Indus Valley Civilization (IVC)
3500 – 1300 BCE
[The Harappan Culture: Bronze Age
Civilization]
Features of Indus Valley Civilization:
·
Cities were divided into two parts i.e. Upper town(west), also
known as Citadel (i.e. fortified) and Lower Town(east).
·
Red pottery painted with designs in black.
·
Copper, bronze, silver, gold present.
· Bodies were buried in wooden coffins, but during the later
stages ‘H symmetry culture’ evolved where bodies were buried in painted burial
urns.
· Efficient town planning with streets running from North-South
and East-West directions, cutting each other at right angle.
·
Northern-most site- Manda (J&K).
·
Southern-most site- Daimabad (Maharashtra).
·
Eastern-most site- Alamgirpur (UP).
·
Western-most site- Sutkagendor (Pakistan).
·
Important Ports towns: Lothal , Surkotada ,
Dholavira
·
Mature Harappan phase: c. 2600 – 1900 BCE.
·
Largest Harappan site in India is Rakhigarhi in Haryana.
MAJOR
SITES:
1.
Mohanjodero (Term means ” Mound of
the dead”)
·
Excavated by R.D. Banerjee in 1922.
·
Location: Larkana Dist. of Sind (Pakistan) on
the bank of Indus.
·
Largest Harappan site.
·
Major Finding : remains of university, an
assembly hall, the great Bath, a large granary, a piece of woven cotton ,
bronze dancing girl, seal of Pashupati Mahadeva, Steatite statute of a bearded
man supposed to a priest, remains of teeth of horse, bull seal and bronze
buffalo.
·
Probably the city decline
due to flooding.
2.
Harappa
·
First IVC sites to be excavated.
·
Excavated by Daya Ram Sahini in 1921.
·
Location : Montgomery District of Punjab (Pakistan
) on the bank of Ravi.
·
Major Finding : two row of 6 granaries,
workmen quarters, 2 sandstone statues depicting human anatomy, dog attacking dear,
little bullock carts (ekkas), remains of wheat and barley and burnt bricks
·
Only sites which yield the evidence of coffin
burial.
·
Rigveda Mention it as a Hariyupia.
3.
Sutkagendor
·
Location : Baluchistan on Dast river
·
Western Harppan site, excavated by Stein in 1929
·
It was a trade point between Harappa & Babylon
(Iraq).
4.
Chanhudaro
·
The only city with no citadel i.e. it is not
fortified.
·
Excavated by N G Majumdar in 193.
·
Location: Sind on Indus River.
·
Major finding: Bead-making factory, inkpot,
foot print of a dog chasing a cat and remains of lipstick.
5.
Amri
·
Excavated by N G Majumdar in 1935.
·
Location: Sind on the bank of
Indus.
·
Evidence of Antelope.
6.
Dholavira
·
Excavated by R.S. Bisht (1985-90).
·
Location: Gujarat in Rann of Kutch.
·
2nd largest site in India after
Rakhigarhi.
·
Reveals seven cultural stages.
·
The city has three parts i.e. upper, middle
and lower town.
7.
Surkotada
·
Excavated by J P Joshi in 1964.
·
Location: Gujarat.
·
Bones of horses and bead making shops found
here.
8.
Banawali
·
Excavated by R S Bisth in 1974.
·
Location: Hissar district of Haryana on the
river Saraswati.
·
Both pre-Harappa as well as Harappa culture.
·
Major Finding: heap of mustard, toy plough,
good quality of barley, bones of horses, bead making shops, terracotta figurines
representing humans and birds.
9.
Kalibanga
·
Excavated by A. Ghose in 1953.
·
Major finding: Furrowed Land, Fire alter, camel
bones and horse remains.
·
Location: Rajasthan on the bank of Ghaggar.
·
Kalibanga means black bangles.
10.
Lothal
·
Excavated by R. Rao in 1953.
·
Location: Gujarat on banks of river Bhogva
near Gulf of Cambay.
·
Also called as mini-Harappa.
·
Major Finding: first manmade port and a
dockyard, bead maker factory, rice husk, fire alters, chess playing, seals of
Persia etc.
·
Evidence of Joint burial suggest practice of sati
11. Ropar
·
Punjab, on the banks of river Sutlej.
·
Discovered by Y.D Sharma (1955)
·
Dog buried with humans.
