INTRODUCTION

(3300 BCE to 1300 BCE- INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION)

Haryana is one of the 29 states in India, located in northern part of the country. It was carved
out of the former state of East Punjab on 1st November 1966 on linguistic as well as on cultural
basis .The Union territory of Chandigarh is the joint capital of Haryana and Punjab. Rich in
history, monuments, heritage, flora and fauna, human resources and tourism with a well
developed economy, national highways and state roads, it is bordered by Himachal Pradesh to
the north-east, by river Yamuna along its eastern border with Uttar Pradesh, by Rajasthan to
the west and south, and Ghaggar-Hakra river flows along its northern border with Punjab.

The earliest remains of human activity in Haryana are reported from Southern and Northern
hilly areas which goes as early as the Middle Pleistocene period. The earliest permanent
settlements in this region, however, in the form of chalcolithic villages on its plain, came to be
established only towards the middle of the 3rd millennium B.C. in the valleys of Sarasvati and
Drishadvati rivers. The immigration of these early settlers was from Baluchi hills via Ghaggar-
Hakra river. These settlements in Haryana have so far, been discovered mainly in the valleys
of Ghaggar and the Chautang identified with ancient Sarasvati and Drishadvati respectively.

The Indus Valley Civilization (IVC) was a Bronze Age civilization in the north-western regions
of South Asia, lasting from 3300 BCE to 1300 BCE, and in its mature form from 2600 BCE to
1900 BCE. It flourished in the basins of the Indus River, one of the major rivers of Asia, and
the Ghaggar- Hakra River, which once coursed through northwest India and eastern
Pakistan.The largest number of sites belonging to this civilization are in Gujarat, Haryana,
Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, in India and Sindh, Punjab, and Baluchistan provinces in
Pakistan.

The main sites located in Haryana are Kunal, Banawali, Rakhigarhi, Siswal, Balu, Farmana,
Bhirrana,Mitathal etc. Rakhigarhi village in Hisar district and Bhirrana in Fatehabad district of
Haryana are home to the largest and one of the world's oldest ancient Indus Valley Civilization
sites.

In this research project we will study the social ,cultural ,political and economic aspects of
Haryana during the time period 3300 BCE to 1300 BCE as a part of the Indus Valley
Civilization.
P a g e 1 | 30
IMPORTANT SITES OF THE CIVILIZATION LOCATED IN
HARYANA

RAKHIGARHI
Rakhigarhi is a village in Hisar District of Haryana. It is the largest site of the Indus Valley
Civilization. The artefacts found during excavation point to Early and Mature Harappan phases,
especially the pottery. A cylindrical seal with five Harappan characters on one side and a
symbol of an alligator on the other is an important find from this site. Other antiquities included
blades,terracotta and shell bangles, beads of semi-precious stones, terracotta, shell and copper
objects, animal figurines, toy cart frame and wheel of terracotta, bone points, inscribed steatite
seals, needles, fish hooks, weights and bronze artefacts.

Signs of flourishing trade can be seen by the excavation of jewelry and 'chert' weights. Weights
found here are similar to weights found at many other IVC sites confirming presence of
standardized weight systems. A granary belonging to mature Harappan phase (2600 BCE to
2000 BCE) has been found here.

KUNAL

Kunal is a pre-Harappan settlement located in Fatehabad district, Haryana, India. This site was
a village located on Sarasvati plain. Earliest remains of pre-Harappan culture in India have
been found at this sight. Archaeological excavations have revealed the remains of three
successive phases of the early- Harappan culture, mature Harappan and Painted Grey Ware
culture.

Excavations on the south-west side of mound revealed copper furnaces with smelting material
and copper ingots and slags were also found at this site. Rice (probably wild) is found from
Kunal as well as from Balu, both in Haryana.

BHIRRANA
Bhirrana is a small village in the Fatehabad district of Haryana. Located near the Ghaggar-
Hakra river basin, this Harappan site is currently the oldest site of the civilisation dating to the
8th-7th millennium BCE and has retained all the cultural levels. Excavations by the ASI(
Archaeological Survey of India ) at Bhirrana has revealed a cultural sequence consisting of
P a g e 2 | 30
Hakra Ware, Early and Mature Harappan cultures. Hakra Ware culture is a material culture
which is contemporaneous with the early Harappan Ravi phase culture (3300-2800 BCE).

BHAGWANPURA
This is an archaeological site that lies on the bank of Hakra Ghaggar channel in the Kurukshetra
district of the state.The site is distinguished for showing an overlap between the late Harappan
and Painted Grey Ware cultures, which is usually associated with the Vedic people. This reason
makes this place notable as the junction of two great civilizations of India.

P a g e 3 | 30
 Shraddha Jindal

Roll No. 2019/BALLB/57

Cultural and Social aspects of history of Haryana in Indus Valley

Civilization

• Town Planning
All cities had its own Citadel part, which was possibly occupied by members of ruling class.
Below the citadel in each city lay a lower town containing brick houses, which were inhabited
by common people. Both the citadel area and lower town were fortified with massive walls in
most of the cities. These cities followed the grid system. These cities were built with blocks
divided by a grid of straight streets, running north-south and east-west. Town planning is a
unique feature of that time. The doors and windows of the houses were opened inside.

These people used to

have Great baths. Though
the exact purpose of
baths is not clear but it is
believed that these might
be used either for
religious bathing or for
sanitation purpose. The
most prominent aspect of
planning was the system
of underground drainage.

All houses had

bathrooms and private
wells were in some houses. There were streets that connected the major roads.

P a g e 4 | 30
 • Drainage system

The drainage system of that time in Indus cities was very unique. The drains were covered with
bricks or stones and were provided with inspection trapes and main holes at regular intervals
for inspection. House drains emptied themselves into the main drains which ran under the main
streets and below many lanes. Every care was taken that the house-wives did not throw refuse
or dirt in the drains. Every house had its own soak-pit which collected all the sediments and
allowed only the water to flow into the street drain.

Art

• Pottery

The pottery of Indus Valley civilization is much excellent. Plain and painted pottery were there.
Plain pottery generally made of red clay, with or without a fine red or grey slip. There was
black painted pottery which had a fine coating of red slip with painted geometric and animal
designs. Perforated pottery was also there, perhaps to use as a sieve. They made the ancient
glazed pottery. A kiln in which pots baked discovered. They decorate the pots with perfect
craftsmanship. Pottery of various sizes were also there.

• Terracotta

Most terracotta images were those of mother goddess. Terracotta toys like wheels, whistles,
rattles, gamesmen, discs, birds and animals were also there.

