Question : Discuss the patterns of trade during the Indus Valley Civilization. How for did it affect the nature of contemporary settlements in the Indian sub-continent?
(1994)
Answer : The near-sophisticated life led by the people in the cities of Harappa and Mohenjodaro as well as the urbanized living in most of Indus valley sites, speaks of the prosperity of its people. Apart from the evidence of raw material used by the Harappan people, the Harappan seals found in Sumeria and the Sumerian seals in the Indus region, confirm the trading and commercial pursuits of the Harappan people. And the discovery of a dockyard at Lothal and a seal printed with a model ship found at the same place clinches the issue.
Talking of the areas which the Harappan people were in contact with, they were both within and without the country. Within the country the Harappans in all probability traded with Maharashtra, South India, Saurashtra and Rajasthan. Outside the country they traded with Sumeria and probably with Afghanistan, Baluchistan, Iran, Badakshah, Bahrain, Oman and Central Asia. Trade was carried along the 800 miles of coastline in west Asia, according to the Cuneiform texts of old Babylonia and other evidence. Ur was the principal port of entry into Mesopotamia. Traders who came there made offerings to Goddess Ningal consisting of gold, silver, copper, lapis lazuli, stone beads, ivory combs, eye-paints, etc.
The Indus Civilization had contacts with various parts of India as revealed by its exports. Gold may have been imported from South India, Afghanistan, and Persia may have been other likely source of this metal. Silver was imported probably from Afghanistan and Iran. Copper was possibly brought from South India and from Baluchistan and Arabia. The impurity of the ores, however, shows that copper was obtained from the Khetri copper mines although it could be brought from Baluchistan. Lapis Lazuli probably came from Badakshan. Turquoise came from Iran. Amethyst came from Maharashtra. Agate came from Saurashtra and western India whereas Jade came from Central Asia. The cities of the Indus undoubtedly traded with the village cultures of Baluchistan where outposts of Harappan culture have been traced. From Saurashtara and the Deccan they obtained the conch-shells. But many of the metals and semi-precious stones came from much longer distance.
Probably all these trade transactions were through barter. Inland trade probably made use of the wheel and the cart, but to what extent this means of transport was used is not known. The Mesopotamian records show that they had relations with Meluhha, that is, an ancient Indus region from about 2350 B.C. The seals found in Mesopotamia suggest that merchants from India actually resided there. Probably the chief merchandise was cotton. Apart from the Harappan Civilization maintaining contacts across the high seas starting from Lothal, they probably practiced navigation on the coasts and riversides.
It seems that a number of recognized trade routes existed which provided caravanserais for night halts by merchants. Small sites like Allahadino in Sind might have acted as such. The clay model of a pack-saddle found at Jhukar indicates that pack-horses, apart from camels were used for transport. Numerous models of ox-carts on wheels show their importance for slower and heavier transport. Riverine and oceanic trade was carried on by boats; representations of these fitted with prow and stern, mast and steersman have been found on a potsherd and on a seal. Suktagendor in Southern Baluchistan and Lothal in Kathiawar would seem to have been important ports of call.
Harappan people made attempts to control trade and commerce. An examination of the various stones and metals used in the Harappan culture-sites would indicate that trade and commerce, inland and foreign, overland, riverine and oceanic was the mainstay of the economy of this civilization. Cubical weights and charts commonly used for smaller weights binary ratio in progression was used like 1, 2, 4, 8 going upto 160 and decimal ratio in progression was used fro larger weights viz., 360, 640, 1600. A terracotta graduated scale is found in Kalibangan.
To analyze the causes of the status of contemporary settlements in the Indian sub-continent a group of sCholars opined that the nature of these sites was influenced by their capability of food production and proximity to trade routes and sources of different minerals. For example the city of Harappa was situated at a place that was a divider between agricultural settlements of the southward and cattle-feeders of North-west. Thus the people of Harappa could utilize the resources of both types of communities. This place emerged as a big urban centre because its location as a trade settlement was too important. The people of his city could obtain bitumen, alabaster and steatite from Baluchistan, and salt, conch-shells, agates, carnelians, amethysts, jasper, onyx and chalcedony from Kathiawar, Rajasthan and Deccan easily.
