The Indus Valley Civilization

(  UPSC civil services exam Notes)

                 Indian History

    INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION

John Marshall, the first scholar to use the term “Indus valley civilization”. The civilization flourished between 2500 BC-1750 BC.

Geographical Extent of IVC

1. Extent: The Indus valley civilization extended from Sutkagandor (in Baluchistan) in the West to Alamgirpur (Western UP) in the East; and from Mandu (Jammu) in the North to Daimabad (Ahmednagar, Maharashtra) in the South.

2. Important cities

City	River	Archaeological Importance
Harappa (Pakistan)	Ravi	A row of 6 Granaries, Mother goddess figurines
Mohenjodaro (Pakistan)	Indus	Great Granary, Great bath, Image of Pashupati Mahadeva, Image of Bearded man and Bronze image of a woman dancer
Lothal (Gujarat)	Bhogava	Port city, Double burial, Terracotta horse figurines.
Chanhudaro (Pakistan)	Indus	The city without a citadel
Dholavira (Gujarat)	Indus	City divided into 3 parts.
Kalibangan (Rajasthan)	Ghaggar	Ploughed field
Banawali (Haryana)	Ghaggar	-
Rakhigarhi  (Haryana)	-	-
Ropar (Haryana)
Mitathal (Haryana)	-	-
Bhagatrav (Gujarat)	-	-
Rangpur (Gujarat)	-	-
Sutkagandor (Pakistan)	-	-
Sukotada (Gujarat)	-	-
Kot Diji (Pakistan)

Town planning and Structure of IVC

• Grid system(Chess-board) of town planning
• Rectangular houses with brick-lined bathrooms and wells together with stairways are found
• Use of Burnt bricks
• Underground drainage system
• Fortified citadel

Agriculture of Indus Valley Civilisation

• Hindon – Cotton – Major trade good – earliest people to produce Cotton.
• Proofs of Rice husk found
• Wheat and Barley were majorly cultivated
• Use of wooden ploughshare. They had no idea about Iron implements.

Domestication of animals

• Ox, Buffalo, Goats, Sheep and Pigs were domesticated
• Asses and camels were used as Beasts of Burden
• Elephants and Rhino were known
• Remains of horse found in Surkotada and evidence of horse in Mohenjodaro and Lothal are also found. But the civilization was not horse-centred.

Technology and crafts

• Bronze (Copper + tin) tools widely used
• Stone implements were still in vogue
• Potter’s wheel was put to full use
• Bronzesmiths, Goldsmiths, Boat-Making, Brick-laying etc were other occupations commonly found

Trade of Indus Valley Civilisation

• Presence of granaries, weights and measures, seals and uniform script signifies the importance of trade
• The barter system was widely prevalent
• Lothal, Sutkagendor were port cities used for conducting trade
• Trade destinations – Afghanistan, Iran and Central Asia. Contacts with Mesopotamia civilization are also seen

Political organization of IVC

• Cultural homogeneity achieved through a strong central authority
• No temples or religious structures found. Harappa was possibly ruled by Merchants class.
• Weapons are rarely found.

Religious practices of IVC

• Terracotta figure of Mother Goddess.
• Phallu and Yoni worship.
• Pashupati Mahadev seal found with the elephant, tiger, rhino and a bull surrounding him with two deer near his feet.

Tree and animal worship of IVC

• Pipal tree worship was found.
• One-horned Unicorn recognized as Rhino and the humped bull was commonly worshipped.
• Use of Amulets to ward off ghosts and evil spirits.
• The lion was not known in Harappan culture.

The Harappan script

• Harappan script Pictographic in nature but not deciphered so far.
• They are recorded on seals and contains only a few words
• Harappan Script is the oldest script in Indian Sub-continent

Weights and Measures

• Use of standardized weights and measures to keep accounts of private property, to indulge in trade and commerce etc.
• Weights are found in multiples of 16.

Harappan Pottery of IVC

• Well-developed Pottery techniques with elaborate designs of trees and circles.
• Redware pottery painted with black designs.

Seals of Indus Valley Civilisation

• Seals were used for the purpose of trade or worship. Images of animals such as Buffalo, bull, tiger etc were found inscribed in the seals

Statue of IVC

• Discovery of Bronze statue of a naked woman and bearded man steatite statue

Terracotta figurines of IVC

• Terracotta – Fire baked earthen clay
• Used as toys or objects of worship
• Massive stone works were not found in Harappa which shows the poorly developed artistic works made of stone

Origin, maturity and end of IVC

• Pre-Harappan Settlements – Lower Sindh, Baluchistan and Kalibangan.
• Mature Harappa – 1900BC – 2550BC.
• Causes for the Decline of Civilization.
• Decreasing fertility due to increasing salinity on the account of the expansion of the nearby desert.
• Sudden subsidence of uplift of land causing floods.
• Earthquakes caused changes in the course of Indus.
• Harappan culture destroyed by invading Aryans.

Post-urban Phase (1900BC – 1200BC)

• Sub-Indus Culture
• Primarily chalcolithic
• Development of Ahar Culture, Malwa Culture and Jorwe Culture at various phases in post-Harappan Civilization.