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INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION

The civilization which based upon River Indus and its tributaries is called Indus Valley
Civilization. Important sites of Indus Valley Civilization are situated along with the river Indus.
There are many sites of Indus Valley Civilization in Pakistan such as Harappa, Mohenjodaro,
Kot Diji, Rahman Dheri, Ali Murad etc.
Major sites of Indus Valley Civilization in Pakistan are Harappa and Mohenjodaro and Lothal
and Klibangan in India.

BOUNDRIES:
It covers a vast area from Pak Iran border to Gangas and from Himalayas to
Indian Gujrat. The total area of Indus Valley Civilization is 1600 km. According to scholar there
were 5millions inhabitants in Indus Valley Civilization.

RIVER INDUS:
It originates from the glaciers of Tibet, the main stream rises from the lake of
Tibet, and flow through Kashmir , Qaraquram taking all tributaries in that region before falling
into Kabul river near Attock. Gomal joined it in D.I Khan. Later near Punjab it takes all five
rivers and then onwards it flows in Punjab and Sindh and finally join Arabian sea near Hyder
Abad.

THEORIES ABOUT THE ORIGIN OF INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION.

From its discovery the Indus Valley Civilization had a critical problem of its origin, because
archaeological evidences were lacking to complete its formative stages or evolutionary stages.
So it was a major puzzle to find out its beginning. Scholars have presented different theories
about its origin.
S.M Wheeler and some other scholars suggest that perhaps the idea of this great civilization was
borrowed from Mesopotamia and some scholars like George and Dales think that this idea was
taken from eastern Iran.
Anyhow there would be influences on each other of contemporary civilizations, but it is difficult
to accept that uprooting a civilization from an environment and planting it into another is
possible. And it is difficult to accept that an ideal environment such as Indus valley would fail to
develop an indigenous civilization of its own.
The problem continued till 1950, but after the archaeological discoveries at lower level of Amri,
kot Diji and Kalibangen solved the problem to some extent, because in kot Dije and kalibangen a
cultural sequence was exposed. And according to DR. Rafiq Mughal and F.A Khan the lower
level of Amri and kot Diji were the formative stages of Indus valley Civilization and it is early
Harappen period of the greater Indus Valley Civilization.
However the opinion is still disputed by several senior archaeologists of Pakistan and India such
as A.H Dani and Sankalia they consider Rafiq Mughal early Harrapen period as Pre Harrapen
period, because of cultural break of Harrapen and Pre Harrapen periods.

CONCLUSION:
After the excavation of sites like Amri,killi Gul Muhammad, Rehman Dheri,
Gumla, Jalil pur, Sheri khan tarakai the picture is totally changed, all these sites provides strong
evidenceps which prove the Indus Valley Civilization is an indigenous Civilization.

MAJOR SITES OF INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION:

MOHENJODARO:
Mohenjodaro means mound of dead. It is a major site of Indus Valley
Civilization, situated on the west bank of River Indus, 9 miles from Mohenjodaro Railway
station, 20 miles from larkana District. The site of Mohenjodaro was discovered for first time by
R.D Benergi in 1922 during the excavation of Buddhist Stupa.
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EXCAVATION:
The site was excavated under the leadership of Sir John Marshal and Mackey
between the years 1922-31.After the partition of India and Pakistan in 1947 further work was
done by Sir Mortimer Wheeler.
MAIN BUILDINGS OF MOHENJODARO;
GREAT BATH:
The great bath is 40 feet long and 24 feet broad and 8 feet deep. Steps were
provided from north and south. There is verandah on its three sides and series of room on its
back. In one side there is a double lined well, from where water was supplied.

COLLEGE OF PRIEST;
To the west of the stupa is situated the impressive building popularly
known is college of the priest. The building measures about 230 feet in length and 78 feet wide.

PILLARED HALL:
It is a spacious hall, about 80 feet square with its roof supported on 20 pillars.
The basis of these pillars made of burnt bricks arranged in four rows each containing five pillars.

