1-THE HARAPPAN CIVILISATION

1.SYLLABUS:
SOURCES: Great Bath, citadel, seals, bearded man, dancing girl, dockyard, script.

ORIGIN : Extent, urban planning , trade , art and craft , and its decline.

2.INTRODUCTION :
IN The Neolithic Age ,Man lived in small villages. With the passage of time
,Population increased, man's needs expanded further ,the larger villages grew in
to cities and towns .As a result many new arts ,skills, crafts and occupations also
developed side by side. Trade and commerce and many other manufacturing
enterprises also developed. All this brought about a new life style. When man
began to live in towns, it marked the beginning of Civilization.

# FOUR CIVILISATION OF THE BRONZE AGE:

There appeared four civilisations in the Bronze age. These are mentioned:
A. The indus Valley Civilization or the Harrapan Civilization.
B. The Mesopotamian Civilization or the Tigris-Euphrates Civilisation.
C. The Chinese Civilisation .( not in syllabus)
D. The Egyptian Civilisation. (not in syllabus)

A. The indus Valley Civilization or the Harrapan Civilization.

The Indus or Harappan culture arose in the north-western part of the Indian
subcontinent. It is called Harappan civilisation because this was discovered first in
1921 at the modern site of Harappa, situated in the province of west Punjab in
Pakistan. ... Nearly, 1,400 Harappan sites are known so far in the sub-continent.
Indus Valley Civilisation: Origin, Evolution and Characteristics
www.historydiscussion.net › ... › Civilisation › Indus Valley Civilisation

 The Indus or Harappan culture arose in the north-western part of the Indian
subcontinent.

 It is called Harappan civilisation because this was discovered first in 1921 at

the modern site of Harappa, situated in the province of west Punjab in
Pakistan.

 It is also called as Indus civilisation because it refers to precisely the same

cultural, chronological and geographic entity confined to the geographic
bounds of the Indus valley.

 Sir John Marshall was the first person to use the term ‘Indus civilisation’.
The Indus or the Harappan civilisation belongs to the Chalcolithic or Bronze
Age since the objects of copper and stone were found at the various sites
of this civilisation. Nearly, 1,400 Harappan sites are known so far in the sub-
continent.
  They belong to early, mature and late phases of the Harappan culture. But
the number of the sites belonging to the mature phase is limited, and of
them only half a dozen can be regarded as cities.

 Some of the noteworthy sites which have been excavated are Harappa
(1921) by Daya Ram Sahni, Mohenjodaro (1922) by R.D. Banerjee, Dholavira
(1967-68) by J.P. Joshi and (1990-91) by R.S. Bisht, Kalibangan by Dr. A.
Ghosh, Lothal (1955-63), Chanhu-daro, Banawali (1975-77), etc.

AGE OF HARAPPAN CIVILISATION:

Indus civilization, also called Indus valley civilization or Harappan civilization, the
earliest known urban culture of the Indian subcontinent. The nuclear dates of
the civilization appear to be about 2500–1700 bce, though the southern sites may
have lasted later into the 2nd millennium.

SOURCES OF HARAPPAN CIVILISATION:

Archaeological sources of the Harappan Civilization include
abandoned Harappan sites and their buildings, artifacts such as seals with
inscriptions that were used to stamp clay with Harappan script and pictograms,
and statuary.
EXTENT OF HARAPPAN CIVILISATION:



 Map showing extent of the indus valley or the Harppan civilisation

 The Harappan civilization was located in the Indus River valley. Its two
large cities, Harappa and Mohenjo-daro, were located in present-day
Pakistan's Punjab and Sindh provinces, respectively. Its extent reached as
far south as the Gulf of Khambhat and as far east as the Yamuna (Jumna)
River
 The Indus Valley Civilization was not confined to these two sites in the
north-western area of the subcontinent. The influence of this culture
extended to the Punjab, Sindh, North West Frontier Province (now in
Pakistan), Baluchistan, Rajasthan, U.P., Gujarat and even some parts of
south India.
 This civilization was spread over an area of about 1600 kilometers from
West to East and 1100 kilometers from North to South. However, recent
excavations in Gujarat have shown that the extent of the civilization is
much more than what people had thought it to be earlier. Research
scholars are of the opinion that this civilization has spread over an area of
1,300,000 square kilometers, which is more than that of any ancient
civilization known so far.

