INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION

DISCUSS THE ORIGIN, URBANIZATION, ECONOMY, AND DECLINE OF THE INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION

Urbanisation is a process by which the pre-literate cities undergo a metamorphosis and they develop into cities with a more complex socio-economic structure. Civilization refers to a stage of social development, from one room huts to the architecture of complex buildings, from oral traditions to literacy, from rural households to city life, and from reliance on stone to metals and stone.

The Indus Valley Civilization was one of the four Bronze Age civilizations of the ancient world and existed from 5500 BC 1300 BC. The civilization was termed by Sir. John Marshall and was discovered in 1921. The name Indus civilization evokes the urban, literate culture of the third and early second millennia BC that flourished in the area around the Indus River and its tributaries. The civilization created the most advanced cities of those times; build on huge artificial platforms with fortifications made from millions of standardized high quality bricks, and equipped with far developed hygienic water systems, following 'perfect' building plans.

The Indus Valley Civilization encompassed most of Pakistan, extending from Baluchistan to Sindh, and extending into modern day Indian states of Gujarat, Rajasthan, Haryana, and Punjab, with an upward reach to Rupar on the upper Sutlej. It arose in the vast alluvial plain of two roughly parallel rivers, the Indus and the now dry Saraswati (or Ghaggar-Hakra). The major cities of the Indus Valley Civilisation are as follows:

Mohenjodaro (Sindh) Harappa (Punjab, Pakistan) Kalibangan (Rajasthan) Lothal (Gujarat) Chanhudaro (Sindh, Pakistan) Dholavira (Gujarat) Banawali (Haryana)

Surkotada (Gujarat)

Its first known cities, Harappa on the River Ravi in the Montgomery district of Western UP, and Mohenjodaro on the Indus River in Larkana district of Sindh.

ORIGIN
The Indus phenomenon is called a civilization because it incorporated within itself the social configurations and organizational devices that characterize such a cultural form. The civilizations essence was a settlement pattern in which cities and towns were particularly prominent. The civilization occupied a region which included an expansive flood plain and an agricultural regime based on floodwater farming and the cultivation of a diversity of plants and animals. It was an organization of diversity: diversity of culture, people, and geography. There is good evidence that the Indus civilization was a well developed, complex socio-cultural form inferred from the large, complex Indus economy, the geographical scale of the civilization, and implications of ethnic diversity, its technological achievements and urbanization.

The Indus civilization, while sharing many general features with the contemporary Bronze Age cultures such as the Sumerian civilization of Mesopotamia and Old Kingdom Egypt, had its own distinct identity. For one thing, with a geographical spread of more than a million square kilometres, this was the largest urban culture of its time. Unlike Mesopotamia and Egypt, there were no grand religious shrines nor were magnificent palaces and funerary complexes constructed for the rulers. Instead, its hallmark was a system of civic amenities for its citizens rarely seen in other parts of the then civilized world roomy houses with bathrooms, a network of serviceable roads and lanes, an elaborate system of drainage and a unique water supply system. Dholaviras network of dams, water reservoirs, and underground drains and Mohenjodaros cylindrical wells, one for every third house, epitomize the degree of comfort that townspeople enjoyed in relation to contemporary Mesopotamians and Egyptians who had to make do with fetching water, bucket by bucket, from the nearby rivers.

The two major urban centres of the Indus Valley were Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro. Both settlements are surrounded by brick walls, have streets laid out in a grid pattern, and are supplied with covered drainage systems to carry away waste. There are remains of something like a citadel that may have been a centre of authority, structures that may have been storehouses for grain, and barracks that may have been for artisans. Both urban centres may have controlled the surrounding farmland. Harappa was located on the frontier between agricultural land and pastoral economies and may have been a nexus of trade in copper, tin, and precious stones from the northwest. Harappan urbanism rested on the capability of producing food on a large scale and the use of rivers which were sufficiently dependable to facilitate transport, irrigation and trade.

Harappa flourished from 3500 1700 BC in the Western part of the South Asia. The Harappan sites testify to sophisticated architecture in a range of building materials, writing system, city life, formal styles of sculpture, and the use of several kinds of stones, shells, and metals. It was a long and complex cultural process consisting of three phases
1. Early Harappan (3500 2600 BC)

Large number of villages emerged Use of copper, wheel, and plough Extra-ordinary range of pottery forms showing beginning of many regional traditions Evidence of granary, defensive walls, and long distance trade Emergence of uniformities in the pottery tradition throughout the Indus Valley Origins of such motifs as Pipal, humped bulls, Cobras, horned deity, etc.

