Harappan decline

Lessons 4 and 5
Focus question: What brought about the end of Harappan culture?
Historical context
 The remains of Harappan centres indicate that there were developmental phases of
Harappan culture but that by about 1700BCE (BC) Harappan culture seems to have been
declining and new people seem to have moved into the Indus Valley. The background of
these newcomers is a point of contention for historians. One view is that they came from
the Afghanistan/Iran region, another is that they came from Central Asia, while another
view is that they were indigenous to India. They are referred to as Aryan by some historians
and one thing that does distinguish them from the Harappans is their language and writing,
Sanskrit. The question is whether the newcomers drove out the Harappans by force or
whether Harappan culture was already in decline. Historians are generally of the view today
that Harappan centres were already abandoned or significantly compromised by the time
the newcomers arrived. Why Harappan culture disappeared is still not understood properly.
 Civilisations decline and are replaced by new power structures and new systems.
Generally, the old is not completely wiped out but is adapted and modified by the
newcomers, who add their own traditions and practices. While the Harappans do not seem
to have left a body of literature, they probably had strong oral traditions, and some of the
beliefs and ideas of the Harappans most likely carried over to the Vedic culture which
followed them. Some of the hymns in the Rig Veda may have had their genesis in the
Harappan civilisation. The importance of the Sarasvati River to the Harappans is evident in
the Vedic hymns dedicated to the river and the identification of the river with a goddess
associated with celestial waters, Sarawati.

Suggested learning activities

Examine sources to identify changes in the physical characteristics of the Indus region
Map 1: Location of Harappan sites — The red dotted line on the map below marks the former
course of the Sarasvati River. This river is mentioned in many of the books of the Rig Veda as a
major river.

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 Source 1: Painting of the Indian goddess, Source 2: Hymn from the Rig Veda 7 95
Sarawati, by Raja Ravi Varma (1848–1906) 1-2

This stream Sarasvati with fostering current

comes forth, our sure defence, our fort of
iron.
As on a car (carriage), the flood flows on,
surpassing in majesty and might all other
waters.
Pure in her course from mountains to the
ocean, alone of streams Sarasvati
(Sarawati) hath listened.
Thinking of wealth and the great world of
creatures, she poured for (King) Nahusa her
milk and fatness.

Examine Map 1 and sources 1 and 2 on the sheet Harappan decline.

Questions:
Map 1 shows the former course of the Sarasvati River. How does it suggest that naming the
Harappan civilisation an Indus Valley civilisation may be inappropriate?

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I think that naming Harappan wrong because they name that not showing that they thank to the
river and god.
Since this map shows a ‘former’ course of the river, can you suggest what might have happened to
the river?
I thinking this river have been split up so they river can go to another place.
How does this map help to explain the pressures Harappan civilisation would have experienced
because of changes to the river?
I see in the picture that they some of the dots near together so maybe that a city or a town but
some dots in a where that like a desert so I think that they need to go out of the town and go to
another place so they can live a better life.
How do we know that the goddess, illustrated in Source 1, is associated with a river?
I see the paint that they drawing a goddess near the river and some legend say that the goddess
has save the river when they a dry.
How does the hymn (Source 2) indicate that the Sarasvati River is considered the greatest of
rivers?
Use quotes from the hymn to support your response. I see on the hymn they say that one flood
flows can destroy all of the castle.
Would the Harappans have seen the Sarasvati River in a similar way to the Vedic people who
wrote this hymn? Explain your response.
Yes , because they have drawing the goddess Sarasvati always near the river.
Historical context
 Trying to explain the decline and eventual disappearance of a civilisation is difficult, as
there is rarely one simple explanation, unless it is a catastrophic natural disaster, such as a
volcanic eruption which destroys all in its path, or a major conquest by a hostile power. In
most cases, civilisations decline over a period of time or they are transformed and
integrated into new cultures. The Harappan civilisation can be clearly distinguished from
the Vedic culture which came later, but some of the ideas and practices of the Harappans
may have continued. An example of this may be the importance of ritual bathing, a
possibility suggested by the great bath at Mohenjo-daro, and a significant practice in later
Hindu religion.
 Many theories have been suggested to explain the disappearance of the Harappans. These
range from a destructive confrontation with newcomers to Harappan self-destruction
through misuse of resources.

