Some Several Thousand Years Ago There Once Thrived a Civilization in the Indus Valley

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of an ancient city was confirmed in the following 50 years, but noone had any idea of its age or importance. By 1872 heavy brick

robbing had virtually destroyed the upper layers of the site. Thestolen bricks were used to build houses and particularly to build a

railway bed that the British were constructing. AlexanderCunningham made a few small excavations at the site and reportedsome discoveries of ancient pottery, some stone tools, and a stone

seal. Cunningham published his finds and it generated someincreased interest by scholars. It wasn't till 1920 that excavations began in earnestat Harappa. John Marshall, then the director of theArchaeological Survey of India, started a new

excavation at Harappa. Along with finds from another

archaeologist, who was excavating at Mohenjo Daro,Marshall believed that what they had found gave

evidence of a new civilization that was older than anythey had known. (3) Major excavations had not been carried out forforty years until 1986 when the late George

Dales of the University of California at Berkeleyestablished the Harappan Archaeological Project,

or HARP. This multidisciplinary study effortconsists of archaeologists,linguists, historians, and physical

anthropologists.

Since the establishment of HARP, Jonathan Mark Kenoyer hasserved as co-director and field director of the project. Kenoyer was

born in Shillong, India, and spent most of his youth there. He wenton to receive his advanced degrees from the University of California

at Berkeley. He is now a professor of Anthropology at the Universityof Wisconsin-Madison, and teaches archaeology and ancient



technologies. Kenoyer's main focus has been on the Indus Valleycivilization's where he has conducted research for the last 23 years.

Ever since he was a young graduate student, Kenoyer wasparticularly interested in ancient technology. He has done a great

deal of work in trying to replicate processes used by ancient peoplein the production of jewelry and pottery. One of his first efforts inreplicating shell bangle making was then co-authored with George

Dales and published in an article. His doctorate studies were basedupon this research, and his dissertation is a milestone in the field of experimental archaeology and ethnoarchaeology, besides being the

definitive study of Harappan shell working. (4) Today, Kenoyer is assisted by co-director Richard

Meadow of Harvard University and Rota Wright of New

York University (A. C.I.V.C. Kenoyer preface) Kenoyeruses a contextual archaeological approach. His work is

characterized by the use of cold evidence to draw theoutlines of this ancient civilization. Although , Harappa was undoubtedly occupied

previously, it was between 2600-1900 B.C. that it reached its height

of economic expansion and urban growth. Radio carbon dating,along with the comparison of artifacts and pottery has determined

this date for the establishment of Harappa and other Indus cities.This began what is called the golden age of Harappa. During thistime a great increase in craft technology, trade, and urbanexpansion was experienced. For the first time in the history of the

region, there was evidence for many people of different classes andoccupations living together. Between 2800-2600 B.C. called the KotDiji period, Harappa grew into a thriving economic center. It

expanded into a substantial sized town, covering the area of severallarge shopping malls. Harappa, along with the other Indus Valley

cities, had a level of architectural planning that was unparralled inthe ancient world. (5) The city was laid out in a grid-like patternwith the orientation of streets and buildings according to the

cardinal directions. To facilitate the access to other neighborhoodsand to segregate private and public areas, the city and streets wereparticularly organized. The city had many drinking water wells, and

a highly sophisticated system of waste removal. All Harappan



houses were equipped with latrines, bathing houses, and sewagedrains which emptied into larger mains and eventually deposited the

fertile sludge on surrounding agricultural fields. It has beensurprising to archaeologists that the site layouts and artifact styles

throughout the Indus region are very similar. It has been concludedthese indicate that there was uniform economic and social structurewithin these cities. (6)

