HARAPPAN CIVILISATION (c. 2600–1900 BCE) BRONZE AGE CIVILISATION | RISE AND DECLINE OF INDUS VALLEY

 HARAPPAN CIVILISATION (c. 2600–1900 BCE)

BRONZE AGE CIVILISATION

The Harappan civilisation was the first urban civilisation in South Asia, contemporaneous with the civilisations of Mesopotamia and Egypt. Of the three aforementioned civilisations, the Harappan civilisation occupied most area (about 8,00,000 sq km). 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. While it is classified as a civilisation that is older than Chalcolithic civilisations, in many ways it was far more developed than settlements in the Chalcolithic Age. The Harappan civilisation can be classified in three phases*:

• The Early/Pre-Harappan phase (c. 3200−2600 BCE)
• Mature Harappan phase (c. 2600−1900 BCE)
• Late Harappan phase (c. 1900−1300 BCE)

A general time range is specified as there is a great deal of variation in the dates for different phases. 

There exists an undeniable cultural continuity among all the phases of the Harappan civilisation, yet they differ slightly from each other. The Early Harappan phase, known as the Regionalisation Era, was the formative, proto-urban phase of the Harappan civilisation. It is related to the Hakra phase of settlements, and the settlements in this period are marked by their fortification, a fairly high level of expertise in specialised crafts such as stone-working, bead-making, and metalcrafting, the use of wheeled transport, and the existence of trade networks. Most raw materials except jade, which has not been found in early Harappan settlements, are similar to the ones used in the mature Harappan phase. However, it did not have the large cities that defined the mature Harappan phase, neither did it have as much expertise in craft specialisation. Some of the early Harappan archaeological sites are Padri in Gujarat, Kalibangan in Rajasthan, Dholavira in Kutch, Harappa in West Punjab, Balakot, Amri, and Bhirrana in Haryana, Kot Diji and Gumla. It is noteworthy to add that there are no early Harappan sites in the active Indus plain.

The Mature Harappan phase, or the Integration Era, was the urban phase of the Harappan civilisation, which shows the characteristics of a full-fledged civilisation. It is pertinent to note that the unqualified term, ‘Harappan Culture’ or ‘Harappan Civilisation’, primarily refers to this mature urban phase. It is equally important is to understand the fact that the use of term ‘Harappan Culture’ or ‘Harappan Civilisation’ for all the excavated sites does not mean that all the other sites are identical to Harappa. It only pertains to the fact that the other sites have the same basic set of Harappan material traits, such as the typical red and black pottery, terracotta figurines, standardised brick size in 1:2:4 ratio, and so on. 

The last phase of the Harappan civilisation, that is to say, the Late Harappan phase or the Localisation Era, was the post-urban phase defined by a decline in the cities. This is the final period in the Harappan civilisation and refers to the fragmentation of the culture of the Integration Era. The Late Harappan phase comprises five geographical zones each having distinct phases — the West Punjab Phase (Cemetery- H Culture), the East Punjab Phase, the Jhukar Phase, the Rangpur Phase, and the Ganga Yamuna Doab Phase. Late Harappan settlements were small compared to mature Harappan ones. The transition from the mature phase does not show any sudden discontinuity as such, but there is a gradual change in seals, pottery confined writing, in the frequency of cubical weights, and so on. The Late Harappan settlements were also more in number, but they were smaller and more rural, though marked by a diverse agricultural base. Important Jhukar sites are Jhukar, Chanhudaro, and Amri. Rangpur Phase sites are in Kutch, Saurashtra and mainland Gujarat.

GENERAL FEATURES OF THE MATURE HARAPPAN PHASE

Archaeological evidence reveals a great deal about the Harappan civilisation, which is marked by both cultural homogeneity as well as diversity. There is still no totally accepted theory on the origin of Harappan culture but generally it is believed to have either emerged from pre-Harappan/indigenous village culture (which may be the more reasonable view), or, as argued by diffusionist theorists, owes its origin to the Mesopotamian Civilisation. The area occupied by the Harappan civilisation was triangular in shape and was largest among the three ancient urban civilisations, the other two being ancient Egypt and Mesopotamaia (present day Iraq). It roughly covers modern day Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana, Gujarat, and Pakistan.