Suggested learning activities

Examine sources to explain the decline of Harappan civilisation

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Source 3: Summary of a report from the National Academy of Sciences of the United States
of America, August 2011; Fluvial landscapes of the Harappan civilisation

A study conducted over a 5 year period by scientists from various countries, including the United
States and India, has concluded that the Sarasvati River gradually dried up about the time the
Harappan civilisation declined. They concluded that this river was not fed by melting snow from the
Himalayas as other rivers in the region were, but by the monsoons. A shift in the monsoon pattern
meant less rainfall and the river could no longer sustain the agricultural communities which relied
on it. Tectonic movements seem not to have been involved in the disappearance of the river.

Reference: Fluvial landscapes of the Harappan civilization2012, http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2012/05/24/1112743109.abstract

Source 4: Decline of Harappan civilisation, account A

The Indus River Valley Civilisation began to decay between 2000 and 1750 BC (BCE). Changing
river patterns may have disrupted the agriculture and economy of the region. Overuse of the land
along the riverbanks may have also damaged the territory. By approximately 1700 BC (BCE), the
Indus Civilisation had disappeared. Some historians consider invaders from central and western
Asia to have been the destroyers of Harappan cities, but this view is open to interpretation. More
plausible1 explanations are recurrent floods caused by tectonic earth movement [earthquakes], soil
salinity [saltiness], and desertification2.
Thorpe, E & Thorpe, S 2009, The Pearson general studies manual for the UPSC Civil Services preliminary examination, History of India:
Ancient India, 4.2.5 Decay of Indus Valley Civilization, Dorling Kindersley (India), Delhi

1. plausible: reasonable or probable

2. desertification: the transformation of fertile land into desert

Source 5: Decline of Harappan civilisation, account B

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The issue of environmental change can be connected to the ways in which the Harappans were
treating their environment. Perhaps they were over-exploiting it through over-cultivation, over-
grazing and excessive cutting of trees for [wood] and farming. This would have resulted in
decreasing soil fertility, floods and increasing soil salinity... the civilisation declined because the
growing population of people and cattle could not be supported…
Singh, U. 2009, A history of ancient and early medieval India: From the stone age to the 12th century, Dorling Kindersley. p.180.

Source 6: Decline of Harappan civilisation, account C

The discovery in the 1940s of nearly 40 skeletons scattered about at Mohenjo-daro led
archaeologists like Mortimer Wheeler to the conclusion that a series of bloody wars had destroyed
the Harappan civilisation. No other Harappan sites indicate such violence, and this theory is largely
rejected now. There is very limited evidence at all that warfare played any significant role in
Harappan life. Few examples of weapons storage or contingents of armed troops have been found
and there is little evidence of a military mentality. On the other hand, the walls around the citadels
and around some settlements indicate that safety may have been an issue.

Examine Map 1 and sources 3 to 6 on the sheet Harappan decline.

Fill in the chart below.

REFERRED TO IN
THEORY EXPLANATION
SOURCE

They have find 40 skeleton

Two country that have been in a bloody wars and the walls a citadels and
Aryan invasion
and Harappan civilisation have been destroy settlements indicate to
safety have been issue.

They say maybe that the plate on earth have The scientist have seen the
earthquake create a great earthquake so they a destroy earth plate that have been
the Harappan vibrate

The earthquake and soil

desertification The land change to the desert salinity have make the land
have been deserification

Flood have been cause by

flood They have destroy the food and house
the tetonic earth

They say that Harappan a cut to much tree so They can not supported the
soil salinity
they make the soil salinity grow more citizen any more

environmental They treated the

They make the enviroment go to the bad way
destruction environmental have make

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 the way enviroment go to a
bad way

disappearance of The monsoon make the

major water The water in the river have been dry up rainfalls less and the river
resources have been dry up

Harappan have been decay

change in weather Have been disrupted the agriculture and
and the river have been
patterns economy of the region
damage by the terrorist.

Use the supporting learning resource Contestability to revise this key historical concept.
Questions:
Why do you think historians disagree on the reasons for the decline of Harappan civilisation?
I think because this is a huge emperor so they can not be decline easy.
Which reason seems to have been completely rejected by current historians and archaeologists?
I think maybe this is a huge emperor so maybe they have been change or maybe applet to
another country.

Draw conclusions about the reasons for the decline of the Harappan civilisation
 In a paragraph of no more than 200 words answer the following question:
Questions:
Why did Harappan civilisation disappear? I think that they have been change place or go to
another country and also may be they can be already die by another emperor.

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