The emergence of Mohenjodaro as a city became possible because it was close to the sea. The people of this place could reach the Persian Gulf and Mesopotamia very easily through the sea-route. Hematite on red iron oxide used for colouring materials came perhaps from the islands of the Persian Gulf. The discovery of a number of Harappan engraved seals of different sites of Sumer from the Akkadian times (2300-2000 B.C.) clearly indicate that Harappan merchants had established trade relations with the Sumerian cities.
The inhabitants of Lothal could get advantage of the rich resources of Rajasthan and Deccan. This place helped the Harappans find the gold minerals of Karnataka. Besides, Lothal was a port which helped it to evolve as an important town. Like-wise, Sutkagendor was a natural port during the Harappan period. This place is situated on the Makran coast, 30 miles off Arab the Harappans and the Sumerians.
Balakot on the sea-coast near Baluchistan and Chanhodaro in Sindh were important trade centres known for conch-shells and bangles. At Lothal and Chanhodaro, beads were made from red-stone and agates. There are indications that the people of Chanhodaro imported red-stone and lapis lazuli, worked upon them and sold finished goods. Sukkur was famous for making stone implements. Thus almost all the cities of Harappan culture were closely related to each other by a net of trade and commerce and each of them played great role separately.
Question : Analyse the elements of urban civilisation in the Harappan Culture. What factors were responsible for its decline?
(2002)
Answer : Harappan civilisation was a bronze age culture which has been known to the world for its urbanism. Very special for its planned cities, drainage system and use of klin bricks for making massive structures. This was the largest civilisation in geographical extent during its own period. Till now thousands of sites have been discovered. Majority of sites are situated in India. According to recent discoveries, it has been found that the largest concentration of the Harappan settlement was in the valley of river Saraswati and its tributory Drisadvati. Another significant aspect of this culture was its well developed cottage industry and craftmanship which had made it one of the richest civilisations of the ancient world. A number of cities excavated from coastal region have great significance in terms of maritime trade. Lothal, situated in modern Gujarat was a port city where an artificial dockyard was made. Dholavira, Balakot, Alhadino, Sutkakoh and Sutkagendor were other important port cities which had a very important role in contemporary trade. From Lothal, Persian gulf type seals were also found.
A number of Indian beads and seals have been discovered from the Mesopotamian cities which are evidences of reciprocal trade.
Many of the Indus cities have provided us a great number of seals. These seals were insignia of ownership. These seals are also evidence of well developed trade economy. Seals are also symbolic expression of their religious belief. These are the best examples of Harappan craftmanship. Chanhudaro, situated in Sindh, was a city famous for bead-making. Carnelian, lapis-lasuli, etc. were used for making beads which were important items for export. From cities like Balathal, Kalibangan, Mohanjodaro also we have got evidence of cottage industries.
As far as technological development during Indus period is concerned, the use of Flemish bond and English bond method was a great achievement of this period. Lost-wax-technique was used for making bronze implements and statues.
Masonic art was also well developed. Image of the priest from Mohanjodaro and nude figure of dancing from Harappa have been found. Technical homogenity and conceptual uniformity in production was a very important aspect of Harappan made of production. Homogenity in production reveals the very fact that during this period there has evolved a centralized system of decision making also.
It seems that around 2500 B.C. Harappan civilization reached its apex. But after 2000 B.C. use of seals, script, standerzied weights and measures, klin bricks were abondoned. In cities small and shoddy dwellings were made even on roads and the concept of planned city had become a subject of bygone era. These were some very serious signs of deterioration. Cities like Mohanjodaro and Harappa also saw a gradual decline in urban planning and construction of houses. The search for the causes of the decline of the Harappan civilization has moved in two directions (i) that some natural calamity led to the collapse and that there was barbarian invasion.
