INTRODUCTION

The past has showered us with many gifts. Our culture, civilisation, science and knowledge are gifts
of the past.

In the words of H.A. Davies, “civilization implies settlement in definite territories, the building of
cities, the evolution of ordered methods of government, the development of trade and commerce
and a capacity for progress which is unrestricted.” Civilization ultimately depends as much on men as
on plants and animals. The river valleys provided both water and fertile soil where plants could grow
in. In the river valleys mankind had a very good chance of progress.

At the dawn of civilization two distinct civilizations appeared in Mesopotamia and the Indus Valley:
the Sumerians and the Harappans. The Sumerians settled in the valleys between the Tigris and
Euphrates rivers, a land known as Mesopotamia, the area known today as Kuwait and Iraq. One of
the most important cities of this civilization was Ur. Concurrently, in the area that is now Pakistan,
part of Afghanistan and Northern India the Harappan civilization appeared in the flood plain of the
Indus and Hakra rivers. Its two most important cities were Mojeno-doro and Harappa. The Sumerian
and Harappan economies developed along similar lines, and have comparable religious and social
structures. Nevertheless, their politics, art, treatment of women and intellectual advancements
stand in sharp contrast to one another.

HARAPPAN CIVILIZATION

Harappa is situated on the banks of river Ravi in the Montgomery district of Western Punjab (in
Pakistan). The discovery of the ancient ruins of Harappa by Rai Bahadur Daya Ram Sahni in 1921 and
of Mohenjo daro by R.D. Bannerji in 1922-23, both officers of the Archaeological Survey of India
exploded an age-old myth.

It proved beyond doubt that a highly advanced urban civilization flourished in India years ago.

The discovery of the Indus valley seals and pottery among the ruins of ancient Sumerian cities shows
that India had trade links with Mesopotamia which was a contemporary civilization of the Indus
Valley civilizations.

THE MESOPOTAMIAN CIVILIZATION

Mesopotamia, which in Greek means, “The land between two rivers”, is a broad and fertile valley
between the rivers Tigris and Euphrates in West Asia. These two rivers run parallel to each other.
Overflowing their banks during floods and depositing alluvial silt along the lowest region of the plain.
The earliest and the most advanced urban culture that flourished on the lower valley of the
Euphrates was known as the Sumerian Civilization. On the north-eastern side of Sumer were regions
called Babylonia and Akkhad and the highlands in the north were called Assyria.
COMPARATIVE STUDY OF THE
HARAPPAN AND THE MESOPOTAMIAN
CIVILISATION

TOWN PLANNING
(MESOPOTAMIA)

The discovery of the Sumerian city of Ur has shed light on the lives of the
early Mesopotamians. The Mesopotamian cities fell short in terms of town
planning as compared to the Harappan centres but followed a uniform
pattern nevertheless. The city was divided into three parts - the sacred
area, the walled city on a mound and the outer town. The sacred area
consisted of the temple tower or the ziggurat dedicated to the patron god
of the city. There were also smaller temples of other gods. This area also
had the storehouse as well as the offices. People resided in the walled city
and the outer town areas. Houses were constructed along the streets, and
each house had a central courtyard with rooms attached around it.

HARRAPA

The ruins of the sites reveal that the Harrapan people were primarily urban and their cities were
designed skilfully.

THE STREETS

Streets divided the entire city into square or rectangular blocks, each of which was further divided by
a number of lanes. The main streets were wide and straight and intersected each other at right
angles. Fire-burnt bricks were used for paving the streets. The corners of the streets were rounded
off to make it easy for the movement of heavy carts. Houses were not allowed to encroach upon the
streets.

THE DRAINAGE SYSYTEM

One of the unique features of the city was its elaborate drainage system. A brick-lined drainage
channel flowed alongside every street. The house drains were connected to the underground main
drains. The drains were provided with manholes at regular intervals for proper inspection and
cleaning. The provision of such a systematic drainage system in every city shows that the people paid
great attention to sanitation and health. Their concern about sanitation is worthy of admiration.

