Eight Decades of Research
• The earliest reference to the presence of an ancient site at Harappa was recorded by C.Masson in 1826(Published in 1842).
• A.Burnes also reported the existence of a ruined citadel on the river-side of the town in 1834.
• Alexander Cunningham visited Harappa twice, first in 1853 and then in 1856 and recorded the existence of a series of mounds.
• Cunnigham conducted a limited excavation of the site and published a few Objects(such as seals)as well as the site-plan.
• He identified Harappa with po-fa-to or po-fa-to-do visited by Hieun-Tsang.
• In 1886 a few more Harappan seals were published by M.L.Dames, and J.F.Fleet published two others.
• John Marshall, then Director General of the Archaeological Survey of India(ASI), and his men---especially M.S.Vats---made a spectacular Discovery:the Indus valley civilization and the twin cities of Harappa and Mohenjodaro.
• With the trial digging by Daya Ram Sahni in 1921 at Harappa, and by R.D.Banerjee in 1922 at Mohenjodaro, conclusively proved the existence of a great civilization.
• When Marshall announced the discovery of this civilization in a London weekly in 1924,it created a great sensation among the Old World archeologists.
• However, this new civilization could be recognized as a distinct cultural entity only when M.S.
• Vats at Harappa (1920-21) and S.J. Marshall at Mohenjodaro(1922-27)completed their excavations.
• After the partition of India most of the well known Harappan sities-Mohenjodaro, Harappa, Chanhudaro and Jhukar(near Larkana, Sind)—went to Pakistan, leaving only two outposts, Kotla Nihang Khan near Ropar on ten Sutlej in Punjab, and Rangpur on the Bhadar in Kathiawar Gujarat, within the territory of India.
• A.Ghosh undertook the exploration of the valleys of the dried up Saraswati(Ghaggar)and its tributary, the Drishadvati (Chautang)in Ganganagar, North Rajasthan and discovered about 25 Harappan sites.
• Suraj Bhan in the course of explorations in the sixties in the upper Saraswathi basin, noticed a number of Harappan sites such as Banawali, Rakhigarhi and Mithathal.
• In the fifties and sixties S.R.Rao explored a large area in Gujarat including Kutch and Kathiawar, bringing the total number of Harappan sites in Gujarat to over 1990.
• In Punjab, most of the exploratory work war done by Y.D. Sharma.
• In the Kutch area, J.P. Joshi’s explorations resulted into the identification of a large number of Harappan settlement.
• In Pakistan also a large number of Harappan sites were discovered and excavated.
• Some of the more important ones are Kot Diji, Amri, Gumla,Jalilpur, Allahadino, Balakot, etc..
• Nausharo was excavated by Jarriage in 1993.
• There has been significant paradigm shift so far as different aspects of Harappan life are Concered, in Recernt times.
• Thus, M.R.Mughal (1990)Discussed the transitional phase; W.A. Fairservice investigated man-land relationship around Mohenjodaro; L.S. Leshnic studied the varying land use patterns on the Indus Alluvium;Menon, K.T.M. Hegde, Miller(1994)investigated metallurgy and M.Fentress addressed to similarities and variance in the artifacts from Harappa and Mohenjodaro.
Extent
• In precise terms the civilization extended from Suktagendor, on the sea-board of South Baluchistan(Makran Coast)in the west to Alamgirpur, in the upper Ganga-Yamuna Doab in western U.P.,in the east, and from Manda in Jammu in North to Bhagatrv in Narmada estuary(Kim estuary, Gujarat)in the South.
• In 1974 a chance discovery of a cache of four bronze figures at Diamabad located on the left bank of the Pravara river seemed to have pushed the civilization further south in the Deccan.
• The entire area of the Harappan civilization is triangular in form and accounts for about
1,299,600sq km and as such was the largest amongst the ancient civilizations.
• The actual distance from northern site to the southern is over 1,100km and from west to east over 15,50km.
Gregory Possehl would,however, like to push the northern limit of the Harappan civilization to Shortughai situated on the Amu Darya in northern Afghanistan.
Chronology
• (i)Marsha’ll, whose excavations at Mohenjodaro between 3250 and 2750BC.
• (ii)Mackay, who undertook further excavation at Mohenjodaro(1927-28).
2800 BC and uppermost to 2500BC.
• (iii)M.S.Vats, who Excavted Harappa during 1921-31.
c.35002500BC.
• (iv)C.J. Gadds discovery of a number of Indus, or Indus-like seals at Ur(Mesopotamia).
• (v)Stuart Piggott and S.M. Wheeler of 2500-1500BC,with main trade contacts with Mesopotamja between 2300 and 2000 BC.
• Wheeler, however, corrected himself later and proposed 1700BC as the terminal date of the civilization.
• (vi)Allbright, in 1955,Concluded that the end of the civilization must have been around 1750BC.
• (vii)Radiocarbon dating based on method Fairservice suggested a need to bring down the dating of the Harappan culture to between 2000 and 1500BC.
• His conclusion was based on his excavations in the Quetta valley.
• In 1964,D.P.Agrawal between 2300 and 1750BC.
• (viii)Dales 2900-1900BC,
• (ix)Robert H. Brunswig a three-period framework for the Indus civilization; the Formative phase 2800-2500BC, the Mature phase 2500-2200BC, the Late phase 2200-2000BC.
• (x)J.P.Joshi’s excavations at Surkotada
• We have three Subperiods of the Mature Harappan and Tenradiocarbon dates.
• These three sub-periods are 2480 to 2300BC;Second from 2290 to 2140BC, and third from 2130to 2020BC.
• These dates suggest that the Mature Harappan period began in c.2550 BC and lasted until c.2050BC.
• In fixing these dates MASCA calibration for radio-carbon dates was used.
• (xi)Rafiq Mughal two phases of the Early c. 3500-3400 i.e. 3000-2900BC.
Nomenclature
• A type Specimen, or site.
• The mounds adjacent to the modern village of Harappa were the first locality where the remains of this civilization were first identified, the name Harappan fits such a system perfectly.
• Sir John Marshall was the first scholar to use Indus Riv term.
• The Indus civilization belongs to the Protohistoric period since it represents a phase in which people had developed a script has not been deciphered.
• Chalcolithic groups were primarily rural farming communities with knowledge of copper, the first metal to be used by mankind.
• Chalcolithic stage applied to the pre-Harappans and many post-Harappans because they mostly used stone and copper objects, although they very occasionally used low-grade bronze.
• The Harappans used bronze on a large scale and were urban in charcter.
• The Indus civilization belonged to Bronze Age, generally associated with city formation.
Origin
• During his tour of Exploriation of 1950-51, A. Ghosh discovered many sites in the Valley of Ghaggar and Chautang(Drishatvati)which produced a pottery which was identical to the pre-Harappan pottery of Kalibangan.
• This complex was named as Southi culture.
• The perception of origins of Indus valley civilization was altered dramatically with the discovery of the extraordinary complex of culture sites on the Bolan river around Mehrgarh which was discovered and excavated under the direction of French Arhchaeologist J.F.Jarriage in 1975.
• At Rahman Dheri we have large numbers of incised marks or graffiti on pottery with shows the recognition of the need for identification of ownership which may, according to Allchins, be seen as a significant step towards the creation of a script.
• Another important feature of Rahman Dheri is its planned form showing the regular rectangular outline of the settlement and a regular grid of streets and houses constructed in mud brick.
• Other important early settlements are Gumla(on the right bank of the Indus), Lewan (Bannu basin), Sarai Khola(Potwar plateau)and Jalilpur (left bank of the Rari river).
• Some Neolithic culture sites have been unearthed in the Valleys of the Himalayas, Norhth of the Indus plain.
• The best known site is at Burzahom, literally the place of birch, which is situated on a terrace of Karewa clay above the marshy flood plain of the river Jhelum.
• The earliest occupation belongs to period before c.2920 BC.
• The settlement is Charcterised by a series of pits dug into the soft clay.
• The largest of the pits were pit-dwelling, and post-holes around the perimeter were perhaps conical roofs.
• Grindstone are found in almost every dwelling.
• A number of burials, mainly of crouched skeletons in oval pits, situated among the houses have been unearthed.
• Dogs were also sometimes buried with their masters which according to Allchins is without parallel in the subcontinent.
• Gufkral, which means ‘the cave of the potter’, is another important site in Kashmir belonging to Neolithic stage.
• Here people practiced both agriculture and domestication of animal.
• C14 dates indicate a span of c,2400-1600 BC and wheat, barley and lentils occur from the beginning.
• At Koldihwa and Mahagara situated South of Allahadino, the early age of Neolithic culture is suggested by radiocarbon dates obtained from samples of charred rice from the upper level(of Koldihwa)suggesting 5440 and 4530 BC had yielded evidence which show that the beginning of the culture were contemporary wih Early Indus settlements.
• Bruce Foote who is known as the father of the Indian prehistory.
• Ash-mounds have been excavated in Karnataka at Pikkalilal, Utnur, Kupagal, Kodekal and Pallavoy.
• Around c,4000 BC first copper tools were introduced.
• Around c, 3500 BCsettlement began to appear in other parts of the Indus system.
• The local Charcters of Balakot or Mehrgarh or early Rahman Dheri begins to be replaced by a new less artistic painted decoration.
• This style is popularly known as Kot Dijian, since this site was the first where it was clearly identified.
• Painted designs representing at Kot Diji, Burzahom, Gumala, Rahman Dheri, Saraikhola and Lewan.
• This certainly anticipates the horned deity of the Mature Indus period.
• At Saraikhola we have a plant growing between the horns, at Kalibangan a similar plant appears beside the horns of an anthropomorphic figure.
• At Kot Diji, the whole head is clearly visible, with two six-petalled flowers rising between the horns.
• Similar flowers occur on pots at Kalibangan.