Other indicators of this is that the bricks used

to build at these Indus cities are all uniform in size. It would seemthat a standard brick size was developed and used throughout theIndus cities. Besides similar brick size standard weights are seen to

have been used throughout the region as well. (7) The weights thathave been recovered have shown a remarkable accuracy. They



follow a binary decimal system: 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, up to 12,800units, where one unit weighs approximately 0.85 grams. Some of

the weights are so tiny that they could have been used by jewelersto measure precious metals. ( 8) Ever since the discovery of Harappa, archaeologists have beentrying to identify the rulers of this city. What has been found is very

surprising because it isn't like the general pattern followed by otherearly urban societies. It appears that the Harappan and other Indusrulers governed their cities through the control of trade and religion,

not by military might. It is an interesting aspect of Harappa as wellas the other Indus cities that in the entire body of Indus art andsculpture there are no monuments erected to glorify, and no

depictions of warfare or conquered enemies. ( 9) It is speculated

that the rulers might have been wealthy merchants, or powerfullandlords or spiritual leaders. Whoever these rulers were it has been

determined that they showed their power and status through theuse of seals and fine jewelry. Seals are one of the most commonly found objects in Harappancities. They are decorated with animal motifs such as elephants,

water buffalo, tigers, and most commonly unicorns. Some of theseseals are inscribed with figures that are prototypes to later Hindu

religious figures, some of which are seen today.

For example, seals have been recovered with the repeated motif of a man sitting in a yogic position surrounded by animals. This is very

similar to the Hindu god of Shiva, who is known to have been thefriend of the animals and sat in a yogic position. These seals areknown as the Shiva seals. Other images of a male god have been

found, thus indicating the beginnings of Shiva worship, whichcontinues to be practiced today in India. (10)



This is an interesting point because of the acceptednotion of an Aryan invasion. If Aryan's had invaded

the Indus Valley, conquered the people, andimposed their own culture and religion on them, as

the theory goes, it would seem unlikely that therewould a continuation of similar religious practicesup to the present. There is evidence throughout Indian history to

indicate that Shiva worship has continued for thousands of yearswithout disruption. [cf. harappan cultural continuity] The Aryan's were supposed to have destroyed many of the ancientcities right around 1500 B.C., and this would account for the declineof the Indus civilization. However the continuity of religious

practices makes this unlikely, and other more probable explanations

for the decline of the Harappan civilization have been proposed inrecent years; such as climate shifts which caused great droughts

around 2200 B.C., and forced the abandonment of the Indus citiesand pushed a migration westward. Recent findings have shown thatthe Sumerian empire declined sharply at this time due to a climate

shift that caused major droughts for several centuries. (11) TheHarappans being so close to Sumer, would in all probability have

been affected by this harsh shift in climate. Many of the seals also are inscribed with short pieces of the Indus script. These seals were used in order toshow the power of the rulers. Each seal had a name ortitle on it, as well as an animal motif that is believed to

represent what sort of office or clan the ownerbelonged to. The seals of the ancient Harappan's were probablyused in much the same way they are today, to sign letters or for

commercial transactions. The use of these seals declined when thecivilization declined. In 2001 Kenoyer's excavations unearthed a workshop thatmanufactured seals and inscribed tablets. This was significant in

that combined with the last 16 years of excavations, it provided anew chronology for the development of the Indus script. Previously,the tablets and seals were all grouped together, but now Kenoyer

has been able to demonstrate that the various types of seals and



tablets emerged at different times. The writing on the seals andtablets might have changed as well through the years. Kenoyer as

well as others are trying to conclude when the dates of the scriptchanges were. The revision of this chronology may greatly aid in the

decipherment of the script. (12) There has been attempts atdeciphering this script, and the results are not widely agreed upon,and its still a point of controversy.

[Reading from right to left]

The ruling elite controlled vast trade networks with Central Asia,and Oman, importing raw materials to urban workshops. There iseven evidence of trade with Mesopotamia, for Harappan seals and

jewelry have been found there. Harappa, along with other Induscities, established their economic base on agriculture produce andlivestock, supplemented by the production of and trade of

commodities and craft items. Raw materials such as carnelian,steatite, and lapis lazuli were imported for craft use. In exchangefor these goods, such things as livestock, grains, honey and clarified

butter may have been given. However, the only remains are thoseof beads, ivory objects and other finery. What is known about the

Harappan's is that they were very skilled artisans, making beautifulobjects out of bronze, gold, silver, terracotta, glazed ceramic, andsemiprecious stones. The most exquisite objects were often the

most tiny. Many of the Indus art objects are small, displaying andrequiring great craftsmanship.



