Harappan Civilization - 2 | Famous Books for UPSC Exam (Summary & Tests) PDF Download

Social Differentiation

The Harappan society, which was possibly matriarchal in nature, consisted of people following various professions such as priests, warriors, peasants, traders, and artisans like masons, weavers, goldsmiths, and potters. This assumption is based on the numerous terracotta female figurines found in the Punjab and Sind regions, which suggest the prevalence of a mother goddess figure. However, since the Harappan script has not been deciphered yet, our understanding of this aspect remains limited.

• Evidence of social differentiation in the Harappan society can be seen in the varied types of buildings used as residences by different classes. For example, workmen quarters were found near granaries at Harappa, while workshops and houses for coppersmiths and beadmakers were discovered at Lothal. It can be inferred that those living in larger houses were from the wealthy class, while those residing in barracks-like quarters were from the laborer class.
• Information about the clothing styles of the Harappans is primarily derived from terracotta figurines and stone sculptures of the period. Men are often depicted wearing a garment wrapped around the lower half of their body, with one end draped over the left shoulder and under the right arm. Another common garment was a skirt-like dress for the lower portion. They used cotton and woolen clothes, as evidenced by a piece of woven cloth found at Mohenjodaro and the discovery of spindles and needles at various sites, indicating the practice of spinning and weaving.
• Both men and women in the Harappan society took pleasure in adorning themselves. Hairstyling is evident from the figurines found across different sites, with both genders arranging their hair in various styles. They also enjoyed wearing ornaments such as necklaces, armlets, earrings, beads, and bangles, which were used by both sexes. The wealthy individuals likely wore ornaments made of gold, silver, and semi-precious stones, while the less affluent used terracotta ornaments.

Religious Beliefs and Practices

The religious beliefs and practices of the Harappan civilization are primarily understood through their seals and terracotta figurines. The Harappan religion is generally considered to be animistic, involving the worship of trees, stones, and other natural elements. A significant number of terracotta figurines found at Harappan sites are associated with the worship of a mother goddess. These figurines often depict women wearing elaborate clothing and accessories, sometimes holding an infant or with a plant growing from their uterus, possibly symbolizing an earth goddess.

• There is some debate among scholars regarding the Harappans' worship of linga (phallus) and yoni (female sex organ). Evidence of a male deity can be seen in seals displaying a figure with a buffalo-horned headdress, sitting in a yogic posture surrounded by animals. This deity is often identified as Pashupati (Lord of Beasts) or "Proto-Shiva," although some scholars dispute this. Other depictions show a horned deity with flowing hair, standing nude between the branches of a Pipal tree, possibly representing tree worship. Animal worship also seems to have been prevalent among the Harappans.
• Fire worship has been identified at some Harappan sites, such as Kalibangan and Lothal, where raised brick platforms containing ash and animal bones have been discovered. These are believed by many scholars to be fire altars. However, it is worth noting that fire-pits have not been found at other major Harappan sites, such as Harappa or Mohenjodaro, suggesting that religious practices may have varied among different Harappan communities.
• Burial practices and rituals are another important aspect of religion in any culture. Although no monumental structures like the Pyramids of Egypt or the Royal Cemetery at Ur in Mesopotamia have been found at Harappan sites, their burial practices do provide some insights. Dead bodies were typically laid in a north-south direction, with the head facing north and feet facing south. Graves often contained earthen pots and various items like bangles, beads, and copper mirrors, suggesting that the Harappans may have believed in life after death. At Lothal, three joint or double burials with male and female bodies together were discovered.

Symbolic Pipal Tree from Mohenjodero

Mother Goddess from Mohenjodero

• Kalibangan has yielded evidence of a symbolic burial along i.e., a burial which contains pots but no bones or skeleton. These different practices in different regions of Harappan civilization may reflect diversity in religious beliefs.

Humbed bull seals from Mohenjodero

The Script

• The Harappan civilization was known to be literate, as evidenced by the presence of Harappan seals that are inscribed with various symbols and characters. Recent research indicates that there are around 400 distinct signs in the Harappan script, which was written from right to left. However, the script remains undeciphered to this day. It is thought that the Harappans used ideograms, which are graphic symbols or characters that directly represent ideas.
• The specific language spoken by the Harappans is still unknown, but some scholars theorize that it may have been "Brahui," a dialect currently spoken by the Baluchi people in Pakistan. Further research is needed to uncover more information about the mysterious Harappan script.

