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Book No. – 11 (History)
Book Name – India: The Ancient Past (Burjor Avari)
What’s Inside the Chapter? (After Subscription)
1. Phases of progress in Harappan archaeology.
2. Understanding the Mature Harappan phase
2.1. A hierarchy of settlements and their interaction
2.2. Civic planning and structures
2.3. Food security, occupations and trading systems
2.4. Sculpture, script and mathematics
2.5. Religion
2.6. Power and authority.
3. The demise of the Harappan civilisation
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LANGUAGE
The Harappan-Indus-Sarasvati Civilisation
Chapter – 3
Table of Contents
Timeline/Key Dates
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| c. 2600 BCE | The beginnings of Mature Harappan culture |
| c. 2500–1900 BCE | Harappan civilisation at its height in Mohenjo Daro and Harappa |
| c. 1900–1700 BCE | The steady decline of the Harappan culture |
| c. 1700–1300 BCE | Late Harappan phase |
| CE 1920–34 | Archaeological excavations at Mohenjo Daro and Harappa |
| CE 1947 | Mortimer Wheeler’s publication of the incorrect Aryan invasion theory |
| CE 1960–9 | Kalibangan excavated |
| CE 1974 | Mehrgarh archaeological excavations |
- The Harappan civilisation reached its mature phase with the cities of Harappa and Mohenjo Daro, marking the culmination of long-term cultural evolution in the Indus valley.
- The Indus River, with its tributaries, remains the lifeline for the agricultural prosperity of Punjab and Sind.
- The Indus civilisation is often considered the first major civilisation of the Indian subcontinent, comparable to other ancient civilisations along great rivers, like those in Egypt, Mesopotamia, and China.
- Some scholars prefer the term Indus civilisation, as it covers a broader span of space and time, reflecting both the underlying culture and urban development of the region.
- The term Sarasvati is also used by some scholars, referring to the river Ghaggar–Hakra (Sarasvati) and its role in the Harappan culture.
- The Sarasvati basin and nearby rivers, including Drasadvati, had a dense cluster of settlements, referenced in the Old Indian Vedic literature and modern archaeological surveys.
- The Indus civilisation spanned modern-day Pakistan, north-west India, and Gujarat, covering a vast area.
- The mature urban phase of this civilisation lasted from 2600 BCE to 1900 BCE, with earlier Early Harappanphases starting around 1000 years before 2600 BCE.
- The roots of this civilisation trace back to 7000 BCE in the Baluchistan phase at Mehrgarh.
- The cultural influence of the Indus civilisation continued, though modified, for centuries after its decline around 1900 BCE.
- Despite the achievements of the Harappans, their civilisation was largely forgotten by the Indian population for millennia, with only sparse references in the Vedic texts.
- The recognition of the Harappan civilisation came in the 1920s with the discoveries at Mohenjo Daro and Harappa, leading to a radical revision of early Indian history.
- The old belief that Indian civilisation began with the Aryans around 1500 BCE was discarded, and historians now agree that it dates back at least to 3000 BCE.
- Initial doubts about the origin of the Harappan civilisation suggested it might be influenced by Mesopotamia, but these were disproven by research in the 1970s.
- Research indicated that the roots of the Harappan civilisation were indigenous, originating from Neolithic villages in Baluchistan like Mehrgarh, without external influence from Mesopotamia.
- Some modern revisionists incorrectly claim that the Harappan civilisation was built on Vedic culture, but it was actually pre-Vedic and non-Vedic, according to pioneers like Sir John Marshall.
- Certain features of the Harappan culture can be detected in the Vedic culture, but the Harappan civilisation was essentially indigenous and not derived from the Vedic period.
Phases of progress in Harappan archaeology
- The story of Harappan archaeology is a remarkable account of scholarly endeavour to uncover the forgotten past of the Indus civilisation.
- Archaeological excavations in the north-west subcontinent have been carried out in four major phases, each marked by significant contributions from key archaeologists.
- The first phase occurred in the nineteenth century, with Charles Masson (an English deserter) being the earliest pioneer who encountered the remains of Harappa in the 1820s.
- Masson described Harappa as a “ruinous brick castle” with high walls and fine bricks.
- Lieutenant Alexander Burns visited Harappa in the 1830s and noted its extensive ruins but no standing buildings.
- The discoveries of Masson and Burns came to the attention of Sir Alexander Cunningham, the first director general of the Archaeological Survey of India, who visited Harappa in the 1850s and 1873.
- Cunningham discovered a seal made of unpolished black stone with a bull and an inscription, marking the first of many seals associated with the Harappan culture.
- The second phase began in 1902 with the appointment of John Marshall as the director general of the Archaeological Survey of India.
- Marshall’s appointment was facilitated by Lord Curzon, the Viceroy of India, who supported the restoration of India’s historical monuments.
- Marshall ordered a systematic excavation of Harappa in 1914, but work began in earnest only in 1920 under Dahya Ram Sahni.
- Sahni’s excavation continued until 1925, uncovering more seals but hampered by previous plundering by railway authorities.
- The Mohenjo Daro site was first visited by D.R. Bhandarkar in 1911, who pessimistically assessed the site as being only 200 years old.
- Despite Bhandarkar’s assessment, R.D. Banerji began excavations at Mohenjo Daro in 1919 and found soapstone seals similar to those from Harappa.
- By comparing findings from both sites, Marshall and his team confirmed that Harappa and Mohenjo Daro were part of a common Harappan civilisation that flourished over 4,500 years ago.
- In 1924, Marshall boldly stated in the Illustrated London News that archaeologists were on the brink of discovering a long-forgotten civilisation in the Indus plains.
- Marshall’s work from 1925 to 1927 at Mohenjo Daro had a monumental impact on Indian history and archaeology.
- The third phase began in 1944 with Mortimer Wheeler as the new director general of the Archaeological Survey of India.
- Wheeler introduced controlled stratigraphic excavation methods and trained new generations of South Asian archaeologists.
- Wheeler believed that the Harappan civilisation was influenced by Mesopotamia, a theory later disproven by findings at Mehrgarh and other earlier settlements.
- Wheeler’s military background led him to use military terminology (e.g., bastions, citadels) for Harappan structures, but this theory was later dismissed.
- The partition of India in 1947 brought a significant change to Indus archaeology, as both India and Pakistandeveloped their own archaeological departments.
- In post-1947, Indian and Pakistani archaeologists made fresh discoveries in both countries, broadening the understanding of the Harappan civilisation.
- Dholavira in Gujarat yielded significant discoveries, including differences in building plans and monuments.
- A museum and Centre of Study for the Indus Civilisation was established at the University of Vadodara in India.
- In 1974–75, the Mehrgarh excavation in Baluchistan under Jean-François Jarrige demonstrated the archaeological continuity from Mehrgarh (7th millennium BCE) to the Harappan cities.
- Indus Valley research now attracts scholars from various fields, such as archaeobotany, geology, anthropology, and marine biology, to study the region’s physical, environmental, and social evolution.
- However, some nationalistic scholars in India interpret the Harappan finds carelessly to assert the continuity and originality of Hindu civilisation, often overemphasizing the role of the Sarasvati River.
- Despite important settlements along the Sarasvati basin, Mehrgarh remains the earliest and most significant site in the development of the Indus civilisation.