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The Indus Civilisation - Part 1
1.0 Geographical Extent
The Indus civilisation or the Harappan culture is older than the Chalcolithic cultures which have been discussed earlier, but it is far more developed than these cultures. It arose in the north-western part of the Indian subcontinent. It is called Harappan because this civilization was discovered first in 1921 at the modern site of Harappa situated in the province of west Punjab in Pakistan. The Harappan culture covered parts of Punjab, Haryana, Sindh, Baluchistan, Gujarat, Rajasthan and the fringes of western Uttar Pradesh. It extended from Jammu in the north to the Narmada estuary in the south, and from the Makran roast of Baluchistan in the west to Meerut in the north-east. The area formed a triangle and accounted for about 12,99,600 square kilometres, which is larger than Pakistan and certainly bigger than Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia. No other cultural zone in the third and second millennium B.C. in the world was as large as the Harappan.
Nearly 1000 Harappan sites are known so far in the subcontinent. They belong to early, mature and late phases of the Harappan culture. But the number of the sites belonging to the mature phase is limited, and of them only half a dozen can be regarded as cities. Of these, the two most important cities were Harappa in Punjab and Mohenjo-daro (literally the mound of the dead) in Sindh, both forming parts of Pakistan. Situated at a distance of 483 kilometres they were linked together by the Indus. A third city lay at Chanhu-daro about 130 km south of Mohenjo-daro in Sindh, and a fourth at Lothal in Gujarat at the head of the Gulf of Cambay. A fifth city lay at Kalibangan in Northern Rajasthan. A sixth called Banawali is situated in Hissar district in Haryana. It saw two cultural phases, similar to that of Kalibangan. To the Harappan period belong the remains of mud-brick platforms, and of streets. and drains. The Harappan culture is noticeable in its mature and flourishing stage at all these six places. It is also found in its mature phase in the coastal cities of Sutkagendor and Surkotada, each one of which is marked by a citadel. The later Harappan phase is found in Rangpur and Rojdi in the Kathiawar peninsula in Gujarat.
2.0 Town Planning and Structures
The Harappan culture was distinguished by its system of town planning. Harappa and Mohenjo-daro each had its own citadel or acropolis, which was possibly occupied by members of the ruling class. Below the citadel in each city lay a lower town containing brick houses, which were inhabited by the common people. The remarkable thing about the arrangement of the houses in the cities is that they followed the grid system. According to it, roads cut across one another almost at right angles (90 degrees!), and the city was divided into a certain number of blocks. This is true of almost all Indus settlements regardless of size.
Big buildings distinguished both Harappa and Mohenjo-daro; the latter was extremely rich in structures. Their monuments symbolised the ability of the ruling class to mobilise labour and collect taxes; the huge brick constructions also impressed the common people with the prestige and influence of their rulers.
The most important public place of Mohenjo-daro seems to be the Great Bath, comprising the tank which is situated in the citadel mound. It is an example of beautiful brickwork. It measures 11.88 x 7.01 metres and 2.43 metres deep. Flights of steps at either end lead to the surface. There are side rooms for chaging clothes. The floor of the Bath was made of burnt bricks. Water was drawn from a large well in an adjacent room, and an outlet from the comer of the Bath led to a drain. It is suggested that the Great Bath served ritual bathing, which was so vital to any religious ceremony in India.
In Mohenjo-daro the largest building is a granary, which is 45.71 metres long and 15.23 metres wide. But in the citadel of Harappa we find as many as six granaries. A series of brick platforms is seen which formed the basis for two rows of six granaries. Each granary measured 15.23 metres x 6.09 metres and lay within a few metres of the river bank. The combined floor space of the twelve units would be about 838.1025 square metres. Approximately it had the same area as the Great Granary at Mohenjo-daro. To the south of granaries at Harappa lay working floors consisting of the rows of circular brick platforms. These were evidently meant for threshing grain because wheat and barley have been found in the crevices of the floors. Harappa also shows two-roomed barracks, which possibly accommodated labourers.
At Kalibangan also, in the southern part, brick platforms were found, which may have been used for granaries. Thus, it would appear that granaries constituted an important part of the Harappan cities. The use of burnt bricks in the Harappan cities is remarkable, because in the contemporary buildings of Egypt mainly dried bricks were used. The use of baked bricks in contemporary Mesopotamia is known, but they were used to a much larger extent in the Harappan cities.
The drainage system of Mohenjo-daro was very impressive. In almost all cities every big or small house had its own courtyard and bathroom. In Kalibangan many houses had their wells. Water flowed from the house to the streets which had drains. Sometimes these drains were covered with bricks and sometimes with stone slabs. The street drains were equipped with manholes. The remains of streets and drains have also been found at Banawali. Altogether the quality of the domestic bathrooms and drains is remarkable, and the drainage system of Harappa is almost unique. Perhaps no other Bronze Age civilization gave so much attention to health and cleanliness as the Harappan did.
