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Characteristics, Decline, Survival and Significance

Characteristics, Decline, Survival and Significance

Section titled “Characteristics, Decline, Survival and Significance”

2020-04-27 11:40:17

Characteristics

Section titled “Characteristics”

General Characterstics

Section titled “General Characterstics”
  • Use of Burnt bricks on a large scale, not found in Egypt and Mesopotamia
  • No hoe or ploughshare, furrows used for ploughing except Kalibangan.
  • Channel or Canal irrigation

![[3.1 Origin, Date and Extent#Date|Characterstics]]

Citadel

Section titled “Citadel”
  • division of most town a raised citadel on the west and a lower town on east
  • built on a high podium, with mud bricks, contained large structures which might have functioned as administrative or ritual centres. lower city contained residential areas
  • At Mohenjodaro and Harappa it was surrounded by brick wall
  • Kalibangan both citadel and lower city surrounded by a wall,

General Layout

Section titled “General Layout”
  • The towns in Harappa were laid out in a rectangular grid pattern
  • streets ran from north to south in the lower city and cut at right angles. Areas were built in different times.
  • Harappa and Mohenjodaro baked bricks were used for buildings. In Kalibangan mud bricks were used.
  • Lothal has different layout, was rectangular settlement surrounded by a brick wall. It did not have any internal division and was not divided into citadel and lower city.
  • brick making organised on large scale because baked and unbaked bricks were of the same standard size
  • presence of a civic administration which would take decision for the sanitary requirements of all the townsmen as seen in cities like Mohenjodaro.

Buildings

Section titled “Buildings”
  • Mainly three types of buildings have been found in the excavation sites — dwelling houses, public buildings and public baths.
  • Great Bath at Mohenjodaro was one the bigger structures inside the citadel. It is approached at either end by flights of steps. bed of the bath was made water tight by the use of bitumen
  • Grananry, Assembly hall, residence of a high official are certain other buildings that have been observed in Mohenjodaro.
  • average citizen seems to have lived in the blocks of houses in the lower city had single room tenets and bigger houses too. No windows faced the street.

Art and Culture during Harappan Period

Section titled “Art and Culture during Harappan Period”
  • Terracotta toys are found in large numbers, motifs used were monkeys, dogs, sheeps etc.
  • Chanhudaro had a bead making workshop.
  • designs on the seals include a wide range of animals associated with groups of signs in a semi-pictographic script.
  • animal motifs used are the Indian bison, the Brahma bull, rhinoceros, tiger and elephant.
  • Seals also had a unicorn which could have had religious usage.
  • Pashupati seal is also famous is flanked by 4 animals :
    • Elephant
    • Rhinoceros
    • Water Buffalo
    • Tiger
    • Antelopes/Ibexes
  • What were certain terracotta objects made by the Harappans?
    • Figurines of animals eg Bulls, buffaloes, monkeys and dogs.
    • Female figurine
    • Toys, masks, faience bangles, rings, pendants etc.
  • Dholavira signboard indicated high level of Urban literacy and civic use of writing.
  • evidence of common script all over Harappa shows high level of cultural integration.
  • worship of female goddesses associated with fertility is one of the main features of Harappan religion.
  • What are some other examples of female figurines with likely cultic significance?
    • Slim Female figurines - wearing fan shaped headress, short skirt, heavily ornamented.
    • Matronly potbellied type
  • various shapes of seals were Square, reactangular, triangular and circular
  • Sealings were used by merchants to authenticate their bales of merchandise #important #concept
  • Languages on the seal was probably in the language of the ruling elite.
  • What could have been some uses of Harappan seals?
    • Tokens for buying and selling goods
    • Worn as Amulets
    • Identification markers
  • Seals found in Kunal and Nausharo shows connections with traders or elite groups.
  • Seals - generally square made of steatite, semi pictographic script
  • Terracotta sculptures in H. period was made using Pinching method
  • The painted pottery duing H. period is also known as Red and Black pottery. Most are wheel-made.
  • Girdles, earrings and anklets were worn only by women in Harappa.
    • Unicorn motifs were found in Mohenjodaro.
  • Bead making factories were discovered at Chanhudaro and Lothal.
  • Chanhudaro and Balakot were important centres of shell work.
  • Symbols similar to Harappan writing have been found at early H. levels at Padri, Kalibangan, Dholavira and Harappa.
  • Horned deity was found painted on a jar in Kot Diji,Rehman Dheri
  • And in terracotta cakes in Kalibangan, shows a process of cultural convergence
  • Elephants appears on seals. Tigers in figurines.
  • Beads - barrel shaped, trefoil patterns
  • Finds are very limited and do not have variety as seen in Egypt or Mesopotamia

