indus valley civilization 2500 bc- 1750 bc€¦ · the indus river valley civilization, 3300-1300...

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PRESENTS

SUPER 40 SERIES TOP 40 PDFS FOR UPSC PRELIMINARY EXAM 2019

BOOKLET NUMBER – 05

INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION

2500 BC- 1750 BC


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AN OVER VIEW:

The Indus River Valley Civilization, 3300-1300 BCE, also known as the Harappa Civilization,

extended from modern-day northeast Afghanistan to Pakistan and northwest India.

Important innovations of this civilization include standardized weights and measures, seal

carving, and metallurgy with copper, bronze, lead, and tin.

Little is understood about the Indus script, and as a result, little is known about the Indus River

Valley Civilization’s institutions and systems of governance.

The civilization likely ended due to climate change and migration.

EXTENT:

Indus valley extends from

Sutkagandor in West to Alamgirpur (Western UP) in the East from Mandu (Jammu) in the

North to (Daimabad Ahmednagar in Maharashtra) in the South.

IMPORTANT CITIES

Early (Pre

Harappa)

Mature (Harappa)

Late Phase (Post Harappa)

Kalibangan

Harappa (Pakistan @ Ravi)

Rakhigarhi

Banawali Mohenjodaro (Pakistan @ Indus)

Dholavira

Rakhigarhi Chanhudaro (Pakistan @ Indus)

Bhagwanpura

Dholavira Sutkagendor (Pakistan)

Manda (Jammu), Chandigarh,Shangol

(Punjab), Daulatpur,Mitthal (Haryana),

Alamgirpur Hulas (West UP)

Surkotada (Gujarat)

Lothal (Gujarat @ Bhogava)


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Kalibangan (Rajasthan @ Ghaggar)

Banawali (Hissar @Ghaggar)

Rakhigarhi (Hissar @Ghaggar)

Dholavira (Kutch)

DEVELOPMENTS IN INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION

Citadel / Acropolis at cities for member of ruling class (west side) & brick houses below

citadel in town for commoners

Remarkable grid system of roads → Roads cutting at right angle to each other

Large scale use of burnt bricks & total absence of stone buildings


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Remarkable underground drainage system connecting all houses & streets covered by bricks /

stone slabs

Agriculture technology was well developed (But no use of ploughshare) : Wheat, Rice, Barley,

Peas etc. + Domesticated large scale of animals

Cotton was 1st produced by Indus people hence Greeks called it Sindon which is derived from

Sindh.

Harappan were 1st to produce silver in the world + wore gold, silver & beads Jewelry

Practiced boat making, seal making, Bronze smith, Weavers etc.

Granaries & seals show Harappan carried on considerable trade but only through Barter system

No temples has been found at any of the site hence can be said that it was ruled by merchants

not priests

Worshiped Goddess Earth, Pipal Tree, Pashupati Mahadeva & Animals (Bull / Unicorn Rhino)

1st to invent the art of writing – Right to left – (Pictographic only → Not deciphered so far)

Used weights for trade (Mostly in multiple of 16) & Bronze made marked sticks for

measurements

Were expert in Potter’s wheel & pottery making

Their greatest artistic creation was ” Seals”

Mostly limestone was used for sculptures.

Indus Valley Civilization Site

Remarkable Feature

Mohenjodaro Great Bath (Largest Brick Work)

Great Granary (Largest Building)

Impressive drainage system

Bronze image of dancing girl

Image of steatite bearded man

Piece of woven cotton

Seal of pashupati

Prepared Garments

Skeletons on stairs of well (Mount of the

dead)


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Harappa 2 rows of 6 granaries

Impressive drainage system

Citadel

Lothal Artificial Dock (Manchester of Harappan

civilization)

Art of double burial

Cotton cultivation

Kalibangan Granary & Wooden plough

Wells in every house

Camels Bone

Chanhudaro Lancashire of India

Only city without citadel

Bangles Factory

Beads Factory

Rakhigarhi Biggest Site

SEALS – INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION

Engraved in pictographic script – writing is right to left – yet to be deciphered

Used on soft river stone, steatite, gold & ivory → mainly for trade and commerce

Used as an amulet → to ward off the evil

Use as an educational tool → presence of pie sign

Prominent Seals → Pashupati, humped bull, elephant and rhinoceros

Indus seals found in Mesopotamia → Sign of possible trade


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SCULPTURE – INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION

2 Stone male figures → Torso in red sandstone + Bust of a bearded man in steatite

Bronze casting was widely used following lost wax technique

Lost Wax Technique

wax figures are covered with a coating of clay and allowed to dry

Then it is heated and the molten wax is allowed to drain out through a tiny hole at the bottom of

the clay

The hollow mould is then filled with bronze or any other metal

Once the metal is cooled, the clay is removed

Examples → statue of a ‘Dancing Girl’ + buffalo with its uplifted head, back & horns

Terracotta – Indus Valley Civilization


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Terracotta is a fire baked clay and is handmade using pinching method

Examples include Mother Goddess, Toy carts with wheels etc.

Compared to stone and bronze statues the terracotta representations of human form are crude

POTTERY – INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION

Mainly plain, red and black painted – Plain pottery is more common than painted

Consists chiefly of very fine wheel- made wares, & very few being hand-made

Used for household purpose (storage of water, food grains etc.)

Used For decoration- Miniature vessels used for decoration (Less than 1/2 inch)

Used as perforated pottery (large hole at the bottom and small holes all over the wall, and

probably was used for straining liquor)


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BEADS AND ORNAMENTS

Made of precious metals, gemstones, bone and even baked clay

Necklaces, armlets and finger rings were common

Evidences of dead bodies buried along with ornaments have also been found

Cinnabar was used as cosmetic, Lipstick, & face-paint

Even eyeliner’s were all known to them

EXTENSIVE TOWN PLANNING

Citadel / Acropolis at cities for member of ruling class (west side) & brick houses below citadel

in town for commoners

Evidence of public buildings, administrative or business centres, pillared halls and courtyards.

Fortifications with gateways enclosing the walled cities shows that there may have been a fear

of being attacked

The concept of two-storied houses was also present

Large scale use of baked bricks as building material

Granaries in Citadels with strategic air-ducts → gives an idea of an organised collection and

distribution system

Remarkable grid system of roads → Roads cutting at right angle to each other

Remarkable underground drainage system connecting all houses & streets covered by bricks /

stone slabs


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No temples has been found at any of the site hence can be said that it was ruled by merchants

not priests

Used weights for trade (Mostly in multiple of 16) & Bronze made marked sticks for

measurements

Great Bath → public bathing place shows the importance of ritualistic bathing and cleanliness

in this culture.


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THEORY OF DECLINE OF INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION:

Natural Calamities such as floods, Earthquakes etc.

Decrease in Land fertility

Outbreak of an epidemic

Decline of trade & Invasion of Aryansported in Ashoka’s times from Persia. There is abundant

evidence of stone masons mark similar to those at Persepolis (Persia).

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indus valley civilization 2500 bc- 1750 bc€¦ · the indus river valley civilization, 3300-1300...

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