3.0 Agriculture
Comparatively rainless, the Indus region is not so fertile these days. Its prosperous villages and towns show that it was fertile in Ancient times. At present it has only a rainfall of about 15 cm. In the fourth century B.C. one of the historians of Alexander wrote that Sindh was a fertile part of the country. In earlier times the Indus region possessed more natural vegetation which attracted more rainfall. It supplied timber fuel for baking bricks on a large scale, and also for construction. In course of time, natural vegetation was destroyed by the extension of agriculture, large-scale grazing, and supply of fuel. A far more important reason for the fertility of the area seems to have been the annual inundation in the Indus river. Walls made of burnt bricks raised for protection show that floods took place annually. The Indus carried far more alluvial silt than the Nile in Egypt and deposited it on the flood plains. Just as the Nile created Egypt and supported its people, so also the Indus created Sindh and fed its people. The Indus people sowed seeds in the flood plains in November, when the flood water receded, and reaped their harvests of wheat and barley in April, before the advent of the next flood. No hoe or ploughshare has been discovered, but the furrows discovered in the pre-Harappan phase at Kalibangan show that the fields were ploughed in Rajasthan in the Harappan period. The Harappans probably used the wooden ploughshare. We do not know whether the plough was drawn by men or oxen. Stone sickles may have been used for harvesting the crops. Gabarbands or nalas enclosed by dams for storing water were a feature in parts of Baluchistan, but channel or canal irrigation seems to have been absent.
The Harappan villages, mostly situated near the flood plains, produced sufficient foodgrains not only to feed themselves but also the town people. They must have worked very hard to meet their own requirements as well as those of the artisans, merchants and others, who lived in the city and who were not directly concerned with food-producing activities.
The Indus people produced wheat, barley, rai, peas, etc. They produced two types of wheat and barley. A good quantity of barley has been discovered at Banawali. In addition to this, they produced sesamum and mustard. But the position seems to have been different with the Harappans at Lothal. It seems that as early as 1800 B.C., the people of Lothal used rice whose remains have been found. Foodgrains were stored in huge granaries in both Mohenjo-daro and Harappa and possibly in Kalibangan. Probably, cereals were received as taxes from peasants and stored in granaries for the payment of wages. This can be said on the analogy of Mesopotamian cities where wages were paid in barley. The Indus people were the earliest people to produce cotton. Because cotton was first produced in this area the Greeks called it sindon, which is derived from Sindh.
4.0 Domestication of Animals
Although the Harappans practised agriculture, animals were kept on a large scale. Oxen, buffaloes, goats, sheep and, pigs were domesticated. The humped bulls were favoured by the Harappans. From the very beginning dogs were regarded as pets. Cats were also domesticated, and signs of the feet of both dogs and cats have been noticed. They also kept asses and camels, which were obviously used as beasts of burden. Evidence of the horse comes from a superficial level of Mohenjo-daro and from a doubtful terracotta figurine from lothal. The remains of the horse have been reported from Surkotada, situated on the west of Gujarat, and belong to around 2000 B.C. but the identity is doubtful. In any case it is clear that this animal was not in regular use in Harappan times. Elephants were well known to the Harappans, who were also acquainted with the Rhinoceros. The contemporary Sumerian cities in Mesopotamia practically produced the same foodgrains and domesticated the same animals as the Harappans did. But the Harappan people in Gujarat produced rice and domesticated elephants, which was not the case with the people of Mesopotamian cities.
9.0 Technology and Crafts
The Harappan culture belongs to the Bronze Age. The people of Harappa used many tools and implements of stone, but they were very well acquainted with the manufacture and use of bronze. It was made by the smiths by mixing tin with copper. Since none of the two metals was easily available to the Harappans, bronze tools are not prolific in Harappa. The impurities of the ores show that copper was obtained from the Khetri copper mines of Rajasthan, although it could also be brought from Baluchistan. Tin was possibly brought with difficulty from Afghanistan although its old workings are stated to have been found in Hazaribagh in Bihar. The bronze tools and weapons recovered from the Harappan sites contain a smaller percentage of tin. However, the kit of bronze goods left by the Harappa is considerable, which suggests that the bronzesmiths constituted an important group of artisans in the Harappan society. They produced not only images and utensils but also various tools and weapons such as axes, saws, knives and spears. Several other important crafts flourished in the Harappan towns. A piece of woven cotton has been recovered from Mohenjo-daro, and textile impressions found on several objects. Spindle whorls were used for spinning. Weavers wove cloth of wool and cotton. Huge brick structures suggest that brick-laying was an important craft. They also attest the existence of a class of masons. The Harappans also practised boat-making. Seal-making and terracotta manufactures were also important crafts. The goldsmiths made jewellery of silver, gold and precious stones; the first two may have been obtained from Afghanistan and the last from south India. The Harappans were also experts in bead-making.
The potter's wheel was in full use, and the Harappans produced their own characteristic pottery, which was made glossy and shining.