2. Mature Harappan (2600 1800 BC)

Emergence of large cities, uniform types of bricks, weights, seals, beads and pottery took place Planned township Long distance trade

3. Late Harappan (1800 BC onwards)

Many Harappan sites were abandoned Writing and city life was abandoned Continuation of Harappan Crafts and pottery tradition Trade disappeared leading to the gradual decay of the significant urban traits

TOWN PLANNING AND STRUCTURE

The town planning of the Harappan civilization affirms the fact that the civic organization of the city was highly developed. The roads, dwelling houses, large buildings, and forts were very well executed. The most characteristic feature of the Harappan Civilization was its urbanization. The cities show evidence of an advanced sense of planning and organization. The houses were of varying sizes, which suggest class differences in Harappan society. The advanced architecture of the Harappans is

shown by their impressive dockyards, granaries, warehouses, brick platforms and protective walls. The massive walls of Indus cities most likely protected the Harappans from floods and may have dissuaded military conflicts.

The settlements in the Mohenjodaro were divided into two sections, one smaller but higher and the other larger but lower. The Citadel was built on mud brick platform, and was walled and separated from the lower town. It was the centre of important buildings. The Great Bath, a bathing platform, which served the purpose of ritual bathing vital to any religious ceremony in India. The lower town contained the residential buildings.

Water and its management played an important role in Indus life. The drainage system served to move the effluent away from the houses, below ground, safely out of the way and safely out of sight, in brick lined channels that prevented contamination of the earth and the city.

The prosperity of the Harappan civilization was based on its flourishing economic activities such as agriculture, arts, crafts, and trade.

ECONOMY
The economy appears to have depended significantly on trade, which was facilitated by major advances in transport technology. Trade in the Indus civilization can be considered at three levels:

Local village town trade Long distance trade within the territory of the civilization Commerce with other regions

The Harappan people had trade relations within India, as well as countries outside India. They traded with the people of Sumer and with the towns lying along the Persian Gulf. Harappan seals and other small objects used by the merchants and traders for stamping their goods have been found in Mesopotamia. Gold was imported from Mysore, Silver from Afghanistan or Iran, and Copper from Rajputana, South India, Baluchistan and Arabia. For the ordinary inhabitants, the grain must have been brought by merchants or grain carriers, on pack oxen, carts and river craft. Another source of local trade was the supply of raw materials to urban craft centres proved by the evidence of sea shell workings at Balakot, Dholavira, Nageshwar, and Lothal. Inter regional trade existed with Rajasthan, Saurashtra, Maharashtra, South India, U.P., and Bihar. At Lothal, a brick structure has been identified as a dockyard meant for berthing ships and handling cargo. This suggests that Lothal was an important port and trading centre of the Harappan people.

AGRICULTURE
The Harappan urbanism was based on agricultural production. The availability of fertile Indus alluvium contributed to the surplus in agricultural production. It helped the Harappan people to indulge in exchange, both internal and external, with others and develop crafts and industries. Agriculture along with pastoralism (cattle-rearing) was the base of Harappan economy. The granaries discovered at sites like Harappa, Mohenjodaro and Lothal served as the storehouses for grains. The chief food crops included wheat, barley, sesasum, mustard, peas, jujube, etc. The evidence for rice has come from Lothal and Rangpur in the form of husks embedded in pottery. The Harappans were the earliest people to grow cotton. A piece of woven cloth has been found at Mohenjodaro. The general diet consisted of fruits, vegetable, animal food including beef, mutton, pork and poultry. Stockbreeding was important in Indus culture. The main domestic animals were humped and humpless cattle, buffaloes, goats, sheep, pigs, dogs, and domestic fowl. Elephants and horses were also known.

Among the animal bones, an overwhelming number belongs to cattle (oxen) or humped, kind, the dominant domesticated cattle species in India. The ox drew the plough and the cart, the cow produced milk, and both formed a major source of animal food for the Indus people. The humped bull is portrayed on Indus seals. The horns of a domesticated variety have been found at Balakot.

Irrigation depended on the irregular flooding of the rivers of Punjab and Sindh. The archaeologists have found terracotta models of the plough at sites in Cholistan and at Banawali. A canal built by Indus people has been traced near Shortughai, drawing water from Kokcha River. The subsistence system of the Harappans was based on the cultivation of a number of crops and domestication of animals. This gave strength to the economy to sustain the city population which did not produce its own food which had to be transported from nearby areas.

INVENTIONS
The people of the Indus civilization achieved great accuracy in measuring length, mass and time. They were among the first to develop a system of uniform weight and measures which was used for commercial and building purposes. Unique Harappan inventions include an instrument, which was used to measure whole sections of the horizon and the tidal lock. Harappans evolved some new techniques in metallurgy and produced copper, bronze, lead and tin.

Harappan writing survived on imperishable steatite seals, pots, baked clay bangles, shell bangles, copper tablets, a few copper tools and ivory rods. It was pictographic

script that had 400 basic signs. Archaeologists are not sure what language the Harappan people spoke. The scholars have not been able to decipher the language of the Harappans.

