harappan sites of kutch

reminiscences of the ancient people

By 2600 BCE, the early Harappan communities had been turned nto large urban centers. Such urban centers included Harappa, Ganweriwal, Mohenjo-daro in modern day Pakistan, and Dholavira, Kalibangan, Rakhigarhi, Rupar, and Lothal in modern day India. In total, over 1,052 cities and settlements have been found, located in proximity to the Indus Rivers and their tributaries.

The history of India begins with the birth of the Indus Valley Civilization (IVC), also known as Harappan Civilization.
It flourished around 2,500 BC, in the western part of South Asia, in contemporary Pakistan and Western India.
The Indus Valley was home to the largest of the four ancient urban civilizations of Egypt, Mesopotamia, India and China.
In 1920s, the Archaeological Department of India carried out excavations in the Indus valley wherein the ruins of the two old cities, viz. Mohenjodaro and Harappa were unearthed.
In 1924, John Marshall, Director-General of the ASI, announced the discovery of a new civilisation in the Indus valley to the world.

Three phases of Indus Valley Civilization are:

The Early Harappan Phase from 3300 to 2600 BCE,
The Mature Harappan Phase from 2600 to 1900 BCE, and
The Late Harappan Phase from 1900 to 1300 BCE.

The Early Harappan Phase is related to the Hakra Phase, identified in the Ghaggar-Hakra River Valley.

The earliest examples of the Indus script date back to 3000 BC.

This phase stands characterized by centralized authority and an increasingly urban quality of life.

Trade networks had been established and there are also evidences of the cultivation of crops. Peas, sesame seeds, dates, cotton, etc, were grown during that time.

Kot Diji represents the phase leading up to Mature Harappan Phase.

By 2600 BC, the Indus Valley Civilization had entered into a mature stage.

The early Harappan communities were turning into large urban centers, like Harappa and Mohenjo-daro in Pakistan and Lothal in India.

The signs of a gradual decline of the Indus River Valley Civilization are believed to have started around 1800 BC and by 1700 BC, most of the cities were abandoned.
However, one can see the various elements of the Ancient Indus Valley Civilization in later cultures.
Archaeological data indicates the persistence of the Late Harappan culture till 1000-900 BC.

The Harappan culture was distinguished by its system of town planning.
Harappa and Mohenjodaro each had its own citadel or acropolis, which was possibly occupied by members of the ruling class.
Below the citadel in each city lay a lower town containing brick houses, which were inhabited by the common people.
The remarkable thing about the arrangement of the houses in the cities is that they followed the grid system.
Granaries constituted an important part of the Harappan cities.
The use of burnt bricks in the Harappan cities is remarkable, because in the contemporary buildings of Egypt mainly dried bricks were used.
The drainage system of Mohenjodaro was very impressive.
In almost all cities every big or small house had its own courtyard and bathroom.
In Kalibangan many houses had their wells.
At sites such as Dholavira and Lothal (Gujarat), the entire settlement was fortified, and sections within the town were also separated by walls.

The Harappan villages, mostly situated near the flood plains, produced sufficient foodgrains.
Wheat, barley, rai, peas, sesame, lentil, chickpea and mustard were produced. Millets are also found from sites in Gujarat. While rice uses were relatively rare.
The Indus people were the earliest people to produce cotton.
While the prevalence of agriculture is indicated by finds of grain, it is more difficult to reconstruct actual agricultural practices.
Representations on seals and terracotta sculpture indicate that the bull was known, and archaeologists extrapolate shows oxen were also used for ploughing.
Most Harappan sites are located in semi-arid lands, where irrigation was probably required for agriculture.
Traces of canals have been found at the Harappan site of Shortughai in Afghanistan, but not in Punjab or Sindh.
Although the Harappans practised agriculture, animals were also reared on a large scale.
Evidence of the horse comes from a superficial level of Mohenjodaro and from a doubtful terracotta figurine from Lothal. In any case the Harappan culture was not horse centered.

The importance of trade in the life of the Indus people is witnessed by the presence of numerous seals, uniform script and regulated weights and measures in a wide area.
The Harappans carried on considerable trade in stone, metal, shell, etc.
Metal money was not used and trade was carried by barter system.
They practised navigation on the coast of the Arabian Sea.
They had set up a trading colony in northern Afghanistan which evidently facilitated trade with Central Asia.
They also carried commerce with those in the land of the Tigris and the Euphrates.
The Harappans carried on long distance trade in lapis lazuli; which may have contributed to the social prestige of the ruling class.