The majority of artifacts recovered at Harappa and Mohenjo Darohave been that of crafted objects. Jonathan Kenoyer has beenworking to recreate many of the craft technologies used by these

people. He has successfully recreated the process by which theHarappan's created faience. The process of creating faienceceramics is very complex and technical. It requires such processes

as the grinding and partial melting of quartz, fusion aids, and a

consistent high temperature of 940 Celsius. A discovery in 2001 of afaience producing workshop revealed that the type of kiln used was

very different from what they had thought. As no kiln wasdiscovered in the workshop, Kenoyer suspected that the ancient

crafts people had used a kiln assembled from two firing containers.This formed a smaller kiln that was unlike the usual large firingcontainers. Along with some of his students Kenoyer replicated the

process of creating faience using similar tools that the Harappan'shad. The result was similar to that of the Harappan's. This showed

that the canister-kiln type was a very efficient way of producingfaience. (13) Interestingly , Kenoyer has noticed that many of thesame firing techniques and production procedures are used today inIndia and Pakistan as they were thousands of years ago. This is

another point indicating that there was a continuity in culture thathas been mostly unchanged for thousands of years. The late George F. Dales, who was a long time mentor of Kenoyer'sand established HARP, has said regarding the Aryan invasion

theory: "Nine years of extensive excavations at Mohenjo-Daro ( which

seems to have been rapidly abandoned) have yielded a total of some 37 skeletons which can be attributed to the Indus period.None of these skeletons were found in the area of the fortified

citadel, where reasonably the last defense of this city would have



taken place." He further states that "Despite extensive excavationsat the largest Harappan sites, there is not a single bit of evidence

that can be brought forth as unconditional proof of an armedconquest and destruction on the scale of the supposed Aryan

invasion." (14)

The skeletal remains found at Harappan

sites that date from 4,000 years ago, showthe same basic racial types as are foundtoday in Gujarat and Punjab, India. This is

interesting, because if a foreign light-skinned people entered and took over, it would seem likely thatthere would be genetic evidence for this. The long continuity of

ethnic groups in this region would indicate that the people living

there had not seen an influx of a different ethic group that wouldhave mixed with their own. (15) After 700 years the Harappan cities began to decline. This isgenerally attributed to the invasion of a foreign people. However, it

now believed by Kenoyer and many other archaeologists that thedecline of the Indus cities was a result of many factors, such as

overextended political and economic networks, and the drying upmajor rivers. These all contributed to the rise of a new social order.

There is archaeological evidence that around the late Harappanphase, from 1900-1300 B.C. the city was not being maintained andwas getting crowded. This suggests that the rulers had were nolonger able to control the daily functioning of the city. Having lost

authority, a new social order rose up. Although certain aspects of the elites culture, seals with motifs and pottery with Indus script onit, disappeared, the Indus culture was not lost. (16) It is seen that

in the cities that sprung up in the Ganga and Yamuna river valleysbetween 600-300 B.C., that many of their cultural aspects can be

traced to the earlier Indus culture. The technologies, artisticsymbols, architectural styles, and aspects of the social organizationin the cities of this time had all originated in the Indus cities. (17)

This is another fact that points to the idea that the Aryan invasiondid not happen. The Indus cities may have declined, for variousreasons, but their culture continued on in the form of technology,

artistic and religious symbols, and city planning. Usually, when a



people conquer another they bring with them new ideas and socialstructures. It would seem that if indeed Aryan's invaded India, then

there would be evidence of a completely different sort of religion,craft making, significant changes in art and social structure. But

none of this has been found. There appears to be an underlyingcontinuity in the culture of India, and what changes have occurredare due to largely internal factors. This is an idea shared by many

prominent archaeologists, such as Kenoyer, George Dales, JimShaffer, and Colin Renfrew.

