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Class Xii-history-Theme 1-Bricks, Beads and Bones
Class Xii-history-Theme 1-Bricks, Beads and Bones
It started flourishing along River Indus (now in Pakistan) at around 2600 B.C..
After 1900 B.C., most of the sites were abandoned due to some reasons.
These cultures were associated with distinctive pottery, evidence of agriculture, pastoralism and
some crafts.
People relied on many plants and animals, fishing and agriculture for their food.
There are evidences of bones of animals which prove that people consumed meat.
*Terracotta models of oxen, plough etc.show that people relied on agriculture too. Different types
of food available to the people
The Harappans ate wide range of plants and animal products, including fish.
Archaeologists found grain such as wheat, barley, lentils, chickpea and sesame at the Harappan
sites.
Bones of cattle, fish, fowl, sheep, goat, buffalo, pig, boar, deer, and gharial are found at the sites.
Studies indicate that these animals were either domesticated or hunted by the Harappans
Terracotta sculptors of the bull and their representation on the seals indicate that bull was known
to them.
From this, the archaeologists assume that the oxen were used for ploughing.
Moreover, the Archaeologists have also found terracotta models of the plough at sites in
Cholistan and at Banwali (Haryana).
Evidence of a ploughed field, associated with early Harappan levels have also found at
Kalibangan(Rajasthan).
The field had two sets of furrows at right angles to each other, suggesting that two different crops
were grown together.
Most of the Harappan sites were located in semi-arid regions. So,to enhance agricultural
produce ,they needed facilities of irrigation.
Traces of canals have been found at the Harappan site of Shortughai in Afghanistan.
It is also likely that water was drawn from wells was used for irrigation.
Besides, water reservoirs found in Dholavira (Gujarat) may have been used to store water for
agriculture.
Processing of food required grinding equipment as well as vessels for mixing, blending and cooking.
These equipments were made of stone, metal and terracotta
Layout of Mohenjodaro:
Architectural features of Mohenjodaro
(Town Planning)
The most spectacular part of Harappan structure is the large scale town layout.
The city of Mohenjodaro was divided into two halves i.e. the Citadel and the lower city
Citadel- It was built on mud brick platforms. It was walled and separated from the Lower Town.
The citadel was probably used for special public purposes.
The Lower Town was walled. Several buildings were made on the platform that served as foundation.
The roads and streets in the lower town were laid out in a grid pattern, intersecting at right angles.
The streets and drains were first laid out and then houses were built on the same pattern.
The Lower Town of Mohenjodaro provides examples of residential buildings.
Different activities like cooking, weaving etc. were carried out in the courtyard particularly during
the hot and dry seasons.
There were no windows along the walls on the ground floor. So privacy could be maintained.
The main entrance did not provide view of courtyard and interior. Every house had bathroom paved
with bricks which was connected through the wall to the street drains.
In some houses remains of staircases to reach second storey or roof have been found.
Many houses had wells which were reachable from outside for the use of outsiders. It is estimated
that the total number of wells in Mohenjodaro was about 700.
They were covered with big bricks which could be lifted easily to clean the drains.
For sewage from the houses, pits were provided at either side of the street.
Very long drainage channels were provided at intervals with sumps for cleaning.
In smaller settlements such as Lothal, the houses were built of mud bricks and drains were made
of burnt bricks.
Little heaps of materials mostly sand have frequently been found alongside the drains.
The Great Bath was a large rectangular tank surrounded by corridors on all four sides.
There were two flights of steps on north and south leading into the tank.
The tank was made watertight by laying bricks on the edge and using mortar and gypsum.
Rooms were made on three sides of the tank, with one room having a large well.
Across the lane there was a smaller building with eight bathrooms, four at each side of a corridor,
with drains from each bathroom connecting to a drain that ran along the corridor.
Tracking Social Differences: Strategies to find out social differences
1. Studying Burials
Strategies to analyze social and economic differences amongst people living within a particular
culture include study of burials.
Some of the burials contained ornaments, pottery etc, may be a belief that these things can be used
after life.
Jwelleries were found in both men and women burials which mean that both men and women used
ornaments.
But in general, Harappans never believed in burying precious things with the dead.
2.Studying Artefacts
Studying artefacts is another strategy to find out social differences.
Utilitarian artefacts include objects made of stone or clay. These include querns, pottery, needles,
flesh-rubbers etc. and are usually found distributed throughout settlements.
Luxury artefacts are rare objects made of valuable materials are generally concentrated in large
settlements like Mohenjodaro and Harappa. For Example, little pots of faience were used as perfume
bottles.
They were made in different shapes such as cylindrical, spherical, barrel-shaped, and segmented.
Some were decorated by painting and some had designs etched on them.
Specialized drills have been found at Chanhudaro, Lothal and more recently at Dholavira.
Nageshwar and Balakot were specialized centres for making shell objects.
Chanhudaro was the centre of crafts production. It was specialist in bead-making, shell-cutting,
metal-working, seal-making and weight-making.
2. They might have sent expeditions to areas such as the khetri region of Rajasthan (for copper) and
south India (for gold).
Shortughai, in far-off Afghanistan, was the best source of lapis-lazuli, and Lothal which was near
sources of carnelian, steatite from south Rajasthan and north Gujarat and metal from Rajasthan.
Expeditions to the khetri region and south India established communication with local communities.