The Harappans were very well acquainted with the manufacturing and use of Bronze.
Copper was obtained from the Khetri copper mines of Rajasthan and Tin was possibly brought from Afghanistan.
Textile impressions have also been found on several objects.
Huge brick structure suggest that brick-laying was an important craft. This also attests the existence of a class of masons.
The Harappans practised boat-making, bead making and seal-making. Terracotta manufacture was also an important craft.
The goldsmiths made jewellery of silver, gold and precious stones.
The potter’s wheel was in full use, and the Harappans produced their own characteristic pottery, which was glossy and shining.

In Harappa numerous terracotta figurines of women have been found. In one figurine a plant is shown growing out of the embryo of a woman.

The Harappans, therefore, looked upon the earth as a fertility goddess and worshipped her in the same manner as the Egyptians worshipped the Nile goddess Isis.

The male deity is represented on a seal with three horned heads, represented in the sitting posture of a yogi.

This god is surrounded by an elephant, a tiger, a rhinoceros, and has a buffalo below his throne. At his feet appear two deer.The depicted god is identified as Pushupati Mahadeva.

Numerous symbols of the phallus and female sex organs made of stone have been found.

The people of the Indus region also worshipped trees and Animals.

The most important of them is the one horned unicorn which may be identified with the rhinoceros and the next important was the humped bull.

Amulets have also been found in large numbers.

Decline of the Indus Valley Civilization

The IVC declined around 1800 BCE but the actual reasons behind its demise are still debated.

One theory claims that Indo-European tribe i.e. Aryans invaded and conquered the IVC.

In later cultures various elements of the IVC are found which suggest that civilization did not disappear suddenly due to an invasion.

On the other hand, many scholars believe natural factors are behind the decline of the IVC.

The natural factors could be geological and climatic.

It is believed that the Indus Valley region experienced several tectonic disturbances which causes earthquakes. Which also changed courses of rivers or dried them up.

Another natural reason might be changes in patterns of rainfall.

There could be also dramatic shifts in the river courses, which might have brought floods to the food producing areas.

Due to combination of these natural causes there was a slow but inevitable collapse of IVC.

By 2600 BCE, the Early Harappan communities had been turned into large urban centres. Such urban centres include Harappa, Ganeriwala, Mohanjo-Daro in Pakistan, and Dholavira, Kalibangan, Rakhigarhi, Rupar, and Lothat in India.

HARAPPA

Harappa is the first discovered site of this civilization excavated in 1921 by a team led by Daya Ram Sahni, it was a major urban centre during its mature phase surrounded by extensive walls. It is located in Punjab Province, Pakistan, on an old bank/bed of the River Ravi. Its location along old course of Ravi provided access to trade networks, aquatic food and water for drinking and cultivation. Due to this, Harappa remained occupied for a long time. Further, Harappa was also a meeting point of trade routes coming from east. The major findings include, two rows of six granaries with brick platforms (12 granaries together had the same area as the Great Granary at Mohenjodaro), workmen quarters, 2 sandstone statues depicting human anatomy, dog attacking dear, little bullock carts (ekkas) and it`s the only site which had the evidence of coffin burial.

MOHEN-JO DARO

Mohenjo-Daro (mound of dead) was excavated by a team led by R.D. Banerjee in 1922. It is located in the Larkana District of Sindh Pakistan on bank of Indus River. The major findings in Mohen-jo Daro include a college, a multi-pillared assembly hall, the Great bath (the most important public place of the city), a large granary (the largest building of Mohenjo-Daro), a piece of woven cotton along with spindle whorls and needles, a post-stone fragment of Mesopotanian origin, evidence of direct trade contact with Mesopotamia, a bronze dancing girl, discovery of human skeletons put together, a seal representing Mother Goddess with a plant growing from her womb, a bearded man; and a seal with a picture suggesting Pashupati Mahadev.

KOT DIJI

Kot Diji was a Pre-Harappan site and located on the left bank of River Sindh. This city was destructed by force or some fire. A tar is the major object found here. Statues of bull and mother goddess are other things found in Kot diji.

KALIBANGAN

Kalibangan is in Hanumangarh district of Rajastham. It was located on the banks of now dried up Saraswati River, Kalibangan literally means ‘black bangles’. It got its name from the myriad pieces of terracotta bangles excavated here. Kalibangan was an early Harappan fortified settlement, having houses on both sides of streets, bathrooms and drains of baked bricks. The major findings of the site include, the oldest ploughed field, fire-Altars, charging bull, tiled floor, two kinds of burials (circular and rectangular graves), bones of camels etc.