The Aryan's are supposed to have brought the Vedic culture toIndia. These people and their literature is believed to have then

originated after the decline of the Indus Valley civilizations. TheVedas have been dated as being written some time after the Aryan'ssupposedly invaded, somewhere between 1500-1200 B.C. Many of

the Indus sites have been found along the banks of the now driedup Sarasvati river. This river is mentioned throughout the Vedas

(18) Recent geological investigations has shown that the Sarasvatiwas once a very large river (as well as satellite photos of the indus-sarasvati river basin), but dried up around 1900 B. C. due to

tectonic movements. (19) The Vedas, however speak of theSarasvati as a very large and flowing river. If the dating of the Vedicliterature is correct, than there is a discrepancy because the

Sarasvati river dried up before the Vedas were supposed to havebeen written. This is an interesting situation. It might seem possiblethen, that with other evidence showing that there was no influx of

an invading people, that the Vedas were then written by the peopleof the Indus Valley. Another point that might indicate theHarappan's being a Vedic culture is the

discovery of fire altars at several Indus sites.Fire rituals and sacrifice were an important



part of Vedic religious practices. But what was significant aboutthese alters, is that they were aligned and constructed in the same

manner as later discovered altars were. The fire altars were thenVedic in construction indicating that the Harappan's were a Vedic

culture.

The idea that there wasn't in fact an Aryan invasion is supported on

many levels, as I have tried to demonstrate. Even today, it is seenin India the legacy of these Indus cities in the traditional arts andcrafts, and in the layout of houses and settlements. If there really

was an invasion of a people that completely obliterated this otherculture, then the many striking similarities we see today in thecontinuity of Indian culture is certainly most curious. The remains of

the Indus civilization are enormous, and most of them are yet to be

excavated. There are whole cites that have yet to be excavated, likethe largest known Indus culture site of Ganweriwala, in the

Cholistan desert of Pakistan. No doubt the continuing excavationswill lend more insight into the world of this enigmatic civilization. Bibliography 1. Indus Valley Civilization (1990) In Encyclopedia Britannica. (p.

302). Chicago, IL.2. Kenoyer, Jonathan. (July 2003) Uncovering the keys to lost Indus

cities.Scientific American. pg 71.3. Kenoyer, Jonathan. (1998). Ancient Cities of the Indus Valley Civilization.Oxford, New York. Oxford University Press. 20-214. Ibid. Preface.

5. Ibid. 52 .6. Kenoyer, Jonathan. (July 2003) Uncovering the keys to lost Induscities.Scientific American. pg 71.

7. http://www.Harappa.com/har/har1.html)8. Feurstein, George, Kak, Subash, Frawley, David. (2001) In

Search of the Cradle of Civilization. Wheaton, Illinois. Quest Books.83.9. Kenoyer, Jonathan. (July 2003) Uncovering the keys to lost Indus

cities.Scientific American. pg 7110. Knapp, Stephen. (2000). Proof of Vedic Culture's Global Existence. Detroit, Michigan. The World Relief Network. 42.

11. Rajaram, N.S, Frawley, David, (2001) Vedic Aryans and the



Origins of Civilzation: a literary and scientific perspective. NewDelhi, India. Voice of India. pg. 304.

12. Kenoyer, Jonathan. (July 2003) Uncovering the keys to lostIndus cities.Scientific American. pg. 74

13. Kenoyer, Jonathan. (1998). Ancient Cities of the Indus Valley Civilization.Oxford, New York. Oxford University Press. pg. 97.14. Dales, George F., The Mythical Massacre at Mohenjo-Daro.

15. Knapp, Stephen. (2000). Proof of Vedic Culture's Global Existence. Detroit, Michigan. The World Relief Network. pg. 43.16 Kenoyer, Jonathan. (July 2003) Uncovering the keys to lost

Indus cities.Scientific American. pg. 6717. Kenoyer, Jonathan. (1998). Ancient Cities of the Indus Valley Civilization.Oxford, New York. Oxford University Press. 19.

18. Frawley, David, The Myth of the Aryan Invasion of India. The

India Times.19. Feurstein, George, Kak, Subash, Frawley, David. (2001) In

Search of the Cradle of Civilization. Wheaton, Illinois. Quest Books.pg. 91.

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Some Several Thousand Years Ago There Once Thrived a Civilization in the Indus Valley