• Beads and ornaments

A variety of ornaments was there which was used by both men and women. These were made
from precious metals, gemstones, bone and baked clay. At Kunal, a number of silver and gold
ornaments have been found. Beads of Cornelian, agate, lapis lazuli, and steatite and shell were
found as well. Ornaments like filets, necklaces, finger-rings, armlets were worn by both men
and women and ornaments like earrings, girdles, anklets. Well-crafted ornaments were there
including necklaces of gold and semiprecious stones, copper bracelets and beads, head
ornaments and earrings made of gold, steatite and gemstones beads, faience pendants and
buttons. Cemetery found in Farmana – where dead bodies were buried with ornaments. Beads
were of various shapes disc-shaped, cylindrical, spherical, barrel-shaped, and segmented.
P a g e 5 | 30
 • Seals

Thousands of seals were there. They were mostly of steatite (a kind of soft stone). Some seals
were also made using chert, agate, copper, terracotta, faience, gold and ivory. The purpose of
these seals was chiefly commercial. Some seals were carried in the form of amulets, perhaps
as identity cards. Every seal had a picture of an animal (tigers, bulls, elephants, goats, bisons
etc.) and some writings in a pictographic script (which is not yet deciphered).

There was a seal named as Pashupati seal with a figure seated cross-legged in the Centre with
animals around; an elephant and a tiger to the right of the figure and a rhino and a buffalo to
its left.

• Stone statutes

Mainly two male statutes which are The Breaded Man and a Torso in red sandstone.

The Breaded man appears to be of a priest. A shawl is draped over his left shoulder and his
eyes are slightly elongated as if in half-meditation. He is wearing an armlet.

The Breaded man appears to be of a priest. A shawl is draped over his left shoulder and his
eyes are slightly elongated as if in half-meditation. He is wearing an armlet.

The Male torso is a red sandstone figure, which has socket holes in the neck and shoulders for
the attachment of head and arms. The frontal posture of the torso has been consciously adopted.
The shoulders are well carved and the abdomen looks slightly prominent.

• Bronze casting

First, wax figures were made and then covered with clay. The clay as allowed to dry and then
the figure was heated to melt the wax. This wax was drained out through a hole in the clay.
After that, the hollow clay was filled with the metal of choice. After cooling the metal, the clay
was removed revealing the desired metal figurine. Both animal and human figures were made
this way.

• Craft production

The Indus valley civilization was, in the true sense, Chalcolithic. These people deliberately
alloyed copper with tin in order to obtain bronze, which is more malleable and stronger. They
P a g e 6 | 30
could thus make knives, axes and chisels. Copper was smelted in brick-lined pits, and wax-
and-clay moulds were probably used to cast whole or parts of copper and bronze artefacts.

Society and Culture

• Food

Food in that time period of Indus valley civilization largely depended on some major food
crops and cereals like Wheat, Barley, Lentils, Fruits, vegetables that were cultivated by them.
These people reared buffalos, sheep, goats which prove that milk was major food article for
these people. Along with the vegetarian food items they also consumed meat.

• Animals

People domesticated animals such as dogs, cats, short-horned buffaloes, possibly pigs, camels,
cow, chicken, sheep, goats, horses, donkeys (which they later used for transportation), and
elephants. The elephants had a bit more of a vague description so they might have been more
used for their ivory. They mainly ate cows but they ate most sea foods such as fish and shell
fish.

• Religion and Rituals

Religion is a subject matter which has not been available

in any ancient text or document but rather in the
inscriptions, seals, images and other materials. Evidence
for presence of Hinduism is believed to have been present
during that period.

No public places of worship like temples has been

discovered. But various figures of mother goddess, made
out of clay and Unicorn were there. It was considered as a (Pashupati seal)

symbol of fertility and was venerated by the people. A figure of a male god in a seated posture
was also found. It was carved on a small stone seal. The Pashupati seal in which a figure is
seated in a yoga-like postured is surrounded by animals, may arguably mean continuation of
Shiva. Great bath is also considered as a ritual activity

P a g e 7 | 30
 • Sports and Entertainment

The large number of terracotta figurines and toys such as cart, bull, elephant, monkeys,
chariots; whistles etc. indicate that the children entertained themselves. There are no clear
evidences of music.

• Social Structure

Standard of living can be assessed through the degree of use of jewellery and the kind of
material used as utensils or pottery. Palace-like structures suggest an existence of elite-class.
Merchant class was large and probably dominant, perhaps ruled their domains. Seals could
have been used as status-symbol too.

• Dress

There are scanty evidences of clothing. Most of the artefacts are unclothed. There are traces of
cotton (indigenous) and woollen clothes (imported). Male wore Turbans. There are no clear
evidences of silk as cloth but as thread.

• Leisure Activities

Their leisure activities were Dice and Gambling. There are evidences in some seals with
stringed musical instrument. Board game with pieces, a chess-like game has also been
discovered.

• Agriculture

The farmers liked living near the river because it kept the land green and fertile for growing
crops. Farmers needed river water to drink, wash and to irrigate their fields. The types of crops
were wheat, barley, peas, lentils, linseed, mustard etc. people might have grown cotton in small
quantity. They did not grow rice because it did not grow well where they lived, but they did
find white rice and fed it to their animals. The nutrients that the plants needed was replenished
every year when the annual floods came in.

It is commonly believed that the Aryans’ attack might have led to the destruction of the Indus
valley civilization. The epics of the Aryans mentioned about their victory over the great cities.

P a g e 8 | 30
 Conclusion
Rakhigirhi settlement faces all three phases of Indus valley civilization. Indus valley
civilization was the most fascinating and first urban civilization in the world that flourished in
many parts of Haryana. Town planning and drainage system were unique things of that time.
Towns were well planned and according to the needs. The elaborate drainage system shows
that they had developed a high sense of health and sanitation. Use of copper shows that it was
chalcolithic. Pashupati seal and other seals like mother goddess show that there may be worship
of gods. Food evidences shows that those people ate both veg and nonveg. Most of artefacts
were unclothed which tells us that textiles were rarely there but some seals were there which
are with clothes. Farmers lived together near the river.

P a g e 9 | 30
 MEHEK WADHWANI

ROLL NO: 2019/BALLB/62

ECONOMIC ASPECTS

(3300 BCE to 1300 BCE- INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION)

In order to study the economy of Haryana during the time period from 3300 bce-1300 BCE we
need to study the economy of the Indus Valley Civilization.

The Indus civilization evolved from one being representative of pastoral and arable farming to
a highly urbanized one which boasted of rich art and culture, and vibrant trade relations with
regions as far as Mesopotamia. This prosperous phase was then followed by de-urbanization
and decline.

Pre/Early Harappan 3500-2600 B.C.

