The Harappan Civilization :

The earliest excavations in the Indus valley were done at
Harappa in the West Punjab and Mohenjodaro in Sind. Both places
are now in Pakistan. The findings in these two cities brought to light
a civilization. It was first called the ‘The Indus Valley Civilization’.
But this civilization was later named as the ‘Indus Civilization’ due
to the discovery of more and more sites far away from the Indus
valley. Also, it has come to be called the ‘Harappan Civilization’
after the name of its first discovered site.
Important Sites
Among the many other sites excavated, the most important
are Kot Diji in Sind, Kalibangan in Rajasthan, Rupar in the Punjab,
Banawali in Haryana, Lothal, Surkotada and Dholavira, all the three
in Gujarat. The larger cities are approximately a hundred hectares
in size. Mohenjodara is the largest of all the Indus cities and it is
estimated to have spread over an area of 200 hectares.

Origin and Evolution
The archaeological findings excavated for the last eight
decades reveal the gradual development of the Harappan culture.
There are four important stages or phases of evolution and they are
named as pre-Harappan, early-Harappan, mature-Harappan and
late Harappan.
The pre-Harappan stage is located in eastern Baluchistan.
The excavations at Mehrgarh 150 miles to the northwest of
Mohenjodaro reveal the existence of pre-Harappan culture. In this
stage, the nomadic people began to lead a settled agricultural life.
In the early-Harappan stage, the people lived in large villages
in the plains. There was a gradual growth of towns in the Indus
valley. Also, the transition from rural to urban life took place during
this period. The sites of Amri and Kot Diji remain the evidence for
early-Harappan stage.
In the mature-Harappan stage, great cities emerged. The
excavations at Kalibangan with its elaborate town planning and urban
features prove this phase of evolution.
In the late-Harappan stage, the decline of the Indus culture
started. The excavations at Lothal reveal this stage of evolution.
Lothal with its port was founded much later. It was surrounded by a
massive brick wall as flood protection. Lothal remained an
emporium of trade between the Harappan civilization and the
remaining part of India as well as Mesopotamia.

Date of the Harappan Culture
In 1931, Sir John Marshall estimated the duration of the
occupation of Mohenjodaro between 3250 and 2750 B.C.
Subsequently, as and when new sites were discovered, the dating
of the Harappan culture is modified. The advent of the radiocarbon
method paves way for fixing almost accurate dates. By 1956,
Fairservis brought down the dating of the Harappan culture to
between 2000 and 1500 B.C. on the basis of radiocarbon dates of
his findings. In 1964, D.P. Agarwal came to the conclusion that the
total span of this culture should be between 2300 and 1750 B.C.
Yet, there is further scope of modification of these dates.

Salient Features of the Harappan Culture
Town Planning
The Harappan culture was distinguished by its system of townplanning
on the lines of the grid system – that is streets and lanes
cutting across one another almost at right angles thus dividing the
city into several rectangular
blocks. Harappa, Mohenjodaro
and Kalibangan each had its own
citadel built on a high podium of
mud brick. Below the citadel in
each city lay a lower town
containing brick houses, which
were inhabited by the common
people. The large-scale use of burnt bricks in almost all kinds of
constructions and the absence of stone buildings are the important
characteristics of the Harappan culture. Another remarkable feature
was the underground drainage system connecting all houses to the
street drains which were covered by stone slabs or bricks.

The most important public place of Mohenjodaro is the Great
Bath measuring 39 feet length, 23 feet breadth and 8 feet depth.
Flights of steps at either end lead to the surface. There are side
rooms for changing clothes. The floor of the Bath was made of
burnt bricks. Water was drawn from a large well in an adjacent
room, and an outlet from one corner of the Bath led to a drain. It
must have served as a ritual bathing site. The largest building in
Mohenjodaro is a granary measuring 150 feet length and 50 feet
breadth. But in the citadel of Harappa we find as many as six
granaries.

