Exam 3 Indus Valley Civilaztion

Unicorn

Most common motif on stamp seals (more than 65%)

What was life like at Harappa during period 1A/B?

Period 1A: -storage pits lined with clay -hand-built pottery -textile production -wool and cotton -fabric impressions -evidence for wheeled vehicles? -3700 BCE Period 1B: -settlement expands 2 mounds -stamp seals -NS-EW streets -drains -script development -occupational specialists -differences in adornment

Why are carnelian beads associated with wealth?

time + risk of breakage?

Ernestite drill

unknown source? time+risk of breakage---> complex tchnology

How were people in indus cities concerned with sanitation?

wide street drains, narow street drains, bathing platforms -sump pots: collecting sewage and runoff from bathing platforms

"Citadel" and lower town

citadel: higher mounded area -typical for indus city plan

How is the indus civilization different from China/Egypt/Mesopotamia?

-The indus has no clear rulers

What is evidence for increasing reliance on domesticated plants and animals at Mehrgarh?

-animal figurines -burial with young goats -impressions of wheat and barley in mudbrick

Early Food Producing Era/ Neolithic Regionalization Era Integration Era (states) Localization Era

-approx 7000-4800 BCE -5000-2600 BCE -2600-1900 BCE -1900-1300 BCE

What kind of public buildings are seen in Indus cities?

-bathing platforms? -public wells -granary

What happens as the indus civilization declines? What are theories about the decline of the indus?

-breakdown of indus integration -major cities abandoned (but not all) Why? -invasions-->not strong evidence -changing long distance trade networks -Changing climate--> drought and drying of rivers

What is evidence that there were elites/rulers in Harappan cities?

-city planning -monumental architecture -stamp seals with writing -beads/jewelry made with exotic materials or complex technologies

What do burials tell us about social stratification and the afterlife?

-designated cemetery area -no clear status in burials -few high value artifacts

Who are the people in control in the Indus cities?

-few depictions of rulers -some people had wealth( burials, houses) Mohenjo daro--> important ancestors or clan leaders?

What was indus city planning like?

-grid system -streets (movement of people/goods) -streets/houses arranged NS-EW -large public structures -cleanliness--> drains and sanitation (public and private) -contain higher mounded are, "citadel" and lower town

Lothal, India

-important Harappan city -located on south-east edge of harappan world -grid plan -good system of drainage -within fortification wall? -citadel on top of mud-brick platform ->serves as defense against floods ->secure storage for food ->showcase for prestige of rulers of town -main street runs north/south Workshops: -copper -goldsmith -bead factory dock for ships sailing up river from Indian Ocean -large sotrage tank for fresh water -cotton cloth -domesticated cattle* , watter buffalo, donkeys, elephants -stamp seal ->focosued on animals of daily life -clay sealings -forms of "granarary" or "warehouse" --> suggest seals had commercial function

Dholavira, India

-important Harappan city (in a small island) -located in coastal zone along Arabian Sea -largely inhospitable (rocky with limited water supplies)

What clues do we have to indus ideology and religion?

-no central temple structures -seals--> info on mythology? -connections with hinduism? -narrative tablets: example--> female horned deity attacking a horned tiger -seated yogi

Early evidence for proto-writing can be found on?

-pre and post firing marks on pottery

What was life like at Mehrgarh during period 1A?

-reliance on wild animals---> (gazelle, deer, pig, sheep, goat, cattle, water buffalo) -wheat: domesticated, barley: (not quite) -dates: jujube fruit -Burials: mostly egalitarian -between houses goods: Emerging craft specialization trade connecitons -beads

What kind of crafts were produced at Harappa?

-specialized areas and within houses -beads, metal, jewelry, ceramics, and textiles -pottery -jewelry production -terracotta and shell bangles -bead production -household crafts -->kilns for bangles, figurines, or steatite beadfiring -harappan figurines-->textile patterns -gold sequin and button and silver jewlery

"Priest King" of Mohenjo Daro

-statue iconic representation of indus civilization -2200-1900BC

What is significant about Indus city bricks?

they have dog, rabbit and possibly leopard tracks on them

What are stamp seals and what might they have been used for?

-technological development in Harappa during Regionalization Era -Types: -elephant seal -sealing with script -geometric seal -cubical limestone weight -animal motif with script is most common -animals: clan or totem? -script: family/ individual name? -used to mark ownership--> indicates control

Why might someone write on a pottery vessel before firing?

-to mark who made the pot (potters mark)

What administrative technologies are found in Indus cities? How are these related to elite control?

-walls and gateways--> control movement of people and goods -weights-->taxes/tribute? -stamp seals/script

Standardized bricks

1:2:4 ratio for walled areas made of mud brick

When do we see proto-writing emerge on pottery at Harappa?

2800 BCE

How do jewelry and crafts show stratification and differentiation in Indus cities

Bangles: - terracotta bangles---> lower status or everyday wear -shell bangles--> nicer -thinner delicate bangles--> less manual labor -wider bangles--> more manual labor -high status-->stoneware or faience -->control local raw materials -->control complex technology (exclusivity)

What is the earliest evidence for bead production that we see in the Indus Valley?

During period 1b/2 (6000-4800)BCE at Mehrgarh

Indus Script

Early Script development: 2800-2600 BCE -symbols/grafitti become script overtime -first: grafitti on pottery, 2nd: stamp seal with design, 3rd: Indus script 2000BCE -script still undeciphered -longest inscription: 17-non repeating characters? or 34

TRUE/FALSE Harappa was an egalitarian society

False

TRUE/FALSE The Indus Valley Civ emerged due to influence from Mesoppotamia

False -archaeology shows local development

"Harappan package"

Features that are shared between many indus cities/towns -planned cities (walls, public monuments, sanitation) -Stamp seals with Indus script -unique set of artifacts (including jewelry)

Indus River

Important river in the Indus Valley Civilization

Saraswati aka Ghaggar-Hakra river

Important river in the Indus Valley Civilization (now dry)

Harappa, Pakistan

Indus -Regionalization Era -Period 1A/B--> approx 3,700-2,800 BCE -pottery Integration Era -1900-1300 BCE -city planning

Mehrgarh, Pakistan

Indus -From Early Food Producing Era/ Neolithic 6500-4800BCE Period 1A: 6500-6000BCE -Early settlement period 1A -pre pottery

What is Harrapa? When is the regionalization era at harappa?

Indus city--> in Pakistan When: Period 1A/B approx 3700-2800 BCE

Mohenjo-Daro, Pakistan

Integration Era -1900-1300 BCE -city planning -+250 hectares -grid system -Harappan city

Having a grid system in place implies:

Someone/some people are in charge of town planning--> rulers

When and where is Mehrgarh?

Where: Located in Pakistan in Indus Valley When: Early Food Producing Era/ Neolithic 6500-4800BCE Period 1A: 6500-6000 BCE Period 1B: 6000-5500 BCE Period 2: 5500-4800 BCE

What was craft production like during period 2?

it became specialized and within houses?

What is an example of protowriting seen at Harrapa

on pottery: pre-firing potters mark post firing graffiting

What new developments are seen at Mehrgarh during late periods (1b and 2)

period 1b: -ceramics and domestication (sheep/goat/humped cattle) (pottery and bead production) period 2: -copper and cotton--> textiles?