Wheeler believed that the Indus civilization was destroyed by Aryan invaders. However, it has been pointed out that Mohanjodaro was abandoned by about 1800 B.C. While Aryans invaded India in 1500 B.C.
Writers like Faisserus have tried to explain the decay of the Harappan civilization in terms of ecological problems. Perhaps over grazing and over exploitation of forest resources caused the virtual decline. But the enduring fertility of soil of this area disproves this hypothesis. Tectonic eruption has been suggested as another reason responsible for the decay. Regular flood changes in the course of rivers and over ciltation by rivers in the Arabean sea are some of the other views related with the decline.
Latest study of Post-Harappan settlement at Kalibangan, Kunal, Kumtari, Rakigarhi, Dholavira, Desalpur and Rangpur made it very clear that great traditions vanished but little traditions continued. So there was not a virtual decline but a transformation in economy which had become once again a rural one.
Question : Discuss salient features of the Indus Valley Civilization. Mention important places from where relices of Civilization have been recovered so far. Examine causes of its decline.
(1999)
Answer : The Harappan culture covered parts of Punjab, Sind, Balushistan, Gujarat, Rajasthan and the fringes of western Uttar Pradesh. It extended from Jammu in the north to the Narmada estuary in the South, and from the Makran coast of Baluchistan in the west to Meerut in the north-east. The area formed a triangle and accounted form about 1,299,600 square kilometres. Recent Carbon-14 datings indicate the period of the mature Harappan civilization to be from C.2,800/2,900-1,800 B.C. Modern research on the Harappan civiliation, establishing evidence of their contact with the Mesopotamian Civilization also corroborates this dating.
Town Planning : The most remarkable feature of the Harappan civilization was its urbanisation. Each city was divided into a citadel area where the essential institutions of Civil and religious life were located and the lower residential area where the urban population lived. In Mohenjodaro and Harappa, the citadel was surrounded by a brick wall. At Kalibangan, both the citadal an the lower city were surrounded by a wall. Usually, towns or cities were laid out in a parallelogrammic form. The use of baked and unbaked bricks of standard size shows that the brick making was a large scale industry for the Harappans. In the citadal area, the Great Bath at Mohenjodaro is the most striking structure. It is assumed that it was meant for some elaborate ritual of vital importance for the people. To the west of the Great Bath there are the remains of a large granary. At Harappa remarakble number of granaries has also been found ranged in two rows of six, with a central passage.
In Mohenjoadro, to another side of the Great Bath, is a long building which has been identified as the residence of a very high official. Another significant building here is an assembly hall. The most significant discoveries at Kalibangan and Lothal are the fire altars. The lower town was dvidied into wards like a chess board, by north-south and east-west arterial roads and smaller lanes, cutting each other at right angles, as in a grid system. The rectangular town planning was a unique feature of the civilization. The arterial roads were provided with covered drains having additional soak pits made of pots and placed at convenient intervals. The hosues of varying sizes point towards the economic groups in the settlement. The parallel rows of two room cottages unearthed at Mohenjodaro and Harappa were perhaps used by the poorer sections of society, while the big houses, which had much the same plan— a square courtyard around which were a number of rooms — were used by the rich. The houses were equipped with private wells and toilets. The bathrooms were connected by drains with sewers under the main street. The drainage system is one of the most impressive achievements of the Harappans and presupposes existence of some kind of municipal organisation. The houses were constructed with the kiln-made or Kuccha bricks, not stones. The bathrooms and drains were invariably built with pukka bricks made waterpoorf by adding gypsum.
Agriculture : The Harappans cultivated wheat and barely, peas and dates and also sesame and mustard which were used for oil. However, the people cultivated rice as early as 1,800 B.C. in Lothal. The Harappans were the earliest people to grow cotton. Irrigation depended on the irregular flooding of the rivers of Punjab and Sind. Canal irrigation was not practised. The evidence of a furrowed field in Kalibangan indicates that the Harappans were using some sort of woodern plough. It has also suggested that the Harappan people used a toothed harrow.
