Characteristics of Indus Valley Civilisation:

1. Indus Valley Cities:

The excavated Indus cities may be classified into the
following groups:
(i) Nucleus cities

(ii) Coastal towns

(iii) Other cities and townships.

I. Nucleus Cities:
(a) Harappa:
It was the first Indus site to be discovered and excavated in 1921 by
Daya Ram Sahni. The site has two large and imposing ruined
mounds located some 25 kms. South-west of Montgomery district of
Punjab (Pakistan) on the left bank of river Ravi.

The vast mounds at Harappa were first reported by Masson in 1826.

Alexander Cunningham identified Harappa with Po-Fa-to or Po-Fa-
to-do visited by Hiuen-Tsang.

a) The western mound of Harappa, smaller in size represented the

citadel, parallelogram in plan and fortified.

b) Outside the citadel was the unfortified town having some

important structures identified with workmen’s quarters, working
floors and granaries. The workmen’s quarters, 10 in number were of
uniform size and space (17×7.5 m). Close to these quarters were 16
furnaces, pear- shaped on plan with cow-dung ash and charcoal.

c) 12 Granary building of 15.24×6.10 m each, arranged

systematically in 2 rows (6 in each row) with central passage 7 m.
wide
d) The material remains discovered at Harappa are of the typical
Indus character, prominent being.

e) 891 seals which form 36.32 per cent of the total writing material
of the Indus civilisation ,

f) Two very important stone figurines (not available at any other

site) which include one red stone torso of a naked male figure (the
prototype of the Jina or Yaksha Figure) and a female figure in
dancing pose.

g) A crucible used for smelting bronze was also found at a slightly

higher level.

h) Dog attacking deer on a pin

Evidence of the disposal of the dead has been found to the south of
the citadel area named as cemetery R-37. Excavations have also
yielded 57 burials of different types. The skeletons were disposed of
in the graves along with the grave-goods.

(b) Mohenjo-Daro:
The site of Mohenjo-Daro (or the Mound of the Dead) situated in
the Larkana district of Sind (Pakistan) and 540 km. south of
Harappa is situated on the right bank of the river Indus. It also has
two mounds, the western being the citadel or acropolis and the
eastern extensive mound was enshrining the relics of the buried
lower city. The mounds were excavated first by Sir John Marshall.
The citadel was fortified with big buildings extremely rich in
structures.

a. The most important public place of Mohenjo-Daro seems to be

the Great Bath, with a bed made water tight by the use of bitumen
and a system of supplying and draining away water. This tank which
is situated in the citadel mound is an example of beautiful brick-
work measuring 11.88×7.01 meters and 2.43 meters deep. Flight of
steps at either end lead to the surface. There are side rooms for
changing clothes. This tank seems to have been used for ritual
bathing.

b. In Mohenjo-Daro, the largest building is the great granary which

is 45.71 meters long and 15.23 meters wide and lies to the west of
the great bath.

c. To the north-east of the great bath is a long collegiate building,

perhaps meant for the residence of a very high official, possibly the
high priest himself, or a college of priests.

e. The lower unfortified city displayed all the elements of a planned

city. The remarkable thing about the arrangement of the houses in
the city is that they followed the grid system with the main streets
running north-south and east-west dividing the city into many
blocks.

This is true of almost all Indus settlements regardless of size. The

main streets in the lower city are about 9.14 metre wide. The
drainage system of Mohenjo-Daro was very impressive. These
drains were covered with bricks and sometimes with stone slabs.
The street drains were equipped with manholes. Houses were made
of kiln-burnt bricks as in Harappa.

f. Material remains of Mohenjo-Daro with its richness confirms that

it was a great city of the Indus civilisation. About 1398 seals
representing 56.67 percent of the total writing material of the Indus
cities throws light on Harappan religion.
Important stone images found here includes the torso of a priest
made of steatite (19 cm), lime stone male head (14 cm), the seated
male of alabaster (29.5 cm), the seated male with the hands placed
on knees (21 cm) and a composite animal figure made up of
limestone. The bronze dancing girl from Mohenjo-Daro, considered
a masterpiece (14 cm) is made by cast wax technique.

(c) Dholavira:
Situated in Kutch district of Gujarat, Dholavira is the latest and one
of the two largest Harappan settlements in India, the other being
Rakhigarhi in Haryana. The ancient mounds of Dholavira were first
noticed by Dr J.P. Joshi but extensive excavation work at the site
was conducted by R.S. Bisht and his team in 1990-91.