THE ASSEMBLY HALL, THE CITADEL AND OTHER PUBLIC BUILDINGS

There were also spacious buildings which must have been used as assembly halls. A pillared hall with
long corridors and low benches was probably used as an assembly hall or was the place where the
ruler carried out ceremonial and administrative duties. The Citadel was possibly occupied by
members of the ruling class. Of the public buildings something resembling a market place and a
group of cottages “marshalled like a military cantonment” deserve attention.

THE GREAT BATH

The most imposing structure that was unearthed at Mohenjodaro was the great bath. It consisted of
an open quadrangle with verandahs on its four side, and at the back of the three of the verandahs
various galleries and rooms.

There was a large swimming enclosure in the centre of the quadrangle which was 12 metres
long,7 metres wide and 2.5 metres deep. At either end there was a raised platform with a flight of
steps leading down to the pool. The pool was filled with water taken from a well situated nearby.
After periodic cleaning of the pool, the water was discharged into a huge drain connected to the
main drain on the street. The walls of the pools were made watertight, using specially made bricks
and gypsum mortar.

SOCIAL STRUCTURE

MESOPOTAMIA

The population of ancient Mesopotamia was divided into social classes

which, like societies in every civilization throughout history, were
hierarchical. These classes were: The King and Nobility, The Priests and
Priestesses, The Upper Class, the Lower Class, and The Slaves.

The king of a city, region, or empire was thought to have a special

relationship with the gods and to be an intermediary between the world of
the divine and the earthly realm. The depth of a king's relationship with
his gods, and the god's pleasure with his rule, was gauged by the success
of the territory he ruled over. A great king would enlarge his kingdom and
make the land prosperous and, by doing so, show that the gods favoured
him.

The upper class included merchants who owned their own companies,
scribes, private tutors, and, in time, high-ranking military men. Other
occupations of the upper class were accountants, architects, astrologers
(who were usually priests), and shipwrights.

Scribes were highly respected and served at court, in the temple, and in
the schools. Every teacher was a scribe, and one of the most important
disciplines taught in every Mesopotamian school was writing. Only boys
attended school. While women did enjoy almost equal rights, they were
still not considered intelligent enough to be able to master literacy.

Private tutors were also held in high regard and were paid well by the
wealthy families of the cities to help their sons excel at their school work.
Private tutors not in the employ of a school were considered men of
exceptional intelligence, virtue, and character. They devoted themselves
completely to the student, or students, under their tutelage and, if they
had a client of high means, lived almost as well as he did.

The lower class was made up of those occupations which kept the city or
region actually operating: farmers, artists, musicians, construction
workers, canal builders, bakers, basket makers, butchers, fishermen, cup
bearers, brick makers, brewers, tavern owners, prostitutes, metallurgists,
carpenters, perfume makers, potters, jewellery makers, goldsmiths, cart
and, later, chariot drivers, soldiers, sailors, and merchants who worked
for another man's company.

The lowest social order was the slaves. One could become a slave in a
number of ways: being captured in war, selling oneself into slavery to pay
off a debt, being sold as punishment for a crime, being kidnapped and
sold into slavery in another region, or being sold by a family member to
relieve a debt. Slaves had no single ethnicity nor were they solely
employed for manual labour. Slaves kept house, managed large estates,
tutored young children, tended horses, served as accountants and skilled
jewellery makers, and could be employed in whatever capacity their
master saw they had a talent in. A slave who worked diligently for his or
her master could eventually buy their freedom.

HARAPPA

The Harappan society appears to have been matriarchal in nature. This view is based on the
popularity of the mother goddess as indicated by the finding of a large number of terracotta
female figurines in Punjab and Sind region. As Harappan script has not been deciphered till now,
we have to satisfy ourselves with this limited information on this issue. The Harappan Society
comprised of people following diverse professions. These included the priests, the warriors,
peasants, traders and artisans (masons, weavers, goldsmith, potters, etc.) The structural remains
at sites such as Harappa and Lothal show that different types of buildings that were used as
residence by different classes. The presence of a class of workmen is proved by workmen quarters
near the granary at Harappa. Similarly, the workshops and houses meant for coppersmiths and
beadmakers have been discovered at Lothal. In fact, we can say that those who lived in larger
houses belonged to the rich class whereas those living in the barracks like workmen quarters were
from the class of labourers. Our limited knowledge about their dress styles comes from the
terracotta figurines and stone sculptures of the period. The people were also fond of ornaments.
These mainly included necklaces, armlets, earrings, beads, bangles, etc., used by both the sexes.
Rich people appear to have used the ornaments of gold, silver and semi-precious stones while the
poor satisfied themselves with those of terracotta.

