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Economics in Ancient India

Approximately 5,000 years ago a complex civilization emerged in the

Indus River valley between modern day countries of Pakistan and India. By
about 2600 BCE this civilization had reached what scholars call its mature
phase, or the height of civilized organization. This determination comes almost
exclusively from archaeological finds from the excavation of the three large
Indus Valley Civilization sites: Harappa in the highlands, Ganweriwala nearly
200 miles to the southwest, and Mohenjo-Dara in the lowlands. There are many
cultural and material similarities between these different sites, as well as
between the many small sites. This has led some scholars to assume that this
civilization may have been united in some way, possibly with a capital at
Mohenjo-Dara. But other scholars disagree and believe that these different
cities may have shared a similar culture but were largely autonomous.

The uncertainty surrounding the Indus Valley Civilization has to do with

the fact that so little is known about this ancient civilization. For example, a
great number of clay tablets and seals have been discovered that show a form
of writing. But scholars have yet to decipher this writing. This leaves a rather
large gap in our understanding of this civilization and its origin and legacy.

There are many things, however, that we do know about the Indus Valley
Civilization. For example, archaeological excavations have shown that the cities
were built with careful planning. The cities were built in grid-like patterns
where streets crossed each other at ninety degree angles. The cities had huge
public buildings, large baths possibly used for ritual purposes, and public
granaries. There is also strong evidence that this civilization had a highly
advanced understanding of hydrological engineering. The cities have what
appear to be large drainage systems with manholes possibly used for clearing
out waste.

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 There is strong evidence also for an extensive trading links between the
Indus Valley Civilization and many other areas, including Central Asia,
Afghanistan, Persia, southern India, and Mesopotamia. The evidence for these
trade links has emerged through years of careful archaeological work. Here is
some of the evidence:

 Copper: Sources for copper found in the Indus Valley Civilization sites
may have been as close as Baluchistan (western Pakistan) or as far as
Afghanistan or Southern India.
 Tin: Tin is rare in India and Pakistan. The tin brought to the Indus Valley
could therefore have come from Afghanistan or even Bengal.
 Gold: There is evidence for a trade in gold going between the Indus Valley
and points afar, including Persia, Kandahar, Afghanistan, and Southern
India.
 Turquoise: Turquoise was sometimes used for beads in the Indus Valley,
and it was likely imported from north-eastern Persia, a place still famous
for its turquoise.
 Lapis lazuli: Lapis lazuli is a bright blue rock which was often used for
decoration in the Ancient Near East. It is rare in the Indus Valley, but
examples of some Lapis lazuli jewelry have been found. Some have
suggested that the existence of this Lapis lazuli jewelry indicates that the
Indus Valley Civilization may have imported them from the Near East
civilizations of Sumer. But there is also evidence that Lapis lazuli jewelry
was manufactured in the Indus Valley, and the stones may have come
from Afghanistan, which is much closer than Mesopotamia.

The suggestion that the Lapis lazuli jewelry found in the Indus Valley may
have come from Mesopotamia touches on a longstanding mystery with regards
to trade and the Indus Valley Civilization. Archaeological work in Mesopotamia
has uncovered many Indus Valley originating objects. This suggests that there
was trade contact between the great civilizations of ancient Mesopotamia and
the Indus Valley Civilization. But the mystery is that so far no objects

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definitively determined to have come from Mesopotamia have been found at
Indus Valley sites. At first sight, this makes no sense. How could trade, one
might ask, have only worked in one direction? One possible answer to this
question is that trade wasn’t just in one direction, but the Indus Valley traders
imported only raw materials and perishable items like food.

What might account for this form of trading pattern? The answer might have
something to do with the social structure in the Indus Valley. The emphasis on
sanitation, the formal layout of the cities, and the absence of a wealth-based
social stratification, suggests that the Indus Civilization may not have been
stratified based on class. Rather, caste, which is a social ordering that doesn’t
allow movement between groups, may have been the driving social
organization. If this is true, the caste system may have made those in the Indus
Valley reluctant to bring in foreign trade goods in the same way that they were
resistant to marriages between different castes. And the fact that elite status
was not determined based on material wealth would have also made the
importation of exotic foreign goods less desirable and less common.

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Reading Analysis

As you read the short history above, complete the following chart with
notes.

Characteristics of the Indus Valley Civilization

Unknowns from the Indus Valley Civilization

Trade in the Indus Valley Civilization

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Short Essay

Using what you have learned from the reading, write a short essay
describing the trading patterns of the Indus Valley Civilization. Consider the
goods traded, the trading networks, and how we know about the trading
patterns of this ancient civilization.

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