It shares almost all the common features of the Indus cities but its
unique feature is that there are three principal divisions (instead of
two in other cities), two of which were strongly protected by
rectangular fortifications.

The first inner encloser hemmed in the citadel (the acropolis)

probably housed the highest authority and second one protected the
middle town meant for the close relatives of the administrators and
other officials.

The existence of this middle town, apart from the lower town, is the
unique feature of this settlement. The access to these fortified
settlements at Dholavira was provided through an elaborate gate-
complex.

(d) Kalibangan:
Situated in Ganganagar district of Rajasthan on the southern bank
of the Ghaggar river this site was excavated by B.B. Lai and B.K.
Thapar (1961-69). This site also has two mounds yielding the
remains of a citadel and lower city respectively. Excavations have
revealed evidence of pre-Harappan and Harappan culture.

a. The citadel and the lower city both were fortified.

b. The citadel had mud-brick platforms having seven fire-altars in a

row.

c. The lower fortified town had two gateways.

e. The people of Kalibangan used mud-bricks for the construction of

houses, the use of burnt bricks has been found only in wells, drains
and pavements.

f .The cylindrical seals found at Kalibangan had an analogy in the

Mesopotamian counterpart. The discovery of inscribed sherds
clearly suggests that Indus script was written from right to left.

g. Excavations at Kalibangan revealed the evidence of the ploughed

field.

II. Coastal towns

(a) Lothal:
It was an important trading centre of the Indus civilisation and
situated near the bed of the Bhogavo River at the head of the Gulf of
Cambay in Gujarat. Lothal was excavated by S R. Rao which
brought to light five period sequences of cultures. It was one
rectangular settlement surrounded by a brick wall. Along the
eastern side of the town was a brick basin, which has been identified
as a dockyard by its excavator.
a) The house of a wealthy merchant yielded gold beads with axial
tubes and sherds of Reserved Slip Ware related to the Sumerian
origin indicating that the merchants were engaged in foreign trade.

b) Metal-workers, shell ornament makers and bead-makers shops

have been discovered here.

c) The discovery of the Persian Gulf seal and the Reserved Slip Ware
suggests that Lothal was engaged in the maritime activities.

(b) Sutkagendor:
Situated at a distance of 500 kms to the west of Karachi on the
Makran coast it functioned as a trading post of the Harappans. It
was originally a port of Harappan according to archaeologist Dales
but later cut off from the sea due to coastal uplift. Excavation at the
site revealed the two-fold division of the township into ‘citadel’ and
‘Lower city’.

(c) Balakot:
Situated at a distance of 98 km to the north west of Karachi this
coastal settlement yielded the relics of the pre-Harappan and
Harappan civilisation. Baked bricks were used in few drains but the
standard building material were the mud-bricks.

(d) Allahdino:
The excavations at Allahdino were undertaken by W. A. Fairservis
and are situated at a distance of 40 kms to the east of Karachi.
These coastal cities have yielded the remains of mud-brick
structures.

III. Other cities and township:

(a) Surkotada:
Situated about 270 km. north-west of Ahmedabad in Gujarat the
settlement pattern of Harappa, Mohenjo-Daro and Kalibangan was
repeated here. As at Kalibangan, both the citadel and the lower
town were fortified. There was also an inter-communicating gate
between the two.

In addition to mud- bricks, stone rubble was liberally used for

construction. In the last phase of this site, bones of horses, hitherto
unknown, have been discovered.

(b) Banawali:
Situated in the Hissar district of Haryana it was on the bank of the
river Rangoi, identified with the ancient bed of Sarasvati River. The
excavations conducted by R.S. Bisht have yielded two cultural
phases, Pre-Harappan and Harappan, similar to that of Kalibangan.

The Harappan phase showed significant departure from the

established norms of town-planning (chess-board pattern as in
Harappa, Mohenjo-Daro, etc.). The roads were neither always
straight, nor are they cut at right-angles. It lacked systematic
drainage system, a noteworthy feature of the Indus civilisation.

(c) Chanhudaro:
The township of Chanhudaro, situated about 130 km. south of
Mohenjodaro, consists of a single mound divided into several parts
by erosion. An evidence of material remains clearly shows that it
was the major centre of production for the beautiful seals.