EARLY HARAPPAN PHASE IN HARYANA (SOTHI-SISWAL

CULTURE)

The Early Harappan Culture was the product of the gradual development of those early farming
communities which were emerged in greater Indus-Sarasvati plain and piedmont areas, across
the border of India and Pakistan. Early farming communities transformed as the Sothi-Siswal
culture, through gradual developments. Such kind of gradual developments and uninterrupted
occupation between the early farming communities and Sothi-Siswal have been noticed at
many sites under the jurisdictions of Haryana and Rajasthan. Mitathal, Siswal, Balu, Kunal,
Rakhigarhi, Bhirrana, Farmana, etc are the Early Harrapan sites found in Haryana.

The economy of The Early Harappan phase is mainly based on the agriculture, animal
husbandry but we can observe some significant development in internal and external trade
activities.

P a g e 10 | 30
AGRICULTURE :-

The Early Harappans were familiar with the cultivation of rice, barely, dwarf wheat, jawar,
millet, lentil, field pea, gram, and date. The remains of fruit cultivation were found during the
excavations at Balu and Kunal in Haryana. The remains of watermelon present the first
example of its cultivation during the Early Harappan at Balu . Above said remains shows that
a big part of Sothi-Siswal economy came from agriculture. During Early-Harappan phase the
copper and bronze agriculture implements like – axe, adze, celt, sickle etc. were used. With the
help of these implements, people started producing surplus food grains. These type of
implements which were used presumably for an agricultural purpose, like clearing the forest,
Harvesting, tilling the land etc.

ANIMAL HUSBANDARY :-

Animal Husbandry was one of the prominent components of Sothi-Siswal economy

.Kalibnagan, Siswal, Kunal Bhirrana, Rakhigarhi Farmana, Balu and other the Early Harappan
sites presented the remains of domestic animals as the fragments of bones and skeletons. Apart
from this several terracotta figurines of animals like bull, goat, sheep, dog, and others also
indicate the animal husbandry position during the Sothi-Siswal cultural which was recovered
from Sothi-Siswal sites.

TRADE :-

Both types of trade activities (Internal trade and External trade) have been noticed during the
excavations and explorations. Due to the Sarasvati and Drishadvati rivers, Sothi-Siswal patch
was covered by very fertile and arable soil as a result of which the region produced a good
quantity of food grains . The surplus production most likely was used for the regional trade
through the barter system.

CRAFT INDUSTRY :-

Excavations at Mitathal, Siswal, Balu, Kunal, Rakhigarhi, Bhirrana, Farmana and other sites
yielded several examples of terracotta Cakes and Bangles from the Early Harappan occupations
in Haryana. Sandstone, Chert, Chalcedony, Agate, and Jasper were used for making ornaments.
They also used the shell, bone and ivory objects. Bhirrana excavation yielded a button seal,
made of shell. Fishhooks have been discovered from Rakhigarhi, Ganeshwar, Banawali, Kunal

P a g e 11 | 30
and Girawar etc. These are made of copper wire which is turned backwards to from an eye at
the top, and curved in a semi-circle at the lower end. Early-Harappan people used it for fishing.

Many copper objects were recovered during the archaeological investigation from the Early
Harappan sites like fish hook, axe, chisel, arrowhead, copper plate, copper bar, copper
spearhead, copper needle, bangles, rings, wires, lumps, etc

The weapons found from these sites include arrowhead, spearhead, dagger, macehead, parasu,
sling ball etc. The arrowheads were made up of copper, chert and bone. On the basis of typology
it can be deduced that the arrowhead found from Haryana are similar to those of other Harappan
sites. Generally, they used these weapons to hunt down the animals and birds.

Early Harappan communities turned to large urban centers by 2600 BCE, from where the
Mature Harappan phase started. The latest research shows that Indus Valley people migrated
from villages to cities. The final stages of the Early Harappan period are characterized by the
building of large walled settlements, the expansion of trade networks, and the increasing
integration of regional communities into a "relatively uniform" material culture.

MATURE HARRAPAN PHASE IN HARYANA(2600 BCE-1900 BCE)

Haryana is well furnished with Mature Harappan settlements. These emerged prominently from
Sothi-Siswal cultural complex (Early Harappan). Population growth, strong agriculture base,
developed trade and growth of specialized skilled craftsmen favored the growth of towns and
cities in the entire Harappan domain. Out of the several sites yielding Mature Harappan relics
in Haryana; Mitathal, Rakhigarhi, Banawali and Balu stand out as the most prominent.
Rakhigarhi is considered as the biggest city of Indus- Sarasvati civilization.

In the Mature Harappan phase there was a great progress in all spheres of economic activity
such as agriculture, industry and crafts and trade (internal and external).Animal husbandry and
Agriculture got maturity and saw the increased production of raw materials. Specialized groups
of artisans include goldsmiths, brick makers, stone cutters, weavers, boat-builders and
terracotta manufacturers were present. Trade was raised due to increase in production through
the towns and cities.

P a g e 12 | 30
AGRICULTURE :-

For all practical purposes, agriculture was the principal means of sustenance for the Harappan
people. The agriculture depended on rain-fed water. The floods in the Indus inundated the fields
and left a fertile silt-cover on the fields after the flood water receded. This fertile silt would
yield a bumper harvest during following agricultural seasons. Surplus food grains were stored
in the granaries or exported to the contemporary cities or civilization.

Harappans grew wheat and barley on a large scale. The other crops grown by them were pulses,
cereals, cotton, dates, melons, pea, sesamum and mustard.The Harappans were the earliest
people to produce cotton .The Greeks called it sindon, which is derived from sindh. A good
quantity of barley has been discovered at Banwali. Fruits such as jujube, almond, and pistachio
were gathered. It has been suggested that wild plants were collected particularly when
cultivated crops were unable to supply the full needs of the community, either because of bad
harvests or because of population increase in the region. The plant remains found in Balu,
haryana include a garlic specimen, recognised as the earliest evidence of garlic cloves in south
& south-east Asia, and it dates to the Mature Harappan period.Seeds of Lemon have also been
found from Early Harappan Kunal. Indus populations were the earliest people to use complex
multi-cropping strategies across both seasons, growing foods during summer (rice, millets and
beans) and winter (wheat, barley and pulses), which required different watering regimes.
Archaeobotanical remains from Sarasvati-Drishadvati Divide sites like Kunal ,Balu, Bhirrana
and Kalibangan have revealed a two crop pattern.

Archaeological remains of the various sites at Haryana reveal a variety of agricultural

equipment’s used by them. Axe, Sickle, Plough share, hoe, seed drill, plough (terracotta) were
the chief Agricultural implements. These were made up of copper and bronze and used in
agricultural works, like tilling the land, harvesting, clearing the forest etc.A large number of
axes are reported from Balu, Rakhigarhi, Bhirrana,Farmana, Daksh Khera (Haryana).There is
no evidence of metal plough found from different Harappan sites. But Banawali has a terracotta
plough.