THE GRID GRANARY:

Another important building is a granary. It is raised on a huge solid
bricks. Originally the granary consisted of 27 blocks constructed of burnt bricks with criss cross
layout of air passages in between these blocks.
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HARAPPA:
Harappa is one of the major site of Indus Valley Civilization. It is situated 15 miles to
the south west of Sahiwal District. The site of Harappa is bigger than Mohenjodaro. The mound
is situated on the old bank of river Ravi. The site of Harrapa was discovered more than a century
ago.
EXCAVATION:
The site of Harappa was excavated by M.S Wats in 1920-34 but the main
excavation was done by S.M. Wheeler in 1944-47.
GENERAL LAYOUT OF THE CITY:
The site of Harappa is 3 miles in circuit and consists of two parts.
A. Citadel Mound toward West.
B. Lowest Mound toward East, which is more extensive than mound A.
Mound F. between the citadel and the old bed of river Ravi is an another Mound called
Mound F.

CEMETRIES:
There are two cemeteries in Harappa i.e. Cemetery R37 and H.
MAIN BUILDINGS OF HARAPPA:
WORK MEN’S QUARTER:
Two rows of buildings seven in the northern and eight in the
southern side have been found.

WORK MEN’S PLATFORM:

To the north of the work men’s quarter the 18 circular platforms
were unearthed.
GRID GRANARY:
The remarkable building at Harappa is the granary. It consists of two parts
each consisting of 12 blocks arranged in two rows, with central passage of 23 feet wide. The
approach to the granary appears to have been from river bank.

FORTIFICATION WALL:
Round the Harappa site on its four sides there was a fortification wall.

TOWN PLANNING OF INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION:

The town planning of Indus valley civilization is considered to be the world earliest town
planning. Mostly the cities of Indus valley were divided in two parts i.e. Citadel and Lower City
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CITADEL:
Citadel was always to the west of the city. The citadel area was always fortified with
bricks wall, where square towers or bastions were provided. Two entrances were provided to the
citadel one the northern side the second on the southern side. The citadel might have been used
for religious or administrative purpose because there were no evidences of residence.
LOWER CITY:
Other important area is the lower city, which is actually residential area. There
were the houses of Indus valley people and their business centres. These lower cities were not
fortified except Kalibangen.
STREET:
The whole city was divided roughly in equal blocks through streets. These blocks were
further divided by lanes. The main street runs from the north to south. All streets run in straight
line and are crossed by other at right angle.
DRAINAGE SYSTEM:
The most outstanding feature of Indus Valley Civilization is its drainage system. In the cities
there were network of drains. Each house was connected with street drains which run at one side
of the street. The drains of the small street were connected to the drain of main street which
carried the savage water of the city outside of the boundary. There were main hole in small street
drain before joining a main drain.

