HARAPPAN CULTURE

 One of the oldest great civilizations of the ancient word.

 Marked the beginning of civilization and culture in India.
 an urban civilization
 contributed remarkably for the growth and development
of Indian culture.
Sources of Information
 Archaeological remains
 Pottery, seals, clay models, ornaments, articles
 Excavated materials recovered from Harappa and
Mohenjodaro are the chief sources to know the history
of the Indus Valley Culture.
 Discovery
Came to the light in 1919/1922
R.D. Banerjee and Dyaram Sahani discovered two
most important cities namely Mohenjodaro and
Harappa.
Harappa in the Montegomery district of Punjab
(Pakistan)
Mohenjodaro in the Larkana district of Sind
(Pakistan)
other sites such as Sanghol, Kotla Nihang Khan,

Kalibangan, Banwali, Mittathal, Chanhudaro,

Sutkagendor, Alamgirpur, Rangpur, Lothal etc
 Nomenclature
 Known as the Indus Valley civilization because it
was located and flourished on the valley of the river

Indus.
 Known as the Harappan culture because
the civilization was first discovered at Harappa;
 Harappa was the biggest city among the excavated

sites;
 Harappa had the greater longevity; and
 artifacts of Harappa have much similarity with those
which have been excavated from other places.
 Geographical Extent
covered an area of 1,500 kilometers from east to west,
and 1,000 kilometers from north to south.
covered parts of the Punjab, Haryana, Baluchistan,
Gujarat, Rajasthan and borders of western Uttar
Pradesh.
Date
Sir Johan Marshall put the time between c.3200 BCE
and c. 2750 BCE.
Sir Mortimer Wheeler has fixed the time of Indus
civilizationbetween c. 2500 BCE and c. 1500 BCE.
on the basis of radio – carbon dating (C14), it is says that
the civilization was at a flourishing condition in about
3000 BCE.
Builders
The Dravidians were probably the builders of Indus
Valley civilization.
 Town Planning
Indus civilization flourished around the cities
towns appear to have been well planned.
Streets were broad varying in width from 9 to 34 ft.
All roads and lanes were straight from north to
south or from east to west
roads cut each other at right angles
Lanes were joined with the streets.
provision of street light and watch and ward system
at night
.
Drainage System
Striking feature of Harappan civilization was its
drainage system.
Drains were made of mortar, lime and gypsum.
Drains were covered with loose bricks which could
be lifted easily to clean the drains.
Main drains which carried the rain water varied in
circumference from 2 feet to 5 feet.
The drainage system of the Indus valley people
shows that they certainly had a fairly developed
sense of health and sanitation
 Buildings
Buildings could be divided into three categories
i.e.
•Dwelling houses or residential buildings,
•Public halls or larger buildings, and
•Public Bath or the Great Bath.
The Great Bath
The Great Bath was the most imposing structure
of
Mohenjodaro.
The overall dimension of the bath is 180 feet by
108 fees.
The bathing pool is 39 feet by 23 feet with 8 feet
depth.
 There are galleries and rooms on all sides of the
bathing pool.
It is believed that this Great Bath had some
 Social Life
oSocial life was highly developed.
oFour classes viz; learned persons, warriors,
businessmen, and working class or labourers.

Food and Drinks

oVegetarian and non – vegetarian.
oStaple food - wheat, barley, rice, milk and some
vegetables like pear, sesame and fruits like
bananas, dates etc.
oBeef, mutton, pork, poultry fish, tortoise etc., were
also eaten by the Indus people.

Dress
ouse of cotton & woolen clothes
o Both men and women used two pieces of cloth.
 Hair Style and Ornaments
Men wore long hair, parted in the middle.
Some people had long beards and moustaches.
women usually wore long hair in plait with fan –
shaped bow at the end.
men and women were fond of ornaments made of
gold, silver, copper, bronze, shell and ivory.

Household Articles
household articles of the Indus people were made of
stone, shell, ivory and metals like copper and bronze.
domestic articles were cake moulds, beakers, bowels,
dishes, gobbles, basins, pans, heaters etc.
Needles, axes, saws, sickles, knives, fish – hooks,
chisels etc., have also been discovered.
Chairs and stools were used for sitting comfortably.
 Amusements
 Dicing was a favorite pastime.
 Hunting of wild animals, bull fighting, cock – fighting,
fishing and clay modeling were general amusements
 Dance and music were their popular amusements.
 Small children used to play with toys made of clay.

