Test : Introduction Of IVC And IVC Cities - UPSC MCQ

Correct Answer :- c

Explanation : a) The Indus Valley Civilisation was a Bronze Age civilisation in the northwestern regions of South Asia, lasting from 3300 BCE to 1300 BCE, and in its mature form from 2600 BCE to 1900 BCE.

b) The Indus Valley civilization flourished between 2600 and 1900 BC, around the same time as ancient Sumer and Old Kingdom Egypt. From 3500 to 2600 BC, the Early Indus (or Early Harappan) period began in this region.

c) the Indus inscriptions are one of the most enigmatic legacies of the Indus Valley civilization which have not been deciphered due to the absence of bilingual texts, extreme brevity of the inscriptions

Mature Harappan Phase from 2600 to 1900 BCE. By 2600 BC, the Indus Valley Civilization had entered into a mature stage. The early Harappan communities were turned into large urban centres, like Harappa and Mohenjodaro in Pakistan and Lothal in India.

• Suktagendor was located around 55Kms from the shore of Arabian Sea on the Bank of Dasht River near the Iran Border. It was an important coastal town along with Lothal and Balakot (in Pakistan) and is considered to be the western border of Indus Valley.
• Alamgirpur is an archaeological site of the Indus Valley Civilization that thrived along the Yamuna River (c. 3300-1300 BC) from the Harappan Bara period, located in Meerut district, Uttar Pradesh, India. It is the eastern most site of the civilization.
• The southernmost archaeological site of the Indus Valley/Harappan Civilization is at Daimabad, Maharashtra.
• Manda is situated on the right Bank of Chenab River in the foothills of PirPanjal range, 28Km north-west of the Jammu, and was considered the northernmost limit of the Harappan Civilization. It is considered the northmost site of Indus Valley Civilization.

• Harappa was discovered in 1826 and first excavated in 1920 and 1921.
• Mohenjo-daro was excavated in 1924–25 and 1925–26.
• Chanhudaro was first excavated in March 1930.
• Banwali was excavated in 1973.

Indus valley civilization is considered Proto-Historic because the texts found from IVC are not yet deciphered. 

Lothal is one of the southernmost cities of the ancient Indus Valley Civilization, located in the Bhal region of the modern state of Gujarat and first inhabited in 3700 BCE.

Chanhudaro is an archaeological site belonging to the Indus Valley Civilization. The site is located 130 kilometres (81 mi) south of Mohenjo-daro, in Sindh, Pakistan. The settlement was inhabited between 4000 and 1700 BCE, and is considered to have been a centre for manufacturing carnelian beads. This site is a group of three low mounds that excavations has shown were parts of a single settlement, approximately 5 hectares in size.

In the year 1912, J. Fleet discovered Harappan seals. This incident led to an excavation campaign under Sir John Hubert Marshall in 1921-1922. After this he named IVC as Harappan culture.

The furrows discovered in the pre-Harappan phase at Kalibangan (Rajasthan) indicate that the fields were ploughed during the Harappan period. The Harappans probably used the wooden plough drawn by oxen and camels.

The Mesopotamian records from about 2350 BC onwards refer to trade relations with Meluha, which was the ancient name given to the Indus region, and they also speak of two intermediate stations called ‘Dilmun’ (identified with Bahrain on the Persian Gulf) and Makan (Makran Coast).