Indus Valley Civilization

Indus Valley Civilization -- a land of urban culture. No other civilization in the world has so captured the imagination of historians and common people alike. Mystery surrounds its origins, its language and its decline. When money and thoughts were lavishly spent on building temples, designing tombs for kings, building fancy ziggurats; ignoring the common people who were living in mud houses and utter poverty, there was a civilization which spent its money and thoughts in constructing well-planned cities and buildings keeping the sanitation and convenience of the people in mind. The civilization was Indus valley civilization, and the people were Indus people. No civilization not even the Egypt and Mesopotamia civilization had shown so much advanced and modern planning as the Indus valley civilization. World History witnessed wars, struggles, succession wars, revolts since its beginning. Indus valley civilization was the only civilization where there was no war, no struggles, no revolts. The Indus Valley people made deals, not war, and created a stable, peaceful, and prosperous culture. The Harappan Civilization has significance for not only historians and archaeologists but for the common man also. It was best known for its spectacular city planning and had surpassed all other contemporary civilizations. The rail tracks were laid down in the middle of the nineteenth century in the western part of the then undivided India. British engineers smashed bricks from crumbling buildings and rubble heaps to build the railway bed, in a town called Harappa. Alexander Cunningham, the then director of the Archeological Survey of British India, thought the brick ruins were related to seventh-century Buddhist temples. In the year 1920,Indian archeologists Dayaram Sahani and R.D Bannerjee undertook excavations on one of these mounds in Harappa. The archaeologists expected to find something, but never imagine that a city lay beneath the earth. Further excavation at different places in India and Pakistan, led to discovery of another large city Mahonjodaro and the recovery of at least eighty villages and towns related to this newly discovered civilization. They named it Harappan after the first city they discovered. Origin & People: So far as the origin of the word Indus is concerned, Scholars are of the opinion that the name "Indus" is the origin of the word "Hindu." The original Indian name of the river is Sindhu. The ancient Iranians had difficulty in pronouncing an initial sibilant "s" and changed it to an aspirate sound "h", hence, "H-indu" instead of "S-indhu." The Greeks referred to the river as the "Indos," and the later Arabs referred to it as "al-Hind." Eventually the name came to be applied to the people of the subcontinent, namely, the "Hindi," the "Hindus" and the "Indians." In ancient times Indians themselves referred to their country as Bharata-varsha (the "land of the sons of Bharata," a ruler), It is believed that the Indus valley civilization belonged to the copper stone age as the presence of iron tools and implements has not yet been established at any part of this civilization. Town Planning: The twin cities of Mohenjo-daro and Harappa were center of all activities. Both cities were a mile square, with defensive outer walls. Cities were divided into lower dwellings and the Citadel housed important buildings. In the excavated sites, the Harappan settlements were found built of mud bricks, burnt bricks and chiselled stones. Mud Bricks were largely used at Harappa, Kalibangan, Lothal and Banawali besides burnt bricks. Language: We are not sure what language the Harappan people spoke. The scholars have not been able to decipher the language of the Harappans. Sir John Marshall was the first to suggest that the language of the Indus Civilization was Dravidian. Most scholars are agreed with Marshall. Piero Meriggi, a scholar who deciphered the Hittite hieroglyphs, opined that Brahvi, the Dravidian language spoken even now in part of Balochistan, must be the original Harappan language. It is believed that their writing was a pictographic script, or at least seems to be. The script seems to have had about 400 basic signs, with many variations. The sign probably stood forwards and for syllables. The direction of the writing was generally from right to left. Most of the inscriptions were found on seals and sealings. Some inscriptions were also found on copper tablets, bronze implements, and small objects made of terracotta, stone and faience. The seals were probably used in trade and also for official and administrative work. So the Harappans seem to have used writing mainly for these sorts of things. A lot of the inscribed material was found at different Harappan site. Religion : Scholars are unable to draw a conclusion regarding the religion of Indus people. Unlike Mesopotamia or Egypt, there was no such buildings discovered so that we can conclude it might be a temple or involve any kind of public worship. However some historians are of the opinion that Harappan people were Hindus. Science and Astronomy: The Harappan people knew the measuring tools of length, mass, and time. They were the first in the world in developing a system of uniform weights and measures. Their measurements were extremely precise. Their smallest division, which was marked on an ivory scale found in Lothal, was approximately 1.704mm, the smallest division ever recorded on a scale of the Bronze Age. Occupation & Trade of Indus People: The Harappans were agriculturalists, Their economy was entirely dominated by horticulture. There were massive granaries in each city. The Indus River valley was quite fertile when the Harappans thrived there. Many of the Harappan seals had pictures of animals that imply a wet and marshy environment, such as rhinoceroses, elephants, and tigers. The Harappans also had a wide variety of domesticated animals: camels, cats, dogs, goats, sheep, and buffalo. Social Life: In Indus valley civilization, the society was divided into three distinct social groups. One group ruled and administered the city, the other group included the merchants who were associated with trade and other business activities in the city. The third group were the labourers who worked in the city. They also included the farmers who cultivated wheat and barley as their main crops. Animals like the buffaloes, sheeps and pigs and the humped bull were bred. Fish, mutton, beef, poultry and pork consisted the food they ate. Animals like the elephant, camels and dogs were also domesticated. Men also seemed to have worn ornaments like fillets, necklaces, finger rings and armlets. Women were fond of ornaments like earrings, bangles, bracelets, necklaces, girdles and anklets made of shell, beads, gold and silver and copper. Razors, bronze mirrors and combs made of ivory speaks of the people interest in personal upkeep. Toys like the whistle and carts besides puppets, rattles and dolls made of terracotta speaks greatly about the attitude of the people in child care. People enjoyed playing in dice and marble. Gambling was a favourite past time of the elder members in the society. Art and Craft of Indus Valley People: The patterns that the craft traditions in India were to take and which were to survive for years, appear already mature and firmly established in the cities of the Indus valley. The Indus people were expert craftsmen. They made beads of carnelian, agate, amethyst, turquoise, lapis lazuli, etc. They manufactured bangles out of shells, glazed faience and terracotta and carved ivory and worked shells into ornaments, bowls and ladles. Decline of the Indus Valley Civilization By about 1700 BC, the Harappan culture was on the verge of decline. The causes of its decline are not certain. The physical existence of the civilization ended due to various factors. (a) Ecological changes led to the decline of land and agriculture, thereby enforcing the need to evacuate to other area might have been the reason for the disintegration of the Indus valley. Shifts in the monsoon pattern and changes in temperature led to the area more arid. (b) Increase in population, excessive deforestation, decline in agriculture etc. might have created economic problems leading to the gradual decay of the culture. The marked decline in the quality of building and town planning indicates that the authorities were losing control. (c) The changes in the river flow patterns and correspondent widespread flooding would have disrupted the agricultural base. (d) The invasion of the Aryans is the other view that is said to be another reason which might have also led to the decline of the Indus valley. Thus ended the most brilliant civilization of the ancient world.