By Dr. Vasant Shinde

Introduction

Origin and Extent

Ecological setting

Chronology

The Harappan urbanisation and standardization (2500-2000 BC)

Town planning

Subsistence and Economy

Industry

Trade

The Harappan script

Religion

The Harappan Society and Polity

Recent Researches on the Harappan Culture in the Ghaggar Basin

Period- I Early Harappan (Regional Harkra Culture Tradition) (3500-2600 BC)

Period- II Mature Harappan (sub-divided into Period-IIA, Period- IIB and Period-IIC)

Contributions of the Harappan Civilization to the World History

1. Development of First Empire in South Asia: The period roughly from 4000 BCE to 2600 BCE is considered to be a formative stage of the Harappan culture. A number of regional cultures like Hakra, Kot Diji, Amri, Sothi, Padri/Anarta, etc. came into existence during this period in different parts of the region where Harappan Civilization flourished. They shared some common cultural features but they could be distinguished mainly on account of their painted ceramic traditions. All these cultures could be integrated at around 2500 BCE and the Harappans managed to create a huge Empire (Civilization) over North-western and Western part of the subcontinent over an area of roughly 2 million sq. km. This is a unique example in the contemporary world of an Empire solely created by peaceful means and not by force, which is usually the case with most of the Empires in the world, including India.

2. Scientific Construction Method: For the first time in the world, the Harappans produced bricks for construction in the ration of 1:2:3 and 1:2:4 required to undertake scientific construction activity, which is known as “English Bond”. This so called English Bond construction method, in which one line of brick is placed horizontal and the next vertical, was first introduced in the world by the Harappans. It is because of this scientific construction method, the Harappans managed to create very well planned usually referred to as “Grid Planned” cities and towns. This is considered to be the characteristic features of the Harappan town planning. All the public and private structures found in the Harappan lebels were built by following this technique. This is considered to be the beginning of the modern construction method.

3. Civic Amenities: Well laid out streets and side lanes equipped with drains are one of the most outstanding feature of the Harappan cities. The Harappan cities were very clean and hygienic as they had devised means to dispose of dirty water and solid waste out of the city wall. The cities and towns were provided with a network of closed as well as open drainage system, which was connected to the main drainage line. The drains made of baked bricks, connected with bathing platforms and latrines of private houses. The open drains flowed into larger sewers in the main street which was covered with bricks of dressed stone blocks. Corbeled arches allowed the larger drains to cut beneath streets or buildings until they finally existed under the city wall, spewing sewerage and drain water into the outlying plain. At Harappa a sequence of four drains build one after the other has been found in the existing city at the main gateway between mound E and mound ET (Kenoyer 1998: 61). The main line emptied the dirty water outside the city which kept them clean and hygienic. This provision of civic amenities developed was unique in the contemporary world and one can easily identify this as their contribution to the world.
4. Pioneers in Water Management and Harvesting– one of the earliest evidence of water harvesting and management comes from the Harappan city of Dholavira, located on Khadir Island in the Runn of Kutch, Gujarat. This city was established in the desert part and hence always faced scarcity of water. There are two ephemeral streams flowing by the side of the city, Manhar and Mansar, the catchment area of which lies about 10-12km away in the hills. The Harappans constructed three check dams (1, 2 and 3) near the site across the stream Manhar with rubbles and masonry stones and the flash flood water, gushing through the river during monsoon was diverted to the 4-6 m high reservoirs in the city. One check dam (no 4) was built on the Mansar stream, which fed 1, 50,000 sq. km of area for agricultural purposes. The check dams built by the Harappan at Dholavira were conducive not only diverting rain water into the city landscape and reservoirs but also for holding sweet water back in the river bed for some time so that the sub soil water of the area rises and get sweetened for agricultural and domestic use. The ground water of the region is otherwise relatively hard and brackish, which gets worse with each passing years if rains fell. The Harappans excavated a series of reservoirs in all the three parts of the city. Some of the reservoirs were built of stone blocks and were provided with flight of steps whereas some were found cut into solid rock with limited use of stone masonry in weak zones of the structure. The different water reservoirs spread over length and breadth of the city were connected to each other by underground closed water channels which were built either of stone slabs or burnt bricks. The reservoirs were meant for storing diverted water from the stream for domestic use it appears that the Harappans make sure that the water remain circulated throughout the city through underground water channel system. This is the earliest evidence of water harvesting and management of such magnitude anywhere in the world. The city of Dholavira though located in desert part remains active and flourished because of provisions of water harvesting made by the Harappans.
5. Dockyard– A large hydraulic structure measuring 215m in length and 37m width with a depth of 3m was constructed at the site of Lothal (Rao……). The entry of boats to the dockyard at high tide was from the inlets in the northern and eastern walls measuring 12m and 7m respectively. The dock was connected with a nala and a channel to Bhogavo River with emptied in the Gulf of Cambay. For the exit of extra water at high tide there was a spill channel in the eastern wall with a sluice gate. The boats plied during the high tide period. The modern dockyard at Gogha, at Bhavnagar in Saurashtra work on the same principle. This was great engineering feet. With the discovery of marine shells from the dockyard, a few massive anchor stones and the absence of any landing steps into the dock suggest that it was a dockyard for the berthing of the boats. Rear admirer (retd) Bindra in a research paper has scientifically analysed all aspects of controversy with regards to the dockyard raised in last four decades. He says ‘there are four specific constructional features, which distinguish this structure as a ship berthing basin from other similar structures: (i) the two inlets (northern and eastern; (ii) the spill way with its dwarf walls; (iii) the verticality of the inner walls with science of a uniform level on the walls; (iv) the post holes in the enclosure suggesting a tie posts for the ships. Lothal possesses all the essential prerequisites for its identification as an ancient port. We therefore only support the nomenclature “Lothal: A Harappan port town” and further opine that no other tile would have perhaps better explain the commercial and maritime function performed by the Harappans.’ (Bindra 2002-2003:1-18)[Bindra S.C., 2002-2003. A Harappan Town Revisited, Purattatva: volume [1-18].