• At Lewan, the incomplete head has three Pipal leaves rising between the horns.
• All these clearly anticipate the horned deity of the Mature Indus religion.
• It is important, at this juncture, to look at the sites where we have clear evidence of continued occupation from the formative Neolithic to the Mature Indus period.
• The first site discovered is the type-site of Amri which was first excavated by N.G. Majumdar in 1929.
• Excavations at Amri revealed a continuous sequence from the period of agricultural expansion through the early Harappan into the Mature Harappan and even into the post-urban period.
• Another site Kot Diji where many characteristic Harappan forms occur.
• Kot Diji is surrounded by a stone fortification wall.
• The third site is Mohenjodaro.
• Chanhudaro Mackay reported further occupation levels below the water table containing a pre-Harappan or Amrian culture, At Mehrgarh from period IV(3500BC)onwards we have evidence of clear sequence anticipating Mature Indus.
• We have evidence of the first stamp seals in terracotta and a single bone seal.
• In the final period(2200 BC)we have mud brick houses and indications of buildings used for specialized craft Activites.
• At Nausharo, we have evidence of a stage of occupation which is truly transitional between Early and Mature Harappan civilization.
• At Rahman Dheri, a similar sequence from the period of Agricultural expansion into the Early Harappan and into the Mature Harappan have been found.
• Kalibangan, appears to have been surrounded by a mud brick wall.
• At Banawl also Early Harappan to Mature Harappan is excavated.
• A recent site excavated is Kunal in Harayana which has also yielded a clear sequence from an Early Hakra period(c.3000 BC)though the Early Harappan stage and on to Mature Harappan.
Authors of the Indus civilization
• The population of Mohenjodaro was heterogeneous and comprised at least four different racial types, viz, Proto-Australoid, Mediterranean, Alpinoid(Armenoid branch), and Mongoloid.
• The Mohenjodaro population is, However,Generally believed to have mainly consisted of the Mediterranean.
IMPORTANT HARAPPAN TOWNS AND CITIES
(i)Nucleus Cities
• Three biggest settlements Harappa, Mohenjodaro and Dholavira were the nucleus cities of the Indus civilization.
Harappa
• The relics of the Indus civilization were first discovered and excavated in 1921 by D.R. Shani.
• The site has two large and imposing ruined mounds located some 25 kms south-west of the district town of Montgomary, Punjab(Pakistan)on the left bank of river Ravi.
• The western mound of Harappa, smaller in size, represented the citadel, Pallaelogram on plan 420 m from north to south and 196 m from east to west; it was 13.7-15.2 m high.
• The wall of the citadel was reinforced by bastions at places.
• The building of baked bricks which stood on the platforms inside the Ciradel were constructed six times in succession.
• Outside the citadel at Harappa (Vats, 1940; Wheeler, 1962)there were some important structures identified with workmen’s quarters, working floors and granaries situated over a 275 sq m area.
• The workmen’s quarters, ten small oblong dwellings situated close to the north-west corner tower of the citadel, were of uniform size and space (17*17sq m)close to these workmen’s quarters were 16 furnaces, pear-shaped on plan, with cow-dung ash and charcoal.
• A crucible used for smelting bronze was also found on a slightly higher level.
• The granary buildings lay at a distance of 32 m with a group of structures, each measuring 15.24*6.10 m arranged symmetrically in two rows of six each with a 7 m wide central passage.
• The podium of rammed earth was riveted on the eastern and western sides.
• On the southern side of the granaries lay working floors consisting of the rows of circular brick platforms meant for threshing grain because wheat and barley have been found in the crevices of the floors.
• The location of Harappan has led several authors to conclude that it was a ‘gateway city’ on the edge of the Harappan domain and marking a meeting point of routes arriving from the Gomal and other passes leading into the Iranian plateau.
• Further, apart from the presence of sixteen furnaces of Mound F, no other manufacturing places have come to light, showing that it functioned as a ‘gateway city’.
• The evidence of the disposal of the dead at Harappa is quite interesting.
• These have been found to the south of the citadel area named as century R.37.
• The excavations have also yielded 57 burials of different types.
• The skeletons were disposed of in the pits cut in the ground along with the grave goods.
• There is also evidence of mud-brick lining around the grave.
• In 12 graves bronze mirrors have been Found;in one there was an antimony rod, in another a shell ladled and in a few other stone blades were found.
• The material remains discovered at Harappa are of the typical Indus Charcter which include pottery, Chert blades, copper and bronze implements, terracotta figures and the seals and Sealings.
• From Harappa 891, seals had been discovered which Froming 29.7 percent of the total writing material of the Indus civilization.
• It has also yielded two interesting stone sculptures not available at any other Indus site.
• Both the sculptures have drilled sockets to take dowel Pinsto attach the head to Limbs,a technique not found in later sculptures.
• The first figure is a Smll nude male torso of red sand some(9.3cm in height)with a pendulous belly.
• According to Marshall its chief quality lies in the ‘refined and wonderfully truthful modeling of the fleshy parts’.
• This figure had been identified by some as the prototype of Jina or Yaksha figure.
• The second male figure(10 cm)is made of grey stone and is in a dancing pose (with twisting shoulders and one raised leg).
• A dowel pin was used to attach the now missing head.
• Marshall identified it with the much later icon of Shiva as Nataraja, lord of the dance.
• Some other important finds at Harappa include, a well preserved water Reservoire lined with brick and provided with a narrow covered channel, a seal of ivory and a handy combination of three copper instruments soldered together by their looped ends.
• They are a sharp-pointed awl, a double-edged knife and a pair of pincers possibly intended for surgical instruments.
Mohenjodaro
• The site of Mohenjodaro (literally the mound of the dead)situated in Larkana distict of Sind(Pakistan)some 483kms south of Harappa, also has two mounds.
• The Western low mound was a citadel(200 m*400 m)and the eastern extensive mound was enshrining the relics of the buried lower city(400*800 m).
• The former is crowned by a Buddhist stupa build in the 2nd century BC.
• The mounds were excavated by R.D.Banerjee(1922), Sir John Marshall(1922-30), E.J.H.
• Mackay(1927-1931), S.M. Wheeler(1930-1947)and G.F. Dales(1964-1931)bringing to light seven Succeesive levels of building phases.
• It was the largest city of the civilization and along with Harappa have been hailed as the twin capitals of this extensive state.
• However, there is no positive evidence that the cities were capitals, either of separate states or of unified empire.
• The most famous Buiding of Mohenjodaro is the Great Bath.
• Situated on the citadel area (6 m high in the south and 12 m in the north)it is a specimen of beautiful brickwork.
• It is a rectangular tank and measures 11.88m from north to south,7.01m broad and 2.43 m deep.
• It had a flight of steps on the north and south sides, leading to the bottoms of the tank.
• To make it watertight, the sawn bricks(burnt bricks)on edges were set in gypsum mortar, with a layer of bitumen sealer Sandwitched between the inner and outer brick skins.
• The flight of steps were also originally finished with timber tread set in bitumen.
• The water for the bath was provided by a well in an adjacent room.
• The outlet with corbelled drain disgorging on the west side of the mound was meant for emptying it occasionally.
• Surrounding the both were porticos and sets of rooms, while a stairway led to an upper story.
• To the west of the Great Bath, there is a group of twenty-seven blocks of brick work criss-crossed by narrow ventilation channels.
• Wheeler interpreted this structure as the podium of a great granary.
• According to Allchins it has some civic function, probably linked to religious ritual.
• This structure measured 45.72m east to west, and from north to south 22.86 m.
• It was built prior to the construction of the Great Bath but its construction continued, as a few additions to it were made subsequently.
• To the north and east of the Great Bath a long buildings is taken to be “the residence of a very high official , possibly the high priest Himself,or perhaps a college or priests”.
• It has 10 m square open court.
• The remains of a building(27.43 sq m)divided from east to west into five aisles by 20 brick piers arranged in four rows of five each, originally provided with long low benches of perishable material as indicated by the floor “divided up by a number of narrow corridors or gangways neatly paved with Bricks”seem to remind us of an Achaemanian apadan or audience chamber.
• In the complex of rooms immediately to the west of this chamber a seated male statue in stone was discovered, nearby a number of large worked stone rings, possibly pieces of architectural Masonary but more probably part of a ritual stone Column,were also seen.
• The lower city at Mohenjodaro, which like Harappa does not appear to have been fortified, displayed all the elements of a planned city.
• Its lay-out seems to have been that of a gridiron of main streets running north-south and east-west, dividing the area into blocks of roughly equal size and approximately rectangular, 800 it east-to-west and 1200 ft north-to-south.
• The main streets in the lower city at Mohenjodaro are about 9.14 m wide.
• The lanes(3m. wide)divide the blocks their furtive doors” were “Unparalled in the non-western orient of today”.
• The houses Lackeddecoration in general but were provided with gratings or Windo-screens made of terracotta.
• About 1398 seals discovered from this site from 56.67 per cent of the total writing material of the Indus cities.
• The discovery of a number of stone, bronze and terracotta figures speak about the level of the aesthetic sense of the citizens.
• A few Vessls of copper-bronze and a large number of pottery have been recovered from Mohenjodaro.
• The depictions on the seals throw light on animal sacrifice, mother goddess cult, animal and tree worship and a belief in the Protoform of Shiva-Pashupati.
