INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION 2500 BC- 1750 BC€¦ · The Indus River Valley Civilization, 3300-1300...
Transcript of INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION 2500 BC- 1750 BC€¦ · The Indus River Valley Civilization, 3300-1300...
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PRESENTS
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INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION
2500 BC- 1750 BC
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AN OVER VIEW:
The Indus River Valley Civilization, 3300-1300 BCE, also known as the Harappa Civilization,
extended from modern-day northeast Afghanistan to Pakistan and northwest India.
Important innovations of this civilization include standardized weights and measures, seal
carving, and metallurgy with copper, bronze, lead, and tin.
Little is understood about the Indus script, and as a result, little is known about the Indus River
Valley Civilization’s institutions and systems of governance.
The civilization likely ended due to climate change and migration.
EXTENT:
Indus valley extends from
Sutkagandor in West to Alamgirpur (Western UP) in the East from Mandu (Jammu) in the
North to (Daimabad Ahmednagar in Maharashtra) in the South.
IMPORTANT CITIES
Early (Pre
Harappa)
Mature (Harappa)
Late Phase (Post Harappa)
Kalibangan
Harappa (Pakistan @ Ravi)
Rakhigarhi
Banawali Mohenjodaro (Pakistan @ Indus)
Dholavira
Rakhigarhi Chanhudaro (Pakistan @ Indus)
Bhagwanpura
Dholavira Sutkagendor (Pakistan)
Manda (Jammu), Chandigarh,Shangol
(Punjab), Daulatpur,Mitthal (Haryana),
Alamgirpur Hulas (West UP)
Surkotada (Gujarat)
Lothal (Gujarat @ Bhogava)
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Kalibangan (Rajasthan @ Ghaggar)
Banawali (Hissar @Ghaggar)
Rakhigarhi (Hissar @Ghaggar)
Dholavira (Kutch)
DEVELOPMENTS IN INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION
Citadel / Acropolis at cities for member of ruling class (west side) & brick houses below
citadel in town for commoners
Remarkable grid system of roads → Roads cutting at right angle to each other
Large scale use of burnt bricks & total absence of stone buildings
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Remarkable underground drainage system connecting all houses & streets covered by bricks /
stone slabs
Agriculture technology was well developed (But no use of ploughshare) : Wheat, Rice, Barley,
Peas etc. + Domesticated large scale of animals
Cotton was 1st produced by Indus people hence Greeks called it Sindon which is derived from
Sindh.
Harappan were 1st to produce silver in the world + wore gold, silver & beads Jewelry
Practiced boat making, seal making, Bronze smith, Weavers etc.
Granaries & seals show Harappan carried on considerable trade but only through Barter system
No temples has been found at any of the site hence can be said that it was ruled by merchants
not priests
Worshiped Goddess Earth, Pipal Tree, Pashupati Mahadeva & Animals (Bull / Unicorn Rhino)
1st to invent the art of writing – Right to left – (Pictographic only → Not deciphered so far)
Used weights for trade (Mostly in multiple of 16) & Bronze made marked sticks for
measurements
Were expert in Potter’s wheel & pottery making
Their greatest artistic creation was ” Seals”
Mostly limestone was used for sculptures.
Indus Valley Civilization Site
Remarkable Feature
Mohenjodaro Great Bath (Largest Brick Work)
Great Granary (Largest Building)
Impressive drainage system
Bronze image of dancing girl
Image of steatite bearded man
Piece of woven cotton
Seal of pashupati
Prepared Garments
Skeletons on stairs of well (Mount of the
dead)
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Harappa 2 rows of 6 granaries
Impressive drainage system
Citadel
Lothal Artificial Dock (Manchester of Harappan
civilization)
Art of double burial
Cotton cultivation
Kalibangan Granary & Wooden plough
Wells in every house
Camels Bone
Chanhudaro Lancashire of India
Only city without citadel
Bangles Factory
Beads Factory
Rakhigarhi Biggest Site
SEALS – INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION
Engraved in pictographic script – writing is right to left – yet to be deciphered
Used on soft river stone, steatite, gold & ivory → mainly for trade and commerce
Used as an amulet → to ward off the evil
Use as an educational tool → presence of pie sign
Prominent Seals → Pashupati, humped bull, elephant and rhinoceros
Indus seals found in Mesopotamia → Sign of possible trade
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SCULPTURE – INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION
2 Stone male figures → Torso in red sandstone + Bust of a bearded man in steatite
Bronze casting was widely used following lost wax technique
Lost Wax Technique
wax figures are covered with a coating of clay and allowed to dry
Then it is heated and the molten wax is allowed to drain out through a tiny hole at the bottom of
the clay
The hollow mould is then filled with bronze or any other metal
Once the metal is cooled, the clay is removed
Examples → statue of a ‘Dancing Girl’ + buffalo with its uplifted head, back & horns
Terracotta – Indus Valley Civilization
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Terracotta is a fire baked clay and is handmade using pinching method
Examples include Mother Goddess, Toy carts with wheels etc.
Compared to stone and bronze statues the terracotta representations of human form are crude
POTTERY – INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION
Mainly plain, red and black painted – Plain pottery is more common than painted
Consists chiefly of very fine wheel- made wares, & very few being hand-made
Used for household purpose (storage of water, food grains etc.)
Used For decoration- Miniature vessels used for decoration (Less than 1/2 inch)
Used as perforated pottery (large hole at the bottom and small holes all over the wall, and
probably was used for straining liquor)
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BEADS AND ORNAMENTS
Made of precious metals, gemstones, bone and even baked clay
Necklaces, armlets and finger rings were common
Evidences of dead bodies buried along with ornaments have also been found
Cinnabar was used as cosmetic, Lipstick, & face-paint
Even eyeliner’s were all known to them
EXTENSIVE TOWN PLANNING
Citadel / Acropolis at cities for member of ruling class (west side) & brick houses below citadel
in town for commoners
Evidence of public buildings, administrative or business centres, pillared halls and courtyards.
Fortifications with gateways enclosing the walled cities shows that there may have been a fear
of being attacked
The concept of two-storied houses was also present
Large scale use of baked bricks as building material
Granaries in Citadels with strategic air-ducts → gives an idea of an organised collection and
distribution system
Remarkable grid system of roads → Roads cutting at right angle to each other
Remarkable underground drainage system connecting all houses & streets covered by bricks /
stone slabs
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No temples has been found at any of the site hence can be said that it was ruled by merchants
not priests
Used weights for trade (Mostly in multiple of 16) & Bronze made marked sticks for
measurements
Great Bath → public bathing place shows the importance of ritualistic bathing and cleanliness
in this culture.
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THEORY OF DECLINE OF INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION:
Natural Calamities such as floods, Earthquakes etc.
Decrease in Land fertility
Outbreak of an epidemic
Decline of trade & Invasion of Aryansported in Ashoka’s times from Persia. There is abundant
evidence of stone masons mark similar to those at Persepolis (Persia).
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