INDUS VALLEY: 1

 

                                                                Introduction

 

1.  The Indus Valley (or Harappan) Civilization had its origins in the wider Neolithic of the Middle East from the 8th millennium BC.  This involved the rise of agricultural village communities from the Zagros Mountains in the west to the highland fringes of the Indus Valley in the East and the Kopet Dag Mountains in the north.  It also included communities that occupied the inland valleys of the Iranian Plateau.

 

2.  The rise of Civilization in the Indus Valley (and in Central Asia to the north) is best regarded as the culmination of a long period of Neolithic experimentation and development that also involved the gradual growth and intensification of interregional connections throughout the area.

 

3.  Such later Neolithic settlements as Mundigak (Afghanistan) and Merhgarh (Baluchistan highlands) were the predecessors of Harappan civilization.  The best known, Mehrgarh, demonstrate the typical Middle Eastern Neolithic pattern of intensive use of microlithic blades (sickles), grinding stones and sedentary villages dependent on barley, wheat (emmer and einkorn), sheep, goat, and cattle with accompanying hunting of gazelle and deer.  They also reveal the development of formal storage facilities and contact with areas to the north and west (lapis lazuli from Afghanistan; copper and turquoise from the northern Iranian Plateau; Arabian Sea shell).  These sites represent the Indus Valley counterpart of the “hilly flanks” sites of the Samarran Zagros that were the precursors to Mesopotamian Civilization. 

 

4.  The Indus Valley (Harappan) Civilization, which emerged in the mid-3rd millennium BC from this Neolithic base, encompassed a larger area than either Mesopotamia or Egypt - roughly 750 miles NS and EW, encompassing the Indus drainage and that of the original Ghaggar-Hakra River (now dry - captured by Ganges) and areas around these drainages.

 

5. The area within this extensive land area is much more environmentally diverse than either Egypt or Mesopotamia.  The physical environment encompassed the full range of ecological zones extending from arid deserts to well-watered wooded highlands, from high mountains to arid lowland river plains.  This diverse region incorporated a large number of raw resource deposits.  This again contrasts with the resource-scarce Mesopotamian and Egyptian river valleys and permitted the Indus to be an exporter rather than primarily an importer like these other centers of civilization.

 

6. Harappan urban settlements were distinguished from that of the other civilizations by their uniformity of architecture, town planning, and crafts.  There was little differentiation in the form or social context of art, wealth or architecture to indicate the existence of an internally stratified population of the Mesopotamian/Egyptian type.  

 

 

 

                                                            History

 

Neolithic                              - 3200

Early Harappan          3200-25/2300          [Early Dynastic]

Mature Harappan   2500/2300-1800          [Akkadian/Ur III]

Decline/Collapse            1800-1600           [Old Babylonian]  

 

1.  Until the early 3rd millennium there was little occupation of the lowland plains of the Indus Valley and the Neolithic village pattern dominates with such settlements as Mehrgahr in the higher land flanking the Indus.

 

2.  In the early 3rd millennium some of the Indus settlements up-river from the lower plains (Mahenjo-daro, Kot Diji) were first occupied by small settlements with little architectural differentiation according to status, followed by gradual move down into the lower alluvial valleys.

 

4.  This pattern changed in the Mature Harappan with a rapid development toward urbanism and equally rapid expansion throughout the entire area of the Indus Valley Civilization.  This phase of expansion generally matches the Uruk Expansion at the onset of urban civilization in Sumer.

 

5. Agriculture in the Indus Valley Lowlands permitted expansion of the domesticated inventory.  Thus in addition to the “typical” Middle Eastern domesticates rice was adopted from the Far East and sorghum from Africa.  Water buffalo represents an addition to the animal domesticate group. The plow was introduced fairly early in this period (furrows are still preserved).


 

6. Mature Harappan Civilization possessed three huge “capital” cities (all over 300acres/125 hectares) located roughly equidistant from each other:

-Mahenjo-daro

-Harappa

-Ganwariwala 

 

7. The most intensive concentration of settlement lay along the Ghaggar-Hakra river with settlement thinning towards the peripheries of the Indus region where walled towns were located.