• Some other Impotant relics of this civilization Are:representation of ship on a stone seal;
• a carved stone representation of a river-Boat;Representation of ship on terracotta amulet;
• a terracotta Cart;Copper and bronze tools and vessels;
• limestone sculpture of bearded head(19 cm);composite Animal,Bull with elephant;
• s trunk and ram’s horns;
• a toy bull with moving head;
• another depiction of composite animal with features of bull, elephant and tiger on a seal;
• stone lingam;terracotta seated figure of a Woman,Perhaps making dough(also at Harappa and Chauhundaro);terracotta monkey with pierced hole for inserting climbing string(3.5cm);stone ram of uncertain
• provenance, maximum length 49 cms and height 27cms(this is probably the largest and best preserved item in the whole repertoire of Harappan sculpture);tiny figure of a seated their squirrel in faience(2.3cm);steatite seal of Indian rhinoceros;
• female figurines suckling their babies(also at Harappa);
• figure of a woman carrying bread in her hand(also at Harappa and Chanhudaro);
• double faced human figures; Human faced tiger(also at Harappa);
• a fox headed human figure; two masks on which bull’s horns are Exhibited;Double-headed animal on a hair-pin etc..
Dholavira
• Today a modest village in the Bhachau taluke of distinict Kutch in Gujarat, Dholavira is the latest and one on the two largest Harappan settlements in Indiak,the other being Rakhigarhi in Harayana, and may probably rank the fourth in the subcontinent, following Mohenjodaro in Sind,
• Ganeriwala in Bahawalpur and Harappa in the Punjab(all in Pakistan), in terms of area or coverage.
• Ruins of this Indus Settlement,Locally known as ‘Kotada’, flanked by Mandsar and Manhar Stor-water streams, is situated in Khadir, which is a large isolated island in the Great Rann of Kutch and has an enclosed area of 47 hectares.
• The ancient mounds of Dholavira were first explored by J.P.Joshi of the Archaeological Survey of India(ASI)but extensive excavations were conducted lead by R.S.Bisht of the ASI.
• The Excavations,have shown the existence of all the three phases of the Harappan culture.
• According to Allchins it is not clear as yet whether the earlier occupation should be classified as Early Harappan or as a local culture.
• Dholavira has many unique features, not found at any Other Haraappan site.
• Unlike other Harappan Towns,which were divided into two parts the ‘Citadel’and ‘the Lower Town’,Dholavira was divided into three principal divisions, two of which were strongly protected by rectangular fortifications.
• No other site has such elaborate structure.
• Nor is there any match for the vast open areas as wide as 70m to 140m, “tyin together the outer and inner defensive walls specially at strategic points”in Dholavira.
• So there was an inner enclosure too.
• There were two of them in fact.
• The first inner enclosure hemmed in the citadel(the acropolis)which probably housed the supreme authority.
• The rectangular main site is surrounded by the wall made of stone rubble and mud brick,some 700m east to west and 600m north to south.
• In the eastern side is located the Lower Town.
• To its west is the square area(Middle Town)of around 300m and adjoining it to the south are two smaller square walled areas known as the ‘castle’ and the ‘bailey’.
• The Middle Town(madhyma)was meant for the relatives of the supreme authority and administrative brass.
• This Middle town is a Dholavira exclusive—none of the other Harappan sites have it.
• The ‘castle’ is described as standing to a maximum height of 16 Metres surrounded by stone-faced ramparts with mud-brick Filling,Measuring around 140-120m.
• The ‘bailey’ is also similarly described.
• Structural finds from Dholavira include some fine Ashlar Masonary slabs, stone pillar bases and stairs, of a quality not known from any other Harappan site.
• There are also reports of impressive water supply and drainage structures.
• Other important material finds recorded from Dholavira are remains of a horse, many copper objects including a bronze animal figurine, evidence of copper-working, bead-working and other craft activities.
• A number of typical Harappan seals, some inscribed, have also been found.
• Another extraordinary find is a Harappan inscription with nine letters each 37 cm long and 27cm wide, composed of inland cut pieces of a milk-white material.
• This inscription was found on the ground under one of the gates in the outer fortification.
• R.S. Bisht,the excavator, thinks that the inscription had originally been mounted on some kind of board above a gateway and “could have been meant for the public to read”.
• The access to these fortified settlements at Dholavira was provided through an elaborate gate-complex, furnished with possible guard rooms.
• Behind the north gate, in the Central Zone of the citadel, there has been unearthed a 12.80m wide water reservoir furnished with a 24 m long and 70 m broad inlet channel for carrying the rain water which is so precious in that semi-arid environment.
• The discovery of the only stadium known to the Harappas is yet another unique feature of Dholavira.
• The entrance to this stadium feature the ‘castle’ and ‘Bailey’Parts.
• A part from this, a stone sculpture of a mongoose (37cm) has also been found.
• The presence of citadel, the middle town, the lower town and the Annexe indicated a highly stratified society.
• But most starting are the giant reservoirs (the largest measuring 80.4 metre by 12 meters and 7.5 metre in depth)holding an amazing 2,50,000 Cuic metre of water.
• Dholavirans knew the art to conserve water.
• The Dholavirans built check dams and collected the water in reservoirs.
• Enough water was collected to meet the city’s water requirements.
• Excavations in the cemetery lying to the west of the city had yielded a variety of funerary structures peculiar to Dholavira thus far.
• The burials indicated clearly that the inhabitants believed in after—life.
Rakhigarhi
• In Harayana’s Hissar district could have the ‘provincial capital of the Harappan civilization.
• The excavation, being carried out by the Archaeological Survey of Indian (ASI) since December 1997, has revealed some important results.
• Two distinct cultures have been identified in the course of excavations—namely early Harappan and mature Harappan.
• The site of excavation located in the plains of the ancient Drishadvati river, happens to be the “one of the largest Harappan site” measuring 230 hectares, next to Mohenjodaro.
• Among the explored Harappan sites of the Saraswati—Drishadvati valley, Rakhigarhi seems to be the largest.
• The discovery of circular structures at the entrance of the valley, a unique feature of early Harappan days, has also been reported.
• The structures are outlined by two or three courses of mud brick with post-holes at intervals.
• The mature Harappa, a period of urbanism Charcterised by walled settlement, writing and uses of standardized weights and measures, has been traced at the site.
• The evidence of mud brick structure of granary sub-divided into cubicles indicates surplus production of food grains and storage system.
• The site has also yielded samples of barley, wheat and rice.
• The dead were buried in a long pit in a North-south orientation.
• Grave goods generally consisted of pots kept behind the head of the dead.
• A couple of female burials also had shell bangles in their left hand while one had a miniature model of fillet in gold.
(ii)Coastal Towns and Ports
• Several township of the Indus civilization, which acted as ports, had developed on the coastline of the Arabian Sea.
• The Significantones included Suktagendor, Balakot and Allahdino.
• Lothal situated in Kutch was linked with sea by river Bhagavo.
Suktagendor
• Situated at a distance of 56.32 km from the shore of the Arabian sea and some 500km to the west of Karachi, on the bank of Dasht River near the border with Iran, Suktagedor was an important centre of the Indus civilization discovered by Sir Aurel Stein in 1931.
• The fortifications here measured 150 m north to south and 110m east to west.
• It was built of roughly fashioned square stone blocks set in with clay.
• It has an entrance 2.5m wide flanked by massive rectangular bastions on the western end of the southern side.
• Subsequent work at the site by Dales (1962) has revealed the two-fold division of the township into ‘Citadel’ and ‘Lower City’.
• The citadel was fortified with 7.62m wide wall, supplemented by a mud brick platform internally.
Balakot
• Balakot, situated near the middle of the Khurkera alluvial plain on the south-eastern side of the Las Bela valley (on the old shoreline, about 20km from Las Bela town)and Somany Bay about 98km north-west of Karachi.
• An important settlement yielding the relics of the pre-Indus and the Indus civilization.
• These mounds, excavated during 193-79 by George F.Dales(1979),rise to the height of about 9.70m from the ground plain and are spread over approximately 18*144m(or 2.80 hectares).
• There is at least one intact example of a bath-toilet room with a ceramic tub, a hearth, a buried water-strong jar and a drain mad from broken pots.
• Balakot and other coastal sites of Lothal, Nageshwar and Kuntasi were what may be called ‘resource centres’ obtaining shells and other raw materials, either locally or from further Afield, and having local workshops to produce bangles and other items of adornment, (Allchins, 1997).
• It was a major centre of shell industry.
Allahdino
• Situated approximately 16km east-north-east of the confluence of the Indus and the Arabian sea and some 40km east of Karachi in Pakistan.
• The excavations at Allahdino were undertaken by W.A.Fairservice.
• An impressive amount of Material:more than 300,000 pot Sherds, 24,000 Bicones, 2,600 terracotta triangles, 1,500 bangles, and 196 pieces of copper.
• In short excavations demonstrated the presence of almost every major artifact category of the Mature Harappan culture, including silver, gold and semi-precious stones.
• The excavations have yielded the remains of structures constructed of mud-bricks, and stone, coated with mud-plaster.
• The foundations of large walls, pavements and drain etc.. were made of stone Masory.
• The buildings here are square or rectangular in shape, divided into multi-compartments with an apparent regularity perceivable within and below Architerctura unit.
• In one of the rooms of Buiding VII a Smll pot was found in situ which contained a Jewellery cache known as Allahadino Jewellery Hoard which is one of only five major hoards to be discovered from the entire Indus region.
• The finds of this hoard included a massive belt or necklace of 36 long carnelian beads and bronze spacer beads.
• Stuffied around this belt in the jar were two or three Multistrand necklaces of silver beads, eight coins of silver beads, fifteen agate beads, a copper bead covered with gold foil and a collection of twenty gold lumps and ornaments that had been folded up in preparation for Resmelting.
• One silver necklaces was made of eight silver discs each having three parallel perforations to accommodate multiple strands of small silver beads.
• The Jewellery hoard is much like others found at Mohenjodaro and Harappa.
• Recently a hoard of silver ornaments including several Fillets,a flower headdress and carnelian beads was Foundfrom the early Harappan phase site of Kunal.
Lothal
• Situated near Saragwala village about 80km south-west of Ahmedabad in Dholka Taluka in Gujarat in a level plain between the Bhogava and Sabarmati rivers at some 12km away from the Gulf of Cambay, Lothal was an important trading and manufacturing at this site by S.R.Rao in 1954-62 have brought to light five period sequence of cultures.
