temples suggests this. Since trading was the major activity, political authority might have
been in the hands of the urban trading class.
1. Ancient Authority

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There are indications of complex decisions being taken and implemented in Harappan society. Take for instance,
the extraordinary uniformity of Harappan artifacts as evident in pottery, seals, weights and bricks. Notably, bricks,
though obviously not produced in any single centre, were of a uniform ratio throughout the region, from Jammu
to Gujarat. We have also seen that settlements were strategically set up in specific locations for various reasons.
Besides, labour was mobilized for making bricks and for the construction of massive walls and platforms.

2. Palaces and kings

If we look for a centre of power or for depictions of people in power, archaeological records provide no immediate
answers. A large building found at Mohenjo-Daro was labeled as a palace by archaeologists but no spectacular
finds were associated with it. A stone statue was labeled and continues to be
known as the “priest-king”. This is because archaeologists were familiar with
Mesopotamian history and its “priest-kings” and have found parallels in the
Indus region. But as we will see, the ritual practices of the Harappan civilization
are not well understood yet nor are there any means of knowing whether those
who performed them also held political power. Some archaeologists are of the
opinion that Harappan society had no rulers, and that everybody enjoyed equal
status. Others feel there was no single ruler but several, that Mohenjo-Daro had
a separate ruler, Harappa another, and so forth. Yet others argue that there was
a single state, given the similarity in artifacts, the evidence for planned
settlements, the standardised ratio of brick size, and the establishment of
settlements near sources of raw material. As of now, the last theory seems the
most plausible, as it is unlikely that entire communities could have collectively made and implemented such
complex decisions.

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