The hoards of copper and bronze tools, castings, evidence of the

crafts like bead-making, bone items and seal making suggest that
Chandhudaro was mostly inhabited by artisans and crafts-men.
Excavations have also unearthed a furnace with a brick- floor used
for glazing steatite beads.

(d) Kot Diji:
Situated on the left bank of the Indus River about 50 km. east of
Mohenjo-Daro, the site of Kot Diji excavated by F.A. Khan Yields
two cultural phases’ pre-Harappan and Harappan civilisation.
Material remains discovered at the site are terracotta bulls, five
figurines of the Mother Goddess and large unbaked cooking brick-
lined ovens.

2. Polity and Society:

There is no clear idea about the political organization of the
Harappans. If the Harappan cultural zone is considered identical
with the political zone, the sub-continent did not witness such a
large political unit until the rise of the Maurya Empire. The
Harappans made the first ever experiment to bring about political
unity of the divergent geographical units of the civilisation without
the use of force.

The total absence of internecine wars, religious or political, speaks

volumes about the peaceful administration of the Indus state. It
would be wrong to think that priests ruled in Harappa, as they did
in the cities of lower Mesopotamia for we have no religions
structures of any kind except the Great Bath.

There are some indications of the practice of fire cult at Lothal in

the later phase, but no temples were used for the purpose. Perhaps
the Harappan rulers were more concerned with commerce than
with conquests, and it was possibly ruled by a class of merchants.

3. Social set-up:
An important characteristic of the Indus civilisation was its urban
life. The rural areas not only supported but often contributed to the
socio-cultural development. The social stratification is reflected in
the dwellings and disposition of the dead bodies in the graves.

4. Dress, Hairstyles and Ornaments:

The Harappan men wore robes which left one shoulder bare, and
the garments of the upper classes were often richly patterned.
Beards were worn, and men and women alike had long hair.

The elaborate head-dresses of the Mother Goddess probably had

their counter-parts in the festive attire of the richer women. The
women wore a short skirt that reached upto the knee; and it was
held by a girdle-a string of beads.

The coiffures of the women were often elaborate, and pigtails were
also popular, as in present-day India. Women loved jewellery and
wore heavy bangles in profusion, large necklaces, and earrings.
Mirrors of bronze were very common. It appears that the ladies at
Mohenjo-Daro knew the use of collyrium, face-paint and other
cosmetics. Chanhudaro finds indicate the use of lipsticks. Bronze
razors of various types served for the toilet of the male.

5. Amusements:
Kids played with terracotta toys such as rattles, birds shaped
whistle, bulls with movable heads, monkeys with movable arms,
figures which ran down strings, the favorite being the baked clay
cart.

Dice was used in gambling, marbles of jasper and chert were played
by rich children. Music and dance were secular. Hunting and fishing
was in vogue. On a few seals, hunting of wild rhino and antelope are
shown.

6. Religious Practices:
Except for the discovery of fire altars at Kalibangan, we have not
found any cult objects, temples at any of the Harappan sites. On the
basis of the material remains discovered at various Harappan sites
we can say that the Harappan people had many features of the later
Hinduism, such as worship of the Mother Goddess, Pashupati Siva,
animal worship, tree-worship, etc.

The chief female deity was Mother Goddess. In one terracotta

figurine found at Harappa, a plant is shown growing out of the
embryo of a woman. Probably the image represents the goddess of
earth. The Harappans, therefore, looked upon the earth as a fertility
goddess and worshipped her.

The most striking deity of the Harappan culture is the horned-deity

of the seals. He is depicted on three specimens, in two, seated on a
small dais, and in the third on the ground; in all three his posture is
cross-legged (sitting posture of a yogi). On the largest of the seals,
he is surrounded by four wild animals, an elephant, a tiger, a
rhinoceros and a buffalo, and beneath his feet appear two deer.

Marshall boldly called this god Proto-Siva, and the name has been
generally accepted; certainly the horned god has much in common
with the Siva of later Hinduism, who is, in his most important
aspect a fertility deity, is known as Pasupati, the Lord of Beasts.
Phallic worship was an important element of Harappa religion.

Many cone-shaped objects have been found, which almost certainly

formalized representation of the phallus are. The linga or phallic
emblem in later Hinduism is the symbol of the god Siva. The people
of the Indus region also worshipped trees. The picture of a deity is
represented on a seal in the midst of the branches of the pipal tree
which continues to be worshipped to this day.