Important Sites :

 Though there are many sites of the Indus Valley Civilization, Mohen-jo-Daro
and Harappa are considered more important, as these were the biggest
centers of the civilization.

 Mohen-jo-Daro in the Sindhi language, means the 'Mound of the Dead'. It

was located in the Larkana district of Sindh (now in Pakistan). Here a big
city was found buried under the mound.

 Harappa was situated on the bank of the river Ravi in the Montgomery
district of West Punjab (now in Pakistan). Mohen-jo-daro type of civilization
existed also in this city.

 Other important sites were Chanu daro in Sindh (Pakistan) about 130
kilomatres south of Mohen-jo-daro, Lothal near Ahmedabad in Gujarat, kali
bangan in Rajasthan, Alamgir near Hatinapur in U.P. and Ropar in the
Punjab, at the foothills of Shivalik.
CHIEF FEATURES OF THE HARAPPAN CIVILIZATION
1.URBAN PLANNING

a) Drainage system:

Mohenjodaro , Lothal and other cities are known to have a good drainage system.
House drains emptied into the main drains. The main drains ran under the main
street, below many lanes

BUILDINGS AND HOUSES: The people of the indus valley had built three
categories of buildings namely ,the large buildings ,the public bath and the people
s dwelling houses. The cities of Mohenjo-daro and Harappa were divided in to two
parts .parts one of the city was built on a raised ground and it was called the
CITADEL. It had large public buildings such as the graneries
,workshop,assemblyhall and the factories.

Part two of the city was on the lower side which was used to built houses

(A) The GREAT GRANARIES:

the Great Granary is a 'Mystery Building' at Harrapa. It is over 60 meters long! It

contains six long halls which are raised above the ground by walls. Nearby
the Great Granary, there is a number of circular brick platforms.

Similarly the largest building in Mohenjodaro was also a granary ,which was 46
meters long and 15 meters wide.

(a) The Great public Bath at Mohenjodaro:

A Great public bath has been excavated at Mohenjodaro.Its overall
dimensions was 55metrs by 35 metres. The bathing pool was situated in
the middle of the public bath. It measured 11.7 meters by 6.9 meters in
 length and breath .The depth of the bathing pool was 204 meters .The
floor of the pool was made of burnt bricks.

(b) THE ASSEMBLY HALL:

The assembly hall was another public building at Mohenjodaro.
IT was A square hall of 25 meters by 25 meters.It had 20 big pillars to
support the high pitched roof.
These pillars were arranged in four rows of five pillars each .In this hall
the rulers held their meetings.

(c) PEOPLES DWELLING HOUSES:

(d) The lower part of the city of mo0henjodaro had the dwelling houses of
the people.The houses unearthed were of different sizes.
 (e)

2.ART OF SCULPTURE AND CRAFTS :

Indus Valley Civilization is probably best-known in the West for its bronze
figurative sculpture - notably the famous slender-limbed statue known as the
"Dancing Girl of Mohenjo-Daro" (2500 BCE) - the extraordinary quality of which is
comparable with Late Classical Greek Sculpture (c.400-323 BCE) and Hellenistic
Greek Sculpture (c.323-27 BCE). No one has yet established how Indus sculptors
managed to anticipate forms associated with Greek sculpture of classical
antiquity.

In addition to bronzes, Indus culture produced a variety of stone sculpture and

also red coloured terracotta sculpture, featuring images of dancing girls as well as
animals like cows, bears, monkeys, and dogs, plus a number of unidentified
 A TERRA COTTA FIGURE OF A MOTHER GODDESS

hybrid animals and anthropomorphic figures, seen mostly on Harappan steatite

seals.

Art of making pottery: In Indus Valley Civilization, pottery was an important

industry and the significance of the pottery can be noted from the fact that
harappan pictographical scripts were mainly found on potteries. Indus Valley
Civilization Pottery, remained plain most of the times and it further enabled us to
understand the gradual evolution of various design motifs as employed in
different shapes, and styles.

