PRE HISTORIC SETTLEMENT STUDY

INDUS VALLEY
CIVILISATION
The Indus Valley civilisation was an ancient
civilisation in the ancient Indian subcontinent.
It was discovered by archaeologists in 1920s. It
was developed along the Indus river and the
Ghaggar Hakkar river. It started during the
Bronze Age. The height of its development
took place between 2500BC and 1500BC. The
Indus valley civilisation covered a large space
from Balochistan (Pakistan) to Gujarat.
The first city to be discovered by excavation was
Harappa and therefore this civilisation is also called as
the Harappan civilisation.

They were good builders. The ruins of site shows that

Harappa civilisation people were the most skillful
designers. There buildings had two or sometimes more
storeys. There bathrooms were attached to the rooms.
One of there most unique feature was there excellent
drainage system. A brick lined drainage channel flowed
alongside every street. Removable bricks were kept at
intervals for easy cleaning and inspection.
 HARAPPAN CIVILIZATION IS IN FACT
DIVIDED INTO
THREE PHASES:

 Early Harappan phase (3500 BC–2600 BC) – it was

marked by some town-planning in the form of mud
structures, elementary trade, arts and crafts, etc.
 Mature Harappan phase (2600 BC–1900 BC) – it
was the period in which we notice well developed
towns with burnt brick structures, inland and
foreign trade, crafts of various types, etc.
 Late Harappan phase (1900 BC–1400 BC) – it was
the phase of decline during which many cities were
abandoned and the trade disappeared leading to the
gradual decay of the significant urban traits.
 TRADE AND COMMERCE

Evidence has been found out on the growth of crops

like barley, mustard, rice, cotton, peas and wheat.
Also, pottery, gold, jewelry, seals and various
sculptures were found at the time of excavation. This
showed that they were sculptures and most of these
were elaborately designed.
The Harappan traders used seals on the knot of the
sacks that were transported. This was done to ensure
that the sacks were not opened during the journey.
The economy of the region was very much dependent
on trade. Trade and transport helped each other to
evolve and develop. Exchange between
Mesopotomians and Harappa involved a lot of goods
which were important to both the sides.
Evidences from cities suggest that large population of
craftsmen produced commodities that could be traded
and these were placed in public storehouses.
Due to the site being near a river it always got a lot of trade due
to the ease in transportation.
At the same time the Egyptian civilisation that was developing
mainly focused on agriculture and the Indus valley civilisation
mainly focused on horticulture.

Crafts:
The people were well acquainted with the manufacture and use
of bronze.
The manufactured various images, utensils and tools such as
axes, saws, knifes and spears.
Weavers wore clothes of wool and cotton. Leather was
also known to them but no evidence of silk was found.
Harappans used to make seals,stone statues, terracotta
figurings etc.
Huge brick structures made of burnt bricks and mud
bricks suggest that brick laying was an important craft.
Harappan didn't know about iron.
They made shiny and glossy pottery.
They knew boat making. This was evident from there
seals.
Jewelry of gold, silver and precious stones were made.
Bangle making and shell ornaments was also practised.

TRADE
Land trade and sea trade was in vogue.
A dockyard was found at Lothal which was the longest
building in the Harappan civilisation.
The most important trading partner was Mesopotomia.
It is evident from there seals
The mode of trade was barter system.
 Indus Valley Civilization ( IVC ) ~ c. 3500 – 1300 BCE
[ The Harappan Culture : Bronze Age Civilisation ]
Harappa
Mohanjodero MAJOR SITES • First IVC sites to be excavated
• Excavated by R.D. Banerjee in 1922 • Excavated by Daya Ram Sahini in 1921
• Location : Larkana Dist. Of Sind (Pakistan) on • Location : Montgomery District of
the bank of Indus Punjab (Pakistan ) on the bank of
• Major Finding : a college , an assembly hall, Ravi
the great Bath, a large granary , a piece of • Major Finding : two row of 6 granaries ,
woven cotton , bronze dancing girl, seal of workmen quarters, 2 sandstone statues
Pashupati Mahadeva , Steatite statute of a depicting human anatomy , dog attacking
beared man supposed to a priest, evidence of dear, little bullock carts (ekkas)
horse for superficial level , bronze buffalo and • Only sites which yield the evidence of coffin
a ram burial
• Probable the city decline due to flooding • Rigveda Mention it as a Hariyupia
Banawali
• Excavated by R S Bisth in 1974
Sutkagendor • Location : Hissar district of Haryana
• Location : Baluchistan on Dast river • Major Finding : good quantity of
• Western Harppan site , excavated by barley,bones of horses, bead making
stein at 1929 shops
• It was a trade point between Harappa Kalibanga
& • Excavated by A. Ghose in 1953
Babylon • Major finding : Furrowed Land , Fire
alter and camel bones
Chanhudaro • Many house and their wells
• The only city had no citadel • Location : Rajasthan on the bank of
• Excavated by N G Majumdar in 1931
Ghaggar
• Location : Sind on Indus River • Kalibanga means black bangles
• Major finding : Bead makers shop,
inkpot , foot print of a dog chasing Amri
a cat • Excavated by N G Majumdar in 1935
• Location : Sind on the bank of Indus
Dholavira • Evidence of Antelop
• Excavated by R.S. Bisht ( 1985-90)
• Recently excavated site considered to
be the largest Lothal
• Location : Gujrat in Rann of Kutch • Excavated by R. Rao in 1953
Surkotada
• Reveals seven cultural stages , the • Location : Gujrat on Bhogva river near
• Excavated by J P Joshi in 1964
city has three parts Gulf of Combay
• Bones of horses and bead making
• Unique water management • Major Finding : first manmade port and a
shops found here
dockyard, bead maker factory , rice husk, fire
alters , chess playing etc.
• Evidence of Joint burial suggest
•Six Important cities:Harappa , Mohanjodaro, Kalibanga, Lothal, Chanhudaru, Banawali, Dholavira in which Harappan practice of sati
Culture is matured & flourished
• Important Ports towns: Lothal , Surkotada , Dholavira
• Four largest Harappan Sites : Mohanjodaro , Harappa , Banawali and Dholavira
• Mature Harappan phase : c. 2600 – 1900 BCE.