OCCUPATION

(MESOPOTAMIA)
Like many agriculturally-based people, most ancient Mesopotamians were
farmers, perhaps 80 percent of them. Their lives differed from those of the
city-dwellers. While crops grew abundantly in the fertile soil near the
rivers, crops grown farther away required irrigation, which meant
maintaining dams or canals that led from the river to the fields.
Mesopotamian farmers were laborers and their work was physically hard.
Roads, canals and aqueducts had to be built and kept up, and crops
needed to be sown, weeded and harvested. From dawn to dusk, men
worked in the fields or tended the livestock and women worked in the
homes, raising children, making baskets and pottery, weaving cloth and
cooking.

HARAPPA

Agriculture was the main occupation crops such as wheat, barley, peas and bananas, were raised.
There was enough rain in that region and occasional flood brought a great deal of fertile soil to the
area. People used to plough shares drawn by men or oxen. From the existence of granaries, it is
concluded that there was surplus food grain. The people of Harappa domesticated animals like oxen,
buffaloes, pigs, goats and sheep. Camels and asses were used as means of transport. Dogs and cats
were kept as pets.

ART AND CRAFT

HARAPPA

Excavations of Indus cities have produced much evidence of

artistic activity. Stone sculpture is extremely rare, and much of it
is quite crude. The total repertoire cannot compare to the work
done in Mesopotamia during the same periods. The figures are
apparently all intended as images for worship. Such figures
include seated men, recumbent composite animals, or—in unique
instances—a standing nude male and a dancing figure. The finest
pieces are of excellent quality. There is also a small but notable
repertoire of cast-bronze figures, including several fragments
and complete examples of dancing girls, small chariots, carts,
and animals. The technical excellence of the bronzes suggests a
highly developed art, but the number of examples is still small.
The popular art of the Harappans was in the form of terra-
cotta figurines. The majority are of standing females, often
heavily laden with jewellery, but standing males—some with
beard and horns—are also present. It has been generally agreed
that these figures are largely deities (perhaps a Great Mother
and a Great God), but some small figures of mothers with
children or of domestic activities are probably toys. There are
varieties of terra-cotta animals, carts, and toys—such as monkeys
pierced to climb string and cattle that nod their heads. Painted
pottery is the only evidence that there was a tradition of
painting. Much of the work is executed with boldness and
delicacy of feeling, but the restrictions of the art do not leave
much scope for creativity. Perhaps the best-known artifacts of the
Indus civilization are a number of small seals. The seals were generally
cut from steatite (soapstone) and were carved in intaglio or incised with
a copper burin (cutting tool). The great majority of seals show a hump
less “unicorn” or bull in profile, while others show the Indian humped
bull, elephant, bison, rhinoceros, or tiger. The animal frequently stands
before a ritual object, variously identified as a standard, a manger, or
even an incense burner. A considerable number of the seals contain
scenes of obvious mythological or religious significance. The seals were
certainly more widely diffused than other artistic artifacts and show a
much higher level of workmanship. Probably they functioned as amulets,
as well as more-practical devices to identify merchandise.

Copper and bronze were the principal metals used for making tools
and implements. These include flat oblong axes, chisels, knives, spears,
arrowheads, small saws, and razors. All these could be made by simple
casting, chiselling, and hammering. The copper and bronze vessels of the
Harappans are among their finest products, formed by hammering sheets
of metal. Casting of copper and bronze was understood, and figurines of
men and animals were made by the lost-wax process. These too are
technically outstanding, though the overall level of copper-bronze
technology is not considered to have reached the level attained in
Mesopotamia.

Other metals used were gold, silver, and lead. The latter was employed
occasionally for making small vases and such objects as plumb bobs.
Silver is relatively more common than gold, and more than a
few vessels are known, generally in forms similar to copper and bronze
examples. Gold is by no means common and was generally reserved for
such small objects as beads, pendants, and brooches.