Decline of the Harappan Civilization

• By approximately 1800 BCE, numerous Mature Harappan sites, particularly in Cholistan, had been deserted.
• Simultaneously, there was a surge in population relocating to new settlements in Gujarat, Haryana, and western Uttar Pradesh.
• The decline of the Indus Valley Civilization is often attributed to climatic changes according to many scholars.
• Some scholars propose that the primary cause of climatic change was the drying of the Saraswati River, which commenced around 1900 BCE, while others suggest a large flood as a contributing factor.
• Discoveries indicate that the Indus Civilization's components persisted in succeeding cultures, dispelling the notion of a sudden disappearance due to invasion.
• Many researchers argue that alterations in river patterns led to the disintegration of the large civilization into smaller settlements, recognized as late Harappan civilizations.

Causes: Decline of IVC

• Multiple factors have been proposed as contributors to the decline of the Indus Valley Civilization.
• Causes include climate change, deforestation, severe flooding, shifts or drying up of rivers, and misuse of the land.
• While some of these factors may apply to specific settlements, they fail to explain the complete collapse of the entire civilization.
• A significant climatic shift involving eastward-moving monsoons, which bring either beneficial or detrimental effects depending on their impact on flora and crops, might have been a catastrophic alteration in the Harappan climate.
• By 1800 BCE, the temperature in the Indus Valley had become colder and drier, possibly influenced by a seismic event that could have redirected or disturbed the lifeline river systems crucial to the Indus Valley Civilization.
• The Harappan people may have migrated eastward to the Ganges basin, establishing villages and isolated farms that could not generate the agricultural surpluses required for large cities.
• The decline in agricultural output likely impacted trade with Egypt and Mesopotamia, leading to economic setbacks.
• Around 1700 BCE, the majority of towns in the Indus Valley Civilization had been abandoned, marking the culmination of its decline.

Theories of Decline

• Researchers supporting the theory of a catastrophic collapse of civilization have focused on finding evidence of a devastating event leading to the demise of the Harappan civilization.
• A prominent argument for the downfall of the Harappan civilization suggests that it succumbed to massive floods, primarily caused by shifts in river courses and the gradual desiccation of the Ghaggar-Hakra river system.
• Another perspective attributes the destruction of towns to the invasion of barbaric Aryan groups.
• Some scholars propose that the expansion of urban centers exerted increasing pressure on the ecosystem, disrupting the delicate balance of the region and rendering it unsustainable for the thriving civilization.
• The cumulative effect of these factors points to a multifaceted scenario where environmental changes, Aryan invasions, and urban expansion collectively contributed to the collapse of the Harappan civilization.

Aryan Invasion

• Ramaprasad Chanda initially proposed the idea that Aryan invaders were responsible for the destruction of the Harappan civilization. However, he later revised his viewpoint.
• Mortimer Wheeler expanded on Chanda's initial concept and argued that the Aryan invasion was the cause behind the downfall of the Harappan civilization.
• Wheeler supported his theory by referencing human skeletal remains discovered in the later phases of occupation at Mohenjodaro, suggesting evidence of Aryan-inflicted violence.
• According to Wheeler, references in the Rig Veda to different types of forts, attacks on walled towns, and the deity Indra's epithet "purandara" (fort destroyer) all contributed to his belief in an Aryan invasion of the Harappan cities.
• Wheeler situated the habitat of the Rig Vedic Aryans in the Punjab and the Ghaggar-Hakra region, arguing that these references in the Rig Veda were likely about the Harappan towns. He based this assumption on the absence of other cultural groups with forts in the area during that historical period.

Natural Disasters

• Natural disasters, although not always immediate or singular, may have played a role in the decline of the Harappan civilization.
• Silt detritus found between settlement eras in various Indus towns, such as Mohenjodaro, Chanhudaro, and Lothal, suggests the possibility of devastation caused by swollen rivers.
• Multiple layers of silt at Mohenjodaro indicate the impact of successive floods in the Indus region, contributing to the collapse of the Harappan civilization.
• Evidence of significant flooding is observed as a separator between distinct periods of occupation in Mohenjodaro, with homes and streets repeatedly covered in silty clay and crumbled construction debris.
• The aftermath of floodwaters in Mohenjodaro left behind silty clay, leading to the reconstruction of dwellings and streets on top of the remnants of old structures.
• This cycle of catastrophic flooding and subsequent reconstruction is believed to have occurred at least three times.
• M. R. Sahni, followed by Robert L. Raikes and George F. Dales, proposed that human error may have been a factor in the floods at Mohenjodaro, attributing the phenomena to tectonic movements.
• According to this perspective, the Indus region, being seismically disturbed, experienced tectonic movements that created a massive natural barrier, preventing the Indus from flowing towards the sea and transforming the area around Mohenjodaro into a sizable lake.

