Rail Adda

The Indus Valley civilization

(3000-1500 BC)

 Ø  Indus valley civilization is also called as Harappan civilization because Harappa was the first site to be excavated  in 1921 under  the supervision of Daya Ram Sahni.

 Ø  Important  Site of Harappan Civilization

Site	Location	River bank
Harappa	Montegomari,Panjab (Pakistan)	Ravi
Mohenjodaro	Larkana,Sindh	Indus
Sutkagendor	Baluchistan(Pakistan)	Dashta
Chanhudaro	Sindh(Pakistan)	Indus
Rangpur	Ahmedabad(India)	Meedar
Kalibangan	Ganganagar(Rajasthan)	Ghaggar
Lothal	Ahmedabad	Sabarmati and Bhogva
Banawali	Hissar (Haryana)	Saraswati

  Ø  The largest number of sites are found in Gujarat

 Ø General facts about some sites.

1.Harappa

·         Terracotta figurine of Mother Goddess have been found here.

·         Six granaries and sixteen Agnikundas have been found here.

·         People of Harappa knew the process of making tarcoal.

·         R-37 cemetry have been found here.

·         Main gate for the entry in the houses of Harappa was in the north direction.

  2.Lothal

·         Lothal was discovered by S.R.Rao in 1957.

·         A bead making factory and a seal from Iran have been found here.

·         A dockyard have been found at Lothal.

·         Linear scale of bronze have been found here.

 3.Mohenjodaro

·         Mohenjodaro was discovered by R.D.Bannerji in 1922 .

·         The literal meaning of Mohenjodaro in Sindhi language is mound of the dead.

·         The Great Bath ,idol of a yogi and numerous seals have been found here.

·         Seven layers of Mohenjodro city directs that the city was destroyed and rebuilt seven times.

    4.Kalibangan

   ·        It was not as well planned or organized as Mohanjodaro was.

   ·        A ploughed field have been found here.

   ·        It did not have a drainage system.

   ·        A number of Agnikunda have been found here.

   ·        Kalibangan was discovered in 1953.It is located in Rajasthan.

    5.Dhaulavira

·         Dhaulavira in Gujarat was discovered in 1992 by J.P.Joshi .

·         Dhaulavira shows all the three phases of Harappan civilization.

 Ø Trade in Indus valley civilization.

·         Land and sea trade was in vogue.

·         A dockyard has been found at Lothal which is the longest building of the Harappan civilization.

·         Most important trading partner was Mesopotamia.

·         The mode of trade was barter system.

Ø Religion of Harappans.

·         Pasupati seal has been found from Mohenjodaro in which a Yogi figure has been depicted.

·         Signs of phallic worship have been found.

·         A building called Great Bath have been found at Mohenodaro which was meant for ritual bathing.

·         Harappans worshipped Pipal tree.

·         Harappans worshipped Mother Godess.

 Ø Script of harappans

·         Script was consisted of about 400 symbols, out of which 75 were original and remaining were their variants.

·         The Harappans knew the art of writing.There are nearly 4,000 apecimens of Harappan writing stone seala and other objects.

·         The Harappan script has not been deciphered so far.

·         The Harappan script is not alphabetical but mainly pictographic.

 Ø Decline of Harappan civilization

·         There are different view points of the historians on the decline of Harappan civilization.

·         According to Wheeler Aryan attack was the cause of decline of Harappan civilization.

·         James Marshall stated that natural calamities were responsible for the decline of Harappan civilization.

IMPORTANT ITEMS OF IMPORT

S No.	Items	Imported from
1	Gold	South India(Kolar mines);  Afghanistan
2	Copper	Rajasthan(Khatri mines); Balichistan
3	Tin	Bihar ; Afghanistan
4	Steatite	Persia
5	Lapis Lazuli	Afghanistan ; Central Asia
6	Turquoise	Persia