• Lothal appears to be better planned than Mohenjodaro in one respect.
• The streets at Lothal are straight and constantly run in Cordinal directions.
• The site was nearly rectangular with the longer axis running from north to south.
• It was surrounded by a massive Brickwall for flood protection.
• The Habitational complex was divided into a Citade (Acropolis)and the residential area(Lower Town).
• The citadel or acropolis at Lothal, trapezoid on plan, measured 117 m east to west and 136m north and 11m South,Containing the mud –brick 3.5m high platform with residence(126*30 m)of the ruler with drains and baths.
• The remains of a granary built on a brick platform (48.5*42.5*3.5 m) divided into 12 cubical blocks stood close to the acropolis.
• On the south-west corner of the acropolis there was a warehouse building, covering 1930sq m floor area, on a 4 m high platform.
• A row of 12 bathrooms and drains was discovered there.
• The lower Town had a bazaar in the north and an Industial sector in the south.
• The discovery of the gold beads with axial tubes and Sherds of Reserved Slip Ware, related to the Sumerian origin, indicate that the merchants were engaged in foreign trade.
• Situated on the western flank of the acropolis eleven rooms of varying sizes were meant for a bead factory, “where Severl lapidaries worked together on a central platform and lived in the rooms built around it”, Convering 500sq m area.
• Two earthen jars containing more than 600 beads of gem stones in various stages of manufacture were found here.
• The discovery of the Persian Gulf Sal and the Reserved Slip Ware suggests that Lothal was engaged in maritime activities of the Indus civilization.
• Mention may be made about the most important baked brick structure at Lothal(214*36*4.5 m),identified as a ‘Dockyard’ by the excavator.
• Leshnik suggested that it was a tank for the reception of sweet water.
• A double burial was found here.
• Another important discovery from Lothal was the evidence of rice-cultivations.
• We have evidence for husks in the forms of imprints on the pottery.
• Rangpur is the only other site from where similar evidence have been unearthed.
• Rao estimated the population of Lothal to be around 15,000 whereas Possehl, however, thinks that it could be between one and two thousand .
• Lothal has also yielded 213 seals and Sealings.
Kuntasi
• Situated in western Saurashtra on the right bank of Phulki river.
• It was first reported by late P.P Pandya and later thoroughly explored by Y.M.Chitalwala.
• The mound was locally known as Bibi-no-Timbo.
• The craft activity included bead-making also copper smelting are in Evidenc.
• Numerous furnaces and storage areas were also found.
• Nageshwar in western industry was discovered.
• The discovery of a cache of lapis beads at Kuntasi.
(iii)other Cities and Townships
Chanhudaro
• Situated 130 km south of Mohenjodaro near Sarkand in Sind, consists of single mound divided into several party by erosion.
• It is situated in the left plains of the Indus which flows some 20 km away.
• The site was discovered by N.G. Majumdar in 1931 and excavated on a large scale by E.J.H. Mackay in 1935-36.
• It was the major centre of production for the beautiful seals.
• A large number of metallic implements which were used for cutting the seals have also been found.
• The hoards of copper and bronze tools, castings evidence of the crafts like bead-making, bone-Items,Bangles and other items of conch shell and Sealmaking, finished and unfinished both,
• Suggest that Chanhudaro was mostly inhabited by artisans and was an industrial town.
• The excavations unearthed a furnace with a brick-floor, provided with two doors, used for glazing minute steatite beads.
• Two other important findings are, a terracotta model of a bullock cart and a bronze toy cart.
Kot Diji
• 50 kilometeres east of Mohenjodaro, on the left bank of the Indus.
• It is located on the solid ground below a small rocky outcrop, apart of the limestone hills of the Rohri range.
• It was excavated by F.A. Khan between 1955 and 1957.
• Although, here both pre-or Early Harappan and Mature Harappan levels have been found, the most interesting is the presence of a ‘mixed’ layer.
• This ‘mixed’ layer was suggested by Mughal.
• Two other sites i.e. Nausharo (Jarrige 93)and Harappa(Meadow 1991)have also shown a clear progression from Early Harappan to Mature via an intermediate phase.
• A small number of leaf shaped arrowheads, stone querns, pestals, corn-crushers and one fine terracotta ball were found.
• A fragment of a bronze bangle is also reported.
• A broken steatite seal, a few inscribed potsherds, beads of terracotta, semi-precious and etched carnelian beads, copper/bronze bangles, metal tools and weapons(a blade axe, chisels and arrow-heads),terracotta bull, and five figurines of the Mother Goddess were also discovered.
• The Indus pottey with original bright red surface and compact texture has the pipal leaf,interesting circles, percock,antelope, sun symbol,incsed patterns, etc..
Surkotada
• Situated some 160km, north-east of Bhuj in Kutch, Surkotada has proved to be an important fortified Indus settlement in the sencse that here three stages of Harappa occupation are in evidence.
• The site was excavated by J.P. Joshi in 1972.
• The mound measures 160 m in length from north to south, and 125m in width.
• The citadel was built on a raised platform of hard yellow rammed earth(1.50 m ht).
• It had two entrances on the south and east side.
• In the last phase of this site, bones of horses, hitherto unknown, have been noticed.
• A cemetery with four pot burials with a few human bones has also been found.
Desalpur
• Situated near Gunthali in Nakhatana taluka of Bhuj district(Gujarat)on the Bhadar river,
• Desalpur, excavated first by P.P.Pandya and M.A.Dhakey and later on by K.V.Soundarrajan.
• A fortified township built of dressed stones with mud filling inside.
• The houses were constructed just against the fortification wall.
Rojdi(Rojidi, Rojaidi)
• 50km south of Rajkot on the left bank of the Bahadar or Bhadar river.
• Provided the evidence about the Harappa settlement with mud-brick platforms and drains along with chert and agate weights, etched carnelian beads, agate, terracotta and faience copper objects, playing things, inscribed pot-sherds and white microbeads.
Manda
• Situated at a distance of about 28 km noth-west of Jammu on the right bank of the River Chenab, a tributary of the Indus, on the foothills of Pir Panjal Range this site is northernmost centre of Harappan civilization.
• Excavations have yielded three-fold sequence of cultures form pre-Harappan to the Kushana period.
• The Harappa antiquities include a copper double spiral-headed pin (12.8cm)thought to be of West Asian affinities, bone arrowheads with a tang, bangles, terracotta cakes, potsherds with Harappa graffiti, chert blades, an unfinished seal and a few saddle querns and pestles.
• Horizontal accumulation of a large mass of rubble may suggest a fallen wall.
Rupar/Ropar(Modern Roop Nagar)
• Situated near the confluence of Sutlej, some 25km east of Bara(punjab),have yielded five-fold sequence of cultures(Harappan, PGW, NBP,Kushana, Gupta and Medieval).
• It was the first Harappan site to have been excavated in India after Independence.
• It was excavated by Y.D.Sharma(1955-65).
• On the north-west corner of the site several burials, interned in oval pits, were excavated and one example of rectangular mud-brick chamber was noticed.
• The evidence of burying a dog below the human burial is very interesting in the Harappan context not found at any other site.
• This practice was, however, prevalent at Barzahom(Kashmir)in the Neolithic age.
Kalibangan
• The site of Kalibangan(literally, black bangles)is situated on the southern bank of east of Harappa, and 480km east-north-east of Kot Diji.
• Like Harappa it lay on the southern bank of a river, with its orientation equally firmly north-south.
• The plan of theKalibangan citadel was also clearly revealed, consisting of two almost equal rhomboids,divided fom one another by a strong.
• The lower town had a regular grid of streets, recalling those of Mohenjodaro.
• In all these cases (Harappa, Mohenjodaro and Kalibangan)there appeared to be regular ratios of size between different elements of the urban plan;at Kalibangan the citadel being approximately 12*2140m and the lower town 2000*400m.
• At Mohenjodaro the equivalent figures were approximately 200*400 m and 400*800 m suggesting that the two larger cities were literally four times the area of the smaller.
• The excavations have revealed the plan of a parallelogram citadel.
• The excavations have revealed the evidence of the ploughed field surface with furrows in two directions at right angles to each other, knownledge of copper technology, use of agate and chalcedony blades and rich remains of the earthen vessels with six different fabrics, shell bangles, steatite disc beads, a few of which continued even in the subsequent Harappan cultural.
• Kalibangan was divided into two parts, fortified town(citadel)and a lower town.
• The citadel was in the form of a parallelogram (measuring 240* 120m)with east-west division forming two rhoumbus with walls.
• He northern half of the citadel had residential houses with limited occupancy.
• The southern portion of the citadel had mud-brick platform having seven fire-altars in a row.
• The lower town at Kalibangan was also fortified(240 *360m).
• It had two gateways and the north-western side gate was meant for river side approach.
• The use of burnt bricks at Kalibangan has been found only in wells, bathing pavements and drains.
• The cylindrical seal had an analogy in the Mesopotamian counterpart.
• The discovery of inscribed sherds clearly suggests that Indus script was written from right to left as evident from the overlapping of the letters.
• Interestingly, Kalibangan has given evidence of the earliest earthquake ever revealed through an excavation, dating back to c, 2600 BC.
• And the plogh field is also the earliest evidence dating back to 2800BC here.
• The Harappa cemenery, located on the south of the habitation, have revealed three modes of the disposal of the dead
(i)rectangular pits with grave goods;
(ii)oblong/rectangular pits without the dead body
(iii)largest urns with posts and grave goods without ash or bone.
• The graves of the second type were of those who had died elsewhere and their graves were put up here only symbolically.
• The skull of a child revealed some interesting facts about the diseases.