HOUSES:
Almost all houses were made of burnt bricks. They are from single roomed house to a
dozens of room and from one courtyard to several courtyards. Most of the houses had well and
baths. In some cases hearth were found in rooms. Some houses had a bathroom on first floor.
There was also double storey houses, stairs were provided to first floor.
The floor of houses was paved by burnt bricks. Houses had an entrance from side lanes.
BATH ROOM AND WELL:
Almost all houses had bath room and well. All these wells were
round and had the wall of burnt bricks from bottom to top. The bath rooms were constructed
toward street side. There were public wells in some cases these were made at such places which
can be used by common people.
POTTERY OF INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION:
As over the vast area the Indus Valley
Civilization has spread, they are bound to have enormous regional varieties of ceramics, however
some major characteristics of ceramics tradition are commonly known and may be recorded.
TYPES AND SHAPES:
The vessels like jars, vases, dishes, bowls, cups and goblets were found
from Indus sites. All these pottery were used for drinking, cooking, eating and storage purpose.
MATERIAL:
The potters of Indus Valley Civilization select the best clay and mixed it with mica
and sand. Designs were impressed on wet pot, incised designs were made with a wood or finger.
Some pottery have a short stamped inscription might be a potter’s name. The pottery was mostly
wheel turned but some handmade pottery was also found. The texture of pottery was very fine.
COLOUR:
Most of Indus Valley Civilization pottery is pinkish, with a bright red slips. The
decoration were presented in black. The use of white and green colour is rare.
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DESIGNS:
There was a large variety of designs found on Indus pottery. Geometrical designs were
most common but fauna and flora motifs were also painted. Horizontal lines of various
thicknesses, wavy lines, cress cross lines, intersecting circles, loops, hatched designs comb
pattern were commonly used. Floral designs included pipal leaf, half pipal leaf and palm
branches.
Fauna designs included antelope, peacock, fish and birds. In very rare cases Human figurines
were depicted.
NATURAL SYMBOLS:
Natural symbols like Sun was shown either individually or in composite
form.
TRADE OF INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION:
Trade of Indus Valley Civilization was highly
developed. Trade played an important role in the development of Indus Valley Civilization. As
the economy of Indus valley was mainly based on the agriculture and trade so they had trade
links internally and externally which is proved by the discovery of a large number of objects
made of such materials which are not available at Indus valley sites. So definitely they would
have been imported these materials from other sites.
TYPES OF TRADE:
They had two types of trade.
1. Internal trade, within cultural zone
2. External trade, out of their cultural zone
INTERNAL TRADE:
Internal trade of Indus was very important because without strong internal
trade external trade was not possible. Wheat and barley were plenty in Indus but rice seems to be
imported so Lothal export rice. Cotton was grown in Gujrat and Punjab and imported by lothal
and other Indus sites. Wool is another commodity the demand of which must have been heavy in
winter and probably was imported from Balochistan where on large scale sheeps and goats were
domesticated.
EXTERNAL OR INTERNATIONAL TRADE:
International trade of Indus is a controversial
matter. Rao strongly supported the trade of Indus valley with western Asia. There are references
in Mesopotamian text of trade with Dilman, Magan and Meluha and these places could be
approached by boats. According to scholars Indus valley peoples commanded all major trade
route between (A) central Asia (B) Iran (C) south west Asia
DILAMAN:
Dilman is identified with modern Behrain and Kuwaite region. Weight system of
Dilman and Indus is exactly same. They produced pearls, precious stone and dates.
MAGAN:
Magan is identified with Omman. They exports Onion, Carnelian, Copper, Ivory and
its production.
MELUHA:
It was located on Northern shore of Persian Gulf and Arabian Sea. They produced
Timber, copper, gold, silver, carnelian, lapislazoli and other stones.
BURIAL PRACTICE OF INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION:
There were three kinds of burials
in Indus valley peoples.1.Inhumation or inflexed burial 2. Fractional burial 3. Cremation

1.INHUMATION OR INFLEXED BURIAL:

In this method the whole dead body was buried
along with grave good.
2.FRACTIONAL BURIAL:
In this method the dead body was kept in open air and after the
decay of flesh and meet the remaining bones were put in pot and were buried.
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3.CREMATION:
In this method the dead body was cremated and the ashes were put in pot and buried.

