HISTORY & CIVICS NOTES 1 CLASS : 9 C

CHAPTER 1: THE HARAPPAN CIVILISATION

The Indus Valley Civilisation is best known as THE HARAPPAN CIVILISATION as it was the first to be
discovered in the 20th century (1921).

Mohenjo-daro was discovered in 1922.

I. SOURCES: ARCHAEOLOGICAL REMAINS (buildings,pottery, seals etc)

1.THE GREAT BATH:

i. One of the largest public buildings at Mohenjo-daro.

II. Meant for some kind of ritual bath.

iii. Throws light on the life of the people and culture.

iv. The construction indicates a high degree of perfection in the art of building.

v. The massive structure points out the existence of a ruling class that could mobilise labour, collect
taxes and build such a huge structure for public.

vi. Portrays the efficient planning in the structural features relating to water supply and sewage
disposal.

2. THE CITADEL:

I. The raised area of each city.

II. The Citadel had the houses of the ruling class and important buildings like the Great Bath,the
granary,the assembly hall and the workshops.

iii. The elaborate planning that went into the development of cities justifies that the HARAPPAN
CIVILISATION was an urban Civilisation.

iv. The presence of specific buildings and houses of the ruling class, indicate some sort of
classification.

3 SEALS :

I About 2000 seals have been discovered.

II. A majority comprise short inscriptions with pictures of one-horned bull,buffalo,tiger, goat,
elephant and rhinoceros.

iii. Rectangular ,square or circular in shape.

iv. They were made of terracotta,steatite,agate etc.

v. Show their artistic skills.

vi. Harappan seals provide useful information about the script ,trade,religion and their beliefs.

SEALS OF PASHUPATI: i.show that people believed in Shiva or Pashupati Mahadeva.

II.A three-faced deity wearing a buffalo-horned head dress, seated cross-legged on a throne and
surrounded by an elephant, a tiger, a buffalo and a rhinoceros, with two deer at his feet.
THE UNICORN SEAL : i. Shows their mythical belief.

II.The seals were used by traders to stamp their goods.—indicates that the Harappan trade had
spread over a vast area as these seals were found in different regions.

4. BEARDED MAN :

I. Discovered from Mohenjo-daro.

II. The stone structure of a man with a beard has a shawl worn over the left shoulder and the eyes
are half-closed. Therefore some scholars believe that this is the statue of a yogi.

iii. Is of high artistic value and points to the existence of skilled artisans.

5. DANCING GIRL:

I. The bronze statue of a dancing girl,found at Mohenjo-daro, is a masterpiece of art and shows a
high degree of development in the art of sculpture.

II. The figurine shows vigour,variety and ingenuity.The right arm of the dancing girl rests on the
hip and the left arm is heavily bangled. It holds a small bowl against her left leg.

6. DOCKYARD:

I. A rectangular dockyard made of baked bricks, connected by channels to the Gulf of Cambay was
discovered at Lothal in Gujarat.

II. It was surrounded by a massive brick wall, as a protection against flood.

iii. Lothal was an important trading and manufacturing centre of the Indus valley civilisation and
was used for carrying out overseas trade.

7.SCRIPT :

I. The Harappan used a photographic script having signs representing birds ,fish, and varieties of
human form.

II.The number of signs of the script was between 375 and 400.

iii. The script is found inscribed on seals ,copper tools,jewellery etc.

ORIGIN OF THE CIVILISATION : There are several theories about the origin of the Harappan
Civilisation.

I.FOREIGN ORIGIN : According to some scholars, the Harappan Civilisation was an offshoot of the
Mesopotamian Civilisation. However excavations at various Harappan sites have indicated striking
differences between the Harappan and Mesopotamian Civilisation.

II. Some scholars also held the view that trade with Mesopotamian played an important role in
transformation of the Harappan Civilisation from the early stage to the mature phase.But no
evidence of trade with Mesopotamia during the early Harappan period has been found.

2. INDIGENOUS ORIGIN : According to some historians, the urban Harappan culture was only an
outgrowth of the extensive local village cultures and not of foreign Origin. These cultures probably
contributed to the growth of the civilisation, together with the external stimulus provided by
trade contacts with Mesopotamia.

iii. The Hisorians found some marked similarities between the pre-Harappan and pro-Harappan
cultures at Kot D1iji, Amri, Kalibangan in terms of granary, defensive walls and long distance trade
in these settlements. So it was concluded that the civilisation evolved from these agricultural
communities.

EXTENT OF THE CIVILISATION:

i.It occupied the largest area amongst the ancient civilisations.

II.The entire area of the civilisation was triangular in shape and accounts for about 1.3 million
sq.km.

iii.It extended from Sutkagendor in the West to Alamgir in the east and from Manda(Jammu) in
the north to Bhagatrav in Narmada estuary in the south.

iv. It covered parts of Punjab,Haryana,Sindh,Baluchistan, Gujarat,Rajasthan and the fringes of

western Uttar Pradesh.

v.The largest sites of the Harappan Civilisation however, are Mohenjo-daro, Harappa,Kalibangan
and Lothal.

HOMEWORK;

1.Name some important sources of information on the Harappan Civilisation.

2.Name one important public building of the Indus Valley Civilisation and it’s importance.

3.Describe the extent of the civilisation .

4.With reference to the sources of information about the Harappan Civilisation, describe the
significance of each of the following:

a. Seals

b.Script.