6.0 Trade
The importance of trade in the life of the Indus people is attested not only by granaries found at Harappa, Mohenjo-daro and Lothal but also by the presence of numerous seals, uniform script and regulated weights and measures in a wide area. The Harappans carried on considerable trade in stone, metal, shell, etc. within the Indus culture zone. However, their cities did not possess the necessary raw material for the commodities they produced. They did not use metal money. Most probably they carried on all exchanges through barter.
In return for finished goods and possibly foodgrains, they procured metals from the neighbouring areas by boats and bullock-carts. They practised navigation on the coast of the Arabian Sea. They knew the use of wheel and carts with solid wheels here in use in Harappa. It also appears that the Harappans used some kind of a modern ekka.
The Harappans has commercial links with one area of Rajasthan and also with Afghanistan and Iran. They had set up a trading colony in northern Afghanistan which evidently facilitated trade with central Asia. Their cities also carried commerce with those in the land of the Tigris and the Euphrates. Many Harappan seals have been discovered in Mesopotamia, and it seems that the Harappans imitated some cosmetics used by the urban people of Mesopotamia.
The Harappans carried on long-distance trade in lapis lazuli (is a deep blue semi-precious stone); lapis may have contributed to the social prestige of the ruling class. The Mesopotamian records from about 2350 B.C. onwards refer to trade relations with Meluha, which was the ancient name given to the Indus region. The Mesopotamian texts speak of two intermediate trading stations called Dilmun and Makan, which lay between Mesopotamia and Meluha. Dilmun can probably be identified with Bahrain on the Persian Gulf. Thousands of graves await excavation in that port city.
7.0 Political Organization
We have no clear idea about the political organization of the Harappans. If the Harappan cultural zone is considered identical with the political zone, the subcontinent did not witness such a large political unit until the rise of the Maurya Empire; the remarkable stability of this unit is demonstrated by its continuity for nearly 600 years.
In sharp contrast to Egypt and Mesopotamia, no temples have been found at any Harappan site. We have no religious structures of any kind except the Great Bath, which may have been used for ablutions. Therefore, it would be wrong to think that priests ruled in Harappa, as they did in the cities of Lower Mesopotamia. There are some indications of the practice of fire cult at Lothal in Gujarat in the later phase, but no temples were used for the purpose. Perhaps the Harappan rulers were more concerned with commerce than with conquests, and Harappa was possibly ruled by a class of merchants.
8.0 Religious Practices
In Harappa, numerous terracotta figurines of women have been found. In one figurine a plant is shown, growing out of the embryo of a woman. Probably the image represents the goddess of earth, and it was intimately connected with the origin and growth of plants. The Harappans, therefore, looked upon the earth as a fertility goddess and worshipped her in the same manner as the Egyptians worshipped the Nile goddess Isis. But we do not know whether the Harappans were a matriarchal people like the Egyptians. In Egypt the daughter inherited the throne or property, but we do not know about the nature of inheritance in the Harappan society.
Some Vedic texts show reverence to the earth goddess, although she is not given any prominence. It took a long time for the worship of the supreme goddess to develop in Hinduism. Only from the sixth century A.D. onwards various mother-goddesses such as Durga, Amba, Kali, Chandi, etc. came to be regarded as goddesses in the Puranas and in the Tantra literature. In course of time every village came to have its own separate goddess, a practice that’s in use even today.
8.1 The Male Deity in the Indus Valley
The male deity is represented on a seal. This god has three homed heads. He is represented in the sitting posture of a yogi, one foot placed on the other. This god is surrounded by an elephant, a tiger, a rhinoceros, and has a buffalo below his throne. At his feet appear two deer. The seal immediately recalls to our mind the traditional image of Pashupati Mahadeva. The four animals surrounding the God look towards the four directions of the earth.
They may have served as vehicles for gods, because in later Hinduism every god is supposed to have his own conveyance for his movements. In addition to the use of the image of Shiva, we also come across the preavlence of the phallus worship, which became so intimately connected with Shiva in later times. Numerous symbols of the phallus and female sex organs made of stone have been found in Harappa. They were possibly meant for worship. The Rig Veda speaks of the non-Aryan people who were phallus worshippers. The phallus worship which started in the days of Harappa came to be recognized as a respectable form of workship in Hindu society.
8.2 Tree and animal worship
The people of the Indus region also worshipped trees. The picture of a god is repesented on a seal in the midst of the branches of the pipal. This tree continues to be worshipped to this day.
Animals were also worshipped in Harappan times, and many of them are represented on seals. The most important of them is the humped bull. Even today, when such a bull passes in the market streets the pious Indians give way to it. Similarly, the animals surrounding Pashupati Mahadeva indicate that these were worshipped. Obviously the inhabitants of the Indus region worshipped gods in the form of trees, animals and human beings. But the gods were not placed in temples, a practice which was common in Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia. Nor can we say anything about the religious beliefs of the Harappans without being able to read their script. Amulets have been found in large numbers. Probably the Harappans believed that ghosts and evil forces were capable of harming them and therefore used amulets against them. The Atharva Veda, which is associated with non-Aryan tradition, contains many charms and spells, and recommends amulets for warding off diseases and evil forces.
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