ANIMAL HUSBANDARY :-

Subsistence economy like agriculture was supplanted with domestic animals which provided
meat, milk, hides, wool and raw material for other related industries . The animals of the
domestic category viz. zebu , buffalo , sheep , goat , pig , ass ,elephant and fowl have been

P a g e 13 | 30
exploited as some of these were used in term of food economy, some for transport and other
for traction.

Raising livestock was a useful investment against crop failure. In good monsoon years, when
crops yields were high, grazing would also be good and the number of animals that were kept
could be increased. In the drought years agricultural activities tend to decrease and grazing
activities shall increase and animal products shall also increase. In lean years, when grazing
was limited, the additional animal could be killed for food.Another important source of food
for the Harappan was fish. The copper fishhooks have been recovered from Mohenjodaro,
Harappa, Rakhigarhi, Lothal, and Chanhudaro etc.

Specialist pastoralists had an elaborate pattern of traditionally established or negotiated

relationships with settled farmers whereby milk, dung, and other animal products were
exchanged for grain, access to grazing. Settled farmers may have made arrangements with
pastoralists whereby the latter took charge of some of the farmers’ livestock during the period
when the animals needed to be taken to seasonal pastures away from the settlement. The
pastoral practices have been identified from the faunal remains in the early Harappan phase
from several sites.

HUNTING:-
Hunting was an important subsistence pattern to the Harappan people which is clearly evident
from the hunting tools and implements made by both bone, stone and copper or bronze. The
arrow head and spear head made by the same materials are reported from all the Harappan sites,
even from Rakhigarhi The hunting equipment found from various excavated sites throw light
not only on the economy of the Harappan but also on the social life. The Harappan weapons
include arrowhead, spearhead, parasu, sling ball, dagger, lancehead, mace head, sword, etc.

Copper and Gold-Silver Metallurgy :-

The Harappan people knew about metals and minerals. They also developed the technique of
metal smelting. Some evidence of copper metallurgy has come forth in course of excavations.
Harappans evolved some new techniques in metallurgy and produced copper, bronze, lead, and
tin. In haryana ,evidences of furnaces have been reported at Balu ,Rakhigarhi, Banawali. They
imported ores from different places in order to make weapons and implements. In the age of
Harappan civilization alloy metal had been discovered.

P a g e 14 | 30
At Banawali some bangles of copper as well as beads of gold have been recovered. A house-
complex was also discovered with several hearths, ovens and fire-pits in the room. It was
suggested that it was workshop, plausibly of a metal smith. In Late Harappan,some bhattis
(Kilns) with a drain was discovered at Balu. Perhaps these kilns were used in metallurgical
purpose

The metal objects found at Rakhigarhi are essentially made of copper. In Mature Harappan
period arrow-head, knife, chisel, nails and balance-bar and stylus are found. Ornaments like
bangles, ring, antimony-rod, pin etc. are found. Gold fillet and beads, silver bangles are also
reported from the excavations but they are very few in number. A touchstone bearing gold
streaks was found in Banawali, which was probably used for testing the purity of gold (such a
technique is still used in some parts of India).

The metal objects lead us to interpret that a group specialist classes were there in the Harappan
population which were engaged in the identification of the area, where ore are is available,
extractors of the ores, metal extractors and the craftsman who made their tools. These metal
smiths enjoyed a higher status in the society than the ordinary crafts men.

CRAFTS & INDUSTRIES :-

Other than metallurgy other craft activity was an important part of this area. The cities had
small craft centers and workshops to manufacture the more sophisticated items, in special
sectors reserved for such activity. Industries, which required larger space and a caused
pollution, were located in the outskirts of the cities. The smaller towns had segregated areas
for residential purposes and craft activities. In these towns, majority of the population earned
its livelihood from these industries. The third category of industrial estates was small townships
and villages meant exclusively for craft activities. The industrial activity (or small scale
industries or cottage Industries) was perhaps practiced in personal houses of specialists. The
increasing population creating demand of furniture and other daily use commodities or items
used in the construction of buildings.

Weaving and dyeing was practiced by harrapans. Weavers made clothes of wool and cotton.
Leather was also known to them but no evidence of silk has been found. Pottery was an
important industry. The Harappans also practised boat-making, seal-making and terracotta
manufacturing. The rural areas supplied the towns various items of food and raw materials for
the craft industries in exchange for manufactured items like storage vessel, textiles, tools and

P a g e 15 | 30
implements and ornaments. Items of jewellery from the Harappan Civilisation served as an
important component of trade, within the limits of civilisation as well as with distant and
foreign countries. The jewellery items were in various mediums like gold, copper, stones and
minerals, faience, terracotta and stoneware. The Harappan culture belongs to the Bronze Age,
as the people were very well acquainted with the manufacture and use of bronze. They
manufactured not only images and utensils but also various tools and weapons such as axes,
saws, knives and spears.

The lapidary industry was an important part of the economy of this period.They imported raw
material and exported the finished beads to other areas . The important material used for making
beads included steatite, terracotta, turquoise, faience, agate, plain and decorated carnelian, lapis
lazuli, copper, bronze, gold, silver, shells, ivory and bones. Among the items exported from
the Indus Valley, the important ones are long barrel cylindrical beads and etched carnelian
beads. The long barrel cylindrical beads are reported from sites like Ur, Kish(Mesopotamia)
and Susa, Jalalabad, Marlik from Iran

At Rakhigarhi, a well established bead manufacturing factory having thousand of bead

roughouts, waste flakes and cores, tools and implements and beads polishers was found. All
these things were placed on a mud brick floor in a very specific manner. It indicates that bead
makers of Rakhigarhi possesed highly advanced skill and craftsmanship. Agate stones used for
making carnelian beads were not locally available, so the lapidaries imported this stone from
Gujarat region. Steatite was the most popular material at Rakhigarhi for making beads. Mitathal
was another important bead manufacturing centre in Mature Harappan times. The lapidaries of
mitathal imported agate stone from Rajasthan for the making of beads as well as beautiful
carnelian and precious lapis-lazuli from Afghanistan. The discovery of an unfinished bead and
unworked nodule of agate suggests that the beads were manufactured locally. From Banawali,
beads of different material like steatite, shell,carnelian, agates, lapis-lazuli have been
excavated.

A large number of implements like adze, chisel, saw, awl, drill, borer, gouge, bead-tool, spindle
whorls ,plumb-bob, chopper were found during excavation from the sites like Mitathal,
Bhirrana, Balu, Banawali, Rakhigarhi, Girawar and Farmana in Haryana.These are likely to
have been used by craftsmen like carpenter, coppersmith, cobbler, weaver etc.

P a g e 16 | 30
TRADE :-

A developed base of industry prompted the Harappan people to naturally look for trade and
commerce. The seals they used, the stone slabs they used for weight and measure purposes and
articles of merchandise for import and export are strong pointers to their trade and commerce.
Surplus goods and articles were exported. They conducted their trade by both land and sea
routes. The raw materials of different regions were also transported to other parts of the Indus
realms.

