Harappan civilization

Location

Dried-up tributaries of Indus River: Known as Ravi River and Saraswati River

Intro to Harappan Civilization

• Like the Nile and Tigris/Euphrates river valleys, the Indus Valley deposited alluvial soil across its flood plain, allowing early farmers to establish agriculture.

• Indus river people domesticated poultry, elephants, sheep, and goats.

• This civilization was the 1st to cultivate cotton by ~5000 B.C.E., for the production of cloth. (Predates Egyptian production)

Harappan Civilization

• By 2500BCE, communities had been turned into urban centers.• 6 urban centers• 3 in India: Gonorreala, Dokalingam, Mangalore• 3 in Pakistan: Harappa, Mohenjo-Daro, Diki• In total, over 1052 cities and settlements have been found. • The city was named Harappa, because it was the first city

discovered of the Harappan civilization.

Excavation of Harappa.

Successive Cities

• Harappan cities did not develop slowly, which suggests that whoever built these cities learned to do so in another place.

• As the Indus flooded, cities were rebuilt on top of each other. Archaeologists have discovered several different cities, one built over the other, each built a little less skillfully. The most skillful was on bottom

City Structure• There is no evidence

indicating royal authority or a significant military.

• There are city walls, a large granary, and a fortified citadel in each of the two major cities, indicating that Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro were organizational centers.

COURTYARD It was considered to be the

most fascinating culture of its time.

1052 towns and villages once were part of this civilization.

The advanced architecture of the Harappans is shown by their impressive dockyards, granaries, warehouses, brick platforms, and protective walls.

The massive citadels of Indus cities that protected the Harappans from floods and attackers were larger than most Mesopotamian ziggurats.

Streets

• Everywhere there are straight streets & well built homes! Cities are well organized with roads in a perfect city grid layout.

• The streets of the Indus cities are oriented towards the cardinal directions.

Houses• Houses were one or two

stories high, made of thick, baked brick walls, with flat roofs, and high ceilings to keep the rooms cool during the hot summers.

• Each was built around a courtyard, with windows overlooking the courtyard. The outside walls had no windows.

LOWER TOWN• Crafts Quarters – are identified by large quantities of

manufacturing debris, such as stone beads, shell ornaments, glazed faience ornaments, stone tools and gold working.

Image from: Mohenjador.net

RINGSTONES

Ringstones were used as supports for wooden poles and timbers for doors, gates, and fake walls made of fabric, wood or woven fronds.

Earliest Form of Sanitary

Engineering

• 1st known toilets and running water in residential buildings in the world.

• By 2500BC, highly developed drainage system where wastewater from each house flowed into the main drain.

First Urban Sanitation System

• The people had water borne toilets in each house. The houses were lined with drains covered with burnt clay bricks (burning makes clay harder, more dense). The system had manhole covers, chambers, etc., to facilitate maintenance. It was the first form of sanitary engineering.

• From a room that appears to have been set aside for bathing, waste water was directed to covered drains, which lined the major streets.

The Pool/ Great Bath

• About 2200 B.C., Mohenjo Daro's people built what archaeologists regard as the most spectacular feature yet discovered: a pool 39’ long, 23’ wide, and 8’ deep.

• The brick walls were sealed with bitumen, and the floor was slanted toward a corner drain. There are two flights of steps into this commodious tank, used 4,000 years ago.

Mohenjo-Daro Bath

• The Great public bath at Mohenjo-Daro. • The earliest public water tank; • 2 staircases led down into the tank.• Predates Roman baths by @2000 years !• Was ritual cleanliness an important part of Harappan religion

Harappan Burial Rituals• Simple burials. Early

Harappan burial sites yielded simple wooden coffins which were entombed in a rectangular pit with burial offerings in pottery vessels.

• Offerings: Gold, agate, jasper, steatite, and greenstone.

• In addition, cremation of Human remains and bones were also stored in pottery burial urns.

Standardized Weights & Measures

• Cubical weights were found in graduated sizes in Harappa.

• These weights conform to the standard Harappan binary weight system that was used in all of the settlements.

• Probably for controlling trade and quite possibly for collecting taxes.

• The smallest weight is 0.856g and the most common weight is @13.7g. (a 1/16 ratio)

Agricultural Base

• Terraced fields• Fishing with hooks• Earthen walls were built to control the River’s annual

flooding. • Crops grown include wheat, barley, peas, melons,

rice, vegetables, fruits and sesame.• This civilization was the 1st to cultivate cotton for the

production of cloth. • Several animals were domesticated, including the

elephant, sheep, pigs, zebus (cow), and water buffalo.

Image: fao.org

Economy

• Trade networks linked this culture with related regional cultures and distant sources of raw materials .

• Between 2300-1750 B.C.E. the Harappan people traded pearls, gems, copper, and ivory for Mesopotamian wool, leather, and olive oil.

Pictogram Writing• The Harappan people used pictographic

script. • Along with the pictographs are more

realistic pictures of animals, cultic scenes, and deity worship.

• The origins of Indus writing can be traced to the Ravi Phase in Harappa: from 3300 – 2800BC.

Art

• Their art works were very small and used as personal possessions.

• Harappan artisans produced many beautiful ornaments and statues.

• Some art statuary seems to have an early Mesopotamian / Assyrian influence.

Indus Plains Today

Image from: Mohenjador.net

Fall Of Harappan Civilization

• The reduction of average rainfall over the Indus River watershed restricted Harappan farming in the Indus Valley and left large city populations unsustainable.

Annual Precipitation

Monsoon and Population Shift

• As the Monsoon shifted East to Ganges Plain many Indus people followed monsoon and migrated to Ganges Plain @ 1500BC

• Same time as Arian invasion from the North.

• Arian’s : “ Civilized Ones”.

The end-by R.shekha…