INDUS VALLEY

CIVILIZATION
Presented by:

Devjyoti Das
University of Engineering and Management,
Kolkata
Dept of General Studies
The Phase of Civilizations
• The human civilization took off around
5000 years ago, in four separate areas
of intense AGRICULTURAL activity.
• Farming villages turned into towns,
and then into cities.
• From these centres eventually rose the
first civilizations of the world- all of
them located in broad river valleys, like
the Tigris and the Euphrates
(Mesopotamia), the Nile (Egypt), the
Indus (India) and the Hwang-Ho
(China).
• Although each civilizations developed
independently, yet there are striking
similarities between them. One of the
obvious features was the large cities.
 TIMELINE

Matured Harappan Phase:

Pre-Harappan settlements Mohenjodaro is a thriving Excavation of Harappan
in Cholistan (Pakistan) trade city sites starts

~4000 BC ~3300 BC 2600 BC-1800 BC 1700 BC 1920 AD 1980 AD

Small villages are being Degenration Starts: Mohenjodaro is declared as

built in and around Mohenjodaro falls into UNESCO World Heritage
Mohenjodaro decline and is later Site.
abandoned
 INTRODUCTION
• Indus Valley Civilization is considered as an indelible landmark in Ancient Indian History for
presenting to the world the most advanced and well-defined culture.
• The Harappan civilisation was the first urban civilisation in South Asia, contemporaneous with
the civilisations of Mesopotamia and Egypt.

• It has various synonyms such as: -

• Indus Valley Civilisation
• Harappan Civilisation
• Saraswati-Sindhu Civilization
• Earlier historians had called this civilisation the Indus Valley Civilisation, but since then, major
settlements have been excavated in the Ghaggar-Hakra belt that spread far beyond the Indus
region. Harappa, as the first archaeological site to be discovered, therefore gives its name to the
entire civilisation. It forms a part of the proto-history of India, and belongs to the Bronze Age.
 INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION

• It is more appropriate to call it as Harappan Civilisation as Harappa is the

first site, the excavation of which brought this civilisation to light.
Harappan society and its neighbours, 2000 BC
 DISCOVERY
• It was discovered by numerous scientists
and archaeologists in 1921.
• The discovery of Harappa, and soon
afterwards, Mohenjo-Daro, was the
culmination of work beginning in 1861 with
the founding of the Archaeological Survey
of India by Alexander Cunningham in the
British Raj.
• Excavation of Harappan sites has been
ongoing since 1920, with important
breakthroughs occurring as recently as
1999.
• The dig began in 1920 led by archaeologist
Rai Bahadur Daya Ram Sahni.
 DISCOVERY
• Dayaram Sahni discovered Harappa on
the bank of river Ravi in 1921
• Rakhal Das Bannerjee discovered
Mohenjodaro on Indus in 1922.
• Until this discovery, the scholars around
the world believed that history of India
practically began with the coming of the
Aryans
• Harappa formed the part of Indian proto-
history and belongs to bronze age.
• The Mediterranean, Proto-Austroloid and
the Mongoloids formed the bulk of the
population (Mediterranean origin??)
GEOGRAPHY
• Covered parts of Punjab, Sindh, Balochistan,
Gujarat and parts of Uttar Pradesh.
• Few sites are also found in Afghanistan.
• To the West of Mohenjo-Daro are the
Highlands. North East of Mohenjodaro are
the Himalayan mountains.
 GEOGRAPHY
• From west to east the
Indus civilization covered • The shape of the civilization
MANDA (J&K)
an area of 1600 km and was triangular covering an
from north to south of area of about 12,50,000 sq.
1100 km.
km

SUTKAGENDOR ALAMGIRPUR
(Balochistan) (Western UP)

• All the settlements are • According to available

radiocarbon dates, the oldest
located on the river banks of
agricultural settlement in the
Indus and Saraswati. Indian subcontinent is
DAIMABAD Mehrgarh.
(Maharashtra)
 Streets and Buildings – Town Planning
• Very elaborate- followed grid system
• Harappan cities such as Mohenjodaro,
Harappa, Kalibangan, Dholavira &
Surkotada, were divided into two parts - a
fortified settlement on the high mounds
called ‘Citadels’ and the main residential
areas called ‘lower town’. ‘Citadel’ was
smaller in area than the ‘lower town’ and
located to the west of the cities.
 Streets and Buildings – Town Planning
• Roads were straight and cut at right angles.
Evidence of presence of lamp post has
been found
• Used burnt bricks for construction.
• Evidence of sophisticated drainage system.
Drains were made of mortar, lime and
gypsum.
• Bathrooms were tiled.
• Few buildings were of two storeys.
Artist’s impression of a typical IVC city showing well developed drainage system.
Cities were very sophisticated with advanced sewage systems
 Mohenjo-Daro: The First Planned City?
• Mohenjo-Daro (literally means mound
of Dead) was built on a plateau to deal
with unpredictable river flooding.

