1. THE HARAPPAN CIVILIZATION

2. ITS DISCOVERY Dayaram Sahni – 1921 – discovered Harappan ruins
Rakhaldas Banerjee – 1922 – 23 – discovered Mohenjodaro
Chalcolithic Age
No traces of iron
2500 BCE – 1500 BCE – Indus Valley Civilization
Mohenjodaro – ‘mound of the dead’ – banks of Indus river in Larkana district of Sind
Harappa – banks of the river Ravi in Montgomery district
of Western Punjab
2,800 sites – largest civilization of the ancient world
Major sites – Lothal (Gujarat), Ropar (Punjab), Kalibangan (Rajasthan), Alamgirpur (Uttar Pradesh), Surkotada (Gujarat), Banawali (Haryana)
Newest sites – Rakhigarhi (Haryana), Dholavira (Gujarat)

3. MAIN FEATURES OF THE CITIES

4. TOWN PLANNING Well planned towns
Main and smaller streets – cut at right angle
Main streets – parallel
Straight and wide (about 30 feet) roads
Curved corners – easy passage for carts
Paved with baked bricks

5. BUILDINGS Skillful builders Dwelling houses – houses along street side
Public buildings – Great Granary, Great Bath, Assembly Hall

6. DWELLING HOUSES large blocks street side double - storeyed flat roofs
different sizes
palaces to two room houses
very good quality bricks (4,500 bricks)
Courtyard surrounded by rooms, a bathroom, a kitchen, a well, narrow staircase = a house

7. PUBLIC BUILDINGS The Great Granary *a large building
*store surplus food grains
*2 rows of 6 granaries
*close to the river bank – water transportation of grains
*circular brick platforms – threshing grain
* furnaces – metal workers – produced a variety of objects

8. PUBLIC BUILDINGS The Great Bath * Mohenjodaro * large swimming pool
*six entrances
*central bathing pool
*galleries
*dressing rooms
*2 flights of steps to its bottom
*burnt bricks
*watertight – bitumen lining
* well – source of water + drainage
*ceremonial bath

9. THE ASSEMBLY HALL Mohenjodaro pillared hall thick walls
20 pillars – burnt/baked bricks
for an assembly/prayer or just a palace

10. DRAINAGE SYSTEM Excellent, well planned
Sloping floors for kitchens, bathrooms connected to street drains
Drains – street side, covered
Manholes – regular intervals – inspection, cleaning
Good sanitation facilities
Hygienic conditions

11. Characteristics – Indus Valley Civilisation

12. Society Several social groups
Rulers, merchants, traders, artisans, farmers, manual labourers

13. Food wheat – staple food barley, mustard, fruits, vegetables
milk, meat, fish, eggs – daily diet

14. Dress and Ornaments cotton, woollen
two – piece dresses – men and women
men – dhoti, women – skirts
Upper garment – shawl worn around the shoulder
Ornaments – necklaces, amulets, finger rings, headdress, earring, bangles, girdles, bracelets, anklets
Gold, silver, ivory ornaments – rich
Shell, bone, copper ornaments – poor
Men – beards, hair combed backwards; cut short or coiled in a knot on the top of the head
Women – tied hair tightly, used hairpins, combs and used cosmetics

15. Recreation and Amusement
Indoor games – preference
Dancing, singing, playing board games, dice, chess like game
Toys – wheeled carts, dolls, animals with movable heads, sliding monkeys, rattles, whistles
Toys made of baked clay or terracotta

16. Occupation AGRICULTURE
Main occupation – farming of wheat, barley, fruits, vegetables
First people to cultivate cotton in the world
Fertile land – surplus food – exported to towns, cities
DOMESTICATION OF ANIMALS
goats, sheep, buffaloes, elephants, humped bulls
dogs, cats – pets
ART AND CRAFT
Excellent potters, skilled craftspeople
Pottery – potter’s wheel – glazed, painted pots
terracotta female figures – symbolic of Mother Goddess

17. Occupation ART AND CRAFT knew the art of using metals
goldsmith – gold, silver jewels
coppersmith – utensils
bronzesmith – tools, weapons, metal sculptures – ‘dancing girl’
brick laying , boat making, stone cutting, masonry, carpentry
spinning, weaving – important occupations

18. Trade within and outside India
Mesopotamia (Iraq), Persia (Iran), Afghanistan
variety of weights and measures used
barter system
land and sea trade
bullock carts, boats, ships – transport
dockyard found in Lothal (ships were used)

19. Seals more than 2,000 seals found small, flat
shape – rectangular, square
made of clay, soapstone, copper
skilfully carved
figures – humans and animals (unicorn, humped bull, goat, tiger, elephant)
used by merchants and traders to stamp goods
valuable source of information – life and culture (religious beliefs, artistic skills, trade contacts, dress, ornaments)
script on seals – puzzle – picture like signs represent words, objects or ideas

20. Religion
no temples
smoke - stained clay figures of a female deity – the Mother Goddess
three faced figure in seated yogic posture surrounded by various animals
pipal tree – worshipped
amulets – lucky charm – ward off evil spirits
life after death – dead with food, utensils, ornaments
cremated dead, kept ashes or bones in a urn along with daily use items

21. Indus Script

22. Administration
well – planned layout – cities were governed efficiently
no evidence of kings or queens
committee for looking after each city
committee consisted of rich merchants, priests

23. DECLINE / DESTRUCTION came to an abrupt end
Reasons for decline could be :
natural calamities – earthquakes, flood, epidemic
invasion by foreign tribes – Aryans
change of the course of river Indus – land became infertile

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