Indus Valley Civilization consists chiefly of wheel made wares (although potters'
wheels, being made of wood, have not survived) both plain and painted while the
plain pottery (usually of red clay with or without a fine red slip) is more common
than the painted ware (of red and black colours).

Carving and painting: The Indus valley people were very good in the art of carving
also.Their carvings of various animals on seals are really praise worthy.the Indus
valley people liked painting .so they drew different kinds of designs and figures on
earthenwares and utensils.
Seals: Seals were used to make a sealing, or positive imprint, like this modern
resin one made from the original seal. Sealings were used in ancient times for
trade. They would be made on ceramics or the clay tags used to seal the rope
around bundles of goods

he most interesting part of the discovery relates to the seals-more than 2000 in
number, made of soapstone, terracotta and copper. The seals give us useful
information about the civilization of Indus valley. Some seals have human or
animal figures on them. Most of the seals have the figures of real animals while a
few bear the figure of mythical animals. The seals are rectangular, circular or even
cylindrical in shape.

The seals even have an inscription of a sort of pictorial writing. Most of the seals
have a knob at the back through which runs a hole. It is said that these seals were
used by different associations or merchants for stamping purposes. They were
also worn round the neck or the arm.

The seals show the culture and civilization of the Indus Valley people. In
particular, they indicate:

a. Dresses, ornaments, hair-styles of people.

b. Skill of artists and sculptors.
c. Trade contacts and commercial relations.
d. Religious beliefs.
e. Script.

Important Seals:

The Pashupati Seal: This seal depicts a yogi, probably Lord Shiva. A pair of horns
crown his head. He is surrounded by a rhino, a buffalo, an elephant and a tiger.
Under his throne are two deer. This seal shows that Shiva was worshipped and he
was considered as the Lord of animals (Pashupati).
 SEAL OF PASUPATHI
The Unicorn Seal: The unicorn is a mythological animal. This seal shows that at a
very early stage of civilization, humans had produced many creations of
imagination in the shape of bird and animal motifs that survived in later art.

The Bull Seal: This seal depicts a humped bull of great vigour. The figure shows
the artistic skill and a good knowledge of animal anatomy.

The art of writing script: The Indus script is a corpus of symbols produced by
the Indus Valley Civilization. Most inscriptions containing these symbols are
extremely short, making it difficult to judge whether or not these symbols
constituted a script used to record a language, or even symbolise
a writing system. ... Plate from Indus Valley (Harappan) Civilisation.

(3) ECONOMIC LIFE OF THE PEOPLE:

(a) Dress and Ornament:

The Indus valley people were the first in the world to spin cotton and woollen
yarn. This has been confirmed from the discovery of a number of clay spindles
of different sizes, all over these cities. Moreover needles and buttons have also
been found there. They preffered loose dresses. Men wore dhoti and a
shawl.The women wore a type of skirt and wrapped a shawl round their
shoulders. Men kept their hair short and their beard trimmed .Women on the
other hand liked to keep long hair and dressed their hair in a variety of
styles.They used combs to decorate their hair. Men and women ,both rich and
poor ,wore ornaments .Necklace ,fillets ,armlets and finger rings were common
to both men and women .In addition to these ,women also wore girdles ,ear-
rings ,nose -rings ,anklets, bangles,nose -studs and bracelets. The women loved
cosmetics.They were fond of looking beautiful and charming.

(b) Food:

Harappan Food 1) The Indus Valley people has a balanced diet comprising
staples, meat, fruit and vegetables. 2) Maize and Barley were the main staple
food. 3)Domesticated animals like goats and cows provided milk and meat. 4)
There is evidence of more fruit and vegetables as the preferred source of
nourishment than meat.

(c) OCCUPATION: The Harappan people had the knowledge of boat-making, seal-
making and terracotta manufacturing. •Harappans were experts in bead making.
•Jewellery of gold, silver and precious stones was also made. •The potter’s wheel
was in full use and the Harappans produced their own characteristic pottery,
which was made glossy and shining.