Ecological Imbalance

• Scholars like Fairservis sought to elucidate the decline of the Harappan civilization by emphasizing environmental factors.
• Fairservis proposes that the civilization collapsed due to the inability of the Harappan cultural zone to sustain the expanding populations of people and cattle, with population estimates, land usage, and resource requirements based on contemporary statistics.
• In semi-arid regions, the rapid depletion of trees, food, and fuel supplies by the increasing human and cattle populations disrupted the delicate ecological balance.
• Harappan over-exploitation of the environment was evident in practices such as over-cultivation, overgrazing, and excessive tree cutting for firewood and farming.
• The collective demands of Harappan townspeople, peasants, and pastoralists exceeded the limited production capacity of these semi-arid areas.
• The consequence was the degradation of the landscape, as the increasing population of humans and animals strained the available resources, leading to the progressive disappearance of forests and grasslands.
• The over-exploitation resulted in decreased soil fertility, heightened susceptibility to floods and droughts, and increased soil salinity, contributing to the overall environmental degradation of the region.

Shifting away of Indus

• Lambrick suggests that changes in the course of the Indus River could be a key factor in the decline of the Indus Valley civilization.
• The Indus River is characterized by a dynamic and shifting bed, making it susceptible to alterations in its course.
• According to reports, the Indus River moved approximately thirty kilometers away from Mohenjodaro at some point.
• The relocation of the river led to water scarcity in Mohenjodaro, prompting the residents of the city and nearby food-producing villages to abandon the region. This relocation of the river happened multiple times throughout Mohenjodaro's history.
• The silt observed in the city is attributed to the deposition of sand and silt carried by the wind. Contrary to popular belief, it is not solely the result of flooding.
• The combination of wind-borne sand and silt, along with the deterioration of mud, mud brick, and baked brick constructions, contributed to the formation of silt that was erroneously interpreted as flood sediment.

Climatic Change

• While Mohenjodaro might have experienced degradation due to natural floods, Harappan sites in the Ghaggar-Hakra valley faced a different challenge - progressive desiccation.

• D.P. Agarwal and Sood propose that the downfall of the Harappan civilization occurred as the Ghaggar-Hakra region became more arid, leading to the drying up of the river.

• Their research indicates that dry conditions intensified by the middle of the second millennium B.C.

• Even a slight reduction in moisture and water availability in semi-arid areas, such as Harappa, could have significant consequences.

• The impact on agricultural productivity would have strained the economies of the Harappan cities, potentially contributing to the collapse of the civilization.

• The crucial role of water availability in sustaining agricultural practices underscores the vulnerability of civilizations in semi-arid regions to even modest changes in climatic conditions.

Decline of Trade

• Shereen Ratnagar posits that the decline in lapis lazuli trade with Mesopotamia played a role in the downfall of the Harappan civilization.
• However, the significance of this trade to the Harappans is debatable, raising questions about whether it could have been a decisive factor in their demise.
• The uncertainty about the importance of lapis lazuli commerce suggests that it might not have played a central role in contributing to the collapse of the Harappan civilization.
• The connection between the decline in this particular trade and the broader reasons for the civilization's decline remains a topic of discussion among scholars.

Numerous experts attribute the decline of the Indus Valley Civilization to climatic changes. By 1800 BCE, most Harappan towns had witnessed near-total abandonment, and even communities in the foothills experienced a gradual decline. Some scholars argue that the drying of the Saraswati River, commencing around 1900 BCE, was a principal factor in the climatic shift, while others propose the occurrence of a substantial flood in the region. 

Chalcolithic Communities of Non-harappan India

Major Chalcolithic Cultures and Their Chief Sites

• The significant non-Harappan Chalcolithic cultures were primarily located in western India and the Deccan region. Some of these major cultures include the Banas culture (2600BC-1900BC) in southeastern Rajasthan, with Ahar near Udaipur and Gilund as its main sites; the Kayatha culture (2100BC-2000BC) in Madhya Pradesh, with Kayatha in the Chambal region as its primary site; the Malwa Culture (1700BC-1400BC) in western Madhya Pradesh, with Navdatoli being an essential site; and the Jorwe culture (1400BC- 700BC) in Maharashtra, with Inamgaon and Chandoli near Pune as its main centers. Additionally, there is evidence of Chalcolithic cultures in eastern Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Bengal.
• Despite flourishing in different regions, these non-Harappan Chalcolithic cultures shared several common features, such as their mud structures, farming and hunting activities, and the use of wheel-made pottery. The pottery from these cultures includes ochre-colored pottery (OCP), black-and-red ware (BRW), and various forms of bowls, basins, spouted jars with concave necks, dishes on stands, and more.

