General Studies Manual for UPSC and State Public Sen/ice Examinations History-1: From Earliest Times to Indus Valley Civilization
Contents Archaeology & Ethnoarcheology Prehistoric Period: Classification Chapter 2. Palaeolithic Era Sohanian culture Acheulian culture Technology in Acheulian Culture Middle Palaeolithic Era Tools of middle Palaeolithic Era Upper Palaeolithic Era Tools of Upper Palaeolithic Era Chapter 3. Mesolithic Era Tools of Mesolithic Era Changes in Life- Mesolithic Era From Nomadism to Sedentary settlements First Disposal of dead and making of Graves Emerging arts Food Production Chapter 4. Neolithic Revolution, Mehrgarh Culture and Chalcolithic Era Mehrgarh Culture First Period Second Period Third Period Fourth Period Fifth Period Sixth Period Seventh Period Eighth Period Chalcolithic Period Chapter 5. Indus Valley Civilization Notable Observations The questions of Origin of Indus Valley Civilization Salient Common Features of Entire Civilization Observations about Harappa and Mohen Jo-dero Great Bath Observations about other sites Life at Indus Valley Civilization Administration Language Religion Protoshiva or Pashupati Linga Worship Tree Worship and other rituals Talisman Food: Dress: Sports and Entertainments: Tools, arms and weapons: Science & Technology Burial Practice Economy Agriculture Animal Husbandry © 2010-2013 Suresh Soni | All Rights Reserved | Email:
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General Studies Manual for UPSC and State Public Sen/ice Examinations History-1: From Earliest Times to Indus Valley Civilization
Transportation Foreign Affairs Consumer Affairs Finance, Business and Industry Metallurgy Pottery Seals Question of Decline of Indus Valley Civilization Environmental Changes: Aryan Invasion:
19 19 19 19 19 19 20 20 20 21
INTRODUCTION
The past of humankind has been divided into two broad categories viz. Prehistoric and historic. Prehistoric period belongs to the time before the emergence of writing and the historic period to the time following it. It has been so fare believed that Modern Humans originated in Africa and have lived on our planet for around 150,000 years. In recent months, there have been some challenges to this theory.
The anthropologists have long theorized that humans emerged from Africa and into East and Southeast Asia around 60,000 years ago; there has been a significant lack of fossil evidence to support these claims. The earliest skull fossil evidence in the region had dated back 16,000 years
and was found in the early 20th century. In August 2012, a new skull was found that dates back to 46,000 to 63,000 years. This discovery has bolstered the genetic studies that point to modern humans
inhabiting Laos and the surrounding environs at that time, according to a report
of
the
anthropological discovery published in the latest edition
of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). The skull has been found in Tam Pa Ling, "the Cave of the Monkeys" in northern Laos. It helpsfill in this mysterious gap in the fossil record. But, man learnt writing only about 5000-8000
years ago. Writing most likely began as a
consequence of political expansion in ancient
cultures, which needed reliable means for transmitting information, maintaining financial accounts,
keeping historical records, and
similar activities. It has been concluded that
Origin of Man The origin of man begins in the Miocene period, around twenty million years ago, when the great apes, from whom the humans evolved, flourished in large areas of the Old World. Proto humans appeared in the Pliocene period, around five million years ago, and their cultural evolution largely took place during the Pleistocene period, which began about two million years ago. While biologically humans differ from the other apes in their upright posture, ability to walk on two feet or hind limbs, extremely versatile hand, and an unusually powerful brain, culturally they differ in their ability to manufacture and use tools.
around the 4th millennium BC, the complexity of trade and administration outgrew the power of human memory, and writing became a more
dependable method of recording and presenting transactions in a permanent form. The earliest record of human writing may be the Dispilio Tablet, dated to the 6th millennium BC. So, we humans have not learnt writing for a long time, even today 10-12 % of the Human
Population is illiterate. So, written history gives us account of only 0.1% of human history. Then, before the invention of printing technology in the medieval period, written documents were few © 2010-2013 Suresh Soni | All Rights Reserved | Email:
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General Studies Manual for UPSC and State Public Sen/ice Examinations History-1: From Earliest Times to Indus Valley Civilization
and far between, and many of them have been lost due to being written on perishable materials like tree bark, palm leaf, papyrus and cloth. This means that the story of humankind has to be
reconstructed largely with the help of non-literary or archaeological sources. These sources
comprise objects
-
tools, weapons, ornaments, structures and artistic creations which were
produced and used by humans and which have survived the ravages of time.