(D)Trade and Commerce: Trade and Commerce • Trade and commerce was
flourishing in Harappan age. Trade and Commercial activities were carried on
through sea as well as land routes. • Carts, chariots and animals were means of
transports as far as land trade is concerned. For sea trade, big boats were used. •
Harappan people had trade relations within India, as well as with countries
outside India. • The Mesopotamian texts of the same period refer to trade
relations with ‘Meluha’ which was the ancient name given to Indus region. • With
no clear evidence of currency/money being used the exchange must have been
through barter system.

4.RELIGION OF THE INDUS VALLEY PEOPLE:

1. Indus Valley Civilization Religion • The chief male deity was the Pashupati
Mahadeva (proto- shiva), represented in the seals as sitting in yogic posture
on a low throne, and having three faces and two horns. He is surrounded by
four animals (elephant, tiger, rhino and buffalo), each facing a different
direction and two deer appear at his feet. • Chief female deity was the
Mother Goddess, who has been depicted in various forms. The Pashupati
 seal, showing a seated and possibly tricephalic figure, surrounded by
animals
2. Mother Goddess was worshipped in Harappa •Worship of fire is proved by
the discovery of fire altars at Lothal, Kalibangan and Harappa. •Indus
people also worshipped Gods in the form of trees (peepal etc.) and animals
(unicorn etc.)
(5). ART OF WRITING:
The indus valley people used the pictographic script for wirting
purposes.But their script is still a mystery for scholars . Their script had 62
basic signs in the beginning ,but in the later Harappan period (1900 to 1600
B.C) these sighs were reduced to 22.

LOTHAL DOCKYARD:
It is believed that lothal was the site of the later Harappan culture .The
town developed when the Harappans arrived here in search of more fertile
plains and potential port.The Dockyard Lothal developed as the most
important port and center of the bead industry.The large structure is 223m
long and 35 m in width and 8 m in depth.An inlet channel 1.7 meters above
the botton level of the 4.26 m deep tank allowed excess water to escape
.Other inlets prevented siltation of the tanks and erosion of the nanks.After
a ship would have unloaded its cargo the gates would have opened and
allowed it to return to the Arabian Sea waters in the Gulf of
Cambay.Archaelogical finds from the excavations testify to trade with
ancient Egypt and Mespotamia.The hydraulic Knowledge of the ancient
Harappa can be judged by the fact that boats could dock at lothal in yhe
1850s .In 1942 timber was brought from Baruch to nearby Sagarwala.
Many seals and the other archaelogical finds reveal that lothal was a
significant trading center of the Harappan civilisatio. A long wharf connecte
dthe dockyard to the main warehouse.The dock was located away from the
main current to avoid deposition of slit. Modern oceanographers have
observed that the Harappans must have possessed great
knowledge relating to tides in order to build such a dock on the ever
shifting course of the sabarmati, as well as exemplary hydrography and
maritime engineering. This is the earliest known dock found in the world.
equipped to berth and service ships.It is speculated that Lothal engineering
studied tidal Movements and their effects on built structures since the
walls are of kiln burnt bricks .This knowledge also enabled them to select
 Lothal s location in the first place aas the gulf of Khambhat has the highest
tidal amplitude and ships can be sluiced through flow tides in the river
estuary.

Lothal Dockyard of HARAPPA CIVILISATION

END OF THE INDUS VALLEY CIVILISATION:

Around 1800 B.C the indus Valley Civilisation came to a sudden end.Nothing
certain can be said about the reason of this sudden end.It is all a guess work.May
be the civilisation met with (a)Natural calamity like an earthquake (b) or a
devastating flood(c) or a climatic change (d) or an attack from the Aryan tribes (e)
or deforestation or an epidemic.

EXERCISE
A.SHORT ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS:
1.Mention the period during which the indus Valley Civilisation flourished.
ans) 2300 BC to 1700 BC

2.Why did the indus Valley Civilization come to be known as Harappan

Civilisation?
ans) As the Civilisation existed on Indus river bank or in indus river valley so it was
called the Indus valley Civilisation .As Harappa was the first site that was
excavated ,it has come to be known as the Harappan Civilisation.
3.Name four cities connected with the Indus Valley Civilisation.
ans) Rupar, Lothal , kalibangan, kot-Digi.