Other special crafts include the manufacture of faience (earthenware

decorated with coloured glazes)—for making beads, amulets, sealings,
and small vessels—and the working of stone for bead manufacture and
for seals. Beads were made from a variety of substances, but the
carnelians are particularly noteworthy. They include several varieties of
etched carnelian and long barrel beads made with extraordinary skill and
accuracy. Shell and ivory were also worked and were used for beads,
inlays, combs, bracelets, and the like.
The pottery of the Indus cities has all the marks of mass production. The
majority of the pottery is competent plain ware, well-formed and fired but
lacking in aesthetic appeal. A substantial portion of the pottery has a
red slip and is painted with black decoration. Larger pots were probably
built up on a turntable. Among the painted designs, conventionalized
vegetable patterns are common, and the elaborate geometric designs of
the painted pottery of Baluchistan give way to simpler motifs, such as
intersecting circles or a scale pattern. Birds, animals, fish, and more
interesting scenes are comparatively rare.

Stone played a major role in Harappan material culture. Scattered

sources, mostly on the periphery, were exploited as major factory sites.
Thus, the stone blades found in great numbers at Mohenjodaro
originated in the flint quarries at Sukkur, where they were probably
struck in quantity from prepared cores.

MESOPOTAMIA
Art played a key role in Mesopotamian culture. Many forms of art had been crafted
by the most skilled, all lending a hand to help better understand the Mesopotamian
people.

Religion was one key influence present in near all Mesopotamian artwork.
Statues of gods were crafted from stone had been present throughout the rooms of
the Ziggurat temples. Marduk is one example of the many gods portrayed in
Mesopotamian art.

Another important form of art, had been the mosaics painted by the
Mesopotamians. Frescoes had detailed the walls of Ziggurat temples, depicting many
religious gods. PIctures of daily life and achievements in battle had been painted by
the Assyrian people, showing pride in this form of art.

TRADE
(HARRAPAN CIVILIZATION)

Harrapans had commercial relations with southern and eastern India, Kashmir and countries of
Central Asia. They imported various metals, precious stones and other articles. It is believed that
they were importing gold from Karnataka, copper from Rajasthan and precious stones from
Afghanistan and Iran. Many evidences have been found which reveal that trade was carried on with
Egypt and Crete. Objects of Sumerian origin found at the Indus cities further indicate that there were
trade relations between these countries.

Trade needs uniform weights and measures. There is evidence that the Harrapan people used sets of
cubical stone weights even in the far-flung areas.

Trade was carried on both by land and sea routes. The representation of a mast less ship on a seal
suggests the popularity of the sea routes.
MESOPOTAMIA

Mesopotamia trade grew organically from the crossroads nature of

the civilizations that dwelt between the rivers and the fertility of the land.
Because of irrigation, southern Mesopotamia was rich in agricultural
products, including a variety of fruits and vegetables, nuts, dairy, fish and
meat from animals both wild and domestic. Other than food items,
Mesopotamia was rich in mud, clay and reeds out of which they built their
cities. For most other essential goods, such as metal ores and timber,
Mesopotamia needed trade.
Besides local trade, which brought food and animals into the city and took
tools, ploughs and harnesses out to the countryside, long-distance trade
was needed for resources like copper and tin and for luxury items for the
nobility. Merchants and traders in early Mesopotamian cities began to
form caravans for long-distance trading.

With the development of the wheel and sail, transportation of goods

became easier. Heavy bulk goods could travel by ox cart or be loaded
onto riverboats. Most long-distance trade, however, was carried out by
caravans using donkeys as pack animals. Donkeys could carry about 150
pounds and travel on the plains and into the mountains, places where
wheeled carts couldn’t go.
Craftsmen in Mesopotamia created a variety of trade goods from fine
textiles to sturdy, nearly mass-produced pottery made in temple
workshops to leather goods, jewellery, basketry, devotional figurines and
ivory carvings among others. Agricultural products such as grains and
cooking oils were also exported as were dates and flax.
Mesopotamian cities established trade all up and down the Tigris and
Euphrates rivers and into Anatolia, today’s Turkey. Other overland trade
routes went east over the Zagros Mountains into present-day Iran and
Afghanistan. A busy sea route went through the Persian Gulf across the
Arabian Sea to the Indus valley in what is today’s northern India and
Pakistan. By the 3rd millennium, Mesopotamia trade went in all directions.

