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Saturday, June 23, 2018
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Indus Valley Civilization | Part 2
Harappa
- It was founded in the year 1921 by Mr. Dayaram Sahani. It is situated near the Sahiwal district of Pakistan on the banks of the river Ravi.
- The Great Granary was found here measuring 169 feet X 35 feet. A naked sandstone torso was found which also gives the traces of the Jainism. Stone symbols of female genitals Single room barrack.
Mohenjo-Daro
- It was founded in the year 1922 by Mr. R.D. Banerjee. It is situated in the Larkana district of Pakistan on the banks of river Indus. It is derived from the Sindhi word which means the “Mound of the Dead” The Great Bath was found here.
- Multi pillared assembly hall A piece of woven cloth Stamp/Seal with the image of the Pashupati Mahadev Statue of the bearded man Evidence of direct trade relations with the Mesopotamia Civilization Mohenjodaro was the most advanced city of the Indus Valley Civilization the roads were wide and straight and were 33 feet wide.
- The roads run in the North-South direction and the other roads run in the East-West direction and they both cut each other at right angles.
Kalibanga
- It was founded in the year 1953 by Mr. Amlanana Ghosh It was situated near the Hanumangarh district of Rajasthan on the banks of the river Ghaggar. The word Kalibanga means the Black Bangles The ploughed field at Kalibanga is the most important discovery of that time.
- Wooden wheel was found here which also gives the proof that the people of Kalibanga use the bullock carts Bones of camels are found here The tiled floor was found here which has the design of intersecting of circles Human head with long oval eyes and thick lower lips Two types of burial was found here Burials in the circular grave Burials in the rectangular grave.
Chanhu-Daro
- It was founded in the year 1931 by M.G.Majumdar Chahudaro was situated on the eastern side of river Indus in the Sindh province of Pakistan Chanudharo has three different cultural layers Indus Culture, Jhukar Culture and Jhangar Culture.
- It was the only site in the Indus Valley Civilization without the Citadel. During the excavations a small pot, bullock carts and ekkas, footprints of the elephant and the dog chasing the cat.
Lothal
- It was founded in the year 1957 by S.R. Rao.
- It is situated near the Gulf of Khambatt in Gujarat. An artificial dockyard was found here.
- It was the most important port city of the Indus Valley Civilization Boat made up of Terracotta was found here which gives the traces that they have the trade relations with the other civilizations of the world.
- Evidence of rice was found here as the rice granary was found at Rangpur near Ahemadabad in Gujarat A terracotta statue of horse was found here Seal which has the design of the ship.
- A printed jar which resembles the story of the cunning fox which is also mentioned in the Panchatantra.
- A compass like measuring instrument was found which can measure the angles of 1800, 900 and 450 Evidence of double burial was found i.e. male and female were found in the single grave which also gives the traces of Sati practice. Evidence of chess like game.
Ropar
Founded in the year 1953 by Y.D.Sharma. It is situated in the state of Punjab in India The excavations at the Ropar includes pottery, ornaments, copper axes, seal etc A strange burial was found here i.e. the dead body of dog was found along with the dead body of the human being.
Banwali
Founded in the year 1973 by R.S. Bisht. It is situated near the Hissar district of Haryana Huge quantity of Barley and Mustard was found here A terracotta plough was also found here which the most remarkable discovery.
Surkotada
Founded in the year 1964 by Jagat Pal Joshi. It is situated in the Kutch district of Gujarat During the excavations the first remains of the horse bones was found here.
Economic Life of the Indus Valley Civilization
Agriculture
- The Indus plains were made fertile by the annual inundation of the river Indus. This river carried far more alluvial soil than many other contemporary rivers like the Nile in Egypt.
- The farmers sowed their seeds in November when the flood waters receded and reaped their harvests in April before the next floods. They must have produced enough to provide for the people in villages and cities.
- They produced wheat, barley, rice, sesamum, mustard etc. They also produced significant quantities of cotton.
Technology, arts & crafts
- The people of the Indus Valley Civilization well know the technique of mining the best example of this can be seen from the nearby mines of Khetri in Rajasthan which is famous for its copper.
- Tin was probably brought from mines in Bihar or from Afghanistan. The amount of artifacts left behind by the Indus Valley Civilization suggests that there were a large group of bronze smiths who not only made utensils but also made various kinds of tools as well.
- There is evidence which suggests that they may also have practiced weaving, possibly using spindle whorls. Whatever buildings have been excavated seems to have been made of brick which indicates that brick-laying must also have been an important occupation.
- Besides the above, people of the Indus Valley Civilization must also have followed the occupations of seal-making, goldsmiths, pottery, bead making etc.
Trade
- The discovery of the artificial brick dockyard at Lothal and the seals having the pictures of the boat gives the traces that the people of the Indus Valley. Civilization has the trade relation with the other civilizations of the world such as the Mesopotamia civilization.
- There was also the internal trading as they used the bullock carts for the transportation. The unit of measurement was 16 (16, 64, and 160,320)
Religious Life & Culture
- The main gods of worship for the people of Indus Valley Civilization was Puhupati Mahadev( Lord Shiva) The people of the Indus Valley Civilization also worship the Phallus (lingam) and yoni Animal worshipped- Unicorn and Bull Tree worshipped- Pipal Bird worshipped- Dove & Pigeon When any person dies in the Indus Valley Civilization they lay them in North-South direction with the head in North and the legs in South direction.
- There was the practice of burying the dead body in the rectangular or the oval pits.
Script and Language
- The script of the Indus Valley Civilization is pictographic in nature which has around 600 pictographs. The writing style of the of the Indus Valley Civilization is known as “Boustrophedon” i.e. they write the first line from right to left and the second line from left to right. The language of the Indus Valley Civilization is still unknown.
Causes of Decline
The definite cause of decline for the Indus Valley Civilization is still elusive since
there are no written records of the period and there are various speculations from the historians.
There are four main reasons behind the decline of Indus Valley Civilization as concluded by the historians
- Due to decrease of the soil fertility
- Due to increase of salinity in the water from the neighboring deserts
- Due to natural calamity such as Earthquake, Flood, Famine etc
- Aryans when they came to India they destroyed the Indus Valley Civilization.