Archaeology & Ethnoarcheology Like other creatures, we humans also had to adapt ourselves to the environment, but unlike other
beings, we have done so with the aid of technology and material culture (material objects like tools, weapons, utensils, houses, clothes, ornaments, etc). Since, the components of environment such as
landscape, climate, flora and fauna also tends to change over time, archaeologists have to environments as
reconstruct past
well.
Moreover,
biological
the
remains of men have contributed to
the understanding of not only his
biological evolution but also cultural evolution. Archaeology, thus, is a
multi-disciplinary disciplines
study like
involving geology,
Absolute and Relative Chronology Chronology of the past can be either relative or absolute. Relative chronology dates prehistoric events in relation to other events and geological deposits. The relative chronology tells us if a particular event is earlier or later than another event. On the other hand, the Absolute chronology dates events and phenomena in solar calendar years. The techniques such as Radiocarbon, K/Ar, fission tracks, thermoluminescence, TH230/U234 and dendrochronology are the techniques of absolute chronology. Out of then, the dendrochronology is applicable only to a period of a few thousand years and only in the few areas where old wood samples have been preserved. Then, the radiocarbon dating can date events up to sixty thousand years old. The other methods can, however, date events belonging to the entire prehistoric period. However, their application is dependent on the availability of suitable materials such as volcanic ash and rock at archaeological sites.
palaeontology, palaeobotany, biological anthropology and archaeological chemistry. Then, the cultural changes take place at an uneven pace in different regions. In many parts of the world, for example in India, prehistoric ways of life have survived more or less unchanged into
modern times. The discipline, under which we study the non-industrialized societies, especially those practising hunting-gathering, fishing, primitive cultivation and pastoralism, is known as
ethnoarchaeology. This study contributes to interpreting the archaeological record.
Prehistoric Period: Classification The prehistoric period is divided into three ages, namely the stone, bronze and iron ages. These ages, besides being technological stages, also have economic and social implications.
The Stone Age is divided into three periods, viz. Palaeolithic, Mesolithic and Neolithic. The suffix lithic indicates that technology in these periods was primarily based on stone.
Economically the Paleolithic and Mesolithic periods represent the hunting-gathering stage while the Neolithic represents the stage of food production, i.e. plant cultivation and animal husbandry.
Chapter 1.
Palaeolithic Era
The earliest human settlements in south Asia have been identified with an abundance of stone tool
assemblages. The oldest known tools used by human beings were the simple cores and flakes, and they have been reported from the Siwalik hills at Riwat, near Rawalpindi in Pakistan. These tools date back to as old as two million years. However, the earliest reliable stone tool assemblages
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belong to two distinct cultural and technological
traditions
Palaeolithic Period: Some Observations to Note The Palaeolithic period is further divided into three sub-periods, namely lower,
the
•
Sohanian Culture and the Acheulian
•
viz.
•
culture, which we study under the
•
lower Palaeolithic cultures.
Sohanian culture
•
The name is derived from the Sohan
•
river, a tributary of Indus. The sites
•
of Sohanian culture were found in
middle and upper. Most Paleolithic sites in India developed in the Pleistocene period. The tools made were generally of hard rock quartzite so the Paleolithic man was called Quartzite Man. The term Paleolithic was coined by archaeologist John Lubbock in 1865. It literally means "Old Stone Age." It was marked by the hunting gathering nature. Paleolithic Age spanned from 100000 years ago till 10000 years ago. It is divided into 3 ages viz. lower Paleolithic age which spans till 100000 years ago. Middle Paleolithic which spans from 100000 years ago till 40000 years and upper Paleolithic which spans from 40,000 years to 10000 years ago. Paleolithic tools were club, sharpened stone, chopper, hand axe, scraper, spear, Bow and arrow, haraoon, needle, scratch awl etc.
the Siwalik Hills in North-west India and Pakistan. The artifacts of these stages were found in three river terraces which were correlated with the phases
of the four-fold Pleistocene glaciations. These stages
have been named Tl, T2 and T3. The animal remains from this deposit included horse, buffalo, straighttusked elephant and hippopotamus, suggesting an environment
characterized
by
perennial
water
sources, tree vegetation and grass steppes. The tools
included the pebble choppers, blades etc.