The main source of long distance contacts includes seals, weights, dice and beads.
Chemical analyses have shown that both the Omani copper and Harappan artefacts have traces of
nickel, which suggests a common origin.
There are similarities between certain other types of objects found at this site.
A Harappan jar coated with a thick layer of black clay has been found in Oman.
Mesopotamian texts refer to contact with regions named Dilmun (probably the island of Bahrain),
Magan and Meluhaha, possibly the Harappan.
When a bag of goods was sent from one place to another, its mouth was tied with a rope.
On the knot was affixed some wet clay on which one or more seals were pressed, leaving an
impression.
If the bag reached with its sealing intact, it meant that it had not been tampered with.
The seal had a motif (generally an animal) which conveyed a meaning to those who could not read.
Seals were basically used to convey the identity of the sender and to facilitate long distance
communication.
Many signs were used and they are around 375-400 in numbers.
Weights
Exchangers were regulated by a precise system of weights usually made of a stone called chert (a
kind of stone, generally cubical with no markings).
Lower denominations of weights were binary (1, 2,4,8,16,32 etc.), while the higher denominations
followed the decimal system
Ancient Authority
Different arguments put forwarded by the archaeologists over the central authority of Harappa
There are three major views about the existence of a central authority in the Harappan society.
Some archaeologists are of the opinion that there were no rulers in the Harappan society and that
everybody enjoyed equal status.
2. Others are of the opinion that there was no single ruler but several rulers. Monenjodaro had a
separate ruler, Harappa had separate and so on.
3. Some others suggest that there was a single state. This theory was based on the similarity of
artefacts, planned settlements etc.
The last opinion considers being more plausible as it is doubtful that such complex decisions were
made and implemented collectively by entire communities.
The expansion of population and its migration took place towards Gujarat, Haryana, Western U.P
etc.
After 1900B.C.sites which existed marked the transformation of material culture i.e. disappearance
of distinctive artefacts of civilization like weights, seals, distant trade, etc. Writing, long-distance trade,
and craft specialization also disappeared.
House construction techniques deteriorated and large public structures were no longer produced.
Climatic Change
Deforestation
Excessive floods
Harappan state might have ended because there are evidences of absence of distinctive art facts
like seals, pottery, etc Discovering the Harappan Civilization
His main interest was in the archaeology of early history from 6th century BCE-4th century CE,
and later periods.
He used the accounts left by Chinese pilgrims who had visited the subcontinent between the 4th
and 7th centuries CE. He also collected, documented and translated inscriptions found during his
surveys.
Site like Harappa did not fit well in his area of investigation.
Although Harappan artefacts were found during the 19th century and some of these reached
Cunningham.
But he did not realize how old these were as they were not part of the itinerary of Chinese pilgrims
and was not known as an Early Historic city.
But he was unable to place it in the time frame with which he was familiar. He thought that Indian
history began with the first cities in the Ganga valley.
Based on these finds, in 1924, John Marshall, Director General of the ASI, announced the discovery
of a new civilization in the Indus valley to the world.
Marshall tended to excavate along regular horizontal units, measured uniformly throughout the
mound, ignoring stratigraphy of the site.
This meant that all the artefacts recovered from the same unit were grouped together, even if they
were found at different stratigraphic layers.
As a result, valuable information about the context of these finds was irretrievably lost.
R.E.M Wheeler rectified this problem. He recognized that it was necessary to follow the stratigraphy
of the mound rather than dig mechanically along uniform horizontal lines.
Organic material such as cloth, leather, wood and reeds generally decomposed while stone, burnt
clay, metal etc.survive.Materials such as pottery, tools, ornaments, and house hold objects are
available.
Recovering artefacts is just the beginning of the archaeological enterprise. Archaeologists then
classify their finds.
The second, and most complicated, is in terms of function: archaeologists have to decide whether,
for instance, an artifact is a tool or an ornament, or both, or something meant for ritual use.
An understanding of the function of an artefact is often shaped by its resemblance with presentday
things-beads, querns, stone blades and pots are obvious examples.
Archaeologists also try to identify the function of an artefact by investigating the context in which
it was found. Whether it was found in a house, in drain, grave or in kiln.
The problems of archaeological interpretation are perhaps most evident in attempts to reconstruct
religious practices. Attempts have also been made to reconstruct religious beliefs and practices by
examining seals, some of which seem to depict ritual scenes. Others, with plant motifs, are thought
to indicate nature worship.
Many reconstructions of Harappan religion are made on the assumption that later traditions provide
parallels with earlier ones. This is because archaeologists often move from the known to the unknown,
that is, from the present to the past.
Archaeologist’s attempts to reconstruct the religious practices of
Harappan people
The discovery of pots, querns, beads etc in the Harappan sites and their graves provide enormous
information
Traces of cotton and dresses depicted on seals and sculptures, give us an idea about the dressing
style of the Harappan people
In Some seals a figure shown seated cross legged in a ‘yogic’ posture, sometimes surrounded by
animals has been regarded as a depiction of proto-Siva that is an early form of one of the major deities
of Hinduism.
Some animals such as the unicorn depicted on seals seem to be mythical, composite creatures.
The two important structures that have been found by archaeologists are: The fire altars found at
Kalibangan and Lothal and The Great Bath at Monhenjodaro, something meant for ritual use.