Stock Breeding : No less important than agriculture was stock breeding. Besides sheet and goats humped cattle, buffalos and elephants were domesticated. The camal was rare and the horse was probably not known to the Harappans.
Trade and Its Network : There was extensive inland and foreign trade. It has also been reasonably established that this trade might have been overland as well as maritime. It is proved by the occurrence of small terracotta boats, and above all, by the vast brick built dock at Lothal. As there is a no evidence of coins, barter must have been the normal method of exchange of goods. But the system of weights and measures was excellent. For weighing goods — small as well as large — perfectly made cubes of agate were employed. The weights followed a binary system in the lower denominations : 1, 2, 4, 8 to 64 and then going to 160 and then indecimal multiples of 16, 320, 640, 1,600, 3,200 etc. What they imported must have been goods locally unavilable such as copper (from South India, Baluchistan and Arabia), gold (South India, Afghanistan and Persia), Silver (Afghanistan and Iran), lapis lazuli (Badak-shan in north east Afghanistan) turquoise (Iran), Jade (Central Asia), amethyst (Maharashtra), agate, chalcedony and carnelian from Saurashtra and western India. Harappan seals and other small objects used by the merchants and traders for stamping their goods have been found in Mesopotamia. Mesopotamian literature speaks of the merchants of Ur (in Mesopotamia) as carrying on trade with foreign countries. Among these the most frequently mentioned are Tilmun, Magan and Meluhha. Tilmun is most commonly identified with the island of Bahrein in the Persian Gulf-Magan may be Oman or some other port of South Arabia. Meluhha is now generally understood to mean India, especially the Indus region and Saurashtra.
Crafts : The various occpations in which the people were engaged spanned a wide range — spinning and weaving of cotton and wool, pottery-making, bead-making and sealmaking metal working was highly skilled. They made fine jewellery in gold, bronze implements, copper beakers, saws, chisels and knives of different metals. Stone scultputures was rare and undeveloped. The Bearded Head in stone from Mohenjodaro is a well known piece of art.
Science : The Harappans knew mining metal-working and the art of constructing well-planned buildings, some of which were higher than two stories. They were also adopt at manufacturing gypsum cement which was used to join stones and even metals. They knew how to make long-lasting paints and dyes.
The Indus Script : The Harappan script has not been deciphered so far, but overlaps of letters on some of the potsherds from Kalibangan show that the writing was boystrophedon or from right to lift and from left to right in alternate lines.
Religion : Clay figures of the mother Goddess, worshipped by the people as the symbol of fertility, have been found. A seated figure of a male god, carved on a small stone seal, have also been found. The seal immediately brings to mind the traditional image of Pasupati mahadeva. Certain trees seem to have been treated as sacred, such as the pipal. They also held the bull scared.
Harappa : Harappa, located on the bank of river Ravi, was the first site to be excavated. It ranks as the premier city of the civilization. In Harappa, a substantial section of the population was engaged in activities other than food production — like administration, trade, craft work or religion.
Mohenjodaro : Mohenjodaro, located on the bank of river Indus, was the largest Harappan city. Excavations show that people lived here for a very long time and went on building and rebuilding houses at the same location.
Kalibangan : Kalibangan, located on the dried up bed of the river Ghaggar, was excavated in 1960 under the guidance of BK Thapan. This area had the largest concentration of Harrappan settlement and has also yielded evidence of the early Harappan period.
Lothal : In Gujarat, settlements such as Rangapur, Surkotada and Lothal have been discovered. This place seems to have been an outpost fro sea-trade with contemporary west Asian Societies.
Sutkagen-Dor : Sutkagen-Dor is located near the Makran coast which is close to the Pakistan-Iran border. The towns had a citedel surrounded by a stone wall built for defence. Its location in an inhospitable area was probably to fill the need for a seaport for trading purpose.
Decline : Around 1,800 B.C. the major cities in the core region decayed and were finally abandoned. The settlements in the outlying regions slowly de-urbanised. Some of the plausible theories for the decline of the Harappan civilization are the given here along with their pros and cons.