Tools, Implements and Other Objects 

• The Chalcolithic period is marked by the use of tools made from both copper and stone. Stone tools were crafted from materials like chalcedony and chert, and included long parallel-sided blades, pen knives, lunates, triangles, and trapezes. Some of these blade tools were utilized in agricultural activities. Copper objects from this period featured flat axes, arrowheads, spearheads, chisels, fishhooks, swords, blades, bangles, rings, and beads.
• Beads made of various materials, such as carnelian, jasper, chalcedony, agate, and shell, are commonly found in archaeological excavations. One notable discovery is the Daimabad hoard, which includes a bronze rhinoceros, elephant, two-wheeled chariot with a rider, and a buffalo. These massive artifacts weigh over sixty kilograms in total. Additionally, copper objects with sharp cutting edges have been uncovered at Kayatha in the Chambal valley. These findings demonstrate the exceptional craftsmanship of the Chalcolithic era.

Subsistence Economy 

• In subsistence economies, people rely primarily on agriculture and livestock for their livelihoods, with hunting and fishing supplementing their diets. During this time, the primary crops grown included rice, barley, lentils, wheat, jawar, coarse gram, peas, and green grams. It is worth noting that most of this culture thrived in areas with black soil, which is particularly suitable for cotton cultivation.
• Evidence from skeletal remains found at various sites suggests that both domesticated and wild animals played a significant role in these cultures. Key domesticated animals included cattle, sheep, goats, dogs, pigs, and horses. Wild animals, such as blackbucks, antelopes, nilgai, barasinga, sambar, cheetahs, wild buffaloes, and one-horned rhinoceroses, were also present. Additionally, remains of fish, waterfowl, turtles, and rodents have been discovered, indicating their role in the subsistence economy as well.

Houses and Habitations 

• The Chalcolithic period was marked by rural communities where people lived in simple dwellings. These homes were typically rectangular or circular in shape, made of mud walls and topped with thatched roofs. Although most houses consisted of just one room, some had two or three rooms. 
• Floors were constructed from burnt clay or a mixture of clay and river gravel. Over 200 sites belonging to the Jorwe culture in Maharashtra have been discovered. Evidence from the settlement at Inamgaon, which is part of the Jorwe culture, indicates that there was some degree of planning involved in the layout of these communities.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the Harappan society was marked by social differentiation, various religious beliefs and practices, and a yet-to-be-deciphered script. The decline of the Harappan Civilization is believed to have been a result of multiple factors, including natural calamities, climate change, and possible invasions. The non-Harappan Chalcolithic cultures of India exhibited similarities in their mud structures, farming and hunting activities, and pottery. These cultures were characterized by the use of copper and stone tools, subsistence economy based on agriculture and cattle rearing, and rural settlements with simple housing structures.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) of Harappan Civilization

What was the structure of the Harappan society in terms of social differentiation?

The Harappan society comprised of people following diverse professions, including priests, warriors, peasants, traders, and artisans such as masons, weavers, goldsmiths, and potters. Different types of buildings were used as residences by different classes, with larger houses belonging to the rich class and barracks-like workmen quarters for laborers.

What were the religious beliefs and practices of the Harappan people?

The Harappan religion is believed to be animistic, involving the worship of trees, stones, and animals. A large number of terracotta figurines discovered at Harappan sites have been associated with the worship of mother goddess. Other religious practices include fire worship, as evidenced by fire altars discovered at some sites, and burial practices with varying rituals.

What is known about the Harappan script?

The Harappan script consists of about 400 signs and is believed to have been written from right to left. However, it has not been deciphered yet. It is thought that they used ideograms, which are graphic symbols or characters that convey ideas directly. The language they spoke is still unknown, but some scholars believe it may have been "Brahui," a dialect used by Baluchi people in Pakistan today.

What are some theories about the decline of the Harappan Civilization?

Some theories about the decline of the Harappan Civilization include natural calamities such as floods and earthquakes, increased aridity and drying up of the river Ghaggar-Harka due to changes in river courses, and Aryan invasion. However, no single cause can explain the decline of the civilization in totality. Archaeological evidence suggests that the Harappan civilization declined gradually and ultimately merged with other local cultures.

What were the characteristics of non-Harappan Chalcolithic cultures in India?

Non-Harappan Chalcolithic cultures were primarily located in western India and Deccan, and though they flourished in different regions, they shared basic uniformity in aspects such as mud structures, farming and hunting activities, and use of wheel-made pottery. They used tools made of copper and stone, and their subsistence economy was based on agriculture, cattle rearing, hunting, and fishing. Their settlements were characterized by rural, rectangular or circular houses with mud walls and thatched roofs.