Their main trading partner was Mesopotamia. Timber and precious woods, ivory, lapis lazuli,
gold, and luxury goods such as carnelian and glazed stone beads, pearls from the Persian Gulf,
and shell and bone inlays, were among the goods sent to Mesopotamia in exchange for silver,
tin, woolen textiles, perhaps oil and grains and other foods. Bitumen, which occurred naturally
in Mesopotamia, may have been exchanged for cotton textiles, major products of the Indus
region that are not native to Mesopotamia. Mesopotamian cylindrical seal found from
Mohenjo-Daro, Kalibnaga and Rakhigarhi demonstrate the trade contact between Mature
Harappans and West Asia.Meluhha was the Sumerian name for the Indus Valley Civilization.

The Gulf region (Oman) may have been found as a convenient base in their trade with their
contemporaries in the Persian Gulf, Mesopotamia and Egypt. It is quite possible that the
merchants from these four regions traveled to places alike Ras al Junayz in Oman for carrying
out business transaction and exchange of goods.

The main sources of copper exploited by the Harappans are believed to be Baluchistan and
Afghanistan, in the region west of Indus. This area has also yielded the earliest evidence of
copper processing. The other potential region is the mountain range of Oman with which the
Harappan civilization, especially the coastal region had close trade relations. The region around
Oman has been identified with ancient Magan which was known for rich copper deposits. The
third resource zone was the region east of Indus is the Aravalli range. The copper of this belt
is rich in arsenic . The site of Jodhpura-Ganeshwar in Rajasthan is understood to be an
important source of copper tools or ingots to the Harappans. In the Mature Harappan
period,Rakhigarhi, Mitathal, and Banawali to the northwest of Ganeshwar may also have been
involved in the importing of copper.

Barley and wheat were supplied by the Punjab and Haryana region to Gujarat which supplied
bajra, jowar and cotton. Sind and East Punjab were involved in a trade which included raw

P a g e 17 | 30
materials is evident from the presence of artifacts of shell at Banawali, Ropar, Kotla Nihang
Khan and Dher Majra, and Chert at Balu, Rakhigarhi, Mitathal and Banawali, both of which
could have been from Sind. Flint or chert mined in the Rohri Hills of Sindh was transported to
Indus settlements across South Asia.

There were some big or important cities which were on strategic locations and so they play a
crucial role in internal or external trade. For example in Haryana Banawali was comparable to
that of a frontier settlement for this region. Banawali lies on the time honored Northern
Highway, connecting the Ganga plains, the Himalayan regions and central India with the
passes of the northeastern hills and the Arabian sea located across the Indus plains. So it is
certain that Banawali was an important town along the Saraswati during the Harappan times.

WEIGHTS & MEASURES :-

The cubical chert weights were conspicuous items from any Harappan site. The weights were
based on a binary system. The weights were found in various materials like chert, chalcedony,
ivory, shell, copper and terracotta. Other weighing systems were also found from the Harappan
sites. The presence of different weighing patterns from the same sites indicated that the
Harappans might have adopted two or more weighing standards, for both inland as well as
export trading.

TRANSPORTATION :-

Terra-cotta models provide a clear picture of the wooden carts with solid wooden wheels that
were widely used for land transport over short distances. These carts were drawn by oxen or
bullocks. Land transport over long distances generally employed pack animals, though small
valuable commodities could be carried by people on foot. Seasonal movement was an
important part of the pastoral economy in Harappan times, and it seems highly probable that
people taking their animals through different parts of the Indus realms would have acted as
carriers, moving goods from source to consumer and participating in a complex network of
connections among pastoral groups from different regions, enabling the produce of one region
to be transported to others. Most of the major settlements were linked by a network of
waterways that were navigable for at least part of the year.
P a g e 18 | 30
THE BARTER SYSTEM :-

Barter system played a very important part in commercial transactions among the people living
in rural settlements. The basic requirements of food for this very large segment of the
population was met through direct exchange of different commodities between farmers
producing different agricultural items. Another common application of the barter system was
the direct exchange of non-perishable items of farm produce like wheat and cotton with items
produced in urban craft workshops . In some of the above transactions indirect barter system
may also have been employed. For example a farmer supplying milk to a sales outlet for a tools
workshop, may receive in exchange wheat from the sales outlet, as the farmer does not require
the tools normally offered for exchange by the outlet. For such a transaction, the sales outlet
for tools would be keeping sufficient stock of grains in addition to the tools. The same
principles would apply to interregional trade within the Harappan civilization and trade with
other regions outside the civilization.

SEALS :-

Seals were used for both internal and external trade. A number of Indus seals have been found
in ancient Mesopotamia. Impressions of seals ("sealings") were made on ceramics and "tags"
used to seal bundles of trade goods.Thousands of steatite seals have been recovered, and their
physical character is fairly consistent. The seals might have served as an important trade
symbol facilitating approval and passing of commercial items.

Many seals are found in excavations at various urban sites such as Rakhigarhi, Banawali
,Bhirrana and Farmana . Both Kalibangan and Banawali have a large number of motifs of
various animals as well as unicorn. Seals are found not only within the geographical extent of
the Harappan Civilization, but also from a number of sites in Mesopotamia, the Persian Gulf
regions, the Iranian Plateau as well as Turkmenistan .One of the seals found at Rakhigarhi is
a cylindrical seal, which indicates contact with contemporary urban centers in Iraq.

P a g e 19 | 30
LATE HARRAPAN PHASE IN HARYANA 1900–1300 BCE
Around 1900 BCE signs of a gradual decline began to emerge, and by around 1700 BCE most
of the cities had been abandoned. The late Harappan phase is one of a breakdown of urban
networks and an expansion of rural ones. Multiple regional cultures emerged within the area
of the Indus civilisation. The Cemetery H culture was in Punjab, Haryana, and Western Uttar
Pradesh.

The deteriorating climatic condition had adverse consequences. There was a general decrease
of long-distance trade. It was one of the major causes of the prosperity and after the drying of
their international trade, the pace of the decline of the Harappans hastened. The economic
decline affected overall Harappan life-style, which is reflected in their material culture. Urban
amenities such as drains and the public bath were no longer maintained, and newer buildings
were "poorly constructed". There are some circular stamp seals with geometric designs, but
lacking the Indus script which characterised the mature phase of the civilisation.

The evidences from some important sites such as Mitathal, Balu and Banawali etc. shows a
general decline in the urban life of the region during Late Harappan phase. The sub period of
Mitathal II-B is characterized by a progressive degeneration in their architecture. The people
lived in house of mud and mud-bricks. Except the cardinal direction followed at Banwali, no
evidences of any planned layout of the settlements is noticed on any of the excavated sites.
Bhagwanpura is a notable site for showing an overlap between the late Harappan and Painted
Grey Ware cultures. Painted Grey Ware is generally associated with the Vedic people, so this
area can be said as the junction of two great civilizations of India.

