What was Indus Valley Civilization?
The Indus Valley Civilization is one of the three early civilizations in the world along with Egypt and Mesopotamia, which began to decline around 1800 BCE. It covered a stretch from present-day northeast Afghanistan to Pakistan to northwest India. The civilization which thrived in the basins of the Indus River is also known as the Harappan Civilization or Saraswati Sindhu Civilization.
When the two of its great cities were excavated, Harappa in west Punjab and Mohenjo-Daro in Sindh in the 1920s, this civilization was discovered. Both the cities had a similar layout and planning, thus twin cities.
The ruins of the cities revealed the technological advancement of the civilization with the cognition of urban planning and governing.
Earlier it was believed that the civilization is 5,500 years old but, from the evidence collected by the scientists from IIT-Kharagpur and the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), it was unveiled that it is at least 8,000 years old.
This discovery makes it not just older than the Egyptian and Mesopotamian civilizations but also the oldest in the world.
How advanced the cities were?
Urban planning, the design of the urban environment, intricate drainage and water supply systems, and the aggregate of large non-residential buildings are the attributes this civilization is noted for.
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1. The Urban infrastructure and architecture
1,052 cities have been found in total in the region of the Indus River and its tributaries, they had proper wastewater management and urban sanitization system.
Mohenjo-Daro with its advanced engineering and urban planning was one of the most sophisticated cities of the period. Harappa was a fortified city that is believed to have been home to around 23,500 residents. The city had protected administrative and religious centres of the same type as that in Mohenjo-Daro.
Wells have been found throughout the city and nearly every house had a demarcated bathing area and covered drainage system.
During the excavations in Harappa, Mohenjo-Daro, and Rakhigarhi found evidence of several granaries which were intentionally built near the river bank to assist the boats to easily transport the grains.
The well-built Great Bath of Mohenjo-Daro with its enclosed walls of baked bricks suggested that the Harappans valued cleanliness. Surrounding the Great Bath are also small changing rooms with an attached bath area in each of them.
2. Innovation
The Harappans were the first to develop standardized weights and measures, and the consistency of the brick size suggested unity across various urban areas.
Harappans are known for seal carving and thousands of engraved seals and amulets have been discovered from the Harappan sites made up of terracotta, steatite, copper, and other materials. A famous seal depicts a respected deity of the Indus culture, Pashupati Mahadev, which is a figure sitting in a posture similar to the lotus position and is surrounded by animals.
Various figurines of metal, terracotta, and steatite were also found displaying the dancing poses which suggest the presence of some form of dance and skilled craftsmanship.
Some of the famous excavations are the bronze dancing girl, the terracotta wheel cart, and the steatite bearded priest-king. Jewellery is the most commonly found artefact in this civilization with a large variety from precious metals and gemstones to bone and baked clay for both men and women.
3. Exchange
The civilization’s main trading partner was Mesopotamia, and the seals and weights recovered depict a system of tightly controlled trade.
With the discovery of Harappan seals and jewellery in the Mesopotamian regions historians got to know the maritime trade network that was operating between the two civilizations.
4. Religion and Language
A collection of written texts on stone and clay tablets were found, these scripts are made up of partially pictographic signs and various human and animal designs. These scripts still remain indecipherable even after decades of attempts by scientists and linguistic experts to decipher them.
The scientists are still not sure if it is a proto-Dravidian language or any other.
The Harappan religion also remains a topic of conjecture. Unlike the Egyptian and Mesopotamian civilizations, the Indus Valley Civilization lacked temples or palaces to get a clear idea of the specific deities or religious rites.
The Decline
Scholars have come up with different theories on the disappearance of civilization.
1. The Aryan Invasion Theory
According to a theory by a British Archaeologist, a nomadic, Indo-European tribe called the Aryans invaded the Indus River Valley. It suggested that using horses and advanced weapons against the peaceful Harappans, they might have easily conquered them.
2. The Climate Change Theory
Some scholars believe that the drying up of the Saraswati River which began in 1900 BCE was the reason for the climate change, while according to others a great flood struck the area.
Some skeletal evidence suggests that many people died from malaria. All of this is considered to have caused a breakdown in the economy.
With the reduced production of goods, there might have been a decline in trade with Egypt and Mesopotamia.
All these reasons might have accumulated for the civilization to get abandoned and then disappeared.
Written By: Devangi Sharma
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