1. The Indus Valley Civilization was discovered in the early 1920s by archaeologists in India, most notably Sir John Marshall. 2. Two major sites, Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro, were excavated which revealed extensive urban planning with residential and civic buildings. 3. The civilization developed agriculture along the Indus River valley and had an advanced system of public hygiene with covered drainage.

1. Dr.R.PRICILA

2. Dr.R.PRICILA

3. INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION
• Sir John Marshall, Director General of
Archaeology had discovered a new civilization in
the Indus Valley.
•He wrote three volumes of the IVC, excavation
work was done at Mohenjo-daro by Marshall and
his colleagues from 1921 to 1927.
•It was later continued by J.H.Mackay from 1927
to 1931.
•Work was also done on this site by G.F.Dales in
1963.
Dr.R.PRICILA

4. HARAPPA
 Harappa which is situated on the banks of the
river Ravi in the Montgomery District in West
Punjab.
 The city was believed to have been bigger that
the one at Mohenjodaro.
 But it was not properly preserved and partly
destroyed by the contractors and he people of the
neighborhood before is importance was realizes.
 Work on this site was done by M.S. Wats from
1921 to 1934.
Dr.R.PRICILA

5. Dr.R.PRICILA

6.  Further excavation work on this site was done
by Sir Mortimer Wheeler, the then Director-
General of Archaeology in India.
Dr.R.PRICILA

7. Dr.R.PRICILA

8. SITES OF IVC
 Harappa-Ravi,Copper Chariot, Cemetry
 Mohenjodaro (Sindh)- Mount of Dead, Great
Bath, Great Granary, Girl Bronze Dancing.
 Lothal(Gujarat)-Dockyard,Rice,Chess like
games, Trade with Mesopotamia & persia.
 Chanhudaro (Indus),Lipstick, Cosmetics.
 Kalibangan (Rajasthan) Fire altars
 Surkotda (Gujarat) Horse and Chariot.
 Rangpur –Rice Husk
Dr.R.PRICILA

9. Dr.R.PRICILA

10. Harappan
Civilization
 The discovery of Harappa and soon after Mohenjodaro was the
culmination of work beginning in 1861 with the founding of
the Archaeological Survey of India during the British Raj. Sir
John Marshall first unearthed Harappan Civilization in 1921.
As Harappas was the first site to be discovered, the IVC is also
called the Harappan Civilization.
 Nevertheless, there were earlier, and later cultures in the same
area often called Early Harappan and Later Harappan.
 There are five major urban sites, the most important being:
Harappa, Mohenjodaro, Dholavira, Ganeriwala, and
Rakhigarhi.
Dr.R.PRICILA

11. Phases of Indus Valley
Civilization
 The Indus Valley Civilization is divided into three phases. They are more
appropriately named as per Harappan Civilization.
 Early Harappan Phase (3300 to 2600 BCE): This phase of IVC is related to
the Hakra Phase, identified in the Ghaggar-Hakra River Valley, with the
earliest examples of the Indus script. This phase is characterized by a
centralized authority, urban quality of life, established trade networks and
cultivation of crops.
 Mature Harappan Phase (2600 to 1900 BCE): The second phase of the Indus
Valley Civilization is characterized by Kot Diji. The early Harappan
communities were turned into large urban centers, like Harappa, Ganeriwala,
and Mohenjo-Daro in modern-day Pakistan and Dholavira, Kalibangan,
Rakhigarhi, Rupar, and Lothal in modern-day India.
 Late Harappan Phase (1900 to 1300 BCE): It signifies the gradual decline of
the Indus Valley Civilization. However, archaeological data indicates the
persistence of the Late Harappan culture till 1000-900 BC.
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12. Characteristic features of
Harappan
cities
 There was great uniformity in Harappan town planning. Town
planning was based on a grid pattern or chessboard pattern.
Streets and lanes intersect at right angles, creating a number of
rectangular blocks in the city. The entire city was divided into
two major areas; The Citadel and Lower Town.
 The Citadel was a fortified area with vital public buildings,
including granaries and dwellings for the ruling class. The
lower town was larger and lay east of the Citadel.
 The lower town was intended for the common public, while the
Citadel and the lower town were separated by an area of
ground.
Dr.R.PRICILA

13. Seals
 Harappan seals are the greatest artistic creation
and were used to mark ownership of property and
in trade.
 They were made up of Steatite (soft stone) and
were half an inch to 2.5 inches.
 The seals were generally square and rectangular,
with carved animals and inscriptions.
 The humpless bull is the most used animal in
seals.
Dr.R.PRICILA

14. BUILDINGS
 Mohenjo-Daro seems to have been a well-
planned city.
 Streets were broad and varied from 13 1 ½ feet to
33 feet in breath.
 They cut each other at right angles.
 The houses varied from the smallest ones of two
rooms to a large one like a palace with a frontage
of 85 feet and a depth of 97 feet courtyard 32
square feet etc.
 Some of the structures migh have been temples.
Dr.R.PRICILA

15. PUBLIC WELL, HARAPPA
 One of the outstanding features of the buildings at
Mohenjodaro is the plainess.
 There were no windows at all
 Common walls were rare and the empty space
between the walls of two houses was filled with
bricks.
 The most important feature of the houses of
Mohenjodaro is the presence in them of one or more
bathrooms, the floors of which were fully laid and
were connected of drainage channