DELHI PUBLIC

SCHOOL JAMMU

SESSION 2015-16

TOPIC : ARTEFACTS AND TOWN

PLANNING OF HARAPPAN
CIVILIZATION

MADE BY:

SUPERVISED BY:

CERTIFICATE
This is to certify that of , Roll no:-______________
of Delhi Public School, Jammu has completed the
project file under the supervision of the
undersigned. Proper care and utmost sincerity has
been shown in completion of this project. I certify
that this project is up to my expectations and as
per the guidelines issued by CBSE.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I, would like to convey my gratitude with a deep sense

of appreciation towards my worthy Principal, Ms., and
my subject Teacher, Mr. Jaswinder Singh, for their
overwhelming support and their interest in my project. I
am also extremely thankful to my parents and friends
for their assistance, cooperation and support who
helped me to complete my project well in time. I am
really in debt to all.

CONTENTS
S.NO.
1.
2.

TOPICS
TOWN PLANNING
ARTEFACTS

3.

SEALS

4.

TERRACOTA FIGURINES

5.

BRONZE DANCING GIRL

6.
7.

PRIEST FIGURE
THE INDUS SCRIPT

INTRODUCTION
In the third decade of the present century, archaeological
investigations had been conducted at Mohenjodaro and
Harappa, which have brought
out many interesting observations. The Indus Valley
civilisation considered to be the earliest urban civilization
and is at par with the most developed western civilization.
The remains of the highly
developed city has been excavated through the years
and it is believed that this civilization dated five thousand
years back. The Harappan town planning is still a matter of
surprise and wonder for the
contemporary world. This actually establishes the factthat
the people were really technologically advanced and very
knowledgeable in the laying out of the construction of the
city as a whole. The Harappan civilization grew up on the
banks of the riverindus.

TOWN PLANNING

The town planning of the Harappan civilization

affirms the fact that the civic organizations of the
city washighly developed. The roads, dwelling
houses, large buildings and forts were very well
executed. They followed a system of centralized
administration. The houses were even protected
from noise, odors, and thieves. Harappan town
planning had the inclusion of many traveling
houses which ranged from two roomed to large
buildings. Houses were properly placed on both
sides of the roads, and also in tha lanes. The
doors ofthe ouses opened in the lanes and not on
the roads. The houses were built on plinths that
rose above the street level with stairs recessed
at the wall at the front door. The planning did not
allow any hindrance on the roads so everything
was well organized. There were the government
houses which were differently executed, dwelling
houses which ranged from single to several
stories with many rooms, public baths and so on.
At Harappa many rooms consisting of two
chambers around the courtyard of a dwelling
house have been discovered, which are meant for
the staying of the laborers. From the economic
point of view, it can be assumed that agriculture
was the primary occupation. This is evident from
the availability of the granary in the city. The city
of Harappa had defensive outer walls. The

Citadel was the centre of important buildings,

most of these settlements were built of mud
bricks, chiseled stones and burnt bricks. The
citadels faced the west, which acted like
sanctuaries at the time of aggression and during
peace they played the role of community centers.
The Harappan town planning gives a detailed
account of a very good drainage and sanitary
system. The main drain was connected with each
and every house ensuring the proper disposal of
waste. In order to check the maintenance,
inspection holes were rovided. The drains were
covered and connected to the larger sewerage
outlets, which ensured the passage of dirt out of
the city. Town Planning System The Town
Planning System of Indus Valley Civilization
Harappan Civilization) was city based. The
excellent drainage and sanitation systems are
remarkable. Urban Cities: The Indus civilization
flourished around cities. The ruins of the cities,
so far unearthed,show remarkable town
planning, and excellent system of drainage and
sanitation of the Indus Valley Civilization. The
city was the heart of the civilization. The life in
the Indus cities gives the impression of a
democratic bourgeois economy like that of
ancient Crete. Large cities divided into two parts:
Both at Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro and

protected by a construction which looks like a

fort. The ruling class of the towns perhaps lived
in the protected area. The other part of the
towns was lower in height than the former and
common men lived in this area. The lower area of
the towns generally spread over one square
mile.The main streets of Indus Valley ran from
north to south and east to west intersecting one
another at right angles. traffic. Lanes were joined
with the streets. Each lane had a public welt.
Street lamps were provided for welfare of
public.Systematically built Buildingsand
HousesThe nature of the buildings at Harappa
and Mohenjo-Daro shows that the town dwellers
were divided into various social classes. The rich
and the ruling class lived in the multi-roomed
spacious houses and the poorer section lived in
small tenements. The public building and big
houses were situated on the streets.
Public baths. Smaller houses had two rooms,
while larger houses had many rooms. There were
courtyards attached to big buildings. There was
little artistic touch in the architectural design of
the buildings belonging either to the rich or the
poor. They were plain, utilitarian and comfortable
to live. Some of the buildings were probably
multi-storied. Most of the houses had baths,
wells and covered drains connected with street