6. Earliest Silk Production in Eurasia: Analysis of silk thread found at Harappa and Chanhu daro have indicated that the Harappans did develop sophisticated technique for the production of silk. This research offers new insight on the extent and antiquity of sericulture. Specifically, these finds indicate the use of wild indigenous silkmoth species in South Asia as early as the mid-third millennium BCE. At least two separate types of silk were utilized in the Indus in the mid-third millennium BCE. Based on SEM image analysis there are two thread forms in the samples from Harappa, which appear to be from two different species of silkmoth (Antheraea ). The silk from Chanhu daro may be from yet another South Asian moth species Philosamia spp. (Eri silk). Moreover, this silk appears to have been reeled. The variety in type, technology and thread forms of these few rare examples of silk, offers us a glimpse into the extent of knowledge about sericulture in the Indus Civilization during the Mature Harappan phase. By careful analysis of archaeological silk fibre surface morphology, one can distinguish between the source silkworm species. Through this type of study we can also begin to better understand the origins of silk use further to the East. The discoveries described here demonstrate that silk was being used over a wide region of South Asia for more than 2000 years before the introduction of domesticated silk from China. Earlier models that attribute the origins of silk and sericulture exclusively to China need to be re-examined and revised (Goods et al. 2009)

7. Lesson to learn from Trade Strategy of the Harappans- one of the regions for the flourishment of the Harappan Culture into Civilization is the wealth generated through hinterland and international trade. As most of the basic raw materials required for manufacturing a variety of different crafts were located outside the Harappan region and controlled by the contemporary Neolithic/Chalcolithic people long distance trade was established by the Harappans. Long distance trade provides individuals or social groups with opportunities to enhance their own wealth and or social status. The Harappans manage to get uninterrupted flow of raw materials from their contemporaries located in hinterland area. They had developed technologies both pyro and non-pyro for the production of a variety of finished goods including pottery, stone beads, stone tools, seals, terracotta objects and variety of stone objects etc. it appears that the Harappans provided finished goods to the same people from whom they acquired basic raw materials. As there was greater demand for the objects made of semi-precious stone, copper, shell etc they established, for the sake of mass production, settlements exclusively for manufacturing purpose. They has developed very well organized trade network and carried trade with Persian Gulf, Mesopotamia, Central Asia and even Egypt with ease. The available data, both archaeological as well as literary evidences indicate that more Harappan goods were sent to West Asia suggesting a surplus trade which was beneficial to the Harappans. This strategy of the Harappans helped them in generating lot of wealth which was used for the development for the cities and towns and welfare of the common people. This is one of the earliest example of the world where it was demonstrated that trade can be important tool for development of the culture and society. Post World War II, Japan followed the same strategy as the Harappans did and became a world economy power in a span of 15 years.

8. Introduction of new subsistence strategy- there were two major agricultural zones within the Harappan region, the black cotton soil zone in Gujarat and Rajasthan and the alluvium zone in the Indus and Ghaggar-Hakra basin. The choice of two important agricultural zone by the Harappan was conscious as they had realised that one of the two zones will always be available to them at the time of natural calamities. The Harappan culture was constantly developing from 4000 BC onwards and because of the congenial conditions there was tremendous growth in the population. They realised that to support the growing population and culturally further developed from a rural to urban phase a large amount of food grain will be required. It is therefore they introduced a double cropping system in the Indian subcontinent and sophisticated agricultural implement for this purpose. By this strategy they were able to grow surplus amount of food grains and so forth a large groups of craftsman and other people who were not participating in basic subsistence activities. This is the type of model which was developed by the Harappans came handy at the time of second urbanization in Indian subcontinent. The double cropping system and agricultural methods developed by the Harappans is so relevant that it has continued without much change to the modern time. The Harappans were pioneers in the development of concepts which helped the society to move forward.
9. Pioneers in the development of basic technology- most of the basic technologies required to manufacture pottery, metal artifacts, stones beads, ornaments of variety of different materials and some of the important domesticate objects were introduced with the settled life at around 7000 BC. These technologies were being constantly developed gradually and in the middle of the 3rd millennium BC they attained full maturity. From the available evidence it is clear that the Harappans had played important role in perfecting basic technologies including pottery making and metallurgy. It appears that they became source for basic technologies to a number of contemporary cultures flourished on the eastern and western peripheries.

Climate and Decline of the Harappan Civilization

Concluding Remarks

References