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HARAPPAN

 Harappa was an Indus civilization urban center. It lies in Punjab

 Province, Pakistan, on an old bed of the River Ravi.
 The latest research has revealed at least five mounds at Harappa
 that 3-D renditions of Harappa show to have been surrounded by extensive
walls. Two mounds have large walls around them,
 perhaps as much for trade regulation as defense.
 A structure once considered a granary is now thought to have been a large
building with ventilated air ducts. A set of working platforms to the south of
this structure are also of great interest to archaeologists.
 An abundance of terracotta figurines at Harappa provided the first clues in
the 19th century to the ancient Indus - often abbreviated as Harappan -
civilization.
 MOHANJO DARO
• is in Sindh, Pakistan, next to the Indus River, not far from the very
early human flint mining quarries at Rohri.
• The Indus may once have flowed to the west of Mohenjo Daro, but it
is now located to the east.
• Here the Great Bath, uniform buildings and weights, hidden drains
and other hallmarks of the civilization were discovered in the 1920's.
• This is where the most unicorn seals have been found.
• Due to a rising water table, most of the site remains unexcavated, and
its earliest levels have not been reached.
 DHOLAVIRA

• Dholavira is located on Khadir Beyt, an island in the Great Rann of

Kutch in Gujarat State, India. It has only been excavated since 1990.
• As large as Harappa and Mohenjo Daro, it has some of the best
preserved stone architecture.
• A tantalizing signboard with Indus script has also been discovered.
• Dholaviraappears to have had several large reservoirs, and and
elaborate system of drains to collect water from the city walls and
house tops to fill these water tanks.
 DHOLAVIRA

• Lothal is on the top of the Gulf of Khambat in Gujarat,

India, near Sabarmati River and the Arabian Sea.
• It is the most extensively researched Harappan coastal site.
• A bead factory and Persian Gulf seal have been found here
suggesting that, like many sites on the Gulf of Khambat, it
was deeply involved in trade.
 RAKHIGARHI

• Rakhigarhi is a recently discovered city in

Haryana, India.
• Partial excavations have revealed that it is as large
as Harappa, Mohenjo Daro and Ganweriwala
 TOWN PLANNING
FEATURES OF
HARAPPANS
 The most interesting urban feature of Harappan
civilization is its town-planning. Almost all the
major sites (Harappa, Mohenjodaro, Kalibangan
and others), are divided into two parts– a Citadel
on higher mound on the western side and a
lower town on the eastern side of the settlement.
The citadel contain large structures which might
have functioned as administrative or ritual
centres. The residential buildings are built in the
lower town.
 The main streets of the cities at both
Harappa and Mohen-jo-daro were
generally oriented from north to south,
with connecting streets running East to
West, The streets of major cities such as
Mohen-jo-daro and Harappa were also
laid out in a perfect grid pattern, The
street layout showed an understanding of
the basic principles of traffic, with
rounded corners to allow the turning of
carts easily. These streets divided the city
into 12 blocks
 MUD BRICKS WERE LARGELY USED AT
HARAPPA, KALIBANGAN, LOTHAL AND
BANAWALI BESIDES BURNT BRICKS. THE
SIZE OF BRICKS REMAINED THE SAME
EVERYWHERE.

 The ratio of brick size was 1:2:4. Other fortified sites of this
culture were at Sutkogendor, AliMurad, Ghazi Shah and
Daburkot etc.

 Except for the west-central blocks, the basic unit of city

planning was the individual house. Bricks of fixed sizes
were used for building while stone and wood were also
used. Buildings in the lower area were rather monotonous,
being mainly functional.
 The average house in these ancient cities appeared to have
stood at least two storeys high(suggested by the thickness of
the enclosing wall) & by remnants of wide staircases where
the steps and risers still survive to considerable height from
the occupation level on the ground floor.

