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John Marshall, The First Scholar To Use The Term "Indus Valley Civilization". The

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INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION


John Marshall, the first scholar to use the term “Indus valley civilization”. The
civilization flourished between 2500 BC-1750 BC.

Geographical Extent of IVC


1. Extent: The Indus valley civilization extended from Sutkagandor (in
Baluchistan) in the West to Alamgirpur (Western UP) in the East; and from
Mandu (Jammu) in the North to Daimabad (Ahmednagar, Maharashtra) in the
South.

Image source: NCERT


2. Important cities
City River Archaeological Importance
A row of 6 Granaries, Mother goddess
Harappa (Pakistan) Ravi
figurines
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Great Granary, Great bath, Image of


Mohenjodaro Pashupati Mahadeva, Image of
Indus
(Pakistan) Bearded man and Bronze image of a
woman dancer
Port city, Double burial, Terracotta
Lothal (Gujarat) Bhogava
horse figurines.
Chanhudaro
Indus The city without a citadel
(Pakistan)
Dholavira (Gujarat) Indus City divided into 3 parts.
Kalibangan
Ghaggar Ploughed field
(Rajasthan)
Banawali (Haryana) Ghaggar -
Rakhigarhi (Haryana) - -

Ropar (Haryana)

Mitathal (Haryana) - -
Bhagatrav (Gujarat) - -
Rangpur (Gujarat) - -
Sutkagandor
- -
(Pakistan)

Sukotada (Gujarat) - -

Kot Diji (Pakistan)

Town planning and Structure of IVC

• Grid system(Chess-board) of town planning


• Rectangular houses with brick-lined bathrooms and wells together with
stairways are found
• Use of Burnt bricks
• Underground drainage system
• Fortified citadel

Agriculture of Indus Valley Civilisation

• Hindon – Cotton – Major trade good – earliest people to produce Cotton.


• Proofs of Rice husk found
• Wheat and Barley were majorly cultivated
• Use of wooden ploughshare. They had no idea about Iron implements.
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Domestication of animals

• Ox, Buffalo, Goats, Sheep and Pigs were domesticated


• Asses and camels were used as Beasts of Burden
• Elephants and Rhino were known
• Remains of horse found in Surkotada and evidence of horse in
Mohenjodaro and Lothal are also found. But the civilization was not horse-
centred.

Technology and crafts

• Bronze (Copper + tin) tools widely used


• Stone implements were still in vogue
• Potter’s wheel was put to full use
• Bronzesmiths, Goldsmiths, Boat-Making, Brick-laying etc were other
occupations commonly found

Trade of Indus Valley Civilisation

• Presence of granaries, weights and measures, seals and uniform script


signifies the importance of trade
• The barter system was widely prevalent
• Lothal, Sutkagendor were port cities used for conducting trade
• Trade destinations – Afghanistan, Iran and Central Asia. Contacts with
Mesopotamia civilization are also seen

The political organization of IVC

• Cultural homogeneity achieved through a strong central authority


• No temples or religious structures found. Harappa was possibly ruled by
Merchants class.
• Weapons are rarely found.

Religious practices of IVC

• Terracotta figure of Mother Goddess.


• Phallu and Yoni worship.
• Pashupati Mahadev seal found with the elephant, tiger, rhino and a bull
surrounding him with two deer near his feet.

Tree and animal worship of IVC

• Pipal tree worship was found.


• One-horned Unicorn recognized as Rhino and the humped bull was
commonly worshipped.
• Use of Amulets to ward off ghosts and evil spirits.
• The lion was not known in Harappan culture.
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The Harappan script

• Harappan script Pictographic in nature but not deciphered so far.


• They are recorded on seals and contains only a few words
• Harappan Script is the oldest script in Indian Sub-continent

Weights and Measures

• Use of standardized weights and measures to keep accounts of private


property, to indulge in trade and commerce etc.
• Weights are found in multiples of 16.

Harappan Pottery of IVC

• Well-developed Pottery techniques with elaborate designs of trees and


circles.
• Redware pottery painted with black designs.

Seals of Indus Valley Civilisation

• Seals were used for the purpose of trade or worship. Images of animals
such as Buffalo, bull, tiger etc were found inscribed in the seals

Statue of IVC

• Discovery of Bronze statue of a naked woman and bearded man steatite


statue

Terracotta figurines of IVC

• Terracotta – Fire baked earthen clay


• Used as toys or objects of worship
• Massive stone works were not found in Harappa which shows the poorly
developed artistic works made of stone

Origin, maturity and end of IVC

• Pre-Harappan Settlements – Lower Sindh, Baluchistan and Kalibangan.


• Mature Harappa – 1900BC – 2550BC.
• Causes for the Decline of Civilization.
• Decreasing fertility due to increasing salinity on the account of the
expansion of the nearby desert.
• Sudden subsidence of uplift of land causing floods.
• Earthquakes caused changes in the course of Indus.
• Harappan culture destroyed by invading Aryans.
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Post-urban Phase (1900BC – 1200BC)

• Sub-Indus Culture
• Primarily chalcolithic
• Development of Ahar Culture, Malwa Culture and Jorwe Culture at various
phases in post-Harappan Civilization.

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