100 years of Discovery of Harappan Civilisation

Why in News?

September 20, 2024, marks the 100th anniversary of the announcement regarding the discovery of the Harappan Civilisation.

What is Harappan Civilisation?

• Civilization - It is a bronze age society that existed along the river Indus, thus rreferred to as the Indus Valley civilization (IVC).
• It is also called Harappan civilization, named after Harappawhich was the first site unearthed in the region.

Harappa is an IVC site in located in present-day Pakistan.

• Discovery – In 1921, John Marshall who was then the Director General of the Archaeological Survey of India authorized an Article called “New Discoveries of an Unknown Prehistoric Past”.
• He termed his discovery as “civilization of the Indus Valley."
• This civilization thrived near the Indus and Saraswati rivers.

What are its geographical extension?

• Geographical area – It spans about 1.5 million sq.km.
• Coverage – It is spread across North West India, Pakistan, and Afghanistan.

• Extension In India –
  • Gujarat – Lothal and Dholavira
  • Haryana – Rakhigarhi
  • Jammu and Kashmir - Manda
  • Maharashtra - Daimabad
  • Rajasthan - Kalibangan
  • Uttar Pradesh - Alamgirpur
• The Southernmost extension is Daimabad on Godavari river basin in Maharashtra.
• Total sites – Around 2,000 within this civilization's expanse.
  • Five largest sites – Mohenjo-daro, Harappa, Ganweriwala (all in Pakistan), Rakhigarhi, and Dholavira (both in India).
• Heart of the civilization - It was located in Sind and Punjab in unpartitioned India, from which it radiated in all directions.

What are its features?

• Economy – They engaged in agriculture, animal husbandry, and also involved in trade.
• Society – It was matriarchal in nature as a large number of terracotta female figurines have been found from various sites.
• It represent the worship of the Great Mother Goddess.
• Religion – They worshipped animals, human figure and trees.
• Craft – Development of epigraphy, ceramics, pottery, bead making and bronze & copper crafts
• Detailed lapidary craftsmanship, particularly in micro-drilling long carnelian beads with chemically stained designs were observed.
• Seals - Intricately carved stamp seals made of steatite, engraved with life like human and animal motifs along with text or icons were found.

Remarkable similarities was observed between the artifacts from Harappa and Mohenjo-daro, despite their 640 km separation. 

• Town Planning – At its Peak, it was a "technological powerhouse," known for town planning, water management, construction of reservoirs, stadiums, underground drainage systems, fortification walls & boat building.
• Standardized measures – It includes cubic weights crafted from polished chert using binary and decimal systems.
• Widespread use of standardized burnt bricks with a 1:2:4 ratio for bonding.
• Science & Technology – They had specialized metallurgists, hydrologists, mathematicians & astronomers.

How IVC discovery bridges historical gaps in India?

• Settled life in India – Historians previously believed that settled life in the region began only around the sixth century BCE, creating a historical void in South Asia.
• Historical gap – India transitioned abruptly from the Stone Age to the era of Buddhist stupas.
• Continuity of settled life - Discovery of the Harappan civilisation filled this gap and significantly extended the timeline of settled life in the region by over 3,000 years.
• It introduced another ancient civilization in Asia, alongside those in Egypt and Mesopotamia.
• Trade links – It unveiled the Harappan civilization's maritime links with West Asia dating back to 3000 BCE alongside those in Egypt and Mesopotamia

Reference

The Hindu| 100 years of Discovery of IVC