 The houses were built on plinths rising above the street level
with flights of steps recessed in the wall at the front door. The
doors of the houses usually opened on to the side lanes rather
than on to the main streets.
LAYOUT OF HARAPPAN
CITY
 THE
CITADELS
 The existence of a theocratic and
authoritarian society indicated by the
presence of large and well-fortified citadels in each of
the capital cities. These citadels always face west which
served as sanctuaries for the cities populations in times
of attack and as community centres in times of peace.
The citadel at Harappa measuring 1400 ft. x 600 ft. on
mound 40 ft. high which faced foundation with brick
embankment 45 ft. thick. The citadel at Mohen-jo-daro
included a very large building that may have been a
palace.
 THE LOWER
TOWN
 TheLower Town was also walled. Several buildings were built
on platforms, which served as foundations. It has been
calculated that if one labourer moved roughly a cubic metre
of earth daily, just to put the foundations in place it would
have required four million person-days, in other words,
mobilising labour on a very large scale. Consider something
else. Once the platforms were in place, all building activity
within the city was restricted to a fixed area on the platforms.
So it seems that the settlement was first planned and then
implemented accordingly. Other signs of planning include
bricks, which, whether sun-dried or baked, were of a
standardised ratio, where the length and breadth were four
times and twice the height respectively. Such bricks were
used at all Harappan settlements.
 THE GREAT
BATH
 The great bath at Mohen-jo-daro had
waterproofed with bitumen. Brick colonnades
were discovered on the eastern, northern and
southern edges. The preserved columns have
stepped edges that may have been used to hold
wooden screens or window frames. Two large
doors lead into the complex from the south and
other entrance was from the directions of north
and east. A series of rooms are located along
the eastern edge of the building and in one
room is a well that may have supplied some of
the water needed to fill the tank. Rainwater
also may have been collected for this
purposes, but no inlet drains are seen.
 DIMENSION OF THE GREAT BATH – 12m
X7mX 2.4m(depth)
 GRANARIES

 Large granaries were located near each of the

citadels, which suggest that the state stored grain for
ceremonial purposes, times of shortage, and
possibly the regulation of grain production and sale.
 Built on top of a tapered brick platform, this building
had a solid brick foundation that extended for 50
meters east west and 27 meters north south. The
foundation was divided into 27 square and
rectangular blocks by narrow passageways, two
running east west and eight running north south. A
section of the northern foundation had hollow
sockets for wooden beams used to support a
stairway or wooden structure. Later wells and walls
are seen in the foreground.
 The eroding wells and a wall built up against the
granary show that much of the area to the north of
the granary was filled with debris and later
buildings.
 THE DRAINAGE
SYSTEM
The Indus civilization had an elaborate sanitary and
drainage system, the hallmark of ancient Indus cities
.Each and every house had a connection with the
main drain. These even had inspection holes for
maintenance. The conduits to the main drains
running through the middle of the streets below
pavement level and covered with flat stones and
sturdy tile bricks. The covered drain was connected
to the larger sewerage outlets which finally led the
dirty water outside the populated areas. The urban
plan found in these cities included the world`s first
urban sanitation systems. The elaborate brick-lined
drainage system for the removal of rainwater is of
unparalleled engineering skill.
 Toilets would have been an essential feature in Mohen-jo-daro, but the early excavators identified
most toilets as post-cremation burial urns or sump pots. This brick structure had a hole in the top
that was connected to a small drain leading out of the base into a rectangular basin (not
reconstructed). Early excavators suggested this might have been a toilet.
 Two structure with a hole and drain located are thought to have been toilets. While these two
structures may have been unique examples of toilets, most people would have used old pots set
into the ground as commodes.
 HARAPPAN WELLS
 Wells were made with wedge shaped bricks to make a strong circular
structure. Some bricks were made with special grooves to keep the
ropes from sliding sideways when drawing water.
 Public wells- Although most wells were located inside private buildings,
the city planners of Mohenjo Daro provided some public wells that
could be accessed directly from the main street.
 Well & platform- well was associated with a finely constructed bathing
platform. A stairway leads up to the well and platform from a lower
room. The walls and well have been covered with mud brick and
sprayed with clay slurry to protect them from salt crystallization.
 Each block of buildings at Mohenjo-Daro was supplied with one or more
wells. When archaeologists excavated the fill around the well they were
left standing to show the final levels of use
 COURTYARDS
 Large Courtyard-
In some neighborhoods, large courtyards were
connected to numerous smaller buildings built at
different levels. The pilastered wall on the left
supported houses at a higher level. A large
corbelled arch drain that was later blocked is
seen emerging from a wall in the background.
 Street leading to the Stairs-
This room in the figure was made with bricks set on edge to
create a watertight floor. A small well was located in the
southeast corner (top right) and circular brick depressions
were set into the floor, presumably to hold pottery vessels.
The early excavators suggested that the room might have
been a dyer's workshop.
 STREETS
 First Street-
Looking north along First
Street. The area to the left has
been fully excavated and the
area to the right is
unexcavated. Later street levels
are seen in the background.
 Narrow streets and drains-
The streets and alleyways wind
through the neighborhood and are
oriented along a strict grid plan.
 Street leading to the Stairs-
Some houses had small staircases
leading to a second story or to a
platform for pouring water into a
bathing area.