Indus valley civilisation
- 1. Welcome
- 3. DEFINITION OF CIVILISATION • Civilization is defined as an advanced stage of human cultural development. It implies the use of superior technology and complex economic relationships .there are a number of traits which mark a civilization. Some of these are :- Evolution of cities Surplus food Division of labour System of writing Monumental public buildings Development of technology
- 6. Earliest civilizations in Indus Valley was discovered in 1856 by a railroad crew. Harappa Mohenjo-Daro or “Mound of the Dead” Both cities shared urban design and architectural features. 3 miles in circumference with populations of 40,000.
- 8. Roots of Indus Valley Civilization • Roots of Indus Valley began as early as 7000 B.C.E. – Possibly began as herders who moved into the river valley during colder months. – Over time, they may have decided to farm – river-watered lands of the valley. – They began trading by boat along the Indus down into the Arabian Sea, into the Persian Gulf, and up the Tigris and Euphrates into Mesopotamia.
- 9. • The Harappan culture existed along the Indus River in what is present day Pakistan. • It was named after the city of Harappa. Harappa and the city of Mohenjo-Daro were important centers of the Indus valley civilization. • This Indus Valley “civilization” flourished around 4000- 1000 B.C.
- 12. Chronology Ancient Indus Chronology Period Phase Yrs. (B.C.E.) 5 Late Harappan (Cemetery H) ?1700-1300 4 Harappan/Late Harappan Transitional 1900-?1700 3C Harappan Phase c. 2200-1900 3B Harappan Phase c. 2450-2200 3A Harappan Phase c.2600-2450 2 Early Harappan/Kot Diji Phase c. 2800-2600 1A/B Early Harappan/Ravi Phase c. 3300-2800
- 13. Early Harappan-Ravi Phase 3300-2800 BC This distinctive, regional culture which emerged is called Early or Pre- Harappan. Trade networks linked this culture with related regional cultures and distant sources of raw materials, including lapis lazuli and other materials for bead-making. Domesticated crops included peas, sesame seeds, dates and cotton. Domestic animals also used, such as the water buffalo. Mud brick for building.
- 14. Middle Harappan-Integration Era 2600-1900 BC By 2500 BCE, communities had been turned into urban centers (integration). Six such urban centers have been discovered, including: Harappa, Mohenjo Daro and Dicki in Pakistan, along with Gonorreala, Dokalingam and Mangalore in India. In total, over 1052 cities and settlements have been found, mainly in the general region of the Ghaggar- Florence River and its tributaries. Irrigation used to increase crop production and mud brick structures.
- 15. Late Harappan-Cemetery H 1700-1300 BC Cremation of human remains. The bones were stored in painted pottery burial urns. This is completely different to the Indus civilization where bodies were buried in wooden coffins. Reddish pottery, painted in black with antelopes, peacocks etc., sun or star motifs, with different surface treatments to the earlier period. Expansion of settlements into the east. Rice became a main crop. Apparent breakdown of the widespread trade of the Indus civilization, with materials such as marine shells no longer used. Continued use of mud brick for building.
- 16. Natural Resources • The Indus Valley contained numerous natural resources that were an important part of Harappan civilization. • Resources included: –Fresh water and timber. –Materials such as gold, silver, semi-precious stones. –Marine resources.
- 17. Himalayan Mountains Nanga Parbat and numerous other mountains of the Himalaya, Karakorum and Hindu Kush provide a continuous source of water for the Indus and its tributaries. These mountain ranges also provided important timber, animal products, and minerals, gold, silver, tin and semiprecious stones that were traded throughout the Indus Valley.
- 18. Valleys • Cedar in Chitral valley is still used to make houses and coffins, following a tradition that dates back to the first Indus cities. • Beyond the mountains in the background is the region of Badakhshan, Afghanistan, a source of the deep blue lapis lazuli. • This was mined during the Indus period and traded throughout the Indus Valley and to far off Mesopotamia and Egypt.
- 19. Coast • The coast of Sindh and Makran have bays and ancient Harappan sites have been located along the coast to the border of modern Iran. • These coastal settlements were involved in fishing and trading, using the monsoon winds to travel back and forth to Oman and the Persian Gulf region.