4.Why are Mohenjodaro and Harappa called Planned cities?

ans)Harappan or indus valley cities were well planned ,with straight wide pucca
roads, cutting eachother at right angles having rounded corners ,covered
drainage,regular street lights .bricks kilns and industries were located outside the
city.

5.Mention two reasons to show that the indus valley people had a good sense of
town planning.
ans) 1.The indus valley people had an excellent skill in town planning .The streets
and lanes of their towns were laid out according to a set plan.These were straight
and intersect eachother at right angles.
2. The corner of the streets and lanes rounded off.The streets were paved with
fire -burnt bricks.

6.Give an evidence to prove that the people of the indus valley cared fo their
personal hygiene.
ans)Mohenjodaro ,lothal and other cities are known to have a good drainage
system.House drains emptied into the main drains.The main drains ran under the
main street ,below many holes.All the drains were covered with bricks or stones
Inspection manholes were provided at regular distances .Refuse or dirt was not
allowed to be thrown in to the drain.There was a soak-pit in the drain of every
house .Water supply was also good.

7.How did the women of the indus valley Civilisation clothe and decorate
themselves?
ans)
1. The women wore a type of skirt and wrapped a shawl round their shoulders.
2.Women on the other hand liked to keep long hair and dressed their hair in a
variety of styles.They used combs to decorate their hair.
3.women also wore girdles ,ear-rings ,nose -rings ,anklets, bangles,nose -studs
and bracelets.
4.The women loved cosmetics.They were fond of looking beautiful and
charming.

8.Mention two occupations of the Indus valley Civilisation ?

ans)Agriculture and Rearing of animals

9.Mention two indoor games in which the Indus valley people tok intrest.
ans)Chess, gambling , and dicing

10.Give two reasons to suggest that the Indus valley people cared for the
childrens amusements.?
ans) A Large number of toys and dolls have also been excavated.Gambling was
popular pastime that had been enjoyed as early at the period of the indus valley
civilisation .The sandstonedice and two pottery objects were found at HRAPPA.

11.Give two main features of the religion of the indus valley people.
ans) They worshipped mother goddess or the shakthi and lord shiva or the
pashupathi of later Hinduism.Besides these they also worshipped certain trees
,animalsand birds.They also believed in life after death .So they buried their dead
and placed other articles with the deadbody.

12.Give two possible reasons for the sudden and abrupt end of the indus valley
civilisation.
ans) Around 1800 B.C the indus Valley Civilisation came to a sudden end.Nothing
certain can be said about the reason of this sudden end.It is all a guess work.
May be the civilisation met with
(a)Natural calamity like an earthquake
(b) or a devastating flood
(c) or a climatic change
(d) or an attack from the Aryan tribes
(e) or deforestation or an epidemic

13.Name a major trading centre of Harappan Civilisation?

ans)Besides agriculture and domestication of animals the people had other
occupations also such as carpentry,goldsmithy,pottery,engraving,weaving and
toy-making e.t.c

STRUCTURED QUESTIONS
1.Give an account of the public buildings in the indus valley civilisation with
reference to following :
(a) Urban Planning

(b) The drainage system

a) Drainage system:

Mohenjodaro , Lothal and other cities are known to have a good drainage system.
House drains emptied into the main drains. The main drains ran under the main
street, below many lanes
 (c)Dwelling houses
BUILDINGS AND HOUSES: The people of the indus valley had built three
categories of buildings namely ,the large buildings ,the public bath and the people
s dwelling houses. The cities of Mohenjo-daro and Harappa were divided in to two
parts .parts one of the city was built on a raised ground and it was called the
CITADEL. It had large public buildings such as the graneries
,workshop,assemblyhall and the factories.