Generally there is no distinction among the burials which suggest that there was not any
royal burial. There is also no tomb yet exposed. However two grave yards which were exposed at
Harappa are very popular. These grave yard were away from settlement area and known as
Cemetery R37 and Cemetery “H”
CEMETERY R37:
It is situated in the south of the Harappa citadel. Generally the burial practice
performed was Inhumation in extended position along with pottery and other grave goods.
With rare exception the bodies were extended from North to South, the head towards the North
and the graves were large enough to contain about fifteen to twenty pots some time as many as
forty. Personal ornaments were worn by dead. The pottery was buried near the head of dead but
in some cases it was also buried near feet or along with sides. Besides ornaments and pottery
bone of animals were also found in the graves.
UNIQUE BURIALS OF HARAPPA:
One grave was internally outlined with mud bricks. The
grave was 15 feet long and 10 feet wide and 3 feet deep.
One another grave is notable for the fact the dead body had been buried in a wooden Coffin,
7 feet long and 2.5 feet wide which had lid of deodar wood.
CEMETERY “H”
It is situated to the south of the citadel of Harappa, near cemetery R 37. Here extended burials
were uncovered, in some cases the knees slightly bent and generally the Head towards the East.
Some fractional burial were also uncovered. Some burials were put into large jars the opening of
jars was closed by lids.
GRAVE GOODS:
Ornaments:
The ornaments used by peoples were also buried with them. Ornaments like
necklaces, anklets, ear rings, bangles and beads were common to burry with dead.
Pottery:
The peoples of Indus Valley Civilization buried pottery with their dead which almost
found from every grave. The numbers of pottery ranged from 2 to 40 while the average numbers
of pottery was 15 to 20. Mostly the pottery of common use was buried in graves such as bowls,
cups, saucer, vases. It is very interesting that from the graves of children small pottery were
found.
SEALS OF INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION:
Seals are the outstanding characteristic of Indus
Valley Civilization. The Indus script and other motifs of the seal make it one of the most
important discoveries of Indus Valley Civilization.
MATERIAL, SHAPE AND SIZE OF SEALS:
Seals are generally made of steatite (soft blue stone), Copper, Ivory,
Agate, Chert and Clay. They ranged in size from 1.25×1 cm to 5×5 cm. the average being
3×2 cm. The seal was generally square in shape and with a hole for handling. Some time the seal
are round and cylindrical.
PURPOSE:
Generally it is believed that seals were used as amulets and for commercial purpose.
INSCRIPTIONS ON SEALS:
The Indus seals contain the following contents.
1. Name of the individual
2. Name with an epithet
3. Name with royal titles
4. Name, royal title and administrative unite
5. Name of ceremony
6. Profession
7. Commodities
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DESIGNS ON INDUS SEALS:
The designs on seals include a wide range of animals associated
with signs of semi pictographic script.
LINEAR DESIGNS:
The linear designs include Swastika , multiple squares, cress cross pattern,
plain multiple cross.
UNICORN:
The mythical animal represented as an ox like animal having single horn and called
as Unicorn.
ANIMAL REPRESENTATION:
The representation of buffalo is rare while the bull with hump
and heavy dewlap is most common. The tiger is also shown. Besides elephant, crocodile and fish
were also presented on seals.
HUMAN FIGURES:
The human is shown in different scenes mostly in religious scenes and
hunting scenes.
AUTHORS OF INDUS SEALS:
It is very difficult to say who were the authors of Indus seals.
However according to researchers the owners of Indus seals were rulers, merchants and priests.

ART AND CRAFT OF INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION:

Among the characteristics features of
Indus Valley Civilization their Art and craft is of great importance. We study their different Art
and Crafts of which we have some evidences.
STONE ART:
The use of stone for Art and craft increased in Harappen period, they developed
their stone art mostly in sculptures and beads.
SCULPTURES:
The most monumental product of the Indus Valley Civilization is the stone
sculptures. Eleven sculptures from Harappa and 12 from Mohenjodaro were obtained made of
soft stone. King priest among the statues of Mohenjodaro is very popular in which he is shown
with beard and shaven upper lip.

BEADS:
The Indus beads are abundant in variety, form and material. The material is gold, silver,
copper, steatite, semi precious stones, shell, clay and lapis lazuli. Stone bowls made of soft stone
was very popular. Dressed and semi dressed stone was used for the slab which covered the
drains. Stone weights were made of black stone.
BRONZE SCULPTURE:
Bronze was also used for sculptures. The most important and beautiful
bronze sculpture is a dancing girl from Mohenjodaro. The statue is 4.5 inch in height with her
right hand on her hip and has curly hair.
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METALLIC TOOLS:
Metallic tools were known but mostly for daily use. Copper and bronze
were used for tool making. The main tools are dagger, razors, knives, saw, needle, drills, blade,
axes, chisels and spear head.
TERRA COTTA OBJECTS:
The figurines of Human and animal of terra cotta are of very
importance. Female figurines in terra cotta are very common, some are heavily decorated. The
figurines of buffalos, humped bulls are very common but cow was never represented. Other
animals include the horse, dogs, sheep, elephant, pig, monkey and birds. Man headed animal
were also presented. Small model carts with wheel have been noted.
POTTERY: This topic has been discussed earlier
SEALS: This topic has been discussed earlier
AGRICULTURE:
The economics of Indus depend on agriculture, so there was high value of
agriculture. They cultivate wheat, barley and rice. The use of vegetable was common. Some
pictures on pottery of coconut and banana shoe the presence of the fruits.
COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY:
They were highly developed in industries. They were expert in
making burnt bricks. There were artisans in Indus society like cobbler, iron smith, weaver,
carpenter and mason.
COMMUNICATION:
They used bull cart for transportation of goods. They also use boats for
transportation as Egypt and Mesopotamia had trade links with Indus through ocean.
The people of Indus were aware of sailing of ships. They use camel, horse, and donkey in form
of carwan for transportation.