- 20. Major Cities: Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa The cities are well known for their impressive, organized and regular layout. They had well laid plumbing and drainage systems, including indoor toilets. Over one thousand other towns and villages also existed in this region.
- 21. Cities The similarities in plan and construction between Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa indicate that they were part of a unified government with extreme organization. – Both cities were constructed of the same type and shape of bricks. – The two cities may have existed simultaneously and their sizes suggest that they served as capitals of their provinces. – In contrast to other civilizations, burials found from these cities are not elaborate; they are more simplistic and contain few material goods. – Remains of palaces or temples in the cities have not been found. – No hard evidence exists indicating military activity, though the cities did contain fortifications and artifacts such as copper and bronze knives, spears, and arrowheads were recovered.
- 22. Mohenjo-Daro • This shows the high western mound made up of a massive mud brick platform and brick houses of the Harappan period ( 2600 to 1900 B. C.). • On top of the Harappan structures is a Buddhist period stupa made of mud brick that dates to the first century A.D.
- 23. The Great BathThe "great bath" is the earliest public water tank. The tank measures approximately 12 meters north- south and 7 meters wide, with a maximum depth of 2.4 meters. Two staircases lead down into the tank from the north and south and small sockets at the edges of the stairs are thought to have held wooden planks or treads. At the foot of the stairs is a small ledge with a brick edging that extends the entire width of the pool.
- 24. Streets At Mohenjo-Daro narrow streets and alleyways are off of the major streets, leading into more private neighborhoods. Many of the brick houses were two stories high, with thick walls and high ceilings to keep the rooms cool in the hot summer months.
- 25. Wells • Private wells were rebuilt over many generations for large households and neighborhoods. • This well in DK G area at Mohenjo-daro stands like a chimney because all of the surrounding earth has been removed by excavation.
- 26. Harappa The high mound at Harappa (Mound AB) is surrounded by a massive mud brick city wall with large square ramparts. One of these eroding ramparts is visible through the underbrush that now covers the site. The flags mark the tomb of a Muslim saint.
- 27. Granary • The "granary" of Harappa is found on Mound F. • It is a brick structure that was built on a massive brick foundation over 45 meters north-south and 45 meters east-west. • Two rows of six rooms that appear to be foundations are arranged along a central passageway that is about 7 meters wide and partly paved with baked bricks. • Each room measures 15.2 by 6.1 meters and has three sleeper walls with air space between them.
- 28. Well • A large public well and public bathing platforms were found in the southern part of Mound AB at Harappa. • These public bathing areas may also have been used for washing clothes as is common in many traditional cities in Pakistan and India today.
- 29. Harappa: Mound E and ET • Inside the city is an area that has been identified as a crafts quarter. • Large quantities of manufacturing debris have been found in this area indicating the presence of workshops for making stone beads, shell ornaments, glazed faience ornaments, stone tools and possibly even gold working.
- 30. Language The Indus (or Harappan) people used a pictographic script. Some 3500 specimens of this script survive in stamp seals carved in stone, in molded terracotta and faience amulets, in fragments of pottery, and in a few other categories of inscribed objects. In addition to the pictographic signs, the seals and amulets often contain iconographic motifs, mostly realistic pictures of animals apparently worshipped as sacred, and a few cultic scenes, including anthropomorphic deities and worshippers. This material is important to the investigation of the Harappan language and religion, which continue to be major issues.
- 31. The origins of Indus writing • The origins of Indus writing can now be traced to the Ravi Phase (c. 3300-2800 BC) at Harappa. • Some inscriptions were made on the bottom of the pottery before firing. • This inscription (c. 3300 BC) appears to be three plant symbols.
- 32. Ancient Indus
- 33. Economy-Trade The Harappan civilization was mainly urban and mercantile. Inhabitants of the Indus valley traded with Mesopotamia, southern India, Afghanistan, and Persia for gold, silver, copper, and turquoise.
- 34. Trade Gold Disc The central ornament worn on the forehead of the famous "priest-king" sculpture from Mohenjo-daro appears to represent an eye bead, possibly made of gold with steatite inlay in the center.