drains. Ordinary buildings had little ventilation

arrangements, as doors and windows were rarely
fixed in the outer walls. Drainage System: The
elaborate drainage system was a remarkable
feature of the civilization. According to D. D.
Kosambi, the drainage plans of the Indus cities
definitely establish the separate identity or
independent character of the Indus
civilization.No ancient civilization before the
Roman civilization had such an advanced
drainage and sanitation system. Each house had
horizontal and vertical drains. There
wereunderground drains for the streets. These
drains were covered by stone slabs. The soak
pits were made of bricks. The house drains were
connected with road drains.Also read: Drainage
System of Harappan Civilization (Indus Valley)
Great Public Bath and Granary of Indus which
was used as a public bath. The overall dimension
of the Bath is 180 feet by 108 feet. The bathing
pool is 39 feet by 23 feet with 8 feet depth.
There is a device to fill and empty the water of
the bathing pool. There are galleries and rooms
on all sides of the bathing pool. Dr. Kosambi has
provided an interpretation of the bathing
pooland the adjoining rooms which is ingenuous.
According to him, men used to bathe in the tanks
as a ritual for the mother goddess to whom the

citadel belonged. This public bath was attached

to the Mohenjo-Daro fort where upper class
people lived. Among the other large buildings
there was a big hall which was perhaps used for
public meeting. There is the ruin of a great
granary at Harappa measuring 169 fit x 135 fit.
Attached to the granary were two roomed
tenements with a common courtyard. These
tenements housed the workers or the slaves ho
thrashed the corn to be preserved in the granary.
Declining Stage of the City The advanced style of
the Indus city life found in the earlier layers is
absent in the later layers. In later layers there
was a marked decline in civic discipline. Buildings
encroached on the roads. Lanes were chocked
with klins. Slums grew around. At Harappa and
more clearly, at Mohenjo-Daro excavation has
revealed the general shape of town planning
system of the Indus Valley Civilization.

ARTEFACTS
The Indus Valley Civilization was rich with culture
and tradition, revealed in its wealth of beautiful,
intricate, and elaborate ornaments, jewelry and
artifacts. These items and more are on exhibit at
Indias Jewellery Gallery of the National Museum
in Delhi. According to DNA India, thedisplay
represents the high aesthetic sense of the
craftsmen of Old World civilization, and the
connection between culture then and now
through art, jewelry, coins and pottery.The
National Museum exhibit is entitled Alamkara
The Beauty of Ornament . The museum describes
the nature of the collection and the influence of
adornment on humanity, observing, Once
decorated with beautiful ornaments, the body
assumes form, becomes visible, attractive and
perfect. Painstakingly wrought by anonymous
goldsmiths in ateliers and workshops across the
country,the national museum collection
celebrates the greatvariety of forms, the beauty
of Indian design and thegenius of Indian
craftsmanship, FirstPost reports. Royal earrings
from India, 1st Century BC. Wikimedia, CC More
than 200 ornaments are on display collected from
3,300 BC to the 19th and 20th centuries,
including a 5,000 year old necklace, created of

steatite and gold beads all capped in gold, with

pendants of agate and jade. Beaded necklace of
the Indus Valley, Mohenjodaro circa 2,600 1,900
BCE. Credit: National Museum Guest curator and
jewelry historian Usha Balakrishna told DNA
India, "India was the largest manufacturer and
exporter of beads to the world at that time. They
had the skill of tumbling beads, of cutting semiprecious hardstones, of shaping the beads. India
was also home to thediamond and invented the
diamond drill, which was then taught to the
Romans." The ancient auspicious image of the
swastika can be found on other items featured in
the exhibit at themuseum. Two square amulets
feature lucky swastika symbolism and
Balakrishna says they are "the earliest known
epresentations of swastika in gold known to us.
Other motifs decorating theartifacts are lions,
fish, and the 'poornaghat', known as a vase of
plenty in religious ceremonies The Indus Valley
civilization (also called the Harappan era) was
one of the earliest known cultures of the Old
World, dating from approximately 3,300 to 1,900
BCE, and spanning widely across Afghanistan,
Pakistan and India, covering 1.25 million km2 at
its height. Wikipedia.notes that the engineering
skills of the people were remarkable, with
great achievements in measurement accuracy