Pottery/Material Culture

Section titled “Pottery/Material Culture”
  • Most of Harappan pottery is plain, but a substantial part is treated with a red slip and black painted decoration of horizontal lines of varied thickness, leaf patterns, scales, chequers, lattice mrk, palm and pipal trees. Birds, fishes and animal. Potteries were stamped suggesting that they were traded
  • Tools show striking degree of uniformity in design. basic tools types were flat axe, chisels, knives, spear heads and arrowheads for copper and bronze implements. Later stages had daggers, knives and flat tang.
  • Pottery that is red with designs painted in black having a range of forms and motifs.
  • Terracotta cakes usually triangular and sometimes round.
  • Standardised bricks in 1:2:4 ratio.
  • Typical Harappan pottery is a fine,sturdy, wheel-made ware with a bright red slip decorated with painted black designs.
  • Polychrome painting is rare. Red was made from red ochre and black from reddish-brown iron oxide and black manganese
  • Rabbits, peacocks, pigeons, ducks, monkeys and wild fowls are represented in figurines, paintings and on pottery.
  • Terracotta figurines used as toys or cult figures,

Bronze and other Sculptures

Section titled “Bronze and other Sculptures”
  • the techniques of casting bronze and copper were known.
  • bronze dancing nude figure discovered in Mohenjodaro.
    • head drawn backwards, nude, bangles, hand on hip, plaited hair.
  • bronze figurines of a buffalo and a ram shows their stance.
  • Two little toy carts of bronze are also fairly well known objects.
  • stone sculpture of a bearded head found in Mohenjodaro.
  • Harappans do not seem to have used stone or bronze for their artistic creations on a large scale. The findings of such works are rare.
  • Bronze Buffalo and ram, toy carts
  • Stone sculpture of bearded man, upper lip shaved, half closed eyes, cloak across left shoulder
  • Male torsos at Harappa
  • Two metal iron objects were found in Lothal.

Subsistence

Section titled “Subsistence”
  • Bones of boars, buffaloes, elephants and camels have also been found from many settlement.
  • Elephants seems to have been domesticated.
  • Two varieties of wheat are frequently found in Harappan sites. Barley, Pea has been found. Rice husk has been found in Lothal and Cotton cloth in Mohenjodaro.
  • Wooden plough was used in Kalibangan since a furrowed field was found here. more than one crop was grown since the furrows were widely spaced in one direction and widely spaced in another.

