Indus Valley Civilization (IVC)
Indus River Valley Civilization (IVC)
or Harappan Civilization was a Bronze
Age Civilization [3300-1300 BCE]
Geographical extent:
Afghanistan, Pakistan and northwest
India.
Three phases:
the Early Harappan
Phase from 3300 to 2600 BCE.
the Mature Harappan
Phase from 2600 to 1900 BCE.
the Late Harappan Phase from
1900 to 1300 BCE.
(decline observed around 1800
BCE).
Indus Priest/King Statue.
What will we learn today …
Indus Valley Civilization
Cities
Features of Urban Planning
City development and layout: Citadel and
Lower City
Iconic architectural designs and marvel:
Case study-Great Bath
Case study-House planning
Case study-Streets, water management
and drainage
Political and Religious Systems
Cultural effervescence and Craft
production
-seals
-weights and measures
-crafts, toys, metallurgy, wheel, pottery
Decline of the Civilization
Earliest Cities in the subcontinent
Aerial view, Mohenjodaro
More than 1,052 Cities & Settlements
Cities:
Dholavira, Kalibangan, Rakhigarhi,
Rupar, and Lothal ( In modern-day
India)
Harappa, Ganeriwala, and Mohenjo-
daro (In modern-day Pakistan)
Striking features of cities:
Urban planning
Systematic land use
Urban design
baked brick houses
elaborate drainage
systems
water supply systems
non-residential building
clusters
Iconic Architectural Marvels
Great Bath
Citadel
Dockyard
Granary
DID YOU KNOW? Sir John Hubert Marshall led an excavation campaign in 1921-1922, during which he
discovered the ruins of the city of Harappa. By 1931, the Mohenjo-daro site had been mostly excavated
by Marshall and Sir Mortimer Wheeler. By 1999, over 1,056 cities and settlements of the Indus
Civilization were located.
Perfectly designed & planned Cities
Features of the Cities
Citadels (central area) heavily fortified -
protected with defensive military structures.
Residential buildings – Situated on the
lower and eastern side of town.
Streets – perfect grid pattern with rounded
corners and divided city into 12 blocks.
Well-ordered wastewater drainage and
waste collection.
Great Bath-water storage and harvesting
structure.
Granaries- storehouses for grain.
The granary was divided into 27
compartments in three rows.
Dockyards-for ships. Lothal dock for sea-
faring ships.
Citadel and Lower City
Each City had two components:
1).Citadel (higher mound on the western side).
2).Residential buildings in the Lower city (eastern side).
Citadel (acropolis):
Larger administrative blocks and ritual centres.
Occupied by members of the ruling class.
Constructed on an elevated mud brick platform.
Lower city and residential buildings:
Comprised of brick houses.
Inhabited by common people.
Layout in grid.
Great Bath
The Great Bath in Mohenjodaro
consisted of a large quadrangle.
In the centre, there was a huge
swimming pool (approximately 39
ft long, 23 ft wide and 8ft deep).
Water was discharged by a huge
drain.
The unique structure was in the
Citadel.
Scholars assume that it may be
used for as a special ritual bath.
Housing complexes
Advanced construction and architectural
techniques
Residential buildings were made of
uniform brick blocks with wood and
stone.
Brick size uniform and moisture resistant
Ratio of brick size: [Link]
Fire-baked bricks - were important in
building baths and sewage structures too.
Houses double storey.
Gateways opening on side lanes (not
main road).
In-house wells, direct drainage and
bathrooms in each house.
Streets, drainage and sanitation systems
Streets had perfect grid patterns
with rounded corners that divide the
city into 12 blocks.
Drains on the streets were
covered.
Harappa, Mohenjo-daro, and the
recently partially-excavated
Rakhigarhi demonstrate the world's
first known urban sanitation
systems.
Homes drew water from wells,
while wastewater was directed to
covered drains on the main streets.
Harappan
Settlements
and Sites
Political Systems
• No immediate answers on type of
state or political system due to limited
written records.
• No rulers and everybody enjoyed
equal status. Or a number of
rulers representing each of the urban
centers. Perhaps, even merchants.
• However, existence of a uniform
structure of authority and
governance mechanism possible.
Religious systems
• Earth was regarded as a mother
fertility goddess .
• Tree and animal worship. Such as, a
one horned rhinoceros and a humped
bull.
