The past is a foreign country; they do things differently there. — L. P. Hartley
1.1 The Harappan Civilisation
The Harappan (or Indus Valley) civilisation flourished c. 2600–1900 BCE in the northwestern subcontinent. It is named after Harappa, one of its earliest excavated sites. Major centres include Mohenjodaro, Chanhudaro, Lothal, Kalibangan, and Dholavira.
Unlike Mesopotamia and Egypt, Harappan script remains undeciphered, limiting direct access to rulers' names or religious texts. Historians reconstruct the civilisation from archaeology: settlement patterns, artefacts, and environmental evidence.
1.2 Urban Planning and Architecture
Harappan cities display remarkable town planning:
- Grid-pattern streets oriented to cardinal directions
- Citadel (raised western mound) and lower town (residential and craft areas)
- Drainage systems with covered drains, soak pits, and manholes
- Standardised bricks (ratio often 4:2:1) suggesting centralised oversight
Great Bath at Mohenjodaro and granaries indicate civic and ritual functions. Houses varied in size, suggesting social differentiation, though evidence of extreme hierarchy is debated.
1.3 Economy, Crafts, and Trade
Agriculture formed the base: wheat, barley, cotton, and possibly rice. Pastoralism supplemented food supply. Craft specialisation included bead-making (carnelian, faience), pottery, metalwork (copper and bronze), and seal carving.
Seals (often depicting animals and possibly script) may have marked ownership or facilitated trade. Harappans traded with Mesopotamia (Sumer); Lothal functioned as a port. Raw materials such as lapis lazuli, copper, and timber were imported.
1.4 Society, Religion, and Decline
Figurines (including the so-called "Priest King" and Mother Goddess), fire altars, and burial practices hint at religious beliefs, though interpretations remain cautious. Burials were generally simple; grave goods were modest compared to contemporary West Asian cultures.
The civilisation declined c. 1900 BCE. Proposed causes include climate change, river shifts (Ghaggar-Hakra system), deforestation, flooding, and ecological stress—likely a combination rather than a single catastrophe.
Chapter Summary
- Harappan civilisation: c. 2600–1900 BCE; major sites Harappa, Mohenjodaro, Lothal
- Advanced urban planning: grid layout, drainage, citadel–lower town division
- Economy based on agriculture, crafts, and long-distance trade
- Undeciphered script limits political and religious knowledge
- Decline linked to environmental and ecological factors
Exercises (NCERT)
- Exercise 1 — features of Harappan town planning and their significance
- Exercise 2 — sources used to study the Harappan civilisation
- Exercise 3 — theories explaining the decline of the Harappan civilisation