Trade and Economy

Section titled “Trade and Economy”
  • Tax collected by rich urban class control over the wealth - buildings constructed and the acquisition of luxury items from foreign lands
  • Harappa : copper mines of Raj, Lapis Lazuli and turquoise from Afghanistan and Hindu Kush, Gold from Kashmir Karnataka, Indus river and its tributaries provided for river trade and timber from Kashmir. Jodhpura, Ganeshwar would have also provided them with copper. Gold from Kolar gold fields of Karnataka. Silver might have been imported from Iran and Afghanistan
  • Villages produced agricultural goods and depended on other bigger cities which were hub of trade and manufacturing. Both large and small settlements gold has been discovered.
  • Harappans : uniform systems of weights, measures weights followed a binary system in lower denominations : 1, 2, 4, 8, to 64, then going to 160 and then in decimal multiples of 16, 320, 640 etc.
  • Balakot - shell working centre
  • two dozen seals, either Harappan or made in imitation of Harappan seals, have been found in the Mesopotamian cities like Susa, Ur, etc
    • Recently same of Persian Gulf ancient sites ‘like Failaka and Behrain have also yielded Harappan seals
    • In Mesopotamian city of Nippur a seal has been found with Harappan script, unicorn shown on it
    • In Lothal a circular button seal found. This seal has been found in, Large numbers in the excavations at port at Behrain
  • Indus dice types (1/2,3/6,4/5) were found in the Mesopotamian cities of Ur, Nippur and Tell Asmar
  • beads having distinctive designs have been found in Mesopotamia.
  • Meluha mentioned in Mesopotamian literature has been identified as Indus Valley region, Magan referred to Makran coast, also mentions Meluhans living in Mesopotamia an official interpreter of Meluhan language. Thus trade b/w them was not indirect.
  • Terracotta model of ship was found in Lothal, brick basin was also found there.
  • H carnelian beads were found in Royal burials in Mesopotamia. Bull motif on Mesopotamian seals also found.
  • H objects found at Turkemenistan at Namazga and Khapuz.
  • Objects found include ivory dice, metal objects, ithyphallic figure, perforated wares, beads etc.
  • Harappan objects found in Persian Gulf include Jar fragments, ivory piece, ithyphallic figure, circular mirror, seals with Harappan motifs.
  • Imports from Oman to Harappa include chlorite vessels, shell and mother of pearl.
  • What are the imports mentioned by Mesopotamian texts from Meluha?
    • Lapis Lazuli
    • Carnelian
    • Gold, Silver, Copper
    • Ebony, Ivory
    • Dog, Cat, Monkey
  • Harappans imported :
    • Lapis Lazuli from Afghanistan or Chagai Hills in Baluchistan.
    • Jade from Turkmenistan
    • Tin from Ferghana and Kazakhastan
    • Copper from Khetri mines, Lead and Zinc also came from Rajasthan

Society

Section titled “Society”
  • Dress type could be identified from terracotta figurines and from examining skeletal remains.
  • Men dress wrapped around lower half, one end worn over left shoulder and under the right arm-like the modern saree.
  • kilt and shirt worn by both men and women, men arranged their hair in various I ways sometimes making buns and using headbands. They also used/wore ornaments like rings, bracelets etc.
  • Women seem to have used ornaments on their waist. Women wore a large number of necklaces. bangles were also worn. Both men and women had long hairs.
  • used cotton clothes also that in one sculpture the cloth was shown as having trefoil pattern and red colours
  • Harappans of Sind and Punjab ate wheat and barley as their staple food. Those who stayed in towns of Rajasthan had to be content with barley only. The Harappans of Gujarat in places like Rangpur and Surkotdla preferred rice and millet.
  • one noticeable script did not change all through life of the Harappan Civilization meaning the script was not used commonly
  • the time of the emergence of the Harappan Civilization many ‘Early Harappan’ sites like Kot Diji and Kalibangan were burnt down could be because of accidental fire. Weapons have been reported. Some sites have unburied corpses.
  • Bead making was imp craft beads of Carnelian, Lapis Lazuli, Agate Jasper have been found. potters, copper and bronze workers, stone workers, builders of houses, brick makers and seal-cutters must have lived in Harappan towns
  • the administrators, the traders and the priests would have been the most affluent class.
  • Running a granary, making of uniform bricks and weight standards, sewage maintenance, uniformity of bronze sculptures show some sort of centralization in the society possibly a municipality like body would have taken such activities.
  • Cities would have emerged as politico economic power.