Animals were also worshipped and many of them are represented

on seals. The most important of them is the humped bull. The
inhabitants of the Indus region thus worshipped gods in the form of
trees, animals and human beings. Amulets have been found in large
numbers. Probably the Harappans believed in ghosts and evil
forces.

7. Burial Practices:
Cemeteries excavated at several Indus sites like Mohenjodaro,
Harappa, Kalibangan, Lothal and Ropar throws light on the burial
practises of the Harappans. Three forms of burials have been found
at Mohenjo-Daro, viz., complete burials, (means the burial of the
whole body along with the grave goods) fractional burials, (burial of
some bones after the exposure of the body to wild beasts and birds)
and post-cremation burials.

From the Lothal cemetery comes evidence of another burial type

with several examples of pairs of skeletons, one male and one
female in each case, buried in a single grave. Bodies were always
placed in the north-south direction with the head in the north.

8. Economy:
The Harappan economy was based on irrigated surplus agriculture,
cattle rearing, proficiency in various crafts and brisk trade both
internal and external.

I. Agriculture:
The Harappan villages, mostly situated near the flood plains,
produced sufficient foodgrains not only to feed themselves but also
the town people. No hoe or ploughshare has been discovered, but
the furrows discovered in the pre-Harappan phase at Kalibangan
show that the fields were ploughed in Rajasthan in the Harappan
period.

The Harappans probably used the wooden ploughshare. We do not

know whether the plough was drawn by men or oxen. Stone sickles
may have been used for harvesting the crops. Gabarbands or nalas
enclosed by dams for storing water were a feature in parts of
Baluchistan and Afghanistan, but channel or canal irrigation seems
to have been absent.

The Indus people produced wheat, barley, rai, peas, etc. They
produced two types of wheat and barley. A good quantity of barley
has been discovered at Banawali. In addition to this, they produced
sesamum, mustard, dates and varieties of leguminous plants.

At Lothal and Rangpur, rice and spike- lets were found embedded in
clay and pottery. The Indus people were the earliest people to
produce cotton. Because cotton was first produced in this area the
Greeks called it Sindon, which is derived from Sindh.

II. Domestication of Animals:
Although the Harappans practised agriculture, animals were kept
on a large scale. Oxen, buffaloes, goats, sheeps and pigs were
domesticated. The humped bulls were favoured by the Harappans.
From the very beginning dogs were regarded as pets.

Cats were also domesticated. Asses and camels were used as beasts
of burden. Camel bones are reported at Kalibangan. Evidence of
horse are also reported from Mohenjodaro, Lothal and Surkotada.
Elephants and rhinoceros were well known to the Harappans.

III. Technology and Crafts:

The Harappan culture belongs to the Bronze Age. The people of
Harappa used many tools and implements of stone, but they were
very well acquainted with the manufacture and use of bronze.
Bronze was made by the smiths by mixing tin with copper.

Numerous tools and weapons recovered from the Harappan sites

suggest that the bronzesmiths constituted an important group of
artisans in the Harappan society. Objects of gold are reasonably
common, silver makes its earliest appearance in the Indus
civilization and was relatively more common than gold. Lead,
arsenic, antimony and nickel were also used by the Harappan
people.

The axes, chisels, knives, spearheads, etc., were made of bronze and
stone. They seem to have been produced on a mass-scale in place
like Sukkur. Two short copper swords found in Mohenjodaro are of
the slashing type and not cutting type.

As for craft specialization, the towns of Chanhudaro and Lothal

have yielded evidence of the presence of workshops of bead-makers.
Balakot, Lothal and Chanhudaro were centres for shell-working and
bangle- making.

Apart from them the evidences indicate the presence of potters,

stone masons, brick makers, seal cutters, traders, priests, etc. The
Harappans also practised boat making. Weavers wove cloth of wool
and cotton. Spindle whorls were used for spinning. The potter’s
wheel was in full use, and the Harappans produced their own
characteristic pottery, which was made glossy and shining. Most of
the time it means the use of a pinkish pottery with bright red slip
and standard representation of trees, birds, animals and geometric
motifs, in black.

No human figure is depicted on the pottery from Mohenjo-Daro but

a few pottery pieces discovered from Harappa portray a man and a
child. The Harappan pottery was highly utilitarian in character with
artistic touch.