SOCIETY
The Harappan society was a class-based society. It was divided into three distinct social groups.

1st group ruled and administered the city. 2nd group included the merchants who were associated with trade and other business activities in the city. 3rd group were the labourers who worked in the city.

Within the urban population itself, architectural remains reveal that there was a difference of wealth. There was a rapid growth of professionalism. The cities sheltered a mixed population, the major section of which came from the adjacent villages to seek fortune as craftsmen, artisans and manual labourers. The discovery of a variety of objects for day-to-day use proves that apart from the priests, rulers, traders, and agriculturalists, there was a network of specialised profession.

The Harappans buried their dead singly in oblong pits in a cemetery outside the township. At Lothal two bodies were found laid in an embracing posture. Circular graves are found at Kalibangan. In such burials a big urn, along with a few small pots, all without bones but containing human belongings, were placed in a round pit. The Harappan graves were comparatively poorly furnished.

INDUS RELIGION
The term religion in the context of Indus civilization is defined as:

An institution devoted to the world of deities, the premise of which are believed to be true by the adherents, but cannot be either proved or disproved. (Marshall)

The archaeological indicators for religion in the Indus civilization are mainly portable objects of various kinds, figural representations and a few areas within settlements, which seem to have been set apart for sacred purposes. A few structures reflect a

connection between concepts of cleansing through water relation to ritual functions, for e.g., the Great Bath.

The chief male deity was the Pasupathi Mahadeva (proto Siva) represented in seals. He is surrounded by four animals (elephant, tiger, rhino, and buffalo, each facing a different direction) and two deer appear at his feet. The chief female deity was the Mother Goddess (Goddess of Earth) represented in terracotta figurines. The presence of part human-part animal characters on Indus seals and a human personage on a papal tree suggest a shamanistic component in Harappan religion.

ART AND CRAFT

Bead making was an important craft. Beads were made of precious and semiprecious stones such as agate, turquoise, and carnelian. The evidence of bead makers shops has been found at Chanhudaro and Lothal. Gold and silver beads have also been found. Ivory carving and inlaying used in beads, bracelets and other decorations were also in practice. The Harappans thus showed their masterly skill in a variety of arts and crafts. The artworks of the Harappans are very limited in number. The most famous specimen showing the use of bronze dancing girl figurine discovered at Mohenjodaro. It is a nude female figure, with right arm on the hip and left arm hanging in a dancing pose and is wearing a large number of bangles. The elephant, rhinoceros, and tiger, all of which inhabit forests, are among the animals depicted on Harappan seals. They also used a number of copper tools and weapons like arrowhead, axe, chisel, knives, and spearheads. The principal metals used for manufacturing tools and other objects were copper and bronze.

DECLINE
By 3000 B.C., the Indus Valley was densely populated; its great cities had arisen by 2600 B.C. and flourished down to about 1900 B.C. Shortly thereafter, the civilization went into a dramatic decline, so that these once-thriving cities were largely abandoned by 17001500 B.C.

The process of urban decline appears to have unfolded in various ways. At MohenjoDaro, there was a steady deterioration, apparent in the fact that the walls of the terminal level structures are frequently thin walled, haphazardly laid out, made of unstandardized bricks. Similarly, at Dholavira, progressive impoverishment was hastened by two spells when the city was deserted.

Decline had set in at Mohenjodaro by 2200 BCE and the settlement had come to an end by 2000 BCE. There are various reasons for the decline:

Ecological changes led to the decline of land and agriculture, thereby enforcing the need to evacuate to other area might have been the reason for the disintegration of the Indus valley. Shifts in the monsoon pattern and changes in temperature led to the area more arid. The settlements that followed the Indus Valley cultures showed many indications of a loss of material prosperity: Town planning was abandoned Large cities became depopulated Long-distance trade declined
Indus script was no longer employed Standardized weights were no longer used Stoneware and bronze manufacture declined or disappeared Mud bricks fell out of use

The changes in the river flow patterns and correspondent widespread flooding would have disrupted the agricultural base. Long-term irrigation increased levels of salt in the soil, reducing crop yields. Portions of the Ghaggar Hakra river system, along which many cities were located, seem to have dried up during this era, with potentially disastrous consequences. Many fundamental questions persist about the most basic aspects of this once flourishing culture, including its political structure and religious beliefs. They left behind few images of warfare, leading some to suggest an atypically peaceful society. No figures priestly or kingly figures have been positively identifiedan anomalous situation compared to other cultures. The invasion of the Aryans is the other view that is said to be another reason, which might have also led to the decline of the Indus valley. The collapse of the Indus civilization continues to be a focus of large historical speculation and debate.

CONCLUSION
The Indus cities may have declined for various reasons, but their culture continued in the form of technology, artistic and religious symbols, and city planning. The uniformity of physical artifacts found over the vast region of the Harappan culture tends to make us think in terms of a single religion, language, and culture.