Economic life
There was a great progress in all spheres of economic activity
such as agriculture, industry and crafts and trade. Wheat and barley
were the main crops grown besides sesame, mustard and cotton.
Surplus grain is stored in granaries. Animals like sheep, goats and
buffalo were domesticated. The use of horse is not yet firmly
established. A number of other animals were hunted for food
including deer.
Specialized groups of artisans include goldsmiths, brick
makers, stone cutters, weavers, boat-builders and terracotta
manufacturers. Bronze and copper vessels are the outstanding
examples of the Harappan metal craft.
Gold and silver ornaments are found in
many places. Pottery remains plain and
in some places red and black painted
pottery is found. Beads were
manufactured from a wide variety of
semi-precious stones.
Internal trade was extensive with
other parts of India. Foreign trade was
mainly conducted with Mesopotamia, Afghanistan and Iran Gold, copper, tin and several semi-precious stones were imported. Main exports were several agricultural products such as
wheat, barely, peas, oil seeds and a variety of finished products
including cotton goods, pottery, beads, terracotta figures and ivory
products. There is much evidence to prove the trade links between
the Indus and Sumerian people. Many seals of Indus valley have
been found in Mesopotamia. Trade was of the barter type. The
seals and the terracotta models of the Indus valley reveal the use of
bullock carts and oxen for land transport and boats and ships for
river and sea transport.
Arts
The Harappan sculpture revealed a high degree of
workmanship. Figures of men and women, animals and birds made
of terracotta and the carvings on the seals show
the degree of proficiency attained by the sculptor.
The figure of a dancing girl from Mohenjodaro made
of bronze is remarkable for its workmanship. Its
right hand rests on the hip, while the left arm,
covered with bangles, hangs loosely in a relaxed
posture. Two stone statues from Harappa, one
representing the back view of a man and the other
of a dancer are also specimens of their sculpture.
The pottery from Harappa is another specimen of
the fine arts of the Indus people. The pots and jars were painted
with various designs and colours. Painted pottery is of better quality.
The pictorial motifs consisted of geometrical patterns like horizontal
lines, circles, leaves, plants and trees. On some pottery pieces we
find figures of fish or peacock.
Script
The Harappan script has still to be fully deciphered. The
number of signs is between 400 and 600 of which 40 or 60 are
basic and the rest are their variants. The script
was mostly written from right to left. In a few
long seals the boustrophedon method – writing
in the reverse direction in alternative lines - was
adopted. Parpola and his Scandinavian
colleagues came to the conclusion that the
language of the Harappans was Dravidian. A
group of Soviet scholars accepts this view.
Other scholars provide different view connecting the Harappan
script with that of Brahmi. The mystery of the Harappan script still
exists and there is no doubt that the decipherment of Harappan
script will throw much light on this culture.
Religion
From the seals, terracotta figurines and copper tablets we
get an idea on the religious life of the Harappans. The chief male
deity was Pasupati, (proto-Siva) represented in seals as sitting in a
yogic posture with three faces and two horns. He is surrounded by
four animals (elephant, tiger, rhino, and buffalo each facing a different
direction). Two deer appear on his feet. The chief female deity was
the Mother Goddess represented in terracotta figurines. In latter
times, Linga worship was prevalent. Trees and animals were also
worshipped by the Harappans. They believed in ghosts and evil
forces and used amulets as protection against them.

Burial Methods
The cemeteries discovered around the cities like Mohenjodaro,
Harappa, Kalibangan, Lothal and Rupar throw light on the burial
practices of the Harappans. Complete burial and post-cremation
burial were popular at Mohenjodaro. At Lothal the burial pit was
lined with burnt bricks indicating the use of coffins. Wooden coffins
were also found at Harappa. The practice of pot burials is found at
Lothal sometimes with pairs of skeletons. However, there is no clear
evidence for the practice of Sati.
Decline of the Harappan Culture
There is no unanimous view pertaining to the cause for the
decline of the Harappan culture. Various theories have been
postulated. Natural calamities like recurring floods, drying up of
rivers, decreasing fertility of the soil due to excessive exploitation
and occasional earthquakes might have caused the decline of the
Harappan cities. According to some scholars the final blow was
delivered by the invasion of Aryans. The destruction of forts is
mentioned in the Rig Veda. Also, the discovery of human skeletons
huddled together at Mohenjodaro indicates that the city was invaded
by foreigners. The Aryans had superior weapons as well as swift
horses which might have enabled them to become masters of this
region.