2) Harappan Civilization (2600 -1900 BC)
How many geographical zones for the late HArappan Phase? NAme them
West Punjab Phase (Cemetery-H Culture) East Punjab Phase Jhukar Phase (Jhukar, Chanhudaro) Rangpur Phase (Kutch , Saurashtra) Ganga-Yamuna Doab Phase
What were the major crops of Harappans? Name some sites too wrt crops?
Wheat and Barley in Indus Flood Plains ( sowed in Nov and reaped in April ) [ Mehrgarh in Balochistan] Rice in Lothal Horsegram, Peas, dates, millets, henna etc
HArappan civ is the earliest Civ to produce ____
cotton
Give the W N E S direction extent of H Civ
W - Suktagendoe in Baluchistan N- Manda in Jammu E- Alamgirpur in UP S- Malvan in South Gujarat
What did Harappans eat for protein ?
Riverine animals and marine resources. eg: Molluscs was favorite
Main excavator of Lothal city ?? and year ??
SR Rao 1957
Which animals were Harappans familiar with? Did they domesticate>?
They domesticated dogs, oxen, buffaloes, pigs, camels sheep etc They knew most wild animals like Tiger (in seals and figurines) peacocks, ducks, elephant, rhino. The culture was not Horse-centred as in West
Area what Shape of Harappan Civ ?
Triangular
Causes of decline of Harappan Culture? Around 1900 BCE (4 causes theorized)
1. Aryan Invasion (Wheeler) 2. Ecological Disturbance 3. Change in river course 4. Low Rainfall
Explain Town Planning of (Mature) Harappan Civ ? 5 Solid Points.
1. City divided in two : Citadel -- smaller area, always in west of city, Rulers lived here, public buildings, granaries and workshops Lower PArt -- Common Citizens with their professional lives 2. City Planning in Grid Pattern - wide streets ran from north and cut at right angles, main street 10m wide, lamp posts at intervals 3. Burnt bricks of ratio 1:2:4. 7x14x28 cm for houses and 10x20x40 for city walls 4. Excellent Drainage system - drains made of mortar, lime and gypsum 5. Houses - 2 or 2+ storeys, quite monotonous in size. No Window faced streets. Tiled Bathrooms, some had own wells
Give 5 speciality (paraphernalia etc) of 'Lothal city'?
1. Dockyard 2. Bead making factory 3. Houses with entrances on main street ( only exception in H Civ) 4. Double Burial evidence( male and female ) 5. Ivory scale
Three phases of Harappan civilization (general not exact)
1. Early/Pre-Harappan Phase 3200-2600 BC 2***. Mature Harappan Phase (2600-1900) [main phase] 3. LAte Harappan Phase (1900-1300 )
Give 4 speciality (paraphernalia) of 'Mohenjo-Daro city'?
1. Great BAth 2. 'Bronze' Dancing girl 3. Mother Goddess, Pashupati and Bearded man 4. College of Priests
5 main differences bw Harappan and Egyptian/M esopotamian civilizations?
1. Harappa has planned town and excellent drainage while Mesops are haphazard 2. Rectangular houses with brick lined bathrooms and wells with stairways in Harappa , not in others 3. Pottery vs no pottery 4. Own Typical script (undeciphered) of Harappa while Mesops (cuneiform script) and Egypt (hieroglyphics) scripts have been deciphered which tell a lot about those civilizations 5. Script mostly on seals in Harappa. Mesops pressed letters on moist clay tablets while Eg wrote on papyrus sheets Harappa was spreat over large area and had no signs of existence after 1900 bc while others existed after.
Economy of Harappans , 6 solid Points
1. It had flourishing trade relations with Mesop and Per. Civ. Known by seals of diff civ. HArappa seal found in Mesop city Nippur with Harappan script and a unicorn. Harappa seal was square/ oblong plaque made of steatite (soapstone, talc) used to mark ownership of property buty sometimes used as amulets too. In Mohenjo Daro, three cylindrical Mesopotamian seals found. So trade relations 2. Used barter system, no metallic money 4. Bead making factories at Chanhudaro(in southern Sindh) and Lothal (Gujarat) used for export. 5. Dockyard at Lothal(east gujarat) and sea ports at Rangpur (east) and Somnath (west) 6. Standardization in weights and measures - binary system - 1,2,8,16,32,64 and in higher denominations multiples of 160 - 320, 640, 3200 etc. Cubicle in shape made of limestone, steatite A shell scale found in Mohenjo Daro and an ivory scale in Lothal (mostly in foot (37.6 cm) )
Give 3 speciality (paraphernalia) of 'Kalibangan city'?
1. Ploughed fields 2. Fire Altars 3. Decorative bricks for flooring only here
All the sites of the Harappan Civilization or Harappan Culture or IV civilization does not have the exact same traits as Harappa Site. So which are the common traits between ALL Harappan sites? 3 points
1. Red and Black Pottery (Also found in Chalcolithic) 2. Terracotta Figurines 3. Standardized brick size 1:2:4 ratio
Give 3 speciality (paraphernalia) of 'Harappa city'?