Religion and Religious Practices

Section titled “Religion and Religious Practices”
  • Certain buildings inside the citadel and lower town have reported large number of stone sculptures, could have been temples. But huge Egyptian like temples are missing.
  • A large building with hallway leading an upraised platform with the bearded man’s statue was found. He may have been a priest and the building a temple.
  • great bath has been suggested as being used for ritual bathing.
  • Pashupati seal - Proto shiva by some surrounded by animal possibly being ithyphalic. Another seal shows people worshipping a nude horned deity. A seal is seen where a yogi with snake is seen. A shiva lingam and yoni looking terracotta been found
  • Mother Goddess motifs have been found. Human figures with horns in seals and a man battling 2 tigers have been found.
  • Tree spirits - worshipped especially Pipal tree which has been found in sealings.
  • Animal worship and mythical beasts could also have have some cultic significance.
  • Fire altar in Kalbangan have charred bones in them may be used for ritual or sacrifices.
  • Dead bodies in north-south orientation, Bodies were laid on their back, large number of earthen pots placed in grave, other grave goods like necklace, bangles etc have also been found ^00a545
    • coffin burial at Harappa. At Kalibangan some other kinds of burial practices were encountered
    • Urn burial found but without skeletal remains
    • Male, Female buried together have been found from Lothal
    • Another aspect of fertility beliefs of the H. was the worship of male and female creative energies in the form of lingas and yonis.
    • Most common method of burial in H. was to place the body in an extended position with head towards north in a simple pit or brick chamber.
  • What could have been certain other usages of Lingas and Yonis?
    • Architectural use
    • Astronomical calculations
    • Grinders/ unfinished weights
  • What other objects could have had cultic significance?
    • Plants like Pipal tree
    • Animals eg humped/humpless bull, tiger, snake, elephant, rhino etc.
    • Unicorn

Polity

Section titled “Polity”
  • Weapons are not a dominant feature of artefact found at Harappan sites.
  • What does 700 years of continuity suggest for H. civilization? Strong Political stability
  • What suggests that a central polity existed in Harappa?
    • Uniformity in materials like bricks
    • Common scripts
    • Standardised weights
    • Little evidence of warfare
    • Site speicalization
    • Shortughai as trade site
    • Mobilisation of labour
  • What suggests that the H. state was decentralised?
    • Absence of royal tombs, palaces, temples.
    • Artefacts are distributed equally at sites
    • Precious/ semi percious metals stones discovered in small villages

Decline

Section titled “Decline”
  • Cities like Harappa, Mohenjodaro and Kalibangan experienced gradual decline in urban planning and construction. Houses were being made of old bricks, construction of them encroached streets and were haphazard in shape. Cities were turning into slums.
  • Entry points to Mohenjodaro’s Great bath was blocked and later it and the granary fell into disuse.
  • Distinct reduction in the-number of sculptures, figurines, beads, bangles and inlay works was seen.
  • Harappa was marked by the arrival of a new group of people marked by their burial practice called the Cemetery H culture.
  • The population and the settlements around the core area of Harappa, Mohenjodaro and Bahawalpur decreased but those around areas of Gujarat, East Punjab, Haryana and upper Doab increased. This could have been due to emigration of people from the core region.
  • writing, uniform weights, Harappan pottery and architectural style had disappeared.
  • Mesopotamian literature stops referring to Meluhha by the end of 1900 B.C.

Theories of Sudden Decline

Section titled “Theories of Sudden Decline”

Floods and Earthquakes

Section titled “Floods and Earthquakes”
  • In Mohenjodaro various periods of occupation were separated by evidences of deep flooding and clayey silt as high as 80 feet.
  • R. Sutlej could have changed its course or due to the sudden rise in Arabian sea coastline
R.L. Raikes Catastrophic Flooding
Section titled “R.L. Raikes Catastrophic Flooding”
  • prolonged submergence of cities around Indus
  • earthquakes/tectonic movts raised level of flood plains in lower Indus level Leading to the formation of lake swallowed Mohenjodaro
  • coastal town hampered due tectonic movements
H.T. Lambrick
Section titled “H.T. Lambrick”
  • river would be dammed in such a manner by tectonic uplifts is incorrect because
  • large water of Indus could have easily breached the bund created by an earthquake.
  • deposition of silt might not have been the result of flooding.
  • fails to explain decline outside the Indus valley

