Harappan/Indus Civilization

 Harappan/Indus Civilization :

Ø  MOHENJODARO – the largest sites of Indus Civilization,

RAHIGARHI – the largest Indian site of Indus Civilization

Ø  Common Features of Major Cities :

1.      Systematic town-planning on the lines of ‘grid system’.

2.      Use of burnt bricks in constructions.

3.      Underground drainage system (giant water reservoirs in Dholavira).

4.      Fortified citadel (exception - Chanhudaro).

Ø  SURKOTADA (Kutchch district, Gujarat) : the only Indus site where the remains of a horse have actually been found.

Ø  Main Crops : Wheat and barley; Evidence of cultivation of rice in Lothal and Rangpur (Gujarat) only.

Other Crops : Dates, mustard, sesamum, cotton etc. Indus people were the first to produce cotton in the world.

Ø  Animals : Sheep, goat, humped and humpless bull, buffalo, boar, cat, dog, pig, fowl, deer, tortoise, elephant, camel, rhinoceros, tiger etc.

Ø  Lion was not known to Indus people. From Amari, a single instance of the Indian rhinoceros has been reported.

Ø  There was extensive inland and foreign trade. Foreign trade with Mesopotamia or Sumeria (Modern Iraq), Bahrain etc. flourished.

Ø  Exports : Agricultural products, cotton goods, terracotta figurines, pottery, certain beads (from Chanhudaro), conch-shell (from Lothal), ivory products, copper etc.

Ø  A very interesting features of this civilization was that Iron was not known to the people.

Ø  The Sumerian texts refer to trade relations with ‘Melha’ which was the name given to the Indus region.

Ø  Shatughai and Mundigaq were the Indus sites found in Afghanistan.

Ø  The Sumerian texts also refer to two intermediate stations- Dilmun (Bahrain) and Makan (Makran coast). Susa and Ur are Mesopotamian places where Harappan seals were found.

Ø  The Harappans were the earliest people to produce cotton(it was called ‘Sindon’ by the greek).

Ø  As there is no evidence of coins, barter is assumed to have been the normal method of goods.

Ø  Lothal was an ancient port of Indus Civilization.

Ø  The Indus Civilization was primarily urban.

Ø  The Harappan people didn’t worship their gods in temple. No temple in  fact has been unearthed. An idea of their religion is formed from the statues and figurines found.

Ø  The most commonly found figurine is that of Mother-Goddess (Matridevi or Shakti). There is evidence of prevalence of Yoni (female sex organ) worship.

Ø  Thus Shiva-Shakti worship, the oldest form of worship in India, appears to have been part of the religious belief of Harappan people (esp. humped bull).

Ø  The remains and relics also reveal that zoolatry i.e. animal worship and tree worship (esp. peepal) were in vogue in those days.

Ø  Steatite was mainly used in the manufacture of seals.

Ø  Humpless bull is represented in most of the Indus seals.

Ø  Inhumation or complete burial was the most common method of disposal of the dead.

Ø  The orgin of the ‘Swastika’ symbol can be treated to the Indus Civilization.

Ø  ‘Indra is accused of causing the decline of Indus Civilization’- M.Wheeler.

Ø  The Rigveda speaks of a battle at a place named ‘Hariyumpia’ which has been identified with Harappa.

Ø  The majority of scholars believe that the makers of civilization were Dravidians.

Ø  Contemporary civilizations of Indus Civilization- Mesopotamia, Egypt and China.