INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION

What did the Indus people wear and what

material were their clothes made of?

The earliest evidence for normal weave textiles at

Harappa is found in this impression on a Ravi Phase
bead from Harappa, dating to around 3300 BC and
discovered between 1995 and 1998.

Textiles are rarely preserved and Harappan figurines are usually

unclothed, so there is not much evidence of Harappan clothing. Small
fragments of cloth preserved in the corrosion products of metal objects
show that the Harappans wove a range of grades of cotton cloth.
The limited depictions of clothing show that men wore a cloth around
the waist, resembling a modern dhoti and like it, often passed between
the legs and tucked up behind. The so-called "Priest-king" and other
stone figures also wore a long robe over the left shoulder, leaving bare
the right shoulder and chest. Some male figurines are shown wearing
a turban. Woman's clothing seems to have been a knee-length skirt.
Figurines and finds in graves show that Harappans of both sexes wore
jewellery: hair fillets, bead necklaces and bangles for men; bangles,
earrings, rings, anklets, belts made of strings of beads, pendants,
chokers and numerous necklaces for women, as well as elaborate
hairstyles and headdresses.