Acheulian culture Acheulian culture, named after French site of St. Acheul, was the first effective colonization of the
Indian subcontinent and is almost synonymous with the lower Palaeolithic settlements in India. Remains of
Important Palaeolithic sites in India:
• • • •
Lingsugur in Raichur district, Karnataka was the site to be discovered from India. Lidder river Pahalgam , Kashmir Sohan valley Punjab, Banks of River Beas, Bangagnga
• • • •
Sirsa Haryana, Chittorgarh and Kota, Rajasthan, River Wagoon, Kadamali basins Rajasthan. River Sabaramati and Mahi basins (Rajasthan &
• • • • • • • • • •
Gujarat), Basins of river tapti, Godavari, Bhimaand Krishna Koregaon, Chandoli and shikarpur (Maharashtra), River Raro (Jharkhand), River Suvarnrekha (Orissa), Ghatprabha River Basin (Karnataka). Pahalgam ,Jammu & Kashmir Belan Valley, Allahabad Sinsgi Talav, Didwana, Nagaur Rajasthan Hunsgi, Gulbarga in karnataka. Attirampakkam in Tamilnadu
first
Acheulian culture have been found extensively from the Siwalik hills in the north to areas near Chennai in the south but not in the Western Ghats and the coastal region running parallel to them, northeast India and the Ganga plains. Heavy rainfall and dense vegetation in the Western Ghats and northeast India probably inhibited early man from
colonizing these regions. In the case of the Ganga plains, the non-availability of stone and the swampy environment may have discouraged early man from occupying them.
The Acheulian culture was a hunter-gatherer culture that adapted to a variety of climates
including but not limiting to western Rajasthan, Mewar plain, Saurashtra, Gujarat, Central India, Deccan plateau, Chota Nagpur plateau and the Eastern Ghats, north of the Cauvery river.
The sites are densely concentrated in the central India and the southern part of the Eastern Ghats as this area received adequate rainfall, have perennial rivers, a thick vegetation cover
and are rich in wild plant and animal food resources.
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The most known sediments yielding Acheulian assemblages are found in rock shelter III F-23 at Bhimbetka in Madhya Pradesh . Acheulian people occupied a variety of microhabitats in different regions of India. The hunter-gatherers of Acheulian culture were more concentrated in Nagaur and
Didwana of Rajasthan, Vindhya Hills of Central India (Bhimbetaka), Barkhera near Bhimbetka and at Putlikarar in Raisen district of
Madhya Pradesh. The rock shelter and open-air sites represent
seasonal camping places of the same populations.
Technology in Acheulian Culture Acheulian tools include the choppers, chopping tools, polyhedrons, spheroids, discoids, handaxes, cleavers, scrapers, denticulates, notches, flakes, blades and cores. They served a variety of functions like hunting, butchering and skinning of animals, breaking bones
for extraction of marrow, digging of roots and tubers, processing of plant foods, and making of
wooden tools and weapons. The main raw material used for making the weapons of the Acheulian era was Quartzite, though occasionally quartz was also used. In some parts of India such as Hulgi in
Karnataka limestone was the main material.
Middle Palaeolithic Era The Acheulian culture was slowly transformed into the middle Palaeolithic by shedding some of the tool types and by incorporating new forms and new techniques of making them. In some parts of the world, the middle Palaeolithic culture is associated with the Neanderthal man
(Homo sapiens neanderthalensis), however, no physical remains of Neanderthal man have been found in India. But, what has been found in India are the stone tools very similar to those found with this hominid
species in Europe and other regions.
The first general observation about the Middle Palaeolithic era is that in comparison to the lower Palaeolithic era, the distribution of sites is sparse. The reason for this is that the middle Palaeolithic culture
developed
during
the
upper
Pleistocene, a period of intense cold and glaciations in the northern latitudes. In those times, the areas bordering glaciated regions
Middle Palaeolithic Sites in India • Luni valley, around Didwana, Budha Pushkar in Rajasthan • Valleys of the Belan, Son river, Narmada river and their tributaries in central India • Some sparse sites in Chota Nagpur platea, Deccan plateau and Eastern Ghats
experienced strong aridity. However, generally, the middle Palaeolithic populations occupied the same regions and habitats as the preceding Acheulian populations.
Tools of middle Palaeolithic Era Middle Palaeolithic tools were primarily made on flakes and blades made by finely trimming the edges. Some of them were used for manufacturing the wooden tools and weapons and also for processing animal hide. There are little hints of use of wooden shafts. In comparison to the lower
Palaeolithic era, the tools in middle Palaeolithic became smaller, thinner and lighter. Then, there was also a significant change in the choice of raw material for making tools. While quartzite, quartz
and basalt continued to be used, in many areas they were replaced or supplemented byfine-grained © 2010-2013 Suresh Soni | All Rights Reserved | Email:
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siliceous rocks like chert and jasper. Tool Factory sites at chert outcrops occur at many places in central India and Rajasthan.
Upper Palaeolithic Era Upper Palaeolithic culture developed during the later part of the upper Pleistocene. There were very important changes in the Palaeolithic-environment which had its own impact on the
distribution and living ways of the humans. Some of them were as follows:
•
There was extremely cold and arid climate in the high altitude and northern latitudes.