The material culture of this phase evidently points out the transformation of urbanized
civilization from an urban to the rural stage.

P a g e 20 | 30
 CONCLUSION
The Early Harappan Culture was the product of the gradual development of the early farming
communities which were emerged in greater Indus-Sarasvati plain .Early farming communities
transformed as the Sothi-Siswal culture, through gradual developments as seen in the of
Haryana. The economy of The Early Harappan phase was based on the agriculture and animal
husbandry .We also observe some significant development in internal and external trade
activities. Mitathal,Siswal, Balu, Kunal, Rakhigarhi, Bhirrana, Farmana, etc were represent the
early Harrapan period in Haryana .

Mitathal, Rakhigarhi, Banawali and Balu stand out as the most prominent in Haryana that were
a part of the Mature Harrapan period. There was great progress in all spheres of economic
activity such as agriculture, industry and crafts and trade (internal and external).

The late Harappan phase is one of a breakdown of urban networks and an expansion of rural
ones. Multiple regional cultures emerged within the area of the Indus civilization like the
Cemetery H culture in Punjab, Haryana, and Western Uttar Pradesh.The earliest Late
Harappan deposits in Haryana were found at Mitathal. Balu also yielded the Late Harappan
deposit with continuity and change of Mature Harappan while Banawali represented the short
gap between Mature Harappan and Late Harappan. Daulatpur and Bhagwanpura yielded the
direct Late Harappan occupation. As a result of deteriorating climatic condition agriculture was
not able to generate enough. As a result there was a general decrease trade. This hastened the
pace of the decline of the Harappans. The economic decline affected was reflected in their
material culture.

Thus , the Indus civilization evolved from one being representative of pastoral and arable
farming to a highly urbanized one which boasted of rich art and culture, and vibrant trade
relations with regions as far as Mesopotamia. This prosperous phase was then followed by de-
urbanization and decline.

P a g e 21 | 30
 Tejas Tayde

Roll no.2019/ BALLB/45

POLITICAL ASPECT

Institutions and hierarchies

How was Harappan society organized, and what institutions functioned as centers of authority?
Archaeological records provide no immediate answers regarding a center of authority or
depictions of people in power in Harappan society, and there are few written records to consult.
However, Harrapan artifacts display an extraordinary uniformity. Pottery, seals, weights, and
bricks with standardized sizes and weights, suggest some form of authority and governance,
though it is not clear what that form was exactly.

Over time, various theories have developed concerning Harappan systems of rule. One theory
is that there was a single state encompassing all the communities of the civilization; this theory
is supported by the similarity in artifacts, the evidence of planned settlements, the standardized
ratio of brick size, and the apparent establishment of settlements near sources of raw material.
Another theory posits that there was no single ruler, but rather a number of leaders representing
each of the urban centers, including Mohenjo-daro, Harappa, and other communities. It seems
likely that there was not one centralized and all-powerful state but that various classes and
centers of power were integrated into a decentralized structure.

Written records gave historians a great deal of insight into the civilizations of ancient
Mesopotamia and Egypt, but very few written materials have been discovered in the Indus
valley. Though seal inscriptions do seem to have written information, scholars have not been
able to decipher the Indus script. As a result, they have had considerable difficulty
understanding the nature of the state and religious institutions of the Indus Valley Civilization.
We know relatively little about their legal codes, procedures, and systems of governance.

Historians have made educated guesses about the nature of Harappan civilization from the
available artifacts and physical structures. Some experts have theorized that the Indus Valley
Civilization had no rulers as we understand them, that everyone enjoyed equal status. Some
evidence in support of this conclusion is that most Harappan residents seem to have enjoyed
relatively equal health and that there were not many elite burials, which archaeologists have

P a g e 22 | 30
discerned through mortuary analysis—the study of graves and deposits containing human
remains.

However, this does not conclusively prove that Harappan society lacked any social hierarchy,
and it could possibly be the result of other factors, like different beliefs about the afterlife.
Some scholars point to varying house sizes and varied heights of structures to suggest that
different social classes occupied different levels in the cities. Others identify items such as
painted pottery, bangles, beaded ornaments, and even location within cities as indicators of
wealth. A considerable degree of craft specialization also suggests some degree of socio-
economic stratification.

It is widely believed that the Harappan civilization was a peaceful one that did not engage in
any warfare, but there is not conclusive evidence to support this belief, and some archaeologists
consider it a pervasive myth. Some scholars argue that Harappans were peaceful primarily
because there were no natural enemies due to the geographic location of the major cities.
Weapons have been found at sites, but there is debate as to whether they were used in conflict
with other groups or as defense against wild animals.

Administration:

Seals

Thousands of steatite seals have been recovered, and their physical character is fairly
consistent. In size they range from 3⁄4 inch to 1 1⁄2 inches square. In most cases they have a
pierced boss at the back to accommodate a cord for handling or for use as personal adornment.

Seals have been found at Mohenjo-Daro depicting a figure standing on its head, and another,
on the Pashupati seal, sitting cross-legged in what some call a yoga-like pose (see image, the
so-called Pashupati, below). This figure has been variously identified. Sir John Marshall
identified a resemblance to the Hindu god, Shiva

A harp-like instrument depicted on an Indus seal and two shell objects found at Lethal indicate
the use of stringed musical instruments.

P a g e 23 | 30
A human deity with the horns, hooves and tail of a bull also appears in the seals, in particular
in a fighting scene with a horned tiger-like beast. This deity has been compared to the
Mesopotamian bull-man Enkidu. Several seals also show a man fighting two lions or tigers, a
"Master of Animals" motif common to civilizations in Western and South Asia.

Trade and transportation

The Indus civilizations’ economy appears to have depended significantly on trade, which was
facilitated by major advances in transport technology. The IVC may have been the first
civilization to use wheeled transport. These advances may have included bullock carts that are
identical to those seen throughout South Asia today, as well as boats. Most of these boats were
probably small, flat-bottomed craft, perhaps driven by sail, similar to those one can see on the
Indus River today; however, there is secondary evidence of sea-going craft. Archaeologists
have discovered a massive, dredged canal and what they regard as a docking facility at the
coastal city of Lothal in western India (Gujarat state). An extensive canal network, used for
irrigation, has however also been discovered by H.-P. Francfort.

During 4300–3200 BCE of the chalcolithic period (copper age), the Indus Valley Civilisation
area shows ceramic similarities with southern Turkmenistan and northern Iran which suggest
considerable mobility and trade. During the Early Harappan period (about 3200–2600 BCE),
similarities in pottery, seals, figurines, ornaments, etc. document intensive caravan trade
with Central Asia and the Iranian plateau.