- 35. Harappan Astronomy • Although the translation of the Harappan script is still not complete, there are numerous indications that Harappans were well versed in astronomy. • The straight streets of the Indus cities are oriented towards the cardinal directions. • Astronomical evidence dates the compilation of the Vedic calendar at around the 23rd century B.C., when the Indus civilization flourished. • Like other urban civilizations, it undoubtedly needed a calendar that adjusted to the lunar and solar transitions.
- 36. Harappan Astronomy The Pleiades hold a prominent place as the mothers or wet nurses of the newborn infant in one of the most ancient and central Hindu myths, that of the birth of the war-god Rudra/Skanda. The Pleiades are said to have been the wives of the seven sages, who are identified with the seven stars of the Great Bear.
- 37. Burial • The body was placed inside a wooden coffin (which later decayed) and entombed in a rectangular pit surrounded with burial offerings in pottery vessels. • The man was buried wearing a necklace of 340 graduated steatite beads and three separate pendant beads made of natural stone and three gold beads. A single copper bead was found at his waist.
- 38. Burial• Burial of woman and infant, Harappa. • This burial was disturbed in antiquity, possibly by ancient Harappan grave robbers. • Besides the fact that the body is flipped and the pottery disturbed, the left arm of the woman is broken and shell bangles that would normally be found on the left arm are missing. • The infant was buried in a small pit beneath the legs of the mother.
- 39. Collapse of Harappan “Civilization” • The de-urbanization period of the Harappan Civilization saw the collapse and disappearance of the urban phenomena in the South Asia. • The theme for this period is localization. • Architectural and ceramic forms changed along with the loss of writing, planned settlements, public sanitation, monumental architecture, seaborne and exotic trade, seals, and weights.
- 40. Four Theories of Collapse Archaeologists have offered four explanations for the collapse of the Harappan “Civilization”. Three are based on ecological factors: intense flooding, decrease in precipitation, and the desiccation of the Sarasvati River. The fourth hypothesis is that of the Aryan Invasion, proposed by Sir R. E. Mortimer Wheeler and Stuart Piggott. Image in text of “massacre” thought to support this hypothesis. Later interpreted as “peaceful” mass burial. Fourth largely abandoned in the 1940s in favor of a combination of factors from ecological disasters.
- 41. Enter: The Aryans Approximately 1500 B.C.E. a nomadic and pastoral people who spoke the Indo-European language passed through the Hindu Kush mountains. They called themselves “Aryans” or “noble people.” They established small herding and agricultural communities throughout northern India. Their migrations took place over several centuries.
- 42. Aryan Influence on Harappan Society Aryan migrations took place over several centuries. Their arrival was not an invasion or organized military campaign. It is likely that Indo-European migrants clashed with Dravidians (people settled in the Harappan area.) By the time Aryans entered India, internal problems had already brought Harappan society to the point of collapse. During the centuries after 1500 B.C.E., Dravidian and Indo- European peoples intermarried and laid social and cultural foundations that influenced Indian society to present day.
- 43. Aryan Influence on Harappan Society Aryan migrations took place over several centuries. Their arrival was not an invasion or organized military campaign. It is likely that Indo-European migrants clashed with Dravidians (people settled in the Harappan area.) By the time Aryans entered India, internal problems had already brought Harappan society to the point of collapse. During the centuries after 1500 B.C.E., Dravidian and Indo- European peoples intermarried and laid social and cultural foundations that influenced Indian society to present day.
- 44. Aryan Influence on Harappan Society The Aryans survived on pastoral economy, sheep and goats. The especially prized their horses and cattle, but horses did not breed well in India so they had to import animals from Asia. The Aryans consumed both dairy products and beef. Centuries later cattle would become sacred.
- 45. Aryan Influence on Harappan Religion The Vedas were collections of religious and literary poems and songs transmitted orally. There were four parts. The most important part was the Rig Veda, a collection of 1,028 hymns addressed to the Aryan gods. Aryan priests compiled the Rig Veda between 1400 and 900 B.C.E. It wasn’t put into writing until about 600 B.C.E.