•
There was extensive formation of deserts in North west India
•
The drainage pattern of western India became
The Upper Palaeolithic period has recorded a rich panorama of fossils in the peninsular rivers of India. One important discovery is of the ostrich egg shells at over 40 sites in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra, which shows that ostrich, a bird adapted to arid climate, was widely distributed in western India during the later part of the upper Pleistocene.
almost defunct and river courses shifted "westwards".
• •
Vegetation cover over most of the country thinned out during this period. Coastal areas of south-eastern Tamil Nadu, Saurashtra and Kutch developed quartz and
carbonate dunes as a result of the lowering of the sea level.
•
During terminal Pleistocene south-westerly monsoons became weak and the sea level
decreased by scores of metres. Due to the harsh and arid climate, the vegetation was sparse though the faunal fossils show
presence of grasslands. The human population faced rusticated food resources and that is the reason that the number of Upper Palaeolithic sites is very limited in the arid and semi-arid regions.
The most opulent archaeological evidence of this period comes from the Belan and Son valleys in the northern Vindhyas , Chota Nagpur plateau in Bihar , upland Maharashtra, Orissa and from the Eastern Ghats in Andhra Pradesh.
Tools of Upper Palaeolithic Era The tools of Upper Palaeolithic Era are essentially characterized by blade and they show a marked regional
diversity
with
respect to the refinement of
and
techniques
standardization of finished tool
forms.
The
Paleolithic
middle tradition
continued but in this period we
see
blades
the
parallel-sided
struck
from
Bhimbetka Rock Shelters Bhimbetka rock shelters are located in Raisen District of Madhya Pradesh, 45 km south of Bhopal at the southern edge of the Vindhyachal hills. These served as shelters for Paleolithic age man for more than 1 lakh years. This is the most exclusive Paleolithic site in India which contains the rock carvings and paintings. These paintings belong to the Paleolithic, Mesolithic ages, Chalcolithic, earlyhistoric and even medieval times. Bhimbetka is a World heritage Site.
Please note that it was earlier considered to be a Buddhist site and was later recognized as Paleolithic site by Vishnu Shridhar Wakankar who is now also called "father of rock art in India ". Bhimbetka Rock shelters were included in the world heritage list in 1970
standardized prismatic cores. Further, the prototypes of traps, snares and nets were probably used
during the upper Palaeolithic times. The bored stones and grinding slabs have also been found
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giving hints to advancements in the technology of tool production. The bored stones are still used
by fishermen as net sinkers in riverine fishing and marine fishing. The Upper Palaeolithic settlements also show a distinct trend of being associated with permanent sources of waters. The use of grinding stones might have been for processing plant foods such as wild rice.
The earliest form of art is found in the form of ostrich egg shell pieces engraved with cross-hatched
designs from the upper Palaeolithic period.
Chapter 2.
Mesolithic Era
The transition from the Palaeolithic period to Mesolithic period is marked by transition from Pleistocene period to Holocene and favorable changes in the climate. The climate became warmer and humid and there was expansion of flora and fauna contributed by increased rainfall. This led to
availability of new resources to humans and thus the human beings moved to new ° This period is marked with areas.
The early period of Mesolithic age marks the hunting fishing and food gathering which turn to hunting, fishing, food gathering as well as domesticating the animals.
increased population, though core economy of this period continued to be based on hunting and
gathering. The more important fact about the Mesolithic era in India is that the first human colonization of the Ganga plains took place during this period. There are more than two hundred Mesolithic sites found in Allahabad, Pratapgarh, Jaunpur, Mirzapur and Varanasi districts of Uttar Pradesh. This era also
marks the dramatically increased settlement in deltaic region of Bengal, the areas around Mumbai and other places of western coast of India.
Tools of Mesolithic Era The tools are Mesolithic Era are smaller in size and better in finishing (more
geometric) than the Palaeolithic age and are called Microliths. These microliths are tiny tools of one to five centimetres length, made by blunting one or more
sides with steep retouch. The main tool types are backed blades, obliquely truncated blades, points, crescents, triangles and trapezes. Some of the microliths were used as components of spearheads, arrowheads, knives, sickles, harpoons
and daggers.
They were fitted into grooves in bone, wood and reed shafts and joined together by natural adhesives like gum and resin.