and craftsmanship. The subcontinent boasts the

longest history of jewelry making in the world,
stemming back 5,000 years. These first jewelers
created gold earrings, necklaces, beads and
bangles, and the wares would be used in trade,
and worn mostly by females. Ancient Harappan
weight scales.Wikimedia, CC Sir John Marshall of
the Archaeological Survey of India is to have
been shocked at seeing samples of ancient Indus
Valley bronze work in the early 1900s: When I
first saw them I found it difficult to believe that
they were prehistoric; they seemed to completely
upset all established ideas about early art, and
culture. Modeling such as this was unknown in
the ancient world up to the Hellenistic age of
Greece, and I thought, therefore, that some
mistake must surely have been made... eplicaof
the prehistoric Dancing Girl of MohenjoDaro
circa 2,500 BC, Wikimedia, CC .The showcasing of
the art, skills and craftsmanship of the
IndusValley civilization and their descendants is
hoped to help fill insome of the gaps in
understanding of the history and ricArt
generally means sculpture and painting, and
often includes architecture, but human artifacts
may embrace a wider category of material
remains that include the decorative and minor
arts, such as jewelry, pottery, metaland wooden

utensils and even toys. h culture ofancient

India.It is here, in the absenceof much concrete
architecture and built remains, that the artefacts
of the Indus Valley Civilization or the Harappan
culture are of interest as art, and it is in this way
that we will study them. The art of the earliest
people in South Asia is of interest, this ranges
from cave paintings (such as at Bhimbetka),
Neolithic pottery glazed with patterns and
decorations, terracotta figurines,cast bronze
statuettes, seals and various figures ranging
from priest figures to childrens toys. However,
what is also important is to construct an
overview of the Indus Valley culture, as
theartifacts from here fall into distinct periods
cultural ortemporal. Scholars construct four
distinct periods in the Indus Valley timeline. The
Neolithic period (when food production first
became predominant) is from 7000-5500 BC, the
Regionalization phase is from 5500-2600 BC, and
the emergence of the Indus Valley Culture as a
specific civilization as such is from 2600-1900 BC.
This is also been called the Integration Era which
sees towns and urban centers beginning to form
the hub of civilization. Also noted for the use and
dissemination of writing, the Integration Era in
the Indus Valley Culture saw the production of
seals and other associated artifacts. The final era

is the so-called Localization Era (1900-1300 BC)

which saw both the beginning of the eventual
breakup of the Harappan culture, as well as its
final concentration into towns and cities.

Terracotta Figures
Other produced artifacts at the Indus Valley
civilization are
small figures and statuettes in terracotta. These
figurines range in size from just a few inches
high to over a foot (12). Several of these
figurines have been found, and consist of objects
such as wheeled carts, cots, stylized female
figures with exaggerated breasts and pudenda,
with accessories such as necklaces and other
ornaments. It is likely that wooden parts needed,
for example, to make the wheeled carts work
have not survived the ages. Amongst the most
famous of these figurines is that of a mother
deity or mother goddess and is widely considered
to represent ideals or abstract
Concepts of female fertility, thus also indicating
that the
Harappan culture knew and was able to put into
concrete form abstract notions of worship and
godhood.

CONCLUSION
The Indus Valley Civilization is also called the
Harappan culture. Archaeologists use the term
culture for a group of objects, distinctive in style,
that are usually found together within a specific
geographical area and period of time. In the case of
harappan culture, these distinctive objects including
seals, weights, stone blades and even burned bricks.
These objects were found from areas as far apart as
Afghanistan, Jammu, Baluchistan {Pakistan} and
Gujarat.
Named after Harappa, the first site where this unique
culture was discovered, the civilization is dated
between c. 200 and 1900 bce. There were earlier and
later cultures, often called early harappan and late
harappan, in the same area. The harappan civilization
is sometimes called the mature harappan culture to
distinguish it from these cultuers.

BIBLOGRAPHY

www.ancientencyclopedia.org
www.wikipedia.org
www.yahooanswers.com
www.archeologicaldepartmantofindia.nic

www.britanicca.com
www.oxford.org.
www.google.com