Domestication of Animals
 domesticated various types of animals like buffalo,
sheep, goat, camel, cow, dog etc.
acquainted with some wild animals such as lion,
rhinoceros, tiger, monkey, bear etc.
 Weapons of War
weapons made of copper and bronze.
iron was not known to them.
chief weapons,axe, spear, dagger, bows, arrow,
mace,
sling and sword.
unaware of defensive weapons
Condition of Women
condition of women was very high.
 women were respectable in the society.
they seemed to have enjoyed freedom and status in
the society.
Medicines
Discovery of shilajeet, coral and leaves of neem
indicate that the Indus Valley people cared for their
health.
Education
good percentage of literary men among the Indus
 Economic Life
 Agriculture, domestication of animals, industry and
trade bear testimony to the economic life of the
Harappanas..
Agriculture
Agriculture was the main occupation
Main agricultural productions were wheat, barley, rice,
cotton, vegetables land of Harappa and Mohenjodaro
was quite fertile
Great state granary to store food grains
Living standard of the common men of Indus valley was
higher than the standard of the common people in Nile
Valley and Mesopotamia.
Domestication of animals
Harapan people domesticated different types of animals
like buffalos, cows, camels, dogs etc.
 Industry
Industry like agriculture was well developed.
People were engaged in different industries.
Discovery of spindles and spinning wheels indicate to
the spinning of cotton and wool was very common.
people also practised dyeing.
potter, the mason, the metal workers had high demand
in the society.
Goldsmiths and silversmiths prepared ornaments.
Pottery, however, was the most important industry of
the Indus people.
 Trade and Commerce
 trade relation not only with the people of their own
country but also with the traders abroad.
 Inside India, they carried their business from the
Kashmir Valley to the Deccan.
 For their internal trade they carved out land routes by
bullock-carts.
 carried on trade relations with many countries of
western Asia, particularly Mesopotamia.
Weights and Measure
 Weights have been discovered from Mohenjodara and
Harappa.
 Decimal system was known to the people of Indus
Valley.
 Religious Beliefs
Indus Valley people were deeply religious.
Icon Worship
icon-worshippers.
Cult of Mother Goddess
Mother Goddess played an important role in the
religious life .
Prevalence of the worship of Mother Goddess is proved

by the discovery of numerous terra-cotta figurines in

nude and semi-nude forms.
Mother Goddess Mata, Ambe, Kali, Karali etc.
A seal discovered from Harappa contains a scene
depicting human sacrifice being offered to the earth-
goddess.
 Worship of Lord Shiva
 worship of Lord Shiva
 worship of Linga of Shiva and Yoni of mother Goddess
Animal Worship
 Worshipped three categories of animals’ i.e mythical
animals, ambiguous animals and actual animals.
 Animals like rhinoceros, tiger, elephant, buffalo,
humped bull etc., were worshipped by them.
 Bird worship was also quite common among them.
birds like dove and duck were regarded as the sacred
birds.
Worship of Tree, Water, Fire and Sun-
Worship of trees, water, fire and Sun also appears to
have been quite popular among the Harappan people.
 Disposal of the Dead
 Indus valley people had three funeral customs
such as:
•complete burial of the dead body,
•burial of the bones of the dead body after wild
beasts ate of it and
•burial of the ashes and bones after burning the
dead body.
According to Sir John Marshall the third method of
disposal of the dead was very much practised by the
people of the Harappan civilization.
 Art and Craft
proficiency in art, architecture,
sculpture,painting.
Figure of a bull, a dog, a yogi, a dancing girl
A.L Bashan writes, “Perhaps the most striking
figure is that of a bronze dancing girl… She is
standing in a provocative posture with one arm on
her hip and one leg half bent.”
Indus Craftsmanship included the work of a
potter, carpenter, the mason, blacksmith,
goldsmith, jeweler, ivory worker and stone-cutter.
Spinning was frequently practised in houses as is
evident from the discovery of a large number of
spindle-wheels.
Art of Writing and Scripts
Indus Valley people were acquainted with the art
of
writing.
script has been characterized as pictographic.
 Decline of Indus Valley Civilization
 Indus Valley civilization disintegrated about 1500
BCE.
•decrease in rainfall
•Flood in the Indus River might have destroyed Indus
Valley culture.
•Gradual drifting of the Indus from the city might have
rendered the land unfertile.
•Earthquakes or cyclones which might have caused its
destruction.
•Aryans who were better equipped might have
conquered the Indus Valley people.
Conclusion
Indus Valley civilization was one of the great glorious
civilizations of the ancient world.
 It contributed substantially to the growth and
development of the Indian culture and civilization and
indeed, from the basis of modern Indian Culture