Hunting-gathering way of life was slowly replaced by food
production from about 6000 B.C. Thus we see that the use of the bow and arrow for hunting had become common in this period, which is evident from many rock paintings. The Bored stones, which had already appeared during the upper Palaeolithic, became common during this, and the Neolithic and Chalcolithic periods. These are believed to have been used as weights in digging sticks and as net sinkers. Similarly, shallow querns and grinding stones also occur at several sites. These new technological elements led to enhanced efficiency in hunting, collection and processing of wild
plant foods. © 2010-2013 Suresh Soni | All Rights Reserved | Email:
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Changes in Life- Mesolithic Era From Nomadism to Sedentary settlements There were some more interesting changes in lifestyle of the Mesolithic era humans. The favourable
climate, better rainfalls, warm atmosphere and increased food security led to reduction in nomadism to seasonally sedentary settlement.
First Disposal of dead and making of Graves The sedentary settlements lead to beginning of the tradition of various ways of intentional disposal of the dead. The
first evidence of intentional disposal of the dead comes from Mesolithic Era. Mesolithic human burials have been found
at
Bagor
in
Rajasthan,
Langhnaj in Gujarat , Bhimbetka in Madhya Pradesh etc. The dead were buried in graves both in extended and crouched position. In some cases two individuals were buried
in a single grave. The dead were
occasionally provided with grave offerings which include chunks of
Mesolithic Era: Important Points • Agriculture had not fully developed. • The earliest evidence of domestication of animals has been provided by Adamagarh in Madhya Pradesh and Bagor in Rajasthan. A study has also suggested cultivation of plants around 7000-6000 years back near Sambhar lake in Ajmer Rajasthan. • The Pachpadra basin and Sojat Area of Rajasthan is a rich Mesolithic sites and lot of microliths have been discovered. • Bagor in Rajasthan is the almost largest Mesolithic site in India. Another major Mesolithic site in Rajasthan is Tilwara. • In Guajarat some places on the banks of river Sabarmati are Mesolithic sites which include the Akhaj, Valsana, Hirpur, Langhanj etc. • Sarai Nahar Rai in Allahabad -Pratapgarh of Uttar Pradesh is a Mesolithic site. Other
• • • • •
sites in Uttar Pradesh are Morhana Paharand lekkahia. In Madhya Pradesh Bhimbetka along with Adamgarh are major Mesolithic sites. In Jharkhand Chhota nagpur plateau is a major Mesolithic site in India. In Orissa Mayurbhanj, Keonjhar, Sundergarh is a major Mesolithic site in India. In south India Godavari basin is rich in microliths, The rock painting of Mesolithic period is found in Adamgarh, Bhimbetka of Madhya Pradesh and Pratapgarh, Mirzapur of Rajasthan. Apart from the animals, hunting scenes, the Mesolithic sites have also painting of social life, sexual activity, child birth, rearing of children and burial ceremony.
meat, grinding stones, stone, bone and antler ornaments, and pieces of haematite.
Emerging arts The Mesolithic man was a lover of art, evident from the paintings in several thousand rock shelters in the Vindhyan sandstone hills in central India. The paintings have been found in both inhabited
and uninhabited shelters. The paintings are made mostly in red and white pigments, made form the
nodules found in rocks and earth. The subject matter of the paintings are mostly wild animals and
hunting scenes, though there are some related to human social and religious life such as sex and child birth.
Food Production The hunting-gathering way of life was slowly replaced by food production from about 6000 B.C. The core economic activities were now included hunting, fowling, fishing and wild plant food gathering.
The first animals to be domesticated were dog, cattle, sheep and goat and the first plants to be cultivated were wheat and barley. This new subsistence economy based oil food production had a
lasting impact on the evolution of human society and the environment. In the humid lands, extending from the middle Ganga valley to China and Southeast Asia, rice cultivation and domestication of pig was accomplished probably around the same time because rice and pig existed in wild form in this region. The cultivation of yams and taro also took place in this region. © 2010-2013 Suresh Soni | All Rights Reserved | Email:
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Domesticated animals proved to be useful not only for meat but also for milk, hide, agricultural operations, and transport.
Chapter 3.
Neolithic Revolution, Mehrgarh Culture and Chalcolithic Era
The human settlements in the Mesolithic era got more sedentary and this was the beginning of establishment of villages. Man now could keep cattle, sheep and goats and protect crops from pests. In due course, as the efficiency of agricultural production improved, some farmers were able to generate surplus food. As a consequence, a section of the population were freed from the task of
food production and their talents and energies were diverted to tasks such as the production of pots, baskets, quarrying of stone, making of bricks, masonry and carpentry.
This was the beginning of the new occupations such as the oil presser, washerman, barber, musician, dancers etc. This transition from hunting-gathering to food production is called the
Neolithic revolution. Around 6000BC, the smelting of metals such as Copper began which was used for raw material to be used in tool production. Later, Tin was mixed with cooper and bronze appeared which stronger metal than both tin and copper was. Use
of bronze for
tools led to the
invention of wheel which revolutionized transport and pottery production.