Town Planning

Harappan civilisation is known for its urban outlook and sophisticated sense of civic planning and organisation. In most cases the Harappan city was divided into two parts:

• Citadel/Raised Part – This part occupied a smaller area, and was frequently situated to the west of the city. Rulers of the city lived here. It also contained public buildings, granaries, and important workshops. 
• Lower Part – The common citizenry lived and carried on their professional lives in this part of the city.  

City planning roughly followed a grid pattern and streets ran from north   and cut at right angles. Distinguishing aspects of Harappan town planning are as follows:

1. The streets were wide, the main street being ten metres wide and dividing the town into rectangular and square blocks.
2. There were lamp-posts at intervals. They used burnt bricks of good quality and the unique feature of this brick was its identical ratio of 1:2:4 in terms of thickness:width:length across all Harappan structures. Equally striking was the uniformity in the average size of bricks — 7 × 14 × 28 cm3 for houses and 10 × 20 × 40 cm for city walls.
3. They had an excellent drainage system — drains were made of mortar, lime and gypsum and covered with large brick slabs for easy cleaning. 
4. Houses were often of two or more storeys, though varied in size but quite monotonous. No window faced the streets and the houses had tiled bathrooms. Some houses had their own wells.

Society 

The Harappan society was an urban society, comprising mostly of the middle classes. The houses excavated suggest at least three distinct social groups: Ruled, rich merchants and poor labourers who lived in the lower part of the city. However, there is still no clear idea among historians about the nature of inheritance in Harappan society. Other characteristic features of the Harappan society were:

• The Harappans were great experts in the use of the potter’s wheel but were poor in artistic works of stone. Primarily red black pottery (red ware pottery painted with black designs, usually that of trees and circles) was popular. Some of these pots were used for storing grain or water, while some perforated pots were probably used for brewing fermented alcoholic beverages.
• A lot of terracotta has been found at many sites, including figurines of animals such as bulls, buffaloes, dogs, monkeys, toy carts, and humans. Terracotta bangles have also been found. It is important to note that more female figurines have been uncovered in comparison to male figurines.
• The Harappans refined the art of bead-making, and jewellery excavated includes gold and silver jewellery, including necklaces, bracelets, pendants, earrings, brooches. At Allahdino (near Karachi), a lot of necklaces made of gold, silver, carnelian and semi-precious stones have been found. 
• Copper, bronze, silver, and gold were metals known and used by Harappans, but iron was not
• They were also good at metallurgy and producing alloys. The craftsmen used to both make artifacts out of pure copper as well as bronze such as spears, knives, short swords, mirrors, axes, needles, rings, and bangles. It is rather interesting that the number of pure copper artifacts was far greater than alloyed bronze ones, but it does not mean technological backwardness rather points towards cultural preference in all likelihood. 
• Harappan people generally wore garments of cotton / wool. 
• The Harappans relished non-vegetarian food. Fish-eating was common. Milk and curd was also consumed. 
• The Harappan societies of Sindh and Punjab largely consumed wheat and barley while those of Rangpur and Surkotda consumed rice and millets.
• The Harappan script was pictographic and logosyllabic (each symbol stood for a word/syllable). Harappan writing was boustrophedon, that is to say, right to left and left to right in alternate lines. The Harappan script has not been deciphered so far. The evidence of a common script however points to great cultural integration, and its virtual disappearance by c.1700 BCE hints at the lack of sufficient downward percolation of writing. 

 Economy

The inferences about Harappan Economy have been derived from its flourishing trade relations with its contemporary Mesopotamian and Persian civilisations. The Mesopotamians called the Indus Region ‘Meluhha’. The Mesopotamian texts speak of three intermediate trading stations called Dilmun (probably Bahrain on Persian Gulf), Makan (probably the Makran coast, Oman) and, Meluhha. Seals hold a special significance in the Harappan context. Every merchant probably had a seal bearing an emblem, often of a religions character and a name / brief description on one side. The standard Harappa seal was a square / oblong plaque made of steatite stone. Though its primary purpose is – – – – – – inferred to mark the ownership of property, they may also have served as amulets. The key aspects of Harappan trade networks and economy are as follows:

1. They carried out internal and external trade. There was no metallic money in circulation and trade was conducted by means of barter. Inland transport primarily employed bullock carts.
2. Harappans seals have been found in Mesopotamian cities like Susa and Ur. In Nippur, a seal has been found bearing Harappan script and a unicorn. Recently, some ancient sites in the Persian Gulf like Failaka and Bahrain have also yielded Harappan seals.
3. In Mohenjo-Daro, three cylinder seals of the Mesopotamian type have been found, which underlines their trading relations.
4. In Lothal, a button seal has been found.
5. There were bead-making factories at Chanhudaro and Lothal. The products of these factories were items of export. 
6. There were bead-making factories at Chanhudaro and Lothal. The products of these factories were items of export. 
7. A remarkable aspect of the Harappan Culture was its standardisation and accuracy in the context of weights and measures. Weights followed a binary system in the lower denominations — 1, 2, 8, 16, 32 to 64, and then in decimal multiples of 160 like 160, 320, 640, 1600, 3200, and so on
8. Weights were made of chert, limestone, and steatite and were generally cubical in shape. 
9. Measures of length were based on the foot (37.6 cm) the cubit (51.8 to 53.3 cm). A shell scale has been found at MohenjoDaro, a shell object probably used to measure angles has been found at Saurashtra, and an ivory scale has been discovered at Lothal.

Religion

Harappan civilisation is considered as a secular society as not a single structure qualifying as temple has been found. Sacred ritual spots included the Great Bath at Mohenjo-Daro, where the elite in all likelihood undertook ritual activity that included ceremonial bathing. Idolatry was practiced. The Harappan people generally worshipped:

• Mother goddess
• Pashupati Mahadeva or proto-Shiva (mostly an upper class • preference, seals depict him in a yogic posture)
• Lingam (phallus) and yoni worship (cult of fertility)
• Pipal tree
• Humped Bull
• Birds (dove and pigeon)
• One-horned unicorn (may in fact be the rhinocerous)

Other key inferences about the Harappan Religious practices are as follows:

1. Fire altars have been found in Kalibangan and Lothal. 
2. The seal of Pashupati Mahadeva is surrounded by an elephant, a tiger, a rhino, a buffalo, and a deer, and it is likely that these animals were also worshipped. 
3. Dead bodies were placed in a north-south direction and were generally accompanied by objects including food, pottery, ornaments, and tools. These items were not as expensive in comparison to those in contemporary Mesopotamian or Egyptian cultures. 
4. Used three methods of burial: Complete burial,  Fractional burials (where the bones were gathered and buried after exposure of the body to birds and beasts)
5. In Harappa, coffins containing bodies have been found.
6. In Kalibangan, small circular pits containing large urns and pottery have been found. Furthermore, a triangular terracotta cake has been discovered, which has a horned deity on one side and an animal being dragged by a human on the end of a rope on the other, pointing towards animal sacrifice in all likelihood. 
7. At Lothal, a pair of male and female skeletons have been discovered together. 

Agriculture

The Harappan civilisation was the earliest known civilisation to produce cotton. Known as ‘Sindon’ by the Greeks as from Sindh. In the Indus plain, people sowed seeds in the flood plains in November, when the flood water receded and reaped their harvests of wheat and barley in April, before the advent of the next flood. They produced sufficient food grains to feed themselves and the surplus food grains was stored in granaries. The characteristic features pertaining to the agricultural practices of the Harappans are mentioned below:

• The Harappans grew wheat (especially in Mehrgarh), barley, horse gram, peas, melon, watermelon, sesame, dates, millets, grapes, henna (mehndi), garlic, mustard, rice (Lothal).
• They also exploited riverine and marine resources wherever possible. For example, molluscs were an important protein-rich food element in the coastal sites of Gujarat people.
• The Harappans domesticated animals on a large scale. Besides cattle (oxen, buffaloes, goats, humped bulls, sheep, pigs, asses, camels), cats and dogs were also domesticated.
• Horse wasn’t regular used but the Harappans were well acquainted with the elephant and the rhinoceros. It is pertinent to note that Harappan culture was not horse-centred.
•  Tigers were often represented in figurines but leopards were rare. On different pottery paintings one can easily find rabbits, peacocks, ducks, pigeons, wild fowl and monkeys.
• Ploughed fields, possibly with the help of wooden ploughs, have been discovered at Kalibangan. Terracotta models of plough have been found at Banawali and Bahawalpur
• Remains of horses at Surkotda and dogs with men in graves at Ropar have been discovered.