• The skull of a child revealed a case of hydrocephalus, and in an attempt to treat it three holes were pierced and some branding was done with a heated instrument.
• This primitive practice, known as trephination, for treatment for headache was also prevalent at Lothal and Burzahom.
Banawali
• The mound of Banawali(15.5 hectares),which covers over 400sq m area and having a height of about 10 m,is situated on the storm-water drain, Rangoi.
• The excavations, conducted at the site by R.S.Bisht, have yielded the remains of the pre-Indus(Early Harappan), Indus and post-Indus cultures.
• Three were significant departures from the established norms of town planning believing in the general conception of the chess-board or gridion pattern.
• It lacked systematic drainage system.
• The plan of ‘palatial building’rectangular in shape(52*46 m)with eleven units of rooms, big and small, excluding small cubicles provided in the thick wall, has been recovered.
• It has an open large courtyard, sitting room,.bed rooms, a toilet, a kitchen and a prayer room,besides five cubicles.
• The discovery of a tiger seal from the sitting room and a few others from the house and its vicinity, weights of chert, and lapis lazuli beads and deluxe Harappan pottery indicate that the house belonged to a prominent merchant.
• The material remains at Banwali are quite rich, which include classical Indus ceramics, several steatite seals and a few terracotta sealings with typical Indus script.
• Other remains include gold-plated terracotta beads, beads of lapis lazuli, etched carnelian, shell, bone, faience, steatite and clay beads, pipal leaf-shaped ear-rings of faience, bangles of clay etc..
• Amongst the other important antiquities we have a clay model of a plough which appears to be a genuine protope.
• In addition to this, a few broken pieces of plough were also collected by the excavators.
• A unique feature of planning hitherto not found at any of the Indus sites bearing defence work, was the exposition of a deep and wide moat outside the town wall and a broad bern in between the two.
• Another significant finding may be the unearthing of an elaborate gate-complex which was provided with the forntal moat, flanking bastions and a 8m wide passage built in with a large longitudinal drain, a latitudinal tie-wall, and a flight of steps leading to the sourthern bastion.
• Banawali has produced certain interesting terracotta models of wheel both spoked and solid,known to the Vedic Aryans as sara cakra and pradhi cakra.
• One of the houses yielded many seals and weights and may have belonged to a merchant.
• Firther, its toilet was provided with a wash basin placed on a high place in a corner near the drain which carried off the waste water into the sullage jar placed outside on the street.
• However,very interesting was the discovery of a ‘touchstone bearing gold streaks of different hues’ indicating that the practice of testing gold was present during the Harappan period.
Kunal
• Situated in tehsil Ratia of Hissar district in Harayana,located on the banks of now dried up River Saraswthi.
• Excavated by J.S.Khatri and M.Acharya since 1986 onwards.
• People started living here after artificially raising the ground by 0.71m.
• A dwelling has been found consisting of two units—one round and adjacent to it one refuse pit.
• The dwellings were ‘pit-dwelling type’ also known as semi---sub terranean type.
• The brick sizes are in two ratios 1:2:3 and
• 1:2:4(9*18*36cm;11*44cm;13*26*39cm;11*22*33cm),both used simultaneously.
• It is generally believed that the former was adopted by the Sothi-kot Diji people and the latter was adopted by the Mature Harappans.
• Developed drainage system characterized this site.
• In one of the rectangular brick houses th excavators found a virtual treasure of gold and silver ornaments placed in a silver sheet and buried in a plain simple red globular pot of Early Harappan fabric.
• The silver objects include tow tiaras, one small and one large, each with a large fully opened flower having petals topped with a decoration like the Greek letter alpha.
• One large silver armlet with horizontal mouldings was also found.
• Six steatite and one shell seals have been found.
HOMOGENEITY AND DIVERSITY IN THE INDUS CIVILIZATION
• The cropping pattern of the civlilization shows a variation of cereal crops-wheat and barley at Mohenjodaro and Harappa, barley at Kalibangan, and rice and millet at Lothal, Rangapur and Surkotada.
• Mohenjodaro, Harappa and Kalibangan show an identical town lay-out plan of the metropolis the citadel and the lower city.
• At Kalibangan the citadel shows a bipartitie plan with no less than six mud-brick platform.
• The lower city at Kalibangam is fortified.
• At Dholavira the city had three main divisions---the ‘citadel’or ‘acropolis’ ‘middle town’ and ‘lower town’.
• The first two are fortified, with vast open areas around them.
Trends of Urbanization
• Harappalay on Ravi, Mohenjodaro on Indus, Ropar on Sutlej,Kalibangan and Banawali on Ghaggar and Alamgirpur on Hindon, a tributary of Ganga.
• Considering the distribution pattern of the Indus civilization, J.P.Joshi has suggested the existence of three ‘economic pockets’.
• They are
(i)Mansa area(Bhatinda),Punjab
(ii)Bahawalpur area in Pakistan, and
(iii)Kutch area---all falling on theSaraswati-Hakra system comprising 210 pre-Harappan and 721 Harappan and Late Harappan sites.
• The northern settlement—Manda(Jammu and Kashmir)and Ropar(Punjab)near hills----may have facilitated the exploitation of the Himalayan forest wealth and Shotugai(Afganistan)and Altyan Tepe(Soviet Central Asia)provided direct links for importing raw materials abundantly available there.
• At Harappa, Mohenjodaro and Kalibangan existed a ‘citadel’ and a fortifies ‘lower city’separately and at Surkotada and Banawali a closely knit ‘citadel’ and a ‘lower town(annexe)’.
• There is evidence of an ‘acropolis’ and ‘lower town’ at Lothal.
• The other fortified settlements(Desalpur, Rojdi, Balu)appear to have been castles(or garhis)of the merchant-landlords.
• The Indus cities differed radically from the Sumerian counterparts as the latter developed around the temple and followed a circular pattern.
• The rectangular grid system of town-planning was vigorously followed in the Indus cities.
Town-Planning
• The most striking feature of Harappan civilization is its town-planning and sanitation.
• Streets varied from 9 feet to 34 feet in width and ran straight sometimes as far as half a mile.
• They intersected at right angles dividing the city into square or rectangular blocks.
• At Mohenjodaro each lane had a public well, and most of the houses had a private well and bath.
• Important Harappan cities, such as Mohenjodaro, Harappa,Kalibangan, Dholavira and Surkotada, were divided into two parts—a fortified settlement on the high mounds designated as
• ‘citadels’and the main residential areas to the west of it called ‘lower town’.
• At Harappa, Mohenjodaro, Kalibangan and Surkotada, there was a ‘citadel’, smaller in area than the ‘lower town’and invariably located to the west of it.
• The citadel at Mohenjodaro contained many imposing buildings, all made of kiln-burnt-bricks, for example, the great bath, the college, the granary and the assembly hall.
• Harappa to the north of the citadel,lay the workmen’s quarters,their working platforms, and a granary.
• Situated on the left bank of the desiccated river (Ghaggar)Saraswati in Rajasthan, Kalibangan reveals the same pattern of planning as do Mohenjodaro and Harappa,with a ‘citadel’on the west side and a ‘lower town’ on the east.
• The lower town at Kalibangan, too was fortified.
• There were at least two gateways, one on the northern side leading to the river and another on the west providing access to the citadel.
• In width the Kalibangam lanes and streets followed a set ratio; thus, while the lanes were 1.8m wide, the streets, in multiples of the former, were 3,6,5,4 and 7.2m wide.
• At Surkotada, the settlement pattern of Harappa, Mohenjodaro, and Kalibangan is repeated, but with a difference.
• The citadel and the lower town were joined, although their relative directional position remained the same, the former to the west and the latter to the east.
• As at Kalibangan, both the citadel and the lower town were fortified.
• Each had its independent entrance, located on the southern side; there was also an intercommunicating gate between the two.
• At the recently excavated Harappan city of Dholavira, there existed three principal divisions, instead of the usual two at other sites.
• The first two division---the ‘citadel’ and the ‘middle town’---were fortified with stone masonry.
• The whole planning resembles the European castle having two well-fortified areas.
• Banawali(Haryana) some significant departures from the established of a chess-board or gridiron pattern of planning.
• Systematic drainage is the exception than the rule.
• The general subdivision of a metropolitan or urban township into two distinctly separate walled establishments does not hold good at Banawali.
Harappan Gateways
• The Indus towns possessed no general system of urban fortification, which was often massive, as at Kalibangan,but the gateways were simple entry-points to the towns.
• At Surkotada and Dholavira these gateways were quite elaborate.
• The Harappan fortifications were not meant to defend the township from strong attacks by enemies but were safety measures from robbers and cattel raiders.
• The fortifications also provided protection against floods and served as the hallmark of social authority over the area they commanded.
Streets
• The most famous street called the ‘First Stret’ of Mohenjodaro was 10.5m wide and would have accommodated seven lanes of wheeled traffic simultaneously.
• The ‘First Street’ was , however, surfaced with broken bricks and potsherds.
Bricks
• The sun-dried were used at Mohenjodaro mainly for fillings, but at Harappa it sometimes alternated with burnt-brick course by course and at Kalibangan it seems to have been,if anything, more common, burnt-brick being almost exclusively reserved for wells, drains and bathrooms.
• The predominant brick size was 7*14*7, that is a ration of 1:2:4.
• The bricks were made from alluvial soil.
• Recessing and frogging were still unknown.
• L-shaped bricks were preferred for corners.
Buildings
• Only in the floor of one house at Kalibangan ornamental bricks were used.
• To drain the rainwater, gutters of pottery were made; a number of them have been found at Chanhudaro.
• The open court was the basic feature of house planning in the Indus valley as in Babylon.
Doors, Windows and Stairs
• Doors were possibly made of wood and were placed at the ends of the walls, not in the middle.
College
• Several dwelling houses, large and small, have been unearthed at Mohenjodaro.