BANAWALI

It is situated in Hissar district of Haryana. Banawali has provided two phases of culture during its excavations; the pre-Harappan (Phase I) and the mature Harappan (Phase II). Though phase II belonged to the Harappan period, chess board or grid pattern of town planning was not always followed as in other Harappan sites. But remains of drains and streets identified from here. High quality barley has been found in excavations. Other important material remains include ceramics, steatite seal, and a terracotta plough.

LOTHAL

Lothal is located in Ahmadabad, Gujarat. It was a coastal town and had different type of town planning. The city was divided into six sections and each section was built on a wide platform of unripe bricks. Entry to the houses were on Main Street while other sites of ICV have lateral entry. Important Findings of Lothal an artificial dockyard (which makes it an important sea link), rice husk (rice husk has been found only at Lothat and Rangpur), bead making factory etc. lothal is thought to have direct sea trade links with Mesopotamia because of finding of an Iranian seal from there.

THE DOCKYARD

Lothal developed as the most important port and a centre of the bead industry until 1900 BC. A ling wharf connected the dockyard to the main warehouse, which was located on a plinth of some 3.5 meters above the ground. The whole town was situated on a patch of high ground, rising up from the flat alluvial plains of Bhal, a wall was erected to encircle the town and a platform was built for the warehouse where goods were checked and stored. The warehouse was divided into 64 rooms of around 3 ½ sq meters each, connected by 1.2 meter-wide passages, and 12 of these cubical blocks are visible even today. Seals were used to label the imports and exports from the dock, and some of these labels have been found during digs. Klin fired bricks, which the Harappans had learnt from experience were unaffected by tidal waters, were used in making passages to protect the cargo.

SURKOTADA

Situated in Kutch (Bhuj) district of Gujarat and excavated by J.R. Joshi in 1972, Surkotada was an important fortified Harappan settlement. The site is important particularly because it has provided the remains of horse bones. But its dentify is doubtful. A cemetery with four pot burials with some human bones has also been found. A grave has been found in association with bid rock, a rare finding of the Harappan culture.

DHOLAVIRA

Dholavira is located in Rann of Kutch of Gujarat. It is excavated in 1990 by a team led by R S Bisht. It had several large reservoirs, an elaborate system of drains to collect water from the city walls and house tops to fill these water tanks. Harappa, Mohenjo-Daro and Dholavira are called the nucleus cities of the civilization. Unlike the Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro where there are two settlements, in Dholavira 3 citadels or principle divisions have been found which have been duly protected by fortifications. There is an open ground out of the fortifications. In Dholavira there has been found the inner enclosure of the citadel too which has not been found in any other cities of the Harappan culture. One of the most important findings of Dholavira has been a signboard with Indus Script.

WATER CONSERVATION OF DHOLAVIRA

Water conservation of Dholavira speaks volume of the ingenuity of the people who developed a system based on rainwater harvesting to support life in a parched landscape, with scanty sweet water. Relying partly on rain-water and little from the ground a complex water system compromising of large rock-cut reservoirs, located at the eastern and southern fortification and rock-cut wells were developed. Huge stone drains can be seen in the city the directed storm water to the western and northern sections of the lower town separated by broad bunds, creating in-effect a series of reservoirs. The most imposing well was located in the castle and is possibly the earliest example of a rock cut well. The city also drew water from the seasonal streams flowing on the northern and southern faces of the fortification. The water from these streams was slowed by a series of dams and partly channelized water into the lower town. Every drop of water was conserved to ensure survival.

CHANHU DARO

Excavations at Chanhu-daro have revealed three different cultural layers from lowest to the top being Indus culture, the Jhukar culture and the Jhangar culture. The site is especially important for providing evidences about different Harappan factories. These factories produced seals, toys and bone implements. It was the only Harappan city without a citadel. Some remarkable findings at Chanhu-daro include bronze figures of bullock cart and ekkas; a small inkpot, footprints of an elephant and a dog chasing a cat.

SUKTAGENDOR

Suktagendor was located around 55 kms from the shore of Arabian Sea on the Bank of Dasht River near the Iran Border. It was an important coastal town along with Lothal and Balakot (in Pakistan) and is considered to be the western border of Indus Valley Civilization. It was originally a port and later cut off from the sea due to coastal upliftment. The conclusion has been drawn up that Suktagendor had trade relationships with Babylon.

RAKHIGARHI

Rakhogarhi in Hissar, Haryana is now considered as the largest site of Indus Valley Civilization. The archaeological excavations at Rakhigarhi revealed all the definite features of Indus civilization, such as pattern kiln, an elaborate drainage system, a granary, ritualistic platforms and terracotta figurines.