The Neolithic period began around 10700 to 9400 BC in Tell Qaramel in Northern Syria. In South Asia the date assigned to Neolithic period is 7000 BC and the earliest example is Mehrgarh Culture.
Mehrgarh is the oldest agricultural settlement in the Indian subcontinent.
Mehrgarh Culture Mehrgarh is the oldest agricultural settlement in the Indian subcontinent Agriculture-based Neolithic settlements. Despite being the agriculture settlement, it used only stone tools, so is why
placed in Neolithic Era. It flourished in the seventh millennium B.C.
Mehrgarh is located on the Bolan River, a tributary of the Indus, at the eastern edge of the Baluchistan plateau overlooking the Indus plain. The Mehrgarh culture has been divided into 8 sub periods and following are important features of these sub-periods:
*
First Period Earliest period of Mehrgarh is characterized by polished stone tools, microliths and bone tools. In this phase the subsistence economy consisted of a combination of hunting, stock-
breeding and plant cultivation.
**
The domesticated animals comprise cattle, sheep, goat and water buffalo while the
*
The houses were made of mud and mud-bricks.
*
Multiple rooms without doors are believed to have been used for storing grain.
*
The dead were buried under the floors of the houses where people lived. Some of the skeletons
*
cultivated plants comprise several varieties of wheat and barley.
which were buried have been found sprinkled with red ochre. Necklaces of microbeads of steatite along with beads of turquoise, lapis lazuli and sea shell, stone axes and microliths have also been found in the graves.
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m In two cases, bodies of young goats were also found. Hi- There was no pottery at this stage but baskets coated with bitumen were used.
Second Period H> This period has left evidences of handmade, basket-impressed coarse ware. There was
emergence of wheel-made pottery painted in reddish and black color with simple straight
and curved lines, rows of dots and crisscrosses.
m Sickles made of stone bladelets, set obliquely in wood handles with bitumen as the adhesive material, may have been used for harvesting. Hi- Metal technology started , evident from the discovery of a copper ring and a bead .
Hi Terracotta human figurines and bangles also appear.
Third Period Hi Improved farming around 3000 BC is evident from a new variety of barley, viz. Hordeum
sphaerococcum, which can be grown only in irrigated fields. Hi The presence of cotton seeds suggests the possibility of the use of this fibre for textile
manufacture. Hi The Vessels were now decorated with paintings of birds and animals as also with geometric
designs. Oats and another variety of wheat was added to the agriculture. Hi Stone bead manufacturing and copper smelting started.
Fourth Period Hi Emergence of polychrome pottery with a tall goblet with wide mouth and a pedestal base as a new shape.
Hi Extensive use of timber in the construction of houses, of female terracotta figurines with
pendulous breasts and of stamped seals of terracotta and bone. Hi Emergence of commercial transactions.
Fifth Period Hi A marked decline in polychrome decoration on pottery.
Sixth Period Hi Dramatically increase in pottery styles and the first evidence of pottery kilns. Hi Pipal leaf and humped bull designs appear on pottery which anticipate Harappan motifs.
Hi Proliferation of terracotta figurines, improved female figurines.
Seventh Period H> Richness and variety of terracotta figurines very much similar
to the Indus
Valley
Civilization. Hi Medial partition of the hair suggesting the popular practice among Hindu women. Hi Terracotta bulls with prominent humps and rams made in alabaster. Hi Designs of swastika, cruciforms and running animals on terracotta figurines.
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*
Emergence of monumental architecture evident from a large brick platform.
*
Structured graves, semi-precious stone beads and a bronze shaft-hole axe.
*
Eighth Period Cigar Snapped handmade Brick structures with fire places, stone blade industry using flint,
composite stickle, grinding stones, bone tools, Pottery etc.
In April 2006, it was announced in the scientific journal Nature that the oldest (and first early
Neolithic) evidence in human history for the drilling of teeth in a living person was found in
Mehrgarh. Mehrgarh is now seen as a precursor to the Indus Valley Civilization. "Discoveries at Mehrgarh changed the entire concept of the Indus civilization,"
Chalcolithic Period Chalcolithic is also known as Eneolithic period which saw the use of the metals among which the
Copper was first. It is called Chalcolithic which means use of stone and well as copper was
prevalent in this period. The earliest settlements of the Chalcolithic period range from the Gangetic basin to Chhotanagpur Plateau. The economy of this period was based upon agriculture, stock raising, hunting and fishing. Limited number of Copper and bronze tools have also been recovered.
The presence of painted pottery is a hall mark of the Chalcolithic period. The burial practice was another striking feature and the dead were buried in a particular direction all over a particular area. The largest site of the Chalcolithic period is Diamabad situated on the left bank of the Pravara River.