Part two of the city was on the lower side which was used to built houses

(A) The GREAT GRANARIES:

the Great Granary is a 'Mystery Building' at Harrapa. It is over 60 meters long! It

contains six long halls which are raised above the ground by walls. Nearby
the Great Granary, there is a number of circular brick platforms.

Similarly the largest building in Mohenjodaro was also a granary ,which was 46
meters long and 15 meters wide.

(a) The Great public Bath at Mohenjodaro:

A Great public bath has been excavated at Mohenjodaro.Its overall
dimensions was 55metrs by 35 metres. The bathing pool was situated in
the middle of the public bath. It measured 11.7 meters by 6.9 meters in
length and breath .The depth of the bathing pool was 204 meters .The
floor of the pool was made of burnt bricks.
(b) THE ASSEMBLY HALL:
 The assembly hall was another public building at Mohenjodaro.
IT was A square hall of 25 meters by 25 meters.It had 20 big pillars to
support the high pitched roof.
These pillars were arranged in four rows of five pillars each .In this hall
the rulers held their meetings.

(c) Peoples dwelling houses:The lower part of the city of mo0henjodaro had
the dwelling houses of the people.The houses unearthed were of
different sizes.

2.Describe the life of the people of the Indus valley under the following two
heads:
(a) Dress and ornaments
The Indus valley people were the first in the world to spin cotton and woollen
yarn. This has been confirmed from the discovery of a number of clay spindles
of different sizes, all over these cities. Moreover needles and buttons have also
been found there. They preffered loose dresses. Men wore dhoti and a
shawl.The women wore a type of skirt and wrapped a shawl round their
shoulders. Men kept their hair short and their beard trimmed .Women on the
other hand liked to keep long hair and dressed their hair in a variety of
styles.They used combs to decorate their hair. Men and women ,both rich and
poor ,wore ornaments .Necklace ,fillets ,armlets and finger rings were common
to both men and women .In addition to these ,women also wore girdles ,ear-
rings ,nose -rings ,anklets, bangles,nose -studs and bracelets. The women loved
cosmetics.They were fond of looking beautiful and charming.

(b) OCCUPATIONS: (c) OCCUPATION:

The Harappan people had the knowledge of boat-making, seal- making and
terracotta manufacturing. •Harappans were experts in bead making. •Jewellery
of gold, silver and precious stones was also made. •The potter’s wheel was in full
use and the Harappans produced their own characteristic pottery, which was
made glossy and shining.

(C) TRADE AND COMMERCE:

(D)Trade and Commerce: Trade and Commerce • Trade and commerce was
flourishing in Harappan age. Trade and Commercial activities were carried on
through sea as well as land routes. • Carts, chariots and animals were means of
transports as far as land trade is concerned. For sea trade, big boats were used. •
Harappan people had trade relations within India, as well as with countries
outside India. • The Mesopotamian texts of the same period refer to trade
relations with ‘Meluha’ which was the ancient name given to Indus region. • With
no clear evidence of currency/money being used the exchange must have been
through barter system.

3.With reference to the Harappan arts and crafts discuss the following:

(a) ART OF MAKING POTTERY

Art of making pottery: In Indus Valley Civilization, pottery was an important

industry and the significance of the pottery can be noted from the fact that
harappan pictographical scripts were mainly found on potteries. Indus Valley
Civilization Pottery, remained plain most of the times and it further enabled us to
understand the gradual evolution of various design motifs as employed in
different shapes, and styles.

Indus Valley Civilization consists chiefly of wheel made wares (although potters'
wheels, being made of wood, have not survived) both plain and painted while the
plain pottery (usually of red clay with or without a fine red slip) is more common
than the painted ware (of red and black colours).

(B) CARVING AND PAINTIG

Carving and painting: The Indus valley people were very good in the art of carving
also.Their carvings of various animals on seals are really praise worthy.the Indus
valley people liked painting .so they drew different kinds of designs and figures on
earthenwares and utensils.
(C)SEALS:
Seals: Seals were used to make a sealing, or positive imprint, like this modern
resin one made from the original seal. Sealings were used in ancient times for
trade. They would be made on ceramics or the clay tags used to seal the rope
around bundles of goods

he most interesting part of the discovery relates to the seals-more than 2000 in
number, made of soapstone, terracotta and copper. The seals give us useful
information about the civilization of Indus valley. Some seals have human or
animal figures on them. Most of the seals have the figures of real animals while a
few bear the figure of mythical animals. The seals are rectangular, circular or even
cylindrical in shape.