A. Floods and Earthquakes : It has been postulated that floods and earthquakes destroyed the civilization. The theory has been criticised on various grounds :
1. Decline of settlements outside the Indus Valley cannot be explained by this theory.
2. A river cannot be damaged by tectonic effects.
B. Change in Course of the Rivers : Another theory (HT Lambrick) is that Mohenjodaro was destroyed by the change in the course of river Indus away from it. The people of the city and the surrounding food producing village deserted the area because they were starved of water. According to this theory, silt observed in the city is actually the product of wind action.
Criticism : This can explain only desertion of Mohenjodaro but not its decline.
C. Aridity : Another hypothesis is that the increased aridity of the Indus region and the drying up of the river Ghaggar led to the decline of civilization (DP Aggarwal and Sood). Though the theory is interesting, it has not yet been fully worked out. Drying up of river Ghaggar has not yet been dated.
D. Aryan Invasion : Another theory states that barabarian or Aryan invasion destroyed Harappa (M Wheeler). Aryan arrival is not dated earlier than 1,500 B.C. Therefore, a Harappan and Aryan clash seems difficult to accept.
E. Ecological Factors : Scholars like Fairservis tried to explain the decay in terms of the problems of ecology — that the growing demands of the centres disturbed the ecology in the semi-arid region and the area could not support them any more. Town people moved away to Gujarat and eastern areas. This process of decline was completed by raids and attacks of nearby settlements.
Criticism : Soil continues to be fertile till today in the area. More information about the needs of the Harappan towns is required before this hypotheses is substantiated. Problems in explaining Harappan decline had led the scholars to
1. Abandon the search for causes of decline.
2. Look for continuities of Harappa in a geographical perspective.
3. Accept that the cities declined and certain traditions like seals, writing, pottery were lost. Archaeologically speaking, the Harappan communities merged into the surrounding agricultural groups after the urban phase was over but still retained some of their traditions.
Question : “The continuity of the Indus civilization into later ages was not confined to the religious and spiritual fields alone.” Analyse the statement.
(1997)
Answer : A great number of features including concepts of the Harappan civilization did reappear in later Indian civilization but the principal question of how and when them came to be resurrected to become part and parcel of the later day Indian civilization, are not answered till today. But the continuity of the Indus civilization into later ages was not confined to the religious and spiritual fields alone. The Harappan civilization was basically based on cities. Their living standards as supported by trade and brisk economic activity were high. This life of the Indus people was further supported by cultural traits relating to rituals and possibly a hierarchical social structure and a political authority.
But the cities could not have experienced such a high level of civilization without they being adequately supported by the neighbouring areas. The evidence as it is a available now shows that a number of peasant-urban sites to the east and south of Indus basin existed with regional and level variations. They must have constituted the base for Indus valley civilization. And as the Indus civilization happened to be advanced, their cultural features could have spread to the peasant-urban sites away for the cities. The cultural contacts between the cities and the peasant sites like Kalibangan, Rupar, Alamgirpur, Surkotada, Rangpur and Lothal are evidenced by such items as seals, pottery, etc. They show spread and expansion of certain common socio-cultural and socio-economic Harappan systems and ideas. Furthermore, this cultural identity also shows that there was some incorporation of indigenous features of non-Harappan societies into the Harappan peasant-urban sites. In many of the proto-historic sites in Saurashtra there is evidence to sho;w regional variation of some of the Harappan ceramic sities. Typical Harappan features like raised platforms and city defence walls etc., were found at a site of Madhya Pradesh in a layer prior to the Malwa Chaocolithic level. There is evidence of construction of dams at Amri and Las Bela regions. At Lothal a new feature has been found-new fire and animal sacrifice cults and the presence of previously unknown joint burials.
The above archaeological evidence is confirmed by the texts also. It is probable that the Aryans with their superior language and technology of weaponry had imposed their own style of culture. The adoption of many of the Harappan and other non-Aryan socio-economic and socio- cultural ideas by the Aryans can be seen from the texts. By the time of the Satapatha Brahamana, in addition to barley, the people produced wheat, rice and a few other things. The Aryans only knew of wool, but cotton was the gift of the Harappans. Pottery gained in importance. By the time of the Satapatha Brahmana it came to be reed almost like currency. In matter of trade, too, Aryans owed much to the Harappans like vanik meaning trader, pana meaning coin, etc.