The pottery ranges from Red ware , deep red ware to deep brown and black, Pictographic red and black and polished red. Some Chalcolithic Cultures:
Ahara Culture: The sites of Ahar Culture were Aahar (Rajasthan), balathal, Gilund etc. The distinctive feature is black and red ware.
Kayatha Culture: Located in Chambal and its tributaries, the sturdy red slipped ware with chocolate designs is main feature Malwa Culture: Narmada & its tributaries in Gujarat. One of the largest Chalcolithic
settlements. Svalda Culture: The well-known sites are in Dhulia district of Maharashtra.
Prabhas & Rangpur Culture: Both of them are derived from the Harappa culture. The polished red ware is the hall mark of this culture.
Chapter 4.
Indus Valley Civilization
The centre of the civilization was in Sindh and Punjab in undivided India, from this centre, the civilization spread towards all direction. In West the last extent is seaboard of South Baluchistan at the Suktagendor which can be called its western border. In east Alamagirpur in Uttar Pradesh
fDistrict
Meerut) can
be called its Eastern Border. In North it extended up to Manda in lammu & © 2010-2013 Suresh Soni | All Rights Reserved | Email:
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Kashmir and in south it extended up to Bhagvatrav in Narmada Estuary of Gujarat. However, later at Diamabad (District Ahamed Nagar Maharashtra) was the site where four
figurines of Bronze on
the bank of Pravara River found. This pushed the civilization's extension in further south. Indus civilization remnants have been discovered from as far south as Mumbai in Maharashtra State.
Notable Observations
* **
As far as extension is concerned, the Indus civilization was largest of the four ancient urban
*
It covered an area of around 13 Lakh square kilometers.
Most settlements in Indus Valley Civilization are on banks of rivers.
civilizations of Egypt, Mesopotamia, South Asia and China This area is triangular in shape and no other ancient civilization was extended to such a
large area.
*
Remains of the site first found at Harappa so it is also called Harappan Civilization.
*
Modern dating methods keep the civilization to be ranging from 2900 to 2000BC.
*
The people of this civilization were definitely in touch with the other civilizations most
prominentaly being the Mesopotamian civilization.
The questions of Origin of Indus Valley Civilization There are two main opinions: Origin from Mehrgarh
*
Origin from South India
Most researches link the origin of the Indus Valley Civilization to the Neolithic Mehrgarh. It is said
that Mehrgarh was a centre of transformation from the hunter gatherer to farming (wheat and
barley are found) and herding fcattle. sheep and goats). Mehrgarh dates back to 7000 BC and as early as 5000 BC, trade links with Arabian Sea coast and with central Asia have been established. So in the light of these evidences it has been made clear that Foundation of Indus valley civilization was laid in the Neolithic period.
There is a contemporary Neolithic settlement found in South India in Karnataka Also. From this point of view, some say that IVC was a Dravidian Civilization.
Salient Common Features of Entire Civilization
*
The first common feature is Indus script on seals. This script has not been deciphered vet. That is why all we know about the culture and life of those people is mostly derived
knowledge from the other objects found. The second most important feature is town planning. The main features of town planning * were of use of baked as well as sundried bricks, well planned straight roads and a system
drainage.
* * *
Most urban centres had a fortified citadel.
A house held a kitchen, well or a water reservoir. Use of standard weights and measurement has been found throughout the civilization.
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* * ÿÿ
They used to make pottery on wheels. They used to bury the dead.
Observations about Harappa and MohenJo-dero Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro are 500 kms apart from each other. These, along with Dholavira, are called the nucleus cities of the civilization.
*
Harappa, the first discovered site of this civilization was on bank of river Ravi, while
Mohenjo-Daro was on banks of Indus River. Each of them has two prominent mounds where excavations took place.
*
Notable findings at Harappa are rows of granaries, Citadels, Furnaces and a crucible to melt the bronze.
Notable findings at Mohenjo-Daro are the magnum opus Great Bath, uniform buildings and * weights, hidden drains and other hallmarks of the civilization. This is the site where most unicorn seals have been found. Mohenjo-Daro is also sometimes known as largest urban centre of the civilization.
Great Bath ÿÿ
The most famous building found at Mohenjo-Daro is a great bath. It is a 6x12 meter specimen of beautiful brick work. The water for the bath was provided from a well in an
adjacent room. The floor was made up of bricks. Floor and outer walls were bituminized so that there is no leakage of water. There are open porch's on four sides of the bath. There is use of Burnt bricks. Mortar and Gypsum in the Great bath but NO use of stone is there.