Barbarian Invasions

Section titled “Barbarian Invasions”
  • Ramparasad Chanda 1926 and Mortimer Wheeler 1947 were proponents
  • Wheeler believed that the Harappan civilization was destroyed by the Aryan invaders.
  • Late Phases at Mohenjodaro has evidences of Massacre. Rig Veda mentions the destruction of fortresses of Dasas and Dasyus and Indra has been called as Purandhara or the destroyer of forts.
  • the Rig Veda mentions a place called Hariyupiya identified as Harappa on the banks of river Ravi.
  • Aryans on the other hand are believed to have arrived here not earlier than a period around 1500 B.C whereas Harappa decline in 1800 BC.
    • massacre could have been caused by bandits from hilly regions.

Theories of Gradual Decline

Section titled “Theories of Gradual Decline”
  • Mohenjodaro and Dholavira give a picture of gradual decline while at Kalibangan and Banawali life ended all of a sudden
  • overlap b/w late Harappan and PGW culture at sites like Bhagwanpura and Dadheri in Haryana and Katpalon and Nagar in Punjab.
  • overlap b/w Harappan and OCP levels in Bargaon and Ambakheri in Western UP.

Shifting away of the Indus

Section titled “Shifting away of the Indus”
  • A/C to Lambrick the change of course was the reason for decline.
  • Shift led to dec in food production and water, silt was result of wind deposition and from the decaying of bricks
  • does not explain the decline of other settlements
  • People of Mohenjodaro could have easily moved towards the changed course of the river.

Increased Aridity and Drying Up of the Ghaggar

Section titled “Increased Aridity and Drying Up of the Ghaggar”
  • dec in moisture water availability. In semi-arid regions of Harappa this could create a major disaster.
  • tectonic disturbance - to change in course of Ghaggar’s tributaries Sutlej and Yamuna
  • difficult to date drying of river, more info required

Ecological Imbalance

Section titled “Ecological Imbalance”
  • caused increase in floods and droughts in an already semi-arid precarious area and completed by raids from surrounding areas
  • fertility of soil in the subsequent periods did not decrease
  • More information would be required to calculate subsistence of H

Man Made Reasons for Decling

Section titled “Man Made Reasons for Decling”
  • What man made reasons could have been the cause of decline of H. civ?
    • Over cultivation
    • Over grazing
    • Deforestation for fuel and farming

Survival

Section titled “Survival”
  • Jhukar pottery in use in Amri, Chanhudaro, Jhukar etc have shown similarity to the Mature Harappan pottery.
  • Metal objects here have shown contact with central asian and Iranian influences vzi axes, copper pins, shaft hole etc and circular stamp seals.
  • Indo Iranian borderlands show the use of copper stand seals and copper shaft hole axes in sites like Mundigak, Nausharo and Pirak indicating contact with Iran
  • In Rajasthan, Punjab and Haryana sites like Mitathal, Bara, Ropar and Siswal have shown Ochre coloured pottery.
  • In Kutch and Saurashtra places like Rangapur and Somnath have shown continuity in ceramic traditions.
  • These harappan settlements would have merged with the regional and local settlements of the area and slowly the regional cultures of pottery etc replaced the Harappan ones.
  • The cults of Pasupati (Siva) and of the mother goddess and phallic worship seem to have come down to us from the Harappan tradition.
  • the cult of sacred places, rivers or trees and sacred animals show a distinct continuity in the subsequent historic civilization of India. The evidence of fire worship and sacrifice in Kalihgan and Lothal is significant
  • traditional weight and currency system of India, based on a ratio of sixteen as the unit, was already present in the Harapp civilization
  • techniques Bf making potter’s wheel in modern India is similar to those used by the Harappans
  • Bullock carts and boats used in modem India were already present in the Harappan cities

Significance

Section titled “Significance”
  • #todo
  • Its significance would be unique features of Society, Polity, Economy and Art and Culture and their continuity seen today in the Modern world.

