Indus Valley Civilization (Indian History - 03)

The Harappan culture spread over the whole of Sind, Baluchistan, almost the whole of Punjab, northern Rajasthan, Kathiawar and Gujarat.

Harappa the first Indus site, was discovered by Dayaram Sahni in 1921. It is situated in the province of West Punjab, Montgeomery district in Pakistan.

Harappa is located on the bank of river Ravi.

Mohanjedaro was excavated in 1922 by R.D.Banarjee. It is situated in the Larkhana district in Sind on the right bank of river Indus (Now in Pakistan)

The Great Granery, the Great Bath a piece of woven cotton, a beared man in steatite and a bronze dancing girl are found from Mohanjedaro.

An assembly hall was also discovered from Mohanjodaro.

The most important feature of Harappan civilisation was town planning and urbanism.

The word Mohanjedaro in Sindi language means ‘the mount of the dead’.

Mohanjodaro was believed to have destructed by flood.

Harappans knew the art of growing cereals, wheat and barley.

Banawali is situated in Hariyana.

Chanhudaro, discovered by N. Gopal Majundar

and Mackey, is situated in Sind on the bank of river Indus.

Kalibangan, another famous Indus city discovered in 1953 by A Ghosh, is situated in Rajasthan on the banks of River Ghaggar. Kalibangan stands for black bangles.

Lothal, first man made port in the world and dockyard made of burnt bricks, was discovered in 1953 by S.R. Rao is situated in Gujarat on Bhogava river near Gulf of Cambay.

Ropar is the site situated in Punjab on the banks of river Sutlej. It was discovered in 1953 by Y.D.Sharma.

Harappan people were the earliest people in the world to grow cotton and rice.

People cultivated rice at Lothal and Rangpur and barley at Benawali.

Harappan people domesticated oxen, buffaloes, goats, camel, sheeps, domestic fowls and pigs. Humped bulls were given special importance. Horses were unknown to the Harappan people.

Indus people had trade contacts with Persian Gulf and Mesopotamia.

The ancient name given to Indus region was Meluha.

Indus people used a gold - silver mixture called Electrum.

They used bronze and copper but iron was unknown to them.

Indus people were the first to use copper in India.

Harappans used a system of weights and measures based on 16 and its multiples.

The chief male deity of the Indus people was Pasupati Mahadeva (Porto Siva).

Their Chief female deity was the Mother Goddess.

They also worshipped fire, pipal trees and Unicorn.

Harappan script was Pictographic in nature, which has not been desciphered so far.

Harappan seals were made of Terra - Cotta.

Chess - like game of Harappans was called Sent.

Indus Valley civilisation belongs to the Chalcolithic period dated between 3000 BC and 1500 BC. It is a Bronze Age civilisation or a proto Historic civilisation.

The largest number of Harappan sites in post independent India have been discovered from Gujarat.

Harappan civilisation extended from Jammu in the North to Narmada in the South and from Makran coast of Baluchistan in the West to Meerat in the East.

The Northern most point of Indus valley civilisation was Gumla in Jammu and the Southernmost was Daimbad.

Floods and Earthquakes, change in the course of river Indus, aridity of the area, or drying up of river Ghaggar, the invasion of Aryans are the supposed reasons for the decline of the civilisation towards 1500 BC.

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