Indus Valley Civilization

THEIR LIFESTYLE, TRADE AND CULTURE

Shivam Kumar (S.No. 34) | Indian Art & History |  11, 2019

Clothing
Material

Small fragments of cloth preserved in the corrosion products of metal objects show that the Indus
Valley people wove a range of grades of cotton cloth. Flax was grown and may have been used
for fibres. Native Indian species of silkworm may have been utilised for silk. They also
probably continued the earlier tradition of making clothing from leather.

Indus Valley figurines (www.quora.com)

Men’s

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.

Women’s

Woman's clothing seems to have been a knee-length skirt. They wore loose cotton tunics,
chest bands tied around the chest and fine cotton skirts tied at the waist by a gold or bronze
girdle, armlets, bracelets and bangles. Women of higher status wore elaborate crowns like
head-dress or sometimes a cloth turban.

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Jewellery
It was the people from the Indus Valley Civilization who first explored the craft of jewellery
making. The use of precious metals such as gold, silver, copper, ivory and beads has been
beautifully used to make jewellery.
Figurines and finds in graves show that people 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.

Gold and semi-precious stone jewelry (www.heritage.gov.pk)

The necklace that dates back to 5000 years was excavated from Mohenjo-Daro. The necklace
has a pendant which is adorned with jade and agate beads. It also has a thick gold wire that
passes through each bead giving it a rich look. Necklaces were strung with colourful beads and
precious stones. It was one of the most common jewellery piece worn.

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Make-up
Masks or "Lepas" were used both on face and body to detoxify, make the complexion bright
and fight blemishes and aging. People exfoliated their bodies with scrapers/exfoliators like a
rough piece of cloth, a block of wood, jawbone of ox, a chunk of sandstone etc. to help with
keeping the skin clean and fresh.
Both men and women applied lamp-soot and Antimony based collyrium to line their eyes and
the green earth pigment "terre verte" as eye-colour. Women chew betel leaves with camphor,
catechu and cardamom to sweeten their breath and stain their lips red.

Jars for cosmetics from Mohenjo-Daro excavations, a betel leaf and a sandstone (www.pinterest.com)

Use of oils for body and hair was common. Oil massages were believed to tone and strengthen
the muscles and improve circulation and give a lush growth of hair on the head. Mustard and
sesame oil were used most often.
Any kind of body hair was considered repulsive, especially in women. They are shaved with the
help of fine razors or removed with the help of depilatory preparations.

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Weights and Measures

The Harappan culture flourished in the Indus valley between 2600 and 1900 BCE. Excavations
have recovered a number of balance weights in the shape of cubes, often of chert, some from
sites as early as 2800-2600 BCE. Around 2200 BCE, weights also began to be made in the form of
spheres with two flat spots on opposite sides, but the cubic weights continued to be produced
until about 1900 BCE.

Weights found in excavating the settlement at Allahdino (www.sizes.com)

Harappans used weights and measures for commercial as well as building purposes.
The weights proceeded in a series, first doubling from 1, 2, 4, 8 to 64 and then in
decimal multiples of 16. Several sticks inscribed with measure marks have been
discovered. Harappans were inventors of linear system of measurement with a unit
equal to one angula of the Arthasastra.

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Trade
The Indus people were greatly reliant on trade. As the people of Valley had harnessed the power
of technology such as carts and boats, the people could trade not just in the Indus Valley, but
with others outside. They traded with many civilizations like in Southern India, Gandhar
(Afghanistan), Egypt and Mesopotamia.

Trade routes connecting Indus Valley with other communities (ww.weebly.com)

They often used wooden ships to travel to far off lands. They sailed to these places, making use
of the ample river networks and exchange cotton, linen, beautiful painted pottery, timber,
beads, sandalwood for gold, spices, perfumes, jade and other semi-precious stones.

Illustration showing Indus people using ships for trade with other communities (www.bbc.co.uk)
The people who came to buy their wares gave them other useful things in return. That's how it
worked out in most of the communities - a person has to give something of importance to
another person he is interested in procuring something from. This is also known as Barter
system.

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What is it that Dhara used to do and is still practiced
today?
Sandalwood
All the members in Dhara’s family used Sandalwood extensively as a perfume, as a powder, as a
face and body mask and as an emollient. People still practice this to this day.

Exfoliators & Scrapers

Dhara used scrapers/exfoliators like a rough piece of cloth, a block of wood, jawbone of ox, a
chunk of sandstone, etc. to help with keeping the skin clean and fresh. People use face and body
scrubs even today.

Oil
She used oils for body and hair to tone and strengthen the muscles and improve circulation and
give a lush growth of hair on the head. Mustard and sesame oil are still used today for body and
hair.

Masks
Dhara used Masks or "Lepas" both on face and body. They are supposed to detoxify, make the
complexion bright and fight blemishes and aging.

Shaving of hair
Dhara shaved her body and facial hair with the help of fine razors and depilatory preparations.
People still use trimmers, razors and hair removing creams to remove body and facial hair.

Deodorizers
After a prolonged bath, Dhara dust herself generously with perfumed, deodorizing bath powders.
It kept her fresh, active, energetic and smelling good for a long time. Deodorizers are used today
too in the form of sprays and powders.
Eyeliners and Lipsticks
Both men and women applied lamp-soot and Antimony based collyrium to line their eyes and the
green earth pigment "terre verte" as eye-colour. Women chew betel leaves with camphor,
catechu and cardamom to sweeten their breath and stain their lips red. Eyeliners and lipsticks are
used to line the eyes and color the lips even today.

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Bibliography
www.weebly.com

www.harappa.com

www.bbc.co.uk

www.quora.com

www.sizes.com

www.heritage.gov.pk

www.pinterest.com

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