The seals even have an inscription of a sort of pictorial writing. Most of the seals
have a knob at the back through which runs a hole. It is said that these seals were
used by different associations or merchants for stamping purposes. They were
also worn round the neck or the arm.

The seals show the culture and civilization of the Indus Valley people. In
particular, they indicate:

a. Dresses, ornaments, hair-styles of people.

b. Skill of artists and sculptors.
c. Trade contacts and commercial relations.
d. Religious beliefs.
e. Script.

4.With reference to the Harappan Civilisation explan:

(a) The Lothal Dockyard

LOTHAL DOCKYARD:
It is believed that lothal was the site of the later Harappan culture .The
town developed when the Harappans arrived here in search of more fertile
plains and potential port.The Dockyard Lothal developed as the most
important port and center of the bead industry.The large structure is 223m
 long and 35 m in width and 8 m in depth.An inlet channel 1.7 meters above
the botton level of the 4.26 m deep tank allowed excess water to escape
.Other inlets prevented siltation of the tanks and erosion of the nanks.After
a ship would have unloaded its cargo the gates would have opened and
allowed it to return to the Arabian Sea waters in the Gulf of
Cambay.Archaelogical finds from the excavations testify to trade with
ancient Egypt and Mespotamia.The hydraulic Knowledge of the ancient
Harappa can be judged by the fact that boats could dock at lothal in yhe
1850s .In 1942 timber was brought from Baruch to nearby Sagarwala.
Many seals and the other archaelogical finds reveal that lothal was a
significant trading center of the Harappan civilisatio. A long wharf connecte
dthe dockyard to the main warehouse.The dock was located away from the
main current to avoid deposition of slit. Modern oceanographers have
observed that the Harappans must have possessed great
knowledge relating to tides in order to build such a dock on the ever
shifting course of the sabarmati, as well as exemplary hydrography and
maritime engineering. This is the earliest known dock found in the world.
equipped to berth and service ships.It is speculated that Lothal engineering
studied tidal Movements and their effects on built structures since the
walls are of kiln burnt bricks .This knowledge also enabled them to select
Lothal s location in the first place aas the gulf of Khambhat has the highest
tidal amplitude and ships can be sluiced through flow tides in the river
estuary.

(b)Harappan Script: The art of writing script: The Indus script is a corpus of
symbols produced by the Indus Valley Civilization. Most inscriptions containing
these symbols are extremely short, making it difficult to judge whether or not
these symbols constituted a script used to record a language, or even symbolise
a writing system. ... Plate from Indus Valley (Harappan) Civilisation.Many
specimen of Harappan script have been found on seals ,copper tablets ,axes and
pottery.But unfortunately the Harappan scriptr has not been deciphered till
now.Some scholars connect it to indo -aryan and sanskrit while some other
connect it to sumerians language.There are more than 400 signs in Harappan
script and most of these have been found on seals .A large number of them are
very small.a group of few letters.No bilingual inscription has been discovered in
the Harappan script so far .it is pictographic and each sign stands for a sound
,abstract,or object.It was written from left to right and was an invention of the
Harappan themselves.

(C)QUESTION BASED ON SKILL

carefully observe the given picture and answer the
following questions:

(i) Mention the name of this structure.

ans)Great public Bath at Mohenjodaro

(ii) Mention the period with which it is associated .where is it located?

ans) Great Bath was built in the 3rd millennium BC, soon after the raising
of the "citadel" mound on which it is located.

(iii)what are its features ?Mention any two

(1)The Great Bath of Mohenjodaro is called the "earliest public water tank
of the ancient world". It measures 11.88 × 7.01 metres, and has a maximum
depth of 2.43 metres.

(2)Two wide staircases, one from the north and one from the south, served
as the entry to the structure.