• There were large Khans(inns), store houses and watch fowers.
• There is an extensive building, on the west of the stupa mound, which measures 69*23.5m.
• It was a priestly corporation.
• It contains the Great Bath which was excavated by Sir John Marshall.
Assembly Hall
• On the south of the stupa at Mohenjodaro has been discovered a hall, 8m sq, with a roof having 20 rectangular brick piers in four rows of five piers each.
• There are four well-paved aisles which are separated by rows of pillars.
• Marshall compares it with a Buddhist rock-cut-temple of a later date, while Mackay calls it a large market hall with lines of permanent stalls along the aisles.
Storehouse
• At Harappa a building has been discovered measuring 50*40 metres with a central passage 7 metres wide.
• It was a gigantic storehouse for grain, cotton and other merchandise.
Palace
• A short distance from the ‘First Street’ at Mohenjodaro there was a palatial building of excellent masonry.
Population
• Lambrick had made a case for a figure of 35,000 at Mohenjodaro, based upon comparison with the population of a city of comparable area in Sind in 1841.
• Fairsevice suggests a figure of 23,000 for the lower city at Harappa, excluding the citadel.
• S.R. Rao estimated the population of Lothal to have been around 15,000 whereas according to
S.P. Gupta, Lothal may not have accommodated more than 2,000 to 3,000 people during its peak period.
Foundation Deposits
• It was usually believed that Harappans did not use foundation deposits, a system prevalent in Babylonia and Egypt.
• At Kot Diji and Allahdino stone foundations have been unearthed.
Metal Technology
• Copper in its unalloyed form was the most extensively used metal by the Harappans.
• Bronze sculptures are represented by the dancing girl from Mohenjodaro and also by animal figurines of dog,birds, etc.
• Panning or washing of gold dust was probably the principal means employed in ancient times to obtain gold.
• Much of the Indus gold is of light colour indicating a high silver content, or rather it is unrefined electrum.
• This suggested that it originated from the quartz reefs of Karnataka, rather than from panning.
• Silver makes its earliest appearance in the Indus civilization.
• A silver buckle found at Harappa with soldered scross pattern of gold wire and gold-capped beads.
• Lead, arsenic, antimony and nickel were also used by the Harappan people.
• Arsenic was used to increase the hardness of artifacts by alloying it with copper.
• Actual copper mineral(e.g.chrysocolla, chalcopyrite, malachite, etc.)are rare at Harappan phase sites.
• In the core areas of the greater Indus valley other metal minerals, such as haematite, lollingite, antimony,cinnabar, cerussite, galena and an unidentified type of lead.
• Except for the site of Shortugai, where there is evidence for gold processing, most of the indicators for metal processing.
• At Harappan sites are associated with copper processing.
Pottery
• The slip used was red ochre which came form Hormuz in the Persian Gulf.
• Once the vessel was shaped on the wheels, the ochre was painted quickly over it.
• Then the designs were painted on this red surface with a brush in black.
• The black colour was derived from magniferous haematite.
• No human figure is depicted on the pottery from Mohenjodaro but a few pottery pieces discovered from Harappa portray a man and a child.
• Small vessels were painted in polychromes, red, black, green and very rarely yellow.
• Indus pottery has plain bases.
• The few ring bases discovered are on handmade pottery, which were baked at home.
• One jar shaped like a ram was probably used as an inkwell.
• Clay traps were used for catching mice and in the pottery cage chirping birds were kept as pets.
• On the basis of stratigraphical analysis at Lal Shah where a series of six pottery firing kilns with performed grate supported by a central pillar was excavated by Pracchia (1985)it was suggested that the kilns were not used at the same time, and were probably used seasonally for a period of 10-15 years.
Ivory and Faience Work
• The glassy matrix and external glaze of their objects was produced using efflorescence technique.
• This glassy faience also known as compact faience was used to make bangles,tiny beads, and miniarture vessels and miniature animal figurines.
• No other region of the ancient world is known to have produced this type of glassy faience.
Lapidary
• The discovery of agate bead-making workshops at Mohenjodaro, Harappa, Chanhudaro, Nagawada, Lewan, Ghazi Shah, Rahmandheri, Banawali, Dholavira, Lothal,Surkotada, etc. and bead processing or market area found at many other sites indicate that these were a critical feature of all Harappan settlements.
• Long bead, produced at Chanhudaro, required a difficult and expensive manufacturing sequence.
• Drills used for agate and carnelian at Harappa, Mohenjodaro, Chanhudaro, Nagwada and
Dholavira were made with a very distinctive rock named ‘Ernestite’ after Ernest Mackay.
Steatite
• The term ‘steatite’ or ‘soapstone’ indicates various types of soft rocks common in Baluchistan.
• Aravalis and on the Deccan plateau.
• The earliest known bead workshop is a diso-bead manufacturing area excavated at Mehrgarh dating back to the 5th millennium BC.
• At this site, steatite beads, both fired and unfired, were manufactured along with shell discs.
• In addition to beads, pendants, inlay, etc. the Harappans used steatite for the manufacture of inscribed seal and tablets, amulets and even large sculptures, notable the famous bust known as the ‘Priest & King’.
Shell Manufacturing
• Excavations at costal sites like Balakot, Lothal, Nageshwar and Kuntasi have revelated that they were all resource centres having local workshops to produce bangles and other items.
Stoneware Bangles
• The manufacture of stoneware bangles is an important urban craft in Harappan context.
• The evidence regarding their manufacture seems almost wholly restricted to Mohenjodaro and Harappa.
• The origins of this industry began in the pre-Harappan phase as many partially sintered grayish bangles on the surface of Juderjodaro was observed by Vidale.
• Similarly ceramic bangles have been recovered in the Early Harappan levels of Harappan and Rehmandheri.
Scientific Knowledge
• The Harappan numerical system is decimal and additive multiplicative in usage.
• There are symbols for numerical from 4 to 100, 1000 and their derivatives.
• The Harappans, as the architects of the Indus valley civilization, are known to have constructed the world’s first tidal port at Lothal at the head of the Gulf of Cambay.
Arts
• The custom of making simple figurines of clay and later of terracotta began at Mehrgarh in the sixth or even seventh millennium B.C.
Stone Sculptures
• A badly weathered limestone head, 14cm high, is too worn for description.
• Another limestone head, 18cm high, with wavy hair held together by a fillet, shaven upper lip and shell-shaped ears, has been discovered from Harappa.
• A third sculpture is the seated headless alabaster male figure, 28cm high, he is wearing a thin shawl on left shoulder and underthe arm.
• It was found limestone head 19cm high, badly worn, has been found at the southern wall of the citadel in Mohenjodro.
• Much weathered alabaster statue of a squattingman, 42cm high, from Mohenjodaro, has lost most of its details—only the face seems bearded.
• The sixth is a fragment of limestone figurine,formerly polished , showing a hand on the knee.
• It was found in the Mohenjodaro citadel.
• The seventh is a much damaged 22cm high figure of a seated man with hands on the ankles of this figure seem to represent anklets.
• It was found near the Collegiate Building, Mohenjodaro.
• The eighth is an unfinished figure of a squatting man in limestone, around 22cm high, with fillet round the head.
• It was found at Mohenjodaro.
• The ninth is the fragment of a small limestone figure of an animal 11cm high, possibly a ram.
• It was found at Harappa.
• Limestone figure, 25cm high, of a composite animal.
• It has a ram’s head an elephant’s tunk.
• The body is that of a ram.
• It was found at Mohenjodaro.
• Two statuettes, just 10cm in height, are male torsos exhibiting a sensitiveness and vivacity of modeling.
• Both are from Harappa.
• One of them, the dancer, was found on the granary site.
• It is ithyphallic and may represent a dancing Shiva Nataraja.
Bronze Figures
• Two little bronze dancing girls, both fragmentary, a number of bronze figures of animals, buffalo and rams, and some models of carts or ikkas, the Diamabad hoard consisting of an exquistite chariot pulled by a pair of bulls, an elephant, a rhinoceros and a buffalo.
• Two little models of bullock carts and ikkas found at Chanhudaro and Harappa(situated 650km apart) are virtually identical in all details.
• At Dholavira stone sculpture of a mongoose(37 cm)has also been found.
Seals
• Made of steatite, these seals range in size from 1cm to 5cm.
• Two main tupes are seen;first, square with a carved animal and inscription and second, rectangular with an inscription only.
• The square seals have a small performed boss at the back while the rectangular ones have a hole on the back of the seal itself, to take a cord.
• Both these types have been found at Harappa and Mohenjodaro.
• Chanhudaro has yielded only square stamp seals.
• In Jhukar round seals made of pottery and faience and a few made of stone and metal without any inscription have been found.
• The seals were very popular;more than 1,200 seals have been found at Mohenjodaro alone.
• The most remarkable one is the ‘Pashupati Seal’ depicting Shiva seated on a stool flanked by an elephant, tiger, rhinoceros and buffalo.
• Below the stool are two antelopes or goats.
• Marshall identified it as Shiva in his Pashupati (Lord of Beats)form.
• On one seal a goddess stands nude between the branches of a pipal tree, before which kneels a worshipper.
• Behind the worshipper stands human faced goat and below are seven devotees engaged in a dance.
• A scene very often repeated on seals shows a man holding back two roaring tigers with his out-stretched arms.
• This recalls the Sumerian Gilgamesh and his lions.
• The animal most frequently encounrered on Indus seals is a humpless bull.
• It has generally been called a unicorn.
• At Lothal, B.B. Lal has identified on a vase a painting probably depicting the tale ‘the thirsty crow’and on another Jar from the same site he has identified the depiction of the folk tale the ‘cunning fox’.
Costumes
• A man on a sherd from Harappa wears a closer clinging dhoti.
• There is no evidence of linen or wool, though sheep and goat were known and might have provided enough raw material.