[[fess103.pdf]] - Our Pasts In the Earliest Cities

PYQS

Section titled “PYQS”
  1. Give an appraisal of town planning of the Indus cities and evaluate the various reasons for their decline. [1979, 60m]
  1. Discuss the trade, cultural contacts and the extents of the Indus Civilization within and outside India and describe in detail any one of the Indus sites within India. [1980, 60m]
  1. How do you account for the decline of the major cities of the Indus Valley Civilization? [1984, 20m]
  1. “On circumstantial evidence Indra stands convicted.” Explain, and discuss briefly different views about a sudden end of the Indus Valley civilization. How would you explain the presence of those elements in Indian culture and civilization which are found to have existed in the Indus Valley period? [1986, 60m]
  1. “The Indus Civilization had an abrupt end.” Discuss the statement and explain how the Indus Civilization could influence Indian culture in its later history. [1988, 60m]
  1. Write a short essay on: “External trade of the Harappans.” [1991, 20m]
  1. Write a brief essay on: “The burial customs in the Indus Civilization.” [1993, 20m]
  • ![[#^00a545]]
  • SSH material answer from page 46
  1. Discuss the pattern of trade during the Indus Valley civilization. How far did it affect the nature of contemporary settlements in the Indian sub-continent? [1994, 60m]
  1. Write a short essay on: “The Religion of the Indus Civilization.” [1996, 20m]
  • [[#Religion and Religious practices]]
  • SSH Material answer from page 41
  1. “The continuity of the Indus Civilization into later ages was not confined to the religious and spiritual fields alone.” Analyse the statement. [1997, 60m]
  • [[3.1 Origin, Date and Extent#Continuity of H Civ to Modern Indian Practices : OptionalPYQ]]
  • SSH answer from page 43
  • Tilak, Bangles, waste chain, Anklets, Swastikas, Bathing Platform, Yogic practices namaste expression, fire altars, cotton, toys, hopscotch game, masks,
  1. Discuss salient features of the Indus Valley Civilization. Mention important places from where relics of civilization have been recovered so far. Examine causes of its decline. [1999, 60m]
  1. Analyze the elements of urban civilization in the Harappan Culture. What factors were responsible for its decline? [2002, 60m]
  • Urban Characters from : [[#General Characterstics]]
  • [[#Theories of Sudden Decline]]
  1. Trace the development of urbanization from the third millennium B.C.E. to 6th century B.C.E. [2011, 60m]
  1. Evaluate the significance of seals and sealings in the reconstruction of socio-economic and religious life of the Harappan people. [2012, 30m]
  1. Discuss the water management and its conservation planning in the Harappan (Indus-Saraswati) cities. [2013, 20m]
  • presence of a civic administration which would take decision for
  • Allahdino
  • Wells had narrow diameters for water to rise.
  • Lothal
  • Dockyard at eastern edge, trapezoidal enclosed by walls, provisons of maintiaining regular level through sluice gate and spill channel.
  • Dholavira - advanced hydraulic engineering for conservation, harvesting, storage. Reservoirs built of stone response to desert climate 16 such reserv
  1. Do you think the Harappan civilization had a diversity of subsistence base? [2014, 15m]
  1. The decline of Harappan civilization was caused by ecological degradation rather than external invasion. Discuss. [2015, 15m]
  1. Explain why the majority of the known Harappan settlements are located in the semi-arid areas with saline groundwater. [2016, 20 Marks]
  1. Critically examine various views regarding the Vedic-Harappan relationship in light of the latest discoveries. [2017, 15 Marks]
  1. “Archaeological evidence does not give direct access to the possible social and political dimensions of the decline of the Harappan civilization. What it does indicate very clearly is that the Harappan culture underwent a gradual process of de-urbanization”? [2018, 15 Marks]

Footnotes

Section titled “Footnotes”

  1. https://indianexpress.com/article/india/climate-change-decline-in-indus-valley-civilization-harappan-society-5452640/ ↩

  2. https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/energy-and-environment/climate-change-likely-led-to-fall-of-indus-valley-civilisation-says-study/article32521221.ece ↩