Structure:

1.  Brief introduction of Harappan civilization
2. A note on economic feature- agriculture, craft, trade and commerce, industry etc
3. A note on Urban culture of harrappan civilization with few lines on urban planning
4. Conclusion on a positive note

Content:

Introduction:

The Indus Valley Civilisation (IVC) or Harappan Civilisation was a Bronze Age civilisation (3300–1300 BCE; mature period 2600–1900 BCE) mainly in the northwestern regions of South Asia, extending from what today is northeast Afghanistan to Pakistan and northwest India. Along with ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia it was one of three earliest civilisations of the world and included among the civilisations of the Old World, and of the three, the most widespread

Economy of Harappan Civilization

Agricultural and Animal husbandry

• Harappans grew wheat and barley on a large The other crops grown by them were pulses, cereals, cotton, dates, melons, pea, sesamum and mustard.
• Predominantly Rainfed Crops as Irrigation was based upon the rainwater but also the sources of irrigations were available
• No clear evidence of rice has been found, except from Rangpur and Lothal were some grains of rice were obtained, but they may be a later
• Harrapan people were mostly peasants and thus the Harappan civilization was an agro-commercial civilization.
• Evidences of hoe and plough have been found in Kalibangan and Banawali
• Harrapans domesticated sheep, goat, buffalo and They also knew about tiger, camel, elephant, tortoise, deer, various birds, etc. However, they didn’t know about lion.
• Humpless bull or unicorn was the most important animal for them.
• They didn’t know about horse, except a jaw bone of horse has been recovered from Surkotado in Gujarat in upper layers of excavation.
• The Harappans 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

2.   Crafts

• 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
• Weavers wore clothes of wool and Leather was also known to them but no evidence of silk has been found.
• Harappans used to make seals, stone statues, terracotto figurines, etc.
• Huge brick structures made up of burnt bricks and mud bricks suggest that brick laying was an important craft
• Harappans didn’t know about Iron
• The potters wheel was used to produce their characteristic pottery which was made glossy and shining
• They knew boat making also, as it is evident from their seals
• The goldsmiths made jewellery of gold, silver and precious
• Bangle making and shell ornament making was also practised which is evident from the findings of Chanhudaro, Balakot and Lothal

3.   Trade

• Land trade and sea trade was in vogue
• A dockyard has been found at Lothal which is the longest building of the Harppan civilization
• Most important trading partner was Mesopotamia. It is evident from the inscriptions of Mesopotamia. other trading relations with Meluha which was the ancient name given to Indus region.

• Two intermediates trading stations called Dilmun and makan are identified with Bahrain and Makran coast (Pakistan)
• The mode of trade was barter system.

4.   Consumer Affairs in Indus Valley Civilization

• The weights and measurements were calibrated to a considerable The measures were standardized and perhaps there is binary system in use. A scale made up of Elephant tusk has been found at Mohenjo- Daro and Lothal.

5.     Finance, Business and Industry in Indus Valley Civilization

• There was use of many kinds of metals including Gold, Silver, Copper, Lapis Lazuli , Turquoise, Amethyst, Alabaster, jade etc. It has been guessed that among the precious stones in the Harappan civilization; Jade came from Central Asia, Turquoise came from Iran , Amethyst came from Maharashtra and Lapis lazuli came from Afghanistan
• A Jewellery hoard has been found at Allahdino, an Indus valley Site near congregation of Indus river and Arabian sea. It has a necklace of 36 carnelian beads, Bronze spacer beads and a coper bead covered with Gold foil and 20 Gold lumps.
• The trade was It was operated on intraregional as well as interregional basis and had a guild system coupled with nomadic trade. There are no evidences of monetary exchange.
• Well developed stoneware industry. The manufacturing of the stone bangles was most prevalent in Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro. Harappan civilization had an Economic This economic zone was along the bank of the Sirhind river.

6.   Seals in Indus Valley Civilization

• The seals were used throughout the length and breadth of this civilization. Made of steatite, these seals range in size from 1cm to 5cm
• The seals were very popular; more than 1200 seals have been found at Mohenjodaro alone. The most remarkable one is the Pashupati seal depicting shiva seated on a stool flanked by an elephant, tiger, Rhinoceros and buffalo.