Hair Styles
• The dancing girl from Mohnjodaro has a pony tail.
• Mirrors of bronze were very common.
Ornaments and Jewellery
• Women wore a fan-shaped head-dress.
Cosmetics
• The ladies at Mohenjodaro knew of the use of collyrium and other cosmetics.
• Chanhudaro finds indicate the use of lip-sticks.
Customs and Amusements;Games and Sports
• The favourite toy was the baked clay cart.
• Dice were used in gambling.
Equipment, Tools and Weapins
Weights
• Weights are usually made of chert, alabaster, limestone,quartzite, slate, jasper and other stones, but chert predominates.
• Sir John Marashall remarked upon the extraoedinary profusion of stone weights at Mohenjodaro, and the system of weights has been anlysed in some details by A.S. Hemy.
• Hemmy remarked that for smaller weights the binary system and for larger ones the decimal system were used.
• The weights proceed in series, first doubling, from 1,2,4,8 to 64, then going to 160; then in decimal mulitiplies of sixteen:320,640,1600,3200,6400,800(i.e, 1600*8).
• One of the most common weights was that with a value of 16, weighing around 13.5to 13.7gm.
Scales
• There are three specimens of the scales—from Mahejodero, Lothal and Harappa.
• The first is made of shell, with regular graduactions with an average size of 6.7056mm, with a hollow circle carved on one graduation and a solid dot on the fifth of the series.
• Lothal scale is calculated to be 25.56mm, and the Harappan scale at 93.4mm.
Writing Material
• Writing tablets of pottery and pottery inkpot were unearthed from Chanhudaro.
Cotton
• A set of three needles, each 5cm long, discovered by K.N.Dikshit must have been used for a special kind of embroidery
Agricultural Implements
• Two incomplete curved blades of copper from Mohenjodaro served as sickles.
Tools and Weapons
• A bronze saw, 40cm long, with edges undulated as well as toothed, has been found at Mohenjodaro.
• Two copper swords, each 45cm long, again from Mohenjodaro, are in excellent condition.
• The knives having one edge and upturned point were used for leather work.
• A portion of a handle made of digberia sisu, a popular local wood, has been found.
• A number of tools and weapons, specially from Harappa, are inscribed with some marks and numbers.
Political Life
• 2600-2500BC labeled as ‘century of change’.
• The epicenter of the sea trade was possibly Mohenjodaro whereas Harappa commanded the major land routes leading to Central Asia traversing the Iranian plateau.
Pashupati Shiva
• Is a three-faced deity wearing a horned head-dress, seated cross-legged on a throne, and surrounded by elephant, tiger, buffalo, and rhinoceros, with deer appearing under the seat.
• It wears a number of bangles and has a pectoral round the neck, and and inscription of seven letters appears at the top.
• Marshall boldly called it Proto-Shiva.
• H.P.Sullivan tried to show that the deity identified as male by Marshall is actually a female deity and is most probably the Great Goddess.
• M.K.Dhavalikar and Atre have also tried to show that depiction in question is the ‘Lady of the Beasts’ and not the ‘Lord of the Beasts’.
• The earliest known Shiva-lingas-one found at Gudimallan and the other at Bhita---are datable from the first century BC.
• The animals fall into three groups;
(i)mythical animals,e.g. a semi-human semi-bovine creature,attaking a horned tiger resembling Eabani or Enkidu is Sumerian mythology, or complex animals, with the heads of different animals attached to a central boss.
(ii)ambiguous animals, which are not completely mythical, like the strange unicorn, accompanied with manager or incense-burner , or animals figurings as officiant genili.
• It was the tutelary deity of the city.
(iii)actual animals
• The most common animal found on the Harappan seals is the bull, which is usually depicted with a single horn and has often been referred to as ‘a unicorn’.
• The cow, so revered in later Hinduism, is nowhere depicted.
Amulets and Talisman
• Daya Ram Sahni, who discovered the famous dancing girl, associates her with the devadasis attached to the temples.
Worship Associated with Fire
• From excavations at Kalibangan a series of ‘fire altars’on mud-brick platforms were discovered.
• The ‘altars’were infact clay-lined pits, each measuring about 75*55cm.
• At Banawali, in the habitation area there was not only fire-altar but the area around it was found enclosed by a wall which formed as apse at one end.
• The complex is thought to have been an apsidal ‘temple’.
• Lothal also has yielded ample evidence of fire-altars.
• Besides being rectangular in shape as at Kalibangan, the Lothal examples were circular as well.
• Within a fire altars at Kalibangan, bovine bones and antlers were found which represent some kind of animal sacrifice.
• That the offering of animals in sacrifice was a Harappan practice is also suggested by certain seals discovered form Mohenjodaro and Klibangan.
• At Lothal, in a house of Mature phase, was encoundtered a mud platform with a mud brick enclosure on it.
• Within this enclosure there lay charred fragments of bovine bones, a carnelian bead and a disc-shaped pendant of gold, besides plenty of ash and charcoal.
• This practice is endorsed by engravings on a terracotta cake from Kalibangan.
• On one side is depicted an animal with a noose around its neck the rope being handled by a person in front of it, in an attempt to draw it forward.
• On the other side of the cake there is a figure wearing a horned and feathered headgear.
Funerary Customs
• Discovery of a cemetery containing at least 67 graves at Harappa by Mortimer Wheeler.
• Three forms of burials have been found at Mohenjodaro,viz, complete burials, fractional burials, and post-cremation burials.
• Complete burial means the burial of the whole body, ceremonially performed in various forms, along with the grave furniture, offerings, etc.
• About 30 skeletons, evidencing complete burials, have been found in different groups.
• Fractional burial represents a collection of some bones after the exposure of the body to wild beasts and birds.
• Five such burials have been found.
• Post-cremation burials have been inferred form large wide-mouthed urns containing a number of smaller vessels, bones of animals like lambs, goats, etc.and of birds or flsh, and a variety of small objects, such as beds, bangles,figurines etc.sometimes mixed with charcoal ashes.
• The cemeteries at various Harappan settlements were also not located at identical places, with varying burial practices.
• At Kalibangan three types of burial practices are noticed;
(i)extended inhumation in rectangular or oval graves, containing pottery and other grave goods;
(ii)pot-burial in a circular pit, containing, besides the central urn, other pots and grave goods like beads ,etc..
(iii)pottery deposit in rectangular or oval graves.
• At Lohtal, two types of burial practices were followed.
• While one type contained, besides the gave goods,a single skeleton, the other contained two skeletons buried together.
Economic Life
• Camel bones are reported at Kalibangan.
• Bhola Nath in 1963 identified the remins of the horse from the unworked collection from Harappa.
• He had also recovered the bones of true horse from Ropar.
• A.K. Sharma collected skeletal remains from Kalibangan.
• In 1938 Mackay had remarked on the discovery of a clay model of horse from Mohenjodaro.
• A Jaw-bone of a horse is also recorded from this site.
• From phase three of Lothal has been recovered a terracotta figuring of a horse.
• A tooth of the horse has also been found at Lothal.
• The Kalibangan material includes an upper molar, a fragment of shaft of distal end of femur and the distal end of left humerous.
• From an Early Harappand site of Rana Ghundai, Ross reported a few teeth of the horse, though
• Zeuner did not agree with the identification.
• Surkotada has yielded quite a few bones of the horse from a superficial level.
• At Nausharo, Jarriage found many terracotta figurines of this animal.
• Dholavira has also yielded small samples of this animal.
• Despite such findings, the complete bones of horses have not been found anywhere and it is difficult at the present stage to say whether horse was known a domesticated animal to the Harappans.
• Wheat is frequently recorded, apparently of three varieties, the club wheat(triticum compactum), the Indian dwarf wheat(triticum sphaerococcum)and the tricitum aestivum.
• Barely (hordeum vulgare),probably of a small-seeded six-rowed variety, was also found both at Harapa and Mohenjodaro.
• Both wheat and barley were found at Kalibangan, two more varieties hordum nudum valgare and hordeum sphaerococcum have also been recorded.
• Chanhudaro and Nausharo and indeed these crops must have the most important at all Harappan sites.
• Lentils from Nausharo, chickpea from Kalibangan, field pea from Harappa.
• Another discovery of great significance is of a number of millets;elenisne coracana,finger millet, ragi, from the lowest levels of Rojdi;bajra(pennisetum typhoideum)from Babar Kot in Saurashtra and at a slightly later date, sorghum, jawar(sorghum bicolor).
• No excavation has yet revealed evidence of that typical Indian crop---the sugarcance, though its presence is to be expected.
• At Lothal and Rangpur, rice husked and spikelets were found embedded in clay pottery.
• Another find of great interest was a fragment of woven cotton cloth at mohenjodaro.
• There is some very interesting evidence from Kalibangan where a field surface still retained the marks of furrows laid out in two directions at right angles to each other.
• From the limestone hills at Rohri and Sukkur(Sakhar)came nodules of fine and finished flint blades which were worked at Vast factory sites nearby.
• Balakot,near Las Bela on the coast of Baluchistan, and Chanhudaro were centres for shell working and bangle-making; Lothal and Chanhudaro were centres for the manufacture of beads of carnelian, etc..
• The cities like Mohenjodaro, Harappa and Lothal were important centres for metallurgy.
• Rice seems to have been imported to Punjab from Gujarat.
• Lothal and Surkotada filled a large gap in the growing demands for cotton in the expanding township of Mohenjodaro, Harappa, Banwali, etc..
• Lvory, lapis, turquoise and silver objects,found in extremely limited quantities in Gujarat sites,obviously came from Punjab and sites of Harappa and Mohenjodaro.
• Sex-shells of different varieties were exported from Balakot and Lothal to sities in Baluchistan as well as the Indus.
• Dates,and shilajeet(a medicinal product of the Himalays, etc.),found at Mohenjodaro.