Judging from the dispersal of Indus civilization artifacts, the trade networks economically
integrated a huge area, including portions of Afghanistan, the coastal regions of Persia,
northern and western India, and Mesopotamia, leading to the development of Indus-
Mesopotamia relations. Studies of tooth enamel from individuals buried at Harappa suggest
that some residents had migrated to the city from beyond the Indus Valley. There is some
evidence that trade contacts extended to Crete and possibly to Egypt.

There was an extensive maritime trade network operating between the Harappan and
Mesopotamian civilisations as early as the middle Harappan Phase, with much commerce being
handled by "middlemen merchants from Dilmun" (modern Bahrain and Failaka located in
the Persian Gulf). Such long-distance sea trade became feasible with the development of plank-
built watercraft, equipped with a single central mast supporting a sail of woven rushes or cloth.

P a g e 24 | 30
It is generally assumed that most trade between the Indus Valley (ancient Meluhha?) and
western neighbors proceeded up the Persian Gulf rather than overland. Although there is no
incontrovertible proof that this was indeed the case, the distribution of Indus-type artifacts on
the Oman peninsula, on Bahrain and in southern Mesopotamia makes it plausible that a series
of maritime stages linked the Indus Valley and the Gulf region.

In the 1980s, important archaeological discoveries were made at Ras al-Jinz (Oman),
demonstrating maritime Indus Valley connections with the Arabian Peninsula.

Agriculture

According to Gangal et al. (2014), there is strong archeological and geographical evidence that
Neolithic farming spread from the Near East into north-west India, but there is also "good
evidence for the local domestication of barley and the zebu cattle at Mehrgarh."

According to Jean-Francois Jarrige, farming had an independent origin at Mehrgarh, despite

the similarities which he notes between Neolithic sites from eastern Mesopotamia and the
western Indus valley, which are evidence of a "cultural continuum" between those sites.
Nevertheless, Jarrige concludes that Mehrgarh has an earlier local background," and is not a
"'backwater' of the Neolithic culture of the Near East." Archaeologist Jim G. Shaffer writes that
the Mehrgarh site "demonstrates that food production was an indigenous South Asian
phenomenon" and that the data support interpretation of "the prehistoric urbanisation and
complex social organisation in South Asia as based on indigenous, but not isolated, cultural
developments".

Jarrige notes that the people of Mehrgarh used domesticated wheats and barley, while Shaffer
and Liechtenstein note that the major cultivated cereal crop was naked six-row barley, a crop
derived from two-row barley. Gangal agrees that "Neolithic domesticated crops in Mehrgarh
include more than 90% barley," noting that "there is good evidence for the local domestication
of barley." Yet, Gangal also notes that the crop also included "a small amount of wheat," which
"are suggested to be of Near-Eastern origin, as the modern distribution of wild varieties of
wheat is limited to Northern Levant and Southern Turkey. "

The cattle that are often portrayed on Indus seals are humped Indian aurochs, which are similar
to Zebu cattle. Zebu cattle is still common in India, and in Africa. It is different from the
European cattle, and had been originally domesticated on the Indian subcontinent, probably in
the Baluchistan region of Pakistan.

P a g e 25 | 30
Research by J. Bates et al. (2016) confirms that Indus populations were the earliest people to
use complex multi-cropping strategies across both seasons, growing foods during summer
(rice, millets and beans) and winter (wheat, barley and pulses), which required different
watering regimes. Bates et al. (2016) also found evidence for an entirely separate domestication
process of rice in ancient South Asia, based around the wild species Oryza nivara. This led to
the local development of a mix of "wetland" and "dryland" agriculture of local Oryza sativa
indica rice agriculture, before the truly "wetland" rice Oryza sativa japonica arrived around
2000 BCE.

Religion

The religion and belief system of the Indus Valley people have received considerable attention,
especially from the view of identifying precursors to deities and religious practices of Indian
religions that later developed in the area. However, due to the sparsely of evidence, which is
open to varying interpretations, and the fact that the Indus script remains undeciphered, the
conclusions are partly speculative and largely based on a retrospective view from a much later
Hindu perspective.

An early and influential work in the area that set the trend for Hindu interpretations of
archaeological evidence from the Harappan sites was that of John Marshall, who in 1931
identified the following as prominent features of the Indus religion: a Great Male God and a
Mother Goddess; deification or veneration of animals and plants; symbolic representation of
the phallus (linga) and vulva (yoni); and, use of baths and water in religious practice. Marshall's
interpretations have been much debated, and sometimes disputed over the following decades.

One Indus Valley seal shows a seated figure with a horned headdress, possibly tricephalic and
possibly ithyphallic, surrounded by animals. Marshall identified the figure as an early form of
the Hindu god Shiva (or Rudra), who is associated with asceticism, yoga, and linga; regarded
as a lord of animals; and often depicted as having three eyes. The seal has hence come to be
known as the Pashupati Seal, after Pashupati (lord of all animals), an epithet of Shiva. While
Marshall's work has earned some support, many critics and even supporters have raised several
objections. Doris Srinivasan has argued that the figure does not have three faces, or yogic
posture, and that in Vedic literature Rudra was not a protector of wild animals Herbert Sullivan
and Alf Hiltebeitel also rejected Marshall's conclusions, with the former claiming that the
figure was female, while the latter associated the figure with Mahisha, the Buffalo God and the
P a g e 26 | 30
surrounding animals with vahanas (vehicles) of deities for the four cardinal directions. Writing
in 2002, Gregory L. Possehl concluded that while it would be appropriate to recognise the
figure as a deity, its association with the water buffalo, and its posture as one of ritual discipline,
regarding it as a proto-Shiva would be going too far. Despite the criticisms of Marshall's
association of the seal with a proto-Shiva icon, it has been interpreted as
the Tirthankara Rishabhanatha by Jains and Vilas Sangave or an early Buddha by
Buddhists. Historians such as Heinrich Zimmer and Thomas McEvilley believe that there is a
connection between first Jain Tirthankara Rishabhanatha and the Indus Valley civilisation.

Marshall hypothesised the existence of a cult of Mother Goddess worship based upon
excavation of several female figurines, and thought that this was a precursor of the Hindu sect
of Shaktism. However the function of the female figurines in the life of Indus Valley people
remains unclear, and Possehl does not regard the evidence for Marshall's hypothesis to be
"terribly robust". Some of the baetyls interpreted by Marshall to be sacred phallic
representations are now thought to have been used as pestles or game counters instead, while
the ring stones that were thought to symbolise yoni were determined to be architectural features
used to stand pillars, although the possibility of their religious symbolism cannot be
eliminated. Many Indus Valley seals show animals, with some depicting them being carried in
processions, while others show chimeric creations. One seal from Mohenjo-daro shows a half-
human, half-buffalo monster attacking a tiger, which may be a reference to the Sumerian
myth of such a monster created by goddess Aruru to fight Gilgamesh.