*
The largest building found at Mohenjo-Daro is a granary. Then, there was also a pillared hall for social gatherings.
*
The other notable findings at Mohenjo-Daro are instruments of cotton weaving, Bronze figurine of dancing girl, evidence of violence and killing, seal of the mother goddess, the
figurine of beared man, the seal of Proto Shiva, a seal in which a man is sacrificing a woman with his knife.
Observations about other sites Third important centre of the civilization is Dholavira in the Rann of Kutch area. The site is
relatively newly discovered and here the historians found a tantalizing signboard with Indus script. Dholavira is different from Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro on the account that its drainage system is much more elaborated then these two cities. While the two cities had two mounds each, leading to conclusion that there were two citadels, Dholavira had three citadels. Each of these three citadels of Dholavira was improved than Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro and had an inner enclosure as well. The Dholavira is the largest Indus Valley Site in independent India. The second largest is Rakhigarhi near Hissar in Haryana. Near Hissar, there is another site called Banawali where Barley was a
common crop in Indus valley times.
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The westernmost site Suktagendor is located near present borders of Iran and it was an important coastal
/
port town. Another important port town was Lothal. One more coastal city was Balakot,
which is located near Karachi in Pakistan. The presence of horse has been doubtful in Indus Valley Civilization. The site where the historians were able to collect some bones of Horse is Surkotada in Bhuj area of Gujarat.
The Kalibangan site in the Hanumangarh district of Rajasthan has given evidence of both Pre-
harappan and harappan civilization. Here the historians have found a ploughed field and bones of camel. The peculiar type of circular and rectangular graves is another feature of Kalibangan. In terms of town
planning, Kalibangan was not as developed as Harappa. Mohenio-Daro and
Dholavira because here we neither find use of baked bricks nor a drainage system. A different kind of town planning we found at Lothal; this city was divided into 6 sections and each section had a wide platform of earthen bricks. Lothal and Rangpur are two sites where historians
found rice husk. The magnum opus of Lothal is an artificial dock. Lothal's dock— the world's earliest
known, connected the city to an ancient course of the Sabarmati river on the trade route between Harappan cities in Sindh and the peninsula of Saurashtra when the surrounding Kutch desert of
today was a part of the Arabian Sea. It was a vital and thriving trade centre in ancient times, with its trade of beads, gems and valuable ornaments reaching the far corners of West Asia and Africa. A bead making factory has also been found in Lothal. A seal from Iran has been found which
indicates its link with overseas countries. Then, Lothal is different from other sites of Indus Valley Civilization in terms of town planning that it has entry to the houses on the main street while in other sites have shown lateral entry.
The only city in the Indus Valley civilization which does not have a citadel was Chanhu Daro, located some 130 kilometers south of Mohenjo-Daro.
Alamagirpur was the eastern boundary o f the Indus Valley Civilization. The evidences say that this site developed in mature Harappan phase. Kot Diji and Amri were pre-harappan sites.
The above information has been summarized in the following table: DhoLavira Suktagendor, Lothal and Balakot
Point to be Noted Signboard, 3 citadels with improved inner enclosure Coastal Cities and Port Towns
Surkotda
Horse Bones
Kalibangan
Ploughed Field, Bones of Camel, Circular and Rectangular Graves, Neither Baked Bricks nor a Drainage system. 6 sections in city, Artificial dockyard, Entry from the main street instead of lateral entry that was common, The vase depicting a thirsty crow as been found at Lothal. Rice Husk
Lothal LothaL and Rangpur
Life at Indus Valley Civilization Administration Cities are the symbols of the Indus Valley civilization characterized by the density of population,
close integration between economic and social processes, tech-economic developments, careful
planning for expansion and promotion of trade and commerce, providing opportunities and scope of work to artisans and craftsmen etc. This was a sort of urban revolution, which could not have
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been possible without the strong central authority, specialized economic organization and sociocultural unity. The size and architectural complexity of all large Harappancities mean something in terms of a socio-cultural development. The lay-out of the streets, the presence of a large-scale drainage system with its requirement for constant tending, the monumental citadels, all can be taken as an
indication
of tendencies
toward a strong central government.
Another feature of Harappan urbanization was the elaborate craft specialization and the contacts
with other reasonably distant parts of asia. But the greatest challenge to the archaeologists is their failure to get any idea of the Harappan urban institutions. For example, we almost know
nothing about the form of the state and the economic institutions. Maritime commerce with Mesopotamia was a part to their life, but the knowledge of inner
working of these complex Harappan urban economic institutions completely eludes us. Language Not a great deal of knowledge we have because the Harappa script has not been deciphered. The
script was written (probably) from right to left f