• On one seal a goddess stands nude between the branches of a pipal tree, before which kneels a worshipper. Behind the worshipper stands a human faced goat and below are seven devotees engaged in a dance.
• A scene very often repeated on seals shows a man holding back two roaring tigers with his out-stretched arms. This is similar to the Sumerian Gilgamesh and his lions
• The animal most frequently encountered on Indus seals is a humpless bull, shown in profile with its horns superimposed on each other and pointing For this feature it has generally been called a unicorn.

Urbanised culture:

Urban Culture in Harappa civilization was very organized. There were three different social groups during Indus Valley Civilization. The first group was of high class traders and priests. The second group was comprised of craftsmen, artists, and petty merchants. And the third group consisted of labourer class. Harappa people had barely and wheat as their staple food. Besides their staple food Harappa’s people liked to have milk, fruits, fishes, dates, and meats. The people used to pray Papal tree. Although no temple structure was found in the remains of the Harappa cities, these people believed in life after death. Indus people used to bury the dead people in huge earthen pots with large amount of food and ornaments.

• Town planning was the most distinguishable feature of the Harappan hence, Indus valley civilization is also called first urbanization.
• Towns were divided into parts citadel and lower town. citadels were occupied by members of ruling class and lower town was inhabited by the common people.
• Harappan cities were developed in Block Pattern/Chess Board Pattern because roads of these cities used to cut each other at right
• Most peculiar feature of town planning was their drainage system. drains were built of burnt bricks and covered by stone lids and manholes for cleaning. It shown that Harappan people were very conscious of hygiene.
• The Harappans knew the art of measurement as some bricks inscribed with measure marks have been found at some
• Complete burial of dead body was the common method followed for disposal
• Chanhudaro was the only city without citadel
• Great Public Bath : There is an impressive building which was used as a public There is a device to fill and empty the water of the bathing pool. There are galleries and rooms on all sides of the bathing pool.
• Granary of Indus Valley Civilization: There is the ruin of a great granary at Harappa measuring 169 fit x 135 Attached to the granary were two roomed tenements with a common courtyard. These tenements housed the workers or the slaves who thrashed the corn to be preserved in the granary.

Religion of Indus People

•  The religion of the Indus people had some interesting There is a striking absence of any temple among the remains of the Indus valley.
• The prevalence of the worship of the Mother Goddess (Sakti) has been The worship of Siva is suggested by the discovery of figure of a deity with three faces, with horned head-dress, seating cross-legged in a Yogic posture, surrounded by animals like buffalo, rhinoceros, deer, tiger, etc.
• Animal worship is attested by seals and terracotta figurines
• Worship of tree, fire, water and probably sun seems to have been in vogue among the Indus people. The discovery of a few seals bearing Swastika symbol and Wheel symbol also indicates Sun
• The discovery of a sacrificial pit of Lothal lends support to the view that the Indus people performed animal sacrifices.

An Analysis:

The Indus Valley Civilization displayed remarkable planning in its urban towns, especially in the area of sanitation and drainage. In the IVC, the streets were built on grid-like patterns, which allowed for methodical and planned growth. In the IVC, the town was also demarcated clearly between residential areas and common/public areas. The granaries of IVC are also an example of intelligent design, with their strategically placed air ducts and the platforms being divided into units. The houses in the IVC were constructed in such a manner that it didn’t disturb the layout of the roads in any way. The houses had doors that opened out into the lanes instead of the roads. The warehouse in Lothal is an exemplary instance of designing with precision. The drains in the IVC connected each and every house, and enabled them to dump their waste directly. These drains were covered, and they directly connected to the larger sewerage outlets. There were inspection holes on the drains for maintenance purposes and there were manholes on the streets.

Conclusion

Modern archaeologists have been impressed by the perfectness of the town planning system of the Indus Valley civilization. The systematic construction of residential houses and public buildings, laying down of principal streets, etc. are comparable with the modern day city planning.