1. Two rows of 6 granaries 2. Cemetery-H culture and coffin burial 3. Red stone idols of a dancing girl
Describe Harappan Society in five solid points
1. Urban Society comprising mostly middle class. Three groups- Rulers, Rich merchants and poor 2. Experts in Potter's wheel, but poor in stone work art. Mostly Red black pottery (red ware pottery painted with black designs of trees and circles). Pots had utility- storing grains or water or perforated pots for brewing alcohol 3. Terracota figurines of animals like bulls buffaloes dog. Terracota bangles and human figurines (mostly female) 4. Harappans refined the art of bead making. Alot of necklaces of gold, silver etc also found in Allahdino(Karachi). . Iron was not known yet 5 Good at metallurgy and alloy making. They preferred copper tools but also had bronze spears, knives swords, axes etc Garments of cotton/wool and readily ate non-vegetarian fish was common.
How much area Harappan civilization ?
800000 sq km. Biggest civilization of the time
Where did Harappans import Lapis LAzuli (a blue metamorphic rock) from?
Afghanistan .. Lapis Lazuli is a semi precious stone
Where did Harappans import Tin from?
Afghanistan and Iran
Where did Harappans import Gold from?
Aghanistan and Kolar (Karnataka)
Lothal - river?
Bhogva and Sabarmati confluence
Which age is Harappan age called and which part of history (pre proto history?) ?
Bronze Age and Proto- History
Only Harappan city without a citadel?
ChanhuDaro
Main excavator of Harappa city ?? and year ??
Dayaram Sahini 1921
Describe burial in H Civ
Dead bodies placed in North-South directions accompanied with food pottery, tools, ornaments etc. Used 3 methods of burial- *Complete burial *Fractional burial ( fed to birds and then bones buried dispersed) *Cremation followed by ashes burial
Some characteristics of Late Harappan phase?
Decline in cities Fragmentation of culture and small settlements more rural and had diverse agriculture Double cropping (wheat barley as winter crop & rice, millets as summer crops) less intricate designs and painted grey-ware (PGW)
A unique water-harvesting system by use of a stone-cut reservoir found in ?
Dholavira, Gujarat
Why Indus valley civilization called Harappa as such, where is Harappa now?
First archaeological site to be discovered in the valley so called Harappa. Harappa now in Punjab of Pakistan
Two theories of start of Harappan Culture?
From Pre Harappan /indigenous village culture From Mesopotamian Civ. (diffusionist theory)
Kalibangan- river?
Ghaggar
Banawali where clay model of plough found is in ______
Hisar, Haryana
Chanhudaro - river?
Indus
Mohenjo daro- river?
Indus
What is the Mature Harappan phase also called? ______ Era.
Integration Era
Fire altars in HArappan civ found in ___ and ___
Kalibangan and Lothal
Where were ploughed fields (with wooden ploughs) found in H Civ?
Kalibangan in Rajasthan
Where did Harappans import copper from?
Khetri in Rajasthan
What's the other name for Late Harappan Phase?
Localization Era
Where were a pair of male and female skeletons discovered together?
Lothal
Harappan being the first urban civilization in South Asia, it is contemporaneous with 2 other urban civ, which?
Mesopotamia and Egypt
Where was the Great Bath where elite undertook rituals and ceremonial baths?
Mohenjo Daro (now in Sindh, Pakistan)
Name 6 things which HArappans worshipped?
Mother Goddess Pashupati Mahadeva (seals represent him in a yogic posture) Lingam (Yoni worship) Pipal tree Humped bull one-horned unicorn birds (dove,pigeons)
Why is Harappan culture considered secular?
No temple like structure found. The religious element, though present, did not dominate the scene. Idolatry was practised.
Name some sites of Early Harappan Phase and the characteristics of the phase?
Padri in Gujarat, Kalibangan in Rajasthan and Dholavira in Kutch It did not have large cities, nor have expertise in craft specialization as the mature phase. It had wheeled transport and trading routes. It is characterized by th HAKRA phase of settlements.
Where did Harappans import JAde from?
Pamir (Tajikistan)
What was the HArappan script , describe iin only 3 words? Is it deciphered?
Pictographic Logosyllabic (each symbol stood for a word or syllable) Boustrophedon (written from right to left and from left to right in alternate lines) Not been deciphered
Main excavator of Mohenjo Daro city ?? and year ??
RD Banerji 1922
Which site shows all three phases of Harappan Culture ?
Rakhigarhi
LArgest Indus Valley Civ site known in the world?
Rakhigarhi, Haryana (350 hectares)
Harappa city - River ?
Ravi (4th of 5 rivers of Indus )
What is the Early Harappan phase also called? ______ Era.
Regionalization Era