 

8. During the Mature Harappan period the Indus Valley Civilization was in close trading contact with Mesopotamia via overland routes across the Iranian Plateau and by sea up the Arabian Sea coast and the Persian Gulf.

 

9. The civilization experienced rapid decline after 1800 with and disappearing last in NW India east of the Indus by 17/600.

 

 

 

 

 

                                                         Archaeological Overview

 

Early Harappan

1. There is relatively little archaeological excavation evidence for the early period.  However, it appears that the Mature Harappan settlement plan of planned villages and walled towns with grid-like streets had its origins in this phase.

 

2. The Early Harappan Phase is characterized by regionally distinct painted ceramic styles, which were replaced around the mid-3rd millennium by a unified style – the Kot Diji style - which heralds the Mature Harappan.

 

3. Settlement pattern indicates a move from the upper reaches of the Indus Valley drainage down into the lower plains with such sites as Kalibangan, Kot Diji, Mahenjo-daro, Amri (high alluvium) and Rehmen Dheri (walled early town). 

 

4.  The use of terracing and canals at higher elevations and flood basic agriculture on the lower plains were introduced in this early period.  

 

Mature Harappan

1.  Settlement moved further into the lowlands with a great deal of intensification throughout the central drainage areas and along the coast.  Settlement also expanded into peripheral areas, intruding here into areas where earlier indigenous levels, especially in the west, showed signs of having been burnt (i.e. Sutkagen-dor).  This would indicate that some degree of conflict and intrusion occurred during the establishment of the Mature Harappan urban system.   Settlement also expanded far to the north where establishments like Shortugai in the north of Afghanistan were probably sited to control the lapis lazuli resources and to facilitate contact with the Central Asian Civilization.

 

2.  There was a wide range of settlement sizes during the Mature Harappan ranging from the largest trio (Mahenjo-daro, Harappa, Ganwariwala) to small towns (Kalibagen) and ports (Lothal).   Significantly, all of these settlements, whatever their scale, reveal the same settlement plan.  This is a bipartite plan with “Citadel” and “Lower Town” with the Citadel often set apart by a boundary wall or its placement of Citadel on a platform.

 

Citadel Content: Great Bath

                            Granaries

                            Corporate Buildings (Sir John Marshall's “Palace, Assembly etc”.)

 

Lower Town Content:  Residential architecture of fired brick

                                      Grid plan streets

                                     Well-developed drainage system (house and town)

                                      Possible small domestic religious places

                                     Craft workshops for: Bead-making

                                     Copper working

                                     Seal making

                                     Ceramic production

                                     Dying? (Vats)

                                    

4.  Evidence of Mature Harappan craft production has mostly been found in residential contexts.  This includes:

- Large quantities of copper and bronze tools (E. Iran)

- Gold and silver (S. Afghanistan and India)

- Pottery: Wheel thrown, painted in uniform abstract designs.

- Lapidary: Beads (Carnelian, Turquoise, Lapiz, Shell)

- Brick for Construction:  Kiln fired and uniform size

 

Note: all of the products are of uniform type and size throughout the entire civilization - almost no variety.

 

5.  Art.

There is very little artistic production of the type seen in Mesopotamia and Egypt.  Representation of human beings is rare.  It appears that Mature Harappan artisans emphasized symbols NOT persons.  See seals below.

 

6.  Religion

In the early phases female figurines occur throughout region but these may be another regional expression of the wider Neolithic pattern.   There are no obvious temples in the Indus Valley Civilization.  This strongly contrasts with the Mesopotamian and Egyptian situations where temples are central locations of social integration. However, some possible residential shrines do exist.  Appearances of a “Shiva-like god “may indicate connection with later Indian religious practices.    

 

5.  Seals

The Indus Valley stamp seals bear currently undecipherable script.  These seals have been found in all contexts by contrast with the commercial contexts of Mesopotamia.  Some scholars have suggested that this difference relates to the Harappan examples having significance as markers of identity and kin-group membership rather than property.