• A male deity is represented on a seal
with three horned heads, represented
in the sitting posture of a yogi.
Shiva Pashupati seal from Mohenjo-daro
• Practise of wearing amulets. depicts a deity surrounded by animals
Cultural
Effervescence
Carnelian products, beads, shell crafts,
terracotta vessels, seals with carving
and metallurgy with copper, bronze, lead,
and tin.
Seals, Crafts, Metallurgy, Wheel
• Seals decorated with animal figures,
such as elephants, tigers, and water
buffalos—have been one of the most
commonly discovered artifacts in Indus
Valley cities.
• Crafts-beads and semi precious
stones, shells, terracotta, created
necklaces, bangles, and other
ornaments.
• Terracotta works with cows, bears,
monkeys, and dogs.
• Metallurgy-using copper, bronze, lead,
gold and tin.
• Wheel- Transportation and pottery.
Beads, Ornaments, Toys, Crafts
Jewellery in silver, gold and precious
stones.
The potter's wheel, characteristic
pottery in glossy and shining style.
Toys in form of dice, bullock carts.
Evidence: Chahundra as centre for
manufacture of beads, shell craft,
metal cutting, weight making.
Seals
• 600 distinct Indus symbols on
seals, small tablets, ceramic pots, and
more than a dozen other materials.
• Scenes depicted – animals,
mythological creatures or abstract
symbols.
• Interpretations of seals
- as membership in a clan, elite
class, or kin structure.
-facilitate communication and trade.
DID YOU KNOW? Typical Indus inscriptions were four or five characters in length. The characters were
pictorial and included abstract signs.
Weights and Measures
A precise system of weights, made of
a stone and marble in cubical shape
with no markings was practised.
The weight system helped to
established trade, taxation, and
architecture.
The lower denominations of weights
were binary (1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, etc. up
to 12,800), while the higher
denominations followed the decimal
system. The smaller weights were
probably used for weighing jewellery
and beads.
Metallurgy
The Harappans were acquainted with the use
of Bronze. Such as, leaf-shaped arrowheads,
spears, axes, the bronze female figurines like
that of the ‘dancing girl’.
Metals like tin, arsenic, lead, antimony were
used for alloying. Although, 70% of the copper
objects of the Harappan period were
unalloyed.
Pottery
Miniature Votive Images or
Toy Models from Harappa, c.
2500 BCE:
The Indus River Valley
Civilization created figurines
from terracotta, as well as
bronze and steatite. It is still
unknown whether these
figurines have religious
significance.
Excavations and key findings:
Harappa
Excavated by : Daya Ram Sahini in 1921
Location: Bank of river Ravi in Montgomery district of Pakistan
Findings: Sandstone statues of Human anatomy ; Granaries;
Bullock carts
Mohenjodaro
Excavated by: R.D Banerjee in 1922
Location: Bank of river Indus in Larkana district of Pakistan
Great bath Granary Bronze dancing girl
Findings: Seal of Pasupathi; steatite statue of beard man; woven
cotton
Chanhudaro
Excavated by: N.G Majumdar in 1931
Location: Sindh on the Indus river
Findings: Bead makers shop; Footprint of a dog chasing a cat
Kalibangan
Excavated by: Ghose in 1953 Rajasthan
Location: On the bank of Ghaggar river
Findings: Fire altar; Camel bones; Wooden plough
Iconic IVC Artifacts
Dancing Girl, Terracotta Pottery & Priest King with Beard
Priest-king displaying a beard and patterned
Dancing Girl, 11 centimeters in metal
robe
Terracotta Pottery
Decline
The IVC decline around 1800 BCE.
Reasons for decline still debatable.
Invasions.
Natural calamity.
Geological and Climatic factors.
Earthquake.
Changed rainfall patterns.
River course shifting.
References:
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
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Archives: National Museum, New Delhi.
Jonathan Mark Kenoyer. Ancient Cities of the Indus Valley Civilization. Oxford University Press, 1998.
Joshi. Harappan Architecture and Civil Engineering. Rupa, 2008.
LACMA, Harappan Ceremonial Vessels, Ancient History Encyclopedia.
Mortimer Wheeler. The Indus Civilization. Cambridge University Press, 1968.
NCERT History Textbook: Class VI, XI (old edition) and XII (new edition).
Singh Upinder. A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India: From the Stone Age to the 12th Century, 2009.