Decline

Post-Urban Phase of Harappan Culture/Late Harappan Phase (c.1900 BCE–1300 BCE) 

The Mature Harappan phase was followed by the Late Harappan phase, which was marked by the decline of urban life and the diversification of agriculture. The stylistic homogeneity of Harappan civilisation disappeared and the post-Harappan stage was marked by sharp stylistic diversity. There was a complex interplay of change and continuity. Elements of urbanism like seals, specialised crafts, cities, long distance trade, and so on, declined but did not completely disappear. Some of the few urban centres surviving in the Late Harappan were Kudwala in Cholistan, Bet Dwarka in Gujarat, and Daimabad. A key development in this phase was the beginning of double cropping—wheat and barley were grown as winter crops and rice, millets, and sorghum were grown as summer crops. Other key features of this period were:

• The declining culture in this phase is also referred to as sub-Indus culture.
• The rural settlements of this phase are primarily Chalcolithic in nature.
• The post-urban Harappans lived in villages, subsisting on agriculture, stock-raising, hunting, and fishing.
• In this period, painted Harappan pottery is replaced with less intricate designs and painted grey ware (PGW). All Late Harappan sites lack human figurines. In comparison with Mature Harappan pottery, the pottery in the Late Harappan phase was less bright. The pots were thicker and sturdier and many peculiar Harappan shapes like perforated jars, s-shaped jars disappeared. 
• No object for measuring length is noticed
• The period marks the end of the Harappan trade with West Asian centres, as lapis lazuli, chert, carnelian beads, copper and bronze vessels, are either absent or scarce as trade items. 
• Important places pertaining to this phase are Prabhas Patan (Somnath), Rangpur (Gujarat), Swat Valley, Manda in Jammu, Sanghol in Punjab, Daulatpur in Haryana, Alamgirpur, Hulas in U.P. 

 Latest Developments

1. Scientists from IIT-Kharagpur and the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) have uncovered evidence that the Indus Valley Civilisation is at least 8,000 years old, and not 5,500 years old, taking root well before the Egyptian (7000 BCE−3000 BCE) and Mesopotamian (6500 BCE − 3100 BCE) civilisations. What’s more, the researchers have found evidence of a pre-Harappan civilisation that existed for at least 1,000 years before this.
2. The civilisation proliferated to other Indian sites like Bhirrana and Rakhigarhi in Haryana, apart from the known locations of Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro in Pakistan and Lothal, Dholavira and Kalibangan in India.
3. The scientists believe they also know why the civilisation ended about 3,000 years ago — climate change. The Indus Valley people were very resolute and flexible and continued to evolve even in the face of declining monsoon. The people shifted their crop patterns from large-grained cereals like wheat and barley during the early part of intensified monsoon to drought-resistant species like rice in the latter part. As the yield diminished, the organised large storage system of the Mature Harappan period gave way to a. b. c. d. e. f. g. h. i. j. more individual household-based crop processing and storage systems that acted as a catalyst for the deurbanisation of the civilisation rather than an abrupt collapse, they say.

Do you Know? 

•  Burnt Bricks: Harappa Dried Bricks: Egypt Baked Bricks: Mesopotamia/Sumeria
• At the time of the Harappan civilisation, Sindh and Rajasthan were not desert areas as they are today.
• The Great Bath at Mohenjo-Daro served ritual bathing.
• Contemporary Sumerian cities also produced the same food grains and domesticated the same animals as Harappans, but the Harappan people in Gujarat produced rice and domesticated elephants, which was not the case with the people of Mesopotamian cities.
• The Harappans knew the use of wheel but not that of the spoked wheel.
• No temples or religious structures (except the Great Bath) have been found at Harappa. It is very likely that no priests ruled in Harappa, as they did in Mesopotamia. 
• The Harappans did not have weapons
• The Inhabitants of the Indus region worshipped gods in the form of trees, animals, and human beings, but the gods were not placed in temples as was done in ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia.
• Terracotta refers to figurines made of fire-baked earthen clay. Female terracotta figurines outnumber male figurines in the case of Harappa.
• Ragi or Finger Millets have not been found in any Harappan site in North India.
• Shortughai is a Harappan trading post in Afghanistan
• Pre-Harappan Phase—Kot Digi, Amri, Harappan, Kalibangan, Banwali Mature phase—Harappa, Mohanjo-Daro, Chanhudaro, Kalibangan  

ALSO SEE 

1. Sufism and It's Origin
2. Yama The God of Death in Hinduism
3. Lives of Ancient Germans