The greatest artistic creations of the Harappans are the seals. About
2000 seals have been found, made of stealite, these seals range in
size from 1 cm to 5 cm. Two main types are seen. First, square with
a carved animal and inscription and second, rectangular with an
inscription only.

Stone sculptures and terracotta figurines have been reported from

various sites. Figurines made of fire-baked clay, commonly called
terracotta which were either used as toys or objects of worship. It
was used mainly by the common people and it represented
sophisticated artistic works.

9. Trade:
The importance of trade in the life of the Indus people is attested
not only by granaries found at Harappa, Mohenjo-Daro and Lothal
but also by the presence of numerous seals, uniform script and
regulated weights and measures in a wide area. They did not use
metal money. Most probably they carried on all exchanges through
barter.

In return for finished goods and possibly food grains, they procured
metals from the neighbouring areas by boats and bullock-carts.
Inter-regional trade was carried on with Rajasthan, Saurashtra,
Maharashtra, parts of western Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. Foreign
trade was conducted mainly with Mesopotamia or Sumeria (modern
Iraq) and Iran.

Their cities also carried commerce with those in the land of the
Tigris and the Euphrates. Discovery of many Indus seals in
Mesopotamia and evidence of imitation by the Harappans of some
cosmetics used by the urban people of Mesopotamia suggests that
some of the Harappan merchants must have resided or visited
Mesopotamia.

About two dozen Indus type seals were also discovered from
different cities of Mesopotamia like, Ur, Susa, Lagash, Kish and Tell
Asmar. Reciprocal evidence comes from the Indus cities also-
discovery of a circular button seals which belongs to a class of
Persian Gulf seals, several bun-shaped copper ingots of
Mesopotamian origin and the ‘Reserved Slip Ware’ of the
Mesopotamian type at Lothal.

All these provide conclusive proof of trade links between the two
civilisations. The Mesopotamian records from about 2350 B.C.
onwards refer to trade relations with Meluha, which was the ancient
name given to the Indus region, and they also speak of two
intermediate stations called ‘Dilmun’ (identified with Bahrain on
the Persian Gulf) and Makan (Makran Coast). Shortughai located
near Badakhsan in north-east Afghanistan was one of the Harappan
trading outpost, beyond the high passes of the Hindukush.

The Harappan cities did not possess the necessary raw material for
the commodities they produced and hence depended upon the
products imported from distant places. Main imports consisted of
precious metals like gold (from North Karnataka), silver (probably
from Afghanistan or Iran), Copper (from Khetri copper mines of
Rajasthan, Baluchistan and Arabia), lead (East and South India), tin
(Afghanistan and Hazaribagh in Bihar), and several semi-precious
stones like lapis lazuli (Badakshan in North-East Afghanistan),
turquoise (central Asia and Iran), amethyst (Maharashtra), agate
(Saurashtra), jade (central Asia), and chalcedonies and carnelians
(from Saurashtra and west India).

Main exports were several agricultural products and a variety of

finished products such as cotton goods, carnelian beads, pottery,
shell and bone inlays etc.

10. Weights and Measures:

The knowledge of script must have helped the recording of private
property and accounts-keeping. Numerous articles used for weights
have been found. They show that in weighting mostly 16 or its
multiples were used; for instance, 16, 64, 160, 320 and 640.

The Harappans also knew the art of measurement. The measures of

length were based upon a foot of 13.2 inches and a cubit of 20.6
inches. Several sticks inscribed with measure marks, one of these
made of bronze have been discovered.

11. Script and Language:

The Harappans invented the art of writing like the people of ancient
Mesopotamia. Although the earliest specimen of Harappan script
was noticed in 1853 and the complete script discovered by 1923, it
has not been deciphered so far. Unlike the Egyptians and
Mesopotamians, the Harappan did not write long inscriptions. Most
inscriptions were recorded on seals, and contain only a few words.
These seals may have been used by propertied people to mark and
identify their private property. Altogether there are about 250 to
400 pictographs, and in the form of picture each letter stands for
some sound idea or object.

The Harappan script is not alphabetical but mainly pictographic

since its sign represent birds, fish, varieties of the human form, etc.
and it was written from right to left like modern Urdu.

There are two main arguments as to the nature of the language; that
it belongs to the Indo- European or even Indo-Aryan family, or that
it belongs to the Dravidian family. Parpola and his Scandinavian
colleagues gave a hypothesis that the language was Dravidian.