In contrast to contemporary Egyptian and Mesopotamian civilisations, Indus Valley lacks any
monumental palaces, even though excavated cities indicate that the society possessed the
requisite engineering knowledge This may suggest that religious ceremonies, if any, may have
been largely confined to individual homes, small temples, or the open air. Several sites have
been proposed by Marshall and later scholars as possibly devoted to religious purpose, but at
present only the Great Bath at Mohenjo-daro is widely thought to have been so used, as a place
for ritual purification The funerary practices of the Harappan civilisation are marked by
fractional burial (in which the body is reduced to skeletal remains by exposure to the elements
before final interment), and even cremation.

Late Harappan

Around 1900 BCE signs of a gradual decline began to emerge, and by around 1700 BCE most
of the cities had been abandoned. Recent examination of human skeletons from the site of
P a g e 27 | 30
Harappa has demonstrated that the end of the Indus civilisation saw an increase in inter-
personal violence and in infectious diseases like leprosy and tuberculosis.

According to historian Upinder Singh, "the general picture presented by the late Harappan
phase is one of a breakdown of urban networks and an expansion of rural ones."

During the period of approximately 1900 to 1700 BCE, multiple regional cultures emerged
within the area of the Indus civilisation. The Cemetery H culture was in Punjab, Haryana,
and Western Uttar Pradesh, the Jhukar culture was in Sindh, and the Rangpur
culture (characterized by Lustrous Red Ware pottery) was in Gujarat. Other sites associated
with the Late phase of the Harappan culture are Pirak in Balochistan, Pakistan,
and Daimabad in Maharashtra, India.

The largest Late Harappan sites are Kudwala in Cholistan, Bet Dwarka in Gujarat,
and Daimabad in Maharashtra, which can be considered as urban, but they are smaller and few
in number compared with the Mature Harappan cities. Bet Dwarka was fortified and continued
to have contacts with the Persian Gulf region, but there was a general decrease of long-distance
trade. On the other hand, the period also saw a diversification of the agricultural base, with a
diversity of crops and the advent of double-cropping, as well as a shift of rural settlement
towards the east and the south.

The pottery of the Late Harappan period is described as "showing some continuity with mature
Harappan pottery traditions," but also distinctive differences. Many sites continued to be
occupied for some centuries, although their urban features declined and disappeared. Formerly
typical artifacts such as stone weights and female figurines became rare. There are some
circular stamp seals with geometric designs, but lacking the Indus script which characterised
the mature phase of the civilisation. Script is rare and confined to potsherd inscriptions. There
was also a decline in long-distance trade, although the local cultures show new innovations
in faience and glass making, and carving of stone beads. Urban amenities such as drains and
the public bath were no longer maintained, and newer buildings were "poorly constructed".
Stone sculptures were deliberately vandalised, valuables were sometimes concealed in hoards,
suggesting unrest, and the corpses of animals and even humans were left unburied in the streets
and in abandoned buildings.

During the later half of the 2nd millennium BCE, most of the post-urban Late Harappan
settlements were abandoned altogether. Subsequent material culture was typically
characterised by temporary occupation, "the campsites of a population which was nomadic and
P a g e 28 | 30
mainly pastoralist" and which used "crude handmade pottery. However, there is greater
continuity and overlap between Late Harappan and subsequent cultural phases at sites
in Punjab, Haryana, and western Uttar Pradesh, primarily small rural settlements.

"Aryan invasion"

In 1953 Sir Mortimer Wheeler proposed that the invasion of an Indo-European tribe from
Central Asia, the "Aryans", caused the decline of the Indus Civilisation. As evidence, he cited
a group of 37 skeletons found in various parts of Mohenjo-daro, and passages in the Vedas
referring to battles and forts. However, scholars soon started to reject Wheeler's theory, since
the skeletons belonged to a period after the city's abandonment and none were found near the
citadel. Subsequent examinations of the skeletons by Kenneth Kennedy in 1994 showed that
the marks on the skulls were caused by erosion, and not by violence.

In the Cemetery H culture (the late Harappan phase in the Punjab region), some of the designs
painted on the funerary urns have been interpreted through the lens of Vedic literature: for
instance, peacocks with hollow bodies and a small human form inside, which has been
interpreted as the souls of the dead, and a hound that can be seen as the hound of Yama, the
god of death. This may indicate the introduction of new religious beliefs during this period, but
the archaeological evidence does not support the hypothesis that the Cemetery H people were
the destroyers of the Harappan cities.

Conclusion :
The question which appears to be the most pertinent is how far did the Indus civilisation
contribute to the sum-total of human achievement? While the civilisation of Mesopotamia may
be easily related to the general development of civilisation of the West, the Indus civilisation
cannot claim that much of continuity.

At the first sight the Indus civilisation does not seem to have any claim on the subsequent
cultural development of the Indian sub-continent itself. Their cities decayed, and were
obliterated in their decadence by an insurgent barbarism. Slaughtered Harappans lay unburied
amid their streets and drains. Did all that they represented perish with them?

Their system of plumbing and drainage, and their special artistry they could not bequeath to
later ages. About their thoughts and ideas, their philosophy and their beliefs, the archaeology
is not of much help. But there are reasons to believe that later Hinduism did in fact retain a

P a g e 29 | 30
non-Aryan Harappan mentality. The recurrent figures of a Proto-Siva that is Pasupati Yogin in
seated posture or dancing as Nataraja are beyond doubt, bequeathed to Hinduism by the Indus
people. Likewise the Indus Mother Goddess bequeathed to later ages the Hindu concept of
Parvati.

The evidence of phallic worship, reverence to animals, particularly the cult of the bull are the
contributions of the Indus people to Hinduism.

Further, the punch-marked coins, with their symbols embossed on them are reminiscent of the
Indus Valley scripts and with their standard of weight conforming to the weight system of
Mohenjo-daro, constitute an important survival of the Indus Valley Civilisation.

Some of the designs, motifs, shapes and forms found in the pottery and terracotta articles at
Mohenjo-daro and Harappa have their counterparts in objects discovered in the Punjab and the
Northwest belonging to period shortly before the Christian era.

It is something paradoxical that while the Indus civilisation failed to transmit its physical
aspects to the later times, it succeeded in transmitting its philosophy, its religion to its
successors. Therefore, it is certain that there was no break or hiatus after the Indus civilisation.
The successor civilisation, i.e., the Aryan, was enriched in some measures by the influences of
the Indus culture and the continuity of the Hindu Civilisation from the third millennium B.C.
cannot be questioned.

P a g e 30 | 30