External Trade
• Lothal, Surkotada and Balakot were some of the important trading coastal.
• Gold was almost certainly an important.
• Around the goldfields of North Karnataka suggests an important source.
• Silver was imported, probably from Afghanistan or Iran.
• The sources of copper may have been several.
• The ore came from the vicinity of Khetri in Rajasthan.
• South India towards the east, and Baluchistan and Arabia to the west.
• Lead may have been derived from either East or South India.
• Lapis lazuli, though rare, could only have come from the region of Badakshan in North-east Afghanistan,turquoise from Central Asia or Iran and fuchsite from a number of sources both east and west(but the large-scale manufacture of alabaster vessels in contemporary Shahr-Sokhta suggests the probable source);amethyst probably came from Maharashtra;agates, chalcedonies and carnelians from Saurashtra and West India, jade from Central Asia.
• A small settlement or colony in North-east Afghanistan, at Shortughai.
• This site is situated not far from the lapis lazuli mines of Badakshan.
• Harappa trading outpost.
• ‘Persian Gulf’ types, from Susa and the cities of Mesopotamia.
• A more definite indication of foreign trade comes from Lothal, where a circular button seal of a distinctive kind was discovered.
• This belongs to a class of ‘Persian Gulf’ seals,known otherwise from excavations at the port of Bahrain,and also found occasionally in the cities of Mesopotamia, notablyat Ur.
• Also from Lothal come bun-shaped copper ingots, which may be compared with ingots found on the Persian Gulf islands and at Susa.
Means of Transport
• Several representations of ships are found on seals or as graffiti at Harappa,Mohenjodaro, etc.and a terracotta model of a ship, with a stick-impressed socket for the mast and eyeholes for fixing rigging,comes from Lothal.
• Harappa and Chanhudaro come copper or bronze models of carts with seated drivers,and also nearly identical models of little carts of the modern ‘likka’or ‘ekka’type,still common in the Punjab.
Language and Script
• Parpola and his Scandinavian colleague Koskeniemi have produced an impressive concordance of the known inscriptions, and proceeded with a hypothesis is that the language was an ancestral language of the Dravidan family and that the script relied upon homophones.
• This has been the most frequently and strongly supported hypothesis since is adoption by Marshall(1931) and Hunter(1934).
• An Indian scholar, Mahadevan, has also published an impressive computer concordance.
• In spite of doubts regarding it significance, the fact remains that a Dravidian language, Brahui, is still spoken by nomadic pastoralists in the Balluchi hills.
• Along with the Etruscan, a pre-Roman language, ive language is one of the last undeciphered scripts in the world.
• The number of signs estimated by various archeologists in the Indus script varies too.
• While G.R. Hunter(1932) estimated 149 signs, A.H.Dani(1963)put the number at 537.
• Asko Parpola and his Finnish team said there were 396(1973),Mahadevan 417(1977)and Fairservis 419(1992).
• The script was written from right to left like modern Urdu.
• Inscriptions discovered till now are short, with an average of half a dozen letters, the longest has seventeen.
The Decline
• (i)Mortimer Wheeler believed that the invading Aryans destroyed the Indus settlements and the Harappan cultural tradition.
• He further says that in the last phase of Mohenjodaro, men, women and children were massacred in the streets and hourses.
• In a room the skeletons of 13 males and females and one child suggesting simultaneous deaths have been found.
• One of the skulls bore a wound caused by a sword or a dagger.
• This view, however, now seems untenable.
• In the first place, the skeletons do not belong to one and the same occupational level, which should be marking the end of the Indus settlements.
• Secondly, at the site, there is no evidence of an alien culture immediately overlying that of the Indus.
• (ii)E.J.H. Mackay, Lambrick and Sir John Marshall suggest that the decline of the Harappan civilization was mainly due to the vagaries of the Indus river.
• Evidence of devastation by floods is to be found at Mohenjodaro and Lothal, there is no such evidence in respect of other sites, for example Kalibangan.
• (iii)B.K. Thapar is of the view that environmental factors, including the behaviour of the rivers, climate and accessibility of natural resources were largely responsible for the growth into maturity and expansion of the Indus civilization.
(iv)Ecological Factors
• B.K.Thapar and Pakistan’s Rafique Mughal, for example, maintain that tha gradual drying up of the Ghaggar-Hakra river system.
• Vishnu Mittre,W.A. Fairservice and Kennth A.R. Kennedy blame the decline on the drying up of riverbeds, increasing soil salinity and widespread deforestation.
• Revert Sharer, on the other hand, argued in 1979 that, shifts in ancient trade commercial role.
• The instrument for survival may have become the cause for the civiliztion’s destruction, say researchers such as Shereen Ratnagar who proposed in 1986 that lift-irrigation may have resulted in an over-reaching of its ecological limits.
• Mughal suggests that Harappan civilization came to an end with the drying-up of the Hakra about 2500BC.
• Ecological destruction theory is that the Indus valley civilization was a Bronze Age culture, which began in 3000 BC.
• Enormous quantities of wood were needed to make copper and bronze and Ratnagar maintains that, this would have devastated the surroundings forests.
• Writing the epitaph of a glorious civilization Kenoyer observes: “The Harappans were obviously not environmentally conscious. Like anybody eise, they thoughtlessly hacked and used the rich forests”.
Post-Urban Phase
• J.G. Shaffer employed the term ‘Localization Era’.
• Possehl called the period ‘Post urban’ and has proposed to divide it into three subdivisions, Early, Middle and Late.
• The Middle period,dated from c. 1700-1300BC.
• Late Post-urban period dated from c.1300-1000BC.
• The distinctive Jhukar Pottery, a buff ware with red or cream slip often in bands, and bold painting in black, suggests a degree of continuity with local Harappan.
• In Baluchistan the evidence is extremely fragmentary.
• In the northern part, Stuart Piggott has drawn attention to the thick layers of burning indicating violent destruction of whole settlements, at Rana Ghudai, Dabarkat, etc.
• The southern part the cemetery at Shahitump, dug into an abandoned Kulli settlement, shows copper stamp-hole axe and painted grey pottery, including footed goblets and bowls.
• At Mundigak a considerable reconstruction of a massive brick structure is found over the ruins of the palace of an earlier period.
• A cemetery south of Mehrgarh and another at Sibri contain equally distinctive pottery and bronze objects including a shaft-hole.
• Two horse burials in separate graves, alongside their master have been found at Katelai.
• This site has also yielded a bronze model at Katelai.
• Rangpur,Somnath and Rojdi where the subsequent development can be found.
• These three sites give a complete sequence from the Mature Harappan period down to the arrival of iron.
• Rojdi actually increased in size during the post-urban phase.
• Cultivation of rice is evidenced from Ranpur.
• At Harappa in Punjab, Vats discovered a decadent period of structures of re-used brick and pottery including some similar to that discovered in Cemetery H. Wheeler showed in 1946 that this cemetery bore a stratigraphic relationship to an earlier cemetery known on R 37 of the Mature Harappan period.
• Early Indus period.Joshi lists an aggregate of 127 sites of Indus period, and 79 of the Mature Indus period.
• Allchins, on the other hand, put the figure for Malture period at 160 and for Post-urban at 279.
• Mitathal IIB shows the presence of Late Harappan with clear Cemetery H.affinities.
• The pottery found here has been called locally by various names:’Bare Ware’, Late Siswal Ware, Ochre Coloured Pottery(OCP),etc.
• The distinctive red ware of Cemetery H is closely related to that found at Bara and other sites near Ropar and at Sanghol in Ludhiana distict.
• At Banawali the settlements were built over the remins of a Mature Harappan town, but Bara,
• Hulas and Sanghol appear to be new foundations of the Post-Urban period.
• In excavations at Ganeshwar in Rajasthan, over 400 copper arrowheads, 50 fish-hooks, 58 copper fleat axes are reported.
• Although, we do not have any evidence of Mature Harappan phase in the Ganga-Yamuna doab---except Alamgirpur which was, in most respects, a late Harappan settlement---we have evidence of a distinct culture called Copper-Hoard culture.
• The evidence of this culture has come from Ganga-Yamuna Doab, hills of Chhotanagpur, Orissa and some odd places in Central India and Deccan.
• At Bisauli and Rajpur Parsu, Bahadarabad and Hastinapur, OCP was closely associate with this culture.
• Trial excavations at Ambakheri and Bargaon revealed Late Harappan forms.
• Other sites from where similar evidence has come are Atranjikhera, Lal Qila in Bulandshahar, Saipai in Etawah and Ahicchatra in Bareilly(U.P).
• The largest hoard of copper comes from Gungeria in M.P.and the thickest OCP deposites are found at Jodhapura.
• Ahar,near Udaipur in the Banas valley was occupied during Mature shape but around 1800BC it entered into Chalcolithic Phase when it became a copper smelting centre.
• Gilund, a large settlement, yielded a system of mud-brick walls forming part of a great platform, recalling Harappan planning.
• In the Malwa plateau the important sites are Kayatha and Navadatoli where Chacolithic occupation was revealed.
• The Malwa culture (1700-1200BC)found at Navadatoli, Eran and Nagda is considered non-Harappan.
• So is the case with Jorwe culture(1400-700BC).
• The Kaytha culture seems to be a junior contemporary of Harappa showing Harappan influence.
Survival and Continuity of the Indus civilization
• Punch-marked coins, with their symbols reminiscent of the Indus valley script and weights, conforming to the weight system at Mohenjodaro, constitute an important survival of the Indus valley dating from before 400BC.
• The die-struck and cast varieties of ancient Indian coins appear to be indebted to the Indus valley for their form.
• Harappan civilization was the womb of mathematics.
• The numerical and decimal system were evolved there, which must have helped in the development of ‘Vedic Mathematics’.
• One of the most remarkable achievements of the Harappan people was the cultivation of cotton.