SEALS AND SCRIPT

HARRAPA

The seals may be considered as the most valuable finds, as they give us valuable information
about the Harappan civilization. More than 2000 seals of different types have been discovered
from various sites. These are usually square or oblong and made of terracotta, steatite or ivory.

a) The Animal Seal: Some seals are engraved with the figures of animals the buffalo, bull,
elephant, tiger and antelope. The best engravings are those of the humped bull, the
buffalo and the bison.
 b) The Unicorn Seal: Another figure shown on the seal is that of the unicorn with a single
protruding part.
c) The Shiva Pashupati Seal: The most important seal is that of Pashupati which depicts the
three faced deity seated in a yogic posture with a horned head dress and surrounded by
animals. Later excavations revealed two more seal of Shiva.

SCRIPT

The Harappans had developed the art of writing. The seals discovered at Harappa and Mohenjo daro
are engraved with some sort of pictorial writing. Similar inscriptions have been found engraved on
copper tables with figures of men and animals. Unfortunately, the pictorial script has not yet been
deciphered. Some scholars are the of opinion that the writing was generally from right to left, but in
some cases, it was written from left to right.

MESOPOTAMIA

Marking seals have been used to mark and secure documents ever since the
Mesopotamian cultures invented them over 5500 years ago. Due to the large number of
surviving examples, it appears that these seals were very important to the Mesopotamian
peoples.

There were two different kinds of seals that the Mesopotamian people used. These
different types were stamp seals and cylinder seals. Stamp seal were not very popular and
were not used nearly as much as the cylinder seals. The stamp seals would be used by
pressing the seal into soft clay, while the cylinder seals would be rolled across the clay to
create an impression. The stamp seals were used originally, but then the people switched to
using the cylinder seals around 3500 BC. The cylinder seals were more useful because they
could cover a larger area with print much faster. Due to the fact that the cylinder seals were
used for a much longer time period, many more survived, and thus much more is known
about them. The typical cylinder seal was used to identify the possessions of people and to
secure boxes and jars from being opened without permission. By placing the seal across a
container or door, an owner could clearly identify their possessions. Also, it would be clear to
others they could not open the containers without permission from the owner. Besides the
security and administrative purposes, the seals were also used as jewellery. It is believed that
the cylinder seals were very important to people due to the fact that many individuals were
buried with their seals.

Cylinder seals were made to serve an important purpose, while at the same time being
beautiful and intriguing. The seals were made out bone, ivory, wood, or glass, but stone seals
were by far the most common. The stone seals would be sculpted usually from semi-precious
materials such as andesite, lapis lazuli, or steatite. Some of the older seals existed before the
invention of writing. The seals therefore used pictographs to represent who owned the seal.
Later, the seals would include the cuneiform writing system featuring wedge-like marks. The
seals were usually made with an intaglio technique. In other words, the details are etched or
carved into the cylinder. Another interesting feature of the seals is that they had a hole going
through them from one end to the other. It is believed that the seals would be hung on a string
around a person’s neck as a form of jewellery.

The cylinder seals were very important to the Mesopotamian people. The seals were
used for both decorative, and administrative duties. The seals were usually made out of semi-
precious stones, which shows how important they were to the people of that time. The seals
of the Mesopotamian people have been shaped and reinvented over the past 5 millennia, yet
the tradition of sealing important documents and materials is still existing today.
SCRIPT

The principal languages of ancient Mesopotamia were Sumerian, Babylonian and Assyrian
(together sometimes known as 'Akkadian'), Amorite, and - later - Aramaic. They have come down
to us in the "cuneiform" (i.e., wedge-shaped) script, deciphered by Henry Rawlinson and other
scholars in the 1850s. The subject which studies Mesopotamian languages and the sources written
in them is called Assyriology.

Mesopotamian languages in the cuneiform script are mostly written on clay tablets, though they
could also be carved on stone. Being incredibly durable, clay tablets have been recovered in
thousands at archaeological sites from the Mediterranean to Bahrain to Iran. More are found by
the year.

As well as records of daily life and administration, they include religious, mathematical, musical
and astronomical texts, the earliest known laws, and a rich literature that includes the Epic of
Gilgamesh and the oldest versions of the Flood Story also known from the Bible.