- 46. The Vedic Age 1500 to 500 B.C.E. •The Vedas refer often to conflicts between Aryans and the Dravidians and other people already living in India. •The Vedas refer to Indra, the Aryan war god and military hero, who would destroy parts of the city. •This suggests that the Aryans clashed repeatedly with the Dravidians of the Indus valley, attacking their cities and wrecking their irrigation systems.
- 47. The Vedic Age 1500 to 500 B.C.E. •The Aryans often had friendly relations with Dravidian peoples. •They learned about the land and adopted Dravidian agricultural methods. •Still there was competitions over land and resources. •It appears that the Aryans did not have a formal government but they formed chiefdoms with a leader known as a raja (Sanskrit term for king.)
- 48. Aryan Migrations in India •Aryans first settled in the Punjab, the upper Indus River valley that straddles modern-day border between northern India and Pakistan. •They spread east and south and established communities throughout much of the subcontinent. •They learned to make iron tools and with axes and plow they cleared forests and established agricultural communities in the Ganges valley. •The Aryans gradually lost the tribal political organization they had brought into India and evolved into small kingdoms with formal governments.
- 49. The Caste System •Originally based on color: Aryans were “wheat-colored” and Dravidians were darker skinned. •Four Main Varnas or Castes: •Priests (brahmins) •Warriors and Aristocrats (Kshatriyas) •Cultivators, artisans, and merchants (vsaishyas) •Landless peasants and serfs ( shudras) •Untouchables (people who performed dirty tasks) added much later
- 50. Jati (Subcastes) As Vedic Society became more complex and specialized, the caste system changed to include specialized occupations. Occupation determined an individuals jati (subcaste). By the 18th and 19th centuries C.E., the system featured several thousand jati. Brahmins alone have some 1,800 jati.
- 51. The Development of a Patriarch Society •Aryan Society had a strong patriarchal social order at the time of their migration into India. •All priests, warriors and tribal chiefs were men. •Women influenced affairs within their families but had no public authority. •Women rarely learned the Vedas and were denied formal education. •Sati, the practice of a wife sacrificing herself on her husband’s funeral pyre, was considered noble.
- 52. Religion in Vedic Age •The Rig Veda sheds light on religious practices. •The chief deity was Indra, a war god, who was partial to fighting and drink. •Varuna was a god who presided over the sky from his heavenly palace. He oversaw behavior of morals and preserved order. •Cattle, sheep, goats, and horses from Aryan herds were sacrificed to gain divine support, large families, long life, and abundant herds.
- 53. Religion in Vedic Age •Around 800 B.C.E. some individuals withdrew into the forest of the Ganges valley and lived as hermits. •They drew inspiration from religious beliefs of Dravidian people who worshipped nature spirits. •Dravidians also believed that human souls took on new physical forms after the deaths of their bodies. •The idea of reincarnation was born.
- 54. •Appeared late in Vedic Age, around 800 to 400 B.C.E. •Upanishad means “sitting in front of” and refers to practice of disciples gathering before a sage for discussion of religious issues. •The Upanishads were dialogues that explored the Vedas. UPANISHADS
- 55. The Upanishads •Each person is part of a large, cosmic order and forms a small part of a universal soul known as Brahman. •Brahman is an eternal, unchanging foundation for all things. •Individual souls were born into physical world many times. •Their souls were most often humans but sometimes animals, and even occasionally plants. •The highest goal of the individual soul is to escape the cycle of birth and rebirth to enter into permanent union with Brahmin.
- 56. Doctrines of the Upanishads •Samsara – Upon death, individuals go temporarily to the World of the Fathers and then return to earth in a new form. •Karma – “…a man of good acts will become good, a man of bad acts, bad. He becomes pure by pure deeds, bad by bad deeds.” •Suffering – A certain amount of pain and suffering is inevitable in human existence. •Moksha is a deep endless sleep that comes with permanent liberation from physical incarnation. •Brahmin – You can achieve Brahmin through meditation and asceticism, leading extremely simple lives and denying all pleasure.