• The Great Bath is the most important public place,

measuring 39 ft (L) X 23 ft (B) X 8 ft (D), located at the
centre of the citadel.
• Important findings -Granary, Big Halls, Bronze
dancing girl, idol of a priest, numerous seals.
• GREAT GRANERY – LARGEST BUILDING OF IVC
Mohenjo-daro : aerial view
Mohenjo-daro - view of the “Citadel”
 Harappa: A Merchant City
• It was the first site to be excavated in 1921
under the leadership of Dayaram Sahni.
• City trade went as far as Mesopotamia, Persia
and southern India
• Traded intensively in gold, ivory, spices, cloth
and copper
• GREAT GRANARY - Two rows of six granary
• First to grow cotton and produce cloth
• Due to its location Harappa is called as the
Gateway City.
View of a small, side street A bathroom on a private residence
 Other Important Cities
• Chanhudaro:
• Situated 80 miles south of Mohenjodaro.
• Residents of this town were skilled craftsmen as seen in beads, seals and ornaments.
• No evidence of fortified structure is found in Chanhudaro. It is the only Indus city without
any citadel.
• An Industrial town. (Lancashire of India)
• Lothal :
• It is known for its dockyard, the world’s first tidal port.
• Remains of rice husk found.
• Evidence of a game similar to chess was found.
• It is known for sea-trade with contemporary western societies
 Other Important Cities
• Kalibangan
• Literal meaning of Kalibangan - black
bangle.
• Important discovery: Ploughed field
• Ropar:
• First site to be excavated after
independence.
• Buildings are made of soil and stone.
 Other Important Cities

• Surkotada (Gujarat) :
• Both citadel and lower town are fortified with a stone wall.
• It provides the first actual remains of a horse.
• Rakhigarhi (Haryana)
• Seal-bearing inscriptions have been found.
• Largest site in India.
• Sutkagendor
• Located in Sindh, an important coastal town
• It said that Sutkagendor was originally a port, which was
Dancing Girl bronze statue
later cut off from sea due to coastal upliftment.
was found at Mohenjodaro
 Agriculture
• Most Indus Valley people were farmers.
They grew wheat, barley, peas, sesame,
mustard, cotton and rice.
• Fields were ploughed with wooden plough
in Kalibangan, where evidence of mixed
farming is also found
• Domesticated animals like dogs, cats,
cattle but NOT horse.
• First to cultivate cotton and weave into
cloth
 Religious life

• Harappan people had features of

Hinduism, such as worship of the mother
Goddess, Pashupati, Shiva, Scared
animals, trees, etc.
• Clay figures of the mother goddess as the
symbol of fertility have been found.
• At Kalibangan, fire altars have been
discovered.
• Harappans believed in animal worship.
• Pipal tree was the most worshipped tree.
 Trade and Commerce

• Coins were not evident. Trade was carried through barter

system
• Bangle making factory at Kalibangan and bead making Lapiz Lazuli
factory at Chanhudaro and Lothal- goods were exported.
• Every merchant family probably had a seal bearing an
emblem. Primary purpose was to mark ownership of
property.
• They imported metals like Gold from Karnataka, Silver and
Tin from Afghanistan, Copper from Khetri (Rajasthan) , Jade
and Turquoise from Central Asia and Lapis Lazuli from Jade
Badakashan (Afghanistan) and Kashmir.
 Seals of Harappa

• Seals were made of Steatite (soft stone).

• Majority of the seals have an animal engraved on them with a short .
• Unicorn is the animal most frequently represented on the seals.
• The famous Bull Seal was found in Mohenjodaro.
 Script and Language
• Script and language are
undeciphered.
• Script is pictographic in
nature. Fish symbol is
the most represented.
Overlapping of letters show that it was
written from right to left in first line and
then left to right in the next line. This style
is called Boustrophedon.

Banner at the North Gate of Dholavira

 Causes of Decline

• Harappan civilization ended by the early 1700s BC. Signs of decline

begin around 1750 BC
• The end of this civilization is contested by many. Few explanations
include invasion by Aryans, which has been rejected
• Other explanation suggests recurring floods in some locations as well as
prolonged drought in some places due to the drying of river Saraswati
and changing of the course of Indus
• Break up in the social structure may also have taken place, accompanied
by the struggle with the immigrants which led to its decay.