RELIGION OF INDUS VALLEY CIVIVLIZATION:

The religion of Indus is still a puzzle. Unless and until we are not able to decipher the Indus
script, we cannot say anything about their religion. However from the numerous seals and
figurines we guess the religious beliefs of the Indus Valley people.
A large number of excavated terracotta figurines are those of semi-nude figures which is
identified as Mother Goddess. Discovery of a large number of conical or cylindrical stones show
that the people worshipped lingam, the symbol of Lord Shiva. Besides they worshipped the tress
and animals like bull, buffalo snake and tiger. They also worshipped the Sun.
WRITING:
The writing system of Indus was in initial stages of pictographic. This script has been
found on seals and pottery. Mostly the pictures comprise of geometrical designs. And still this
script has not been deciphered.
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WEAPONS:
The weapons of Indus valley peoples include knives, daggers, axes, spear and arrow
but all these were used for daily life. And no swards or shields were found from Indus sites
which indicate that they were peaceful peoples and know nothing about the weapons of attack.

DECLINE OF INDUS VALLEY CIVILIVZATION:

Like its origin its decline is also a burning
question among scholars. Against other civilization here we observe a sudden decline to some
extent and that is the reason which causes disagreement among scholars. In different times
different scholars worked here and they presented different theories about the decline of Indus
Valley Civilization. But one thing is clear that one factor is not responsible for the decline of
Indus Valley Civilization because such a great and developed civilization could not decline due
to a single factor. Normally the scholars discussed the decline of Indus Valley Civilization under
the following two headings.
1. Natural agencies
2. Human agencies
NATURAL AGENCIES:
CLIMATIC CHANGE:
According to some scholars there was a decrease in the rain fall in the
early centuries of 2nd millennium BC, thus the climatic change effect the people and their
agriculture and thus it resulted in the decline of Indus Valley Civilization.
FLOOD THEORY:
According to this theory Mohenjodaro was engulfed by a great flood and affected
the wide area of plain for a long period and it become a cause for its decline.
TECTONIC MOVEMENT:
According to some scholar earth quake have played a great role in
destruction of Indus Valley Civilization and this theory was based on some sloped walls in Indus
valley sites.
CHANGE IN RIVER COURSE:
According to this theory changes in the river course affected the
agricultural land of Mohenjodaro and as a result it becomes the factor of its decline.
EPIDEMIC DISEASE:
According to some scholars epidemic disease after the flood caused the
decline of Indus Valley Civilization.

HUMAN AGENCIES:
ARYAN’S INVASION:
According to Wheeler the end of Indus Valley Civilization was due to the
violent destruction of Aryans. This theory based upon the skeleton scattered around in
Mohenjodaro having the signs of bone injuries which proves the violent death.
INTERNAL DECAY OF SYSTEM:
When Aryans attacked and captured the cities of Indus they were not
able to maintain law and order which result break down of the system and thus it become a cause
for decline.
TRADE AND COMMERCE:
After the attack Aryans could not control the trade and commerce and as the development
of trade helped in development of civilization, so the decay of trade caused its decline.
DEFORESTATION:
According to some scholars the peoples of Indus valley had cut the forest on large
scale in order to bake large quantity of bricks. This deforestation badly affected the climate,
animal and agriculture. So the destruction of agriculture forced the peoples to migrate and thus
the civilization declined.