The science of weights goes back to the Indus valley culture which had produced accurately cut stone weights of the same magnitude as those of the coinage during Magadhan period. Maybe, the incorporation into the Aryan sacred texts all the social differentiation as promoted by the urban rural matrix of Indus civilization gave birth to the system of jati by 500B.C. In the activity of building an elaborate description of a city is there in Milindapanho. All the details remind one of the planning of the Indus cities. It is interesting to note that Brahmanical texts of the day were not in favour of the towns - to this pre -Aryan habit.
In brief, the logical conclusion that we can arrive at is that the peasant- urban spheres of the Harappan civilization could have become the immediate sources for the Harappan concepts and ideas, which came to figure later in Aryan civilization.
To talk of the intriguing features, the Great Bath of Mohenjodaro is comparable to the later day ritual tanks. Later Pushkaras or lotus ponds were built first independently and later in adjoining temples. Apart from ritual baths and ritual purification such Pushkaras were needed in ancient India for the consecration of Indian kings and priests. And there is also a third function of fertility rite associated with the Pushakaras. The lotus ponds were generally the resort of the water deities or the apsaras. Several ancient Indian dynasties were supposed to have descended from a temporary union of an apsara with a hero. This could explain the rooms at the Great Bath at Mohenjodaro. In the past it was a part of the ritual for men not only to bathe in the sacred water, but also cohabit with the female attendant representatives of the Mother Goddess to whom the citadel complex belonged. Dr. Kosambi arguing further states that the temples of Ishtar in Sumer and Babylon had similar practices.
The bathing practice of the Harappan people resembles those of our times. In the Harappan houses the bathing apartment is located at the corner of the House. The way in which it is built and the placing of the water tub indicates that people poured jug- full of water over their bodies. The same practice is known as bathing in India till today although it is only having a wash.
To proceed point-wise, there are a great number of similarities between the social life of Harppan people and the later day Indians.
Coming to religious life, the following gestures of the Harappan people reappeared in later times.
Regarding the economic features of the Harappans which reappear later on, the following are the points.
To conclude, it is difficult to state on how exactly each one of the common features mentioned above come to be absorbed in the later-day Aryan civilization, but the fact that the Aryans showed enormous plasticity of mind in absorbing non-Aryans by allotting them a jati in the caste system and by incorporating the religious rituals system in the later days, confirms the view that the Aryans could have absorbed even the heritage of the Indus valley people although we do not know exactly when and how it happened.
Question : The Religion of the Indus civilization.
(1996)
Answer : The various articles discovered at different sites in the Indus valley suggest that these people indulged in some sort of image-worship. The most commonly found figurine is that of a female deity who has generally been identified with “Shakti” or “the Mother goddess”. The people of India, in fact, have always held a belief in a female energy as the source of all creation. Side by side with the worship of the Mother goddess the worship of a male-God “Shiva Pashupati” was also very popular in those days. In one particular seal he is shown with three visible faces seated in a Yogic posture and with animals or each side, tiger and elephant on the right and buffalo and rhinoceros on its left, with horned deer appearing under the seat. The presence of animals justifies Shiva’s title of “Pashupati” and the Yogic posture justifies his title of “Maha-yogi”. The three facer of the figure seem to have given rise to the concept of “Trimukha” which usually associated with Shiva.
In addition to the worship of Shakti and Shiva, the worship of certain trees, birds and animals also seems to have been prevalent in those days. The elaborate bathing arrangement marking the city of Mohenjodaro would suggest that purification by both formed a feature of the religion of the Indus valley people. It will be seen from these characteristics that modern Hinduism is greatly indebted to the Indus Valley culture. There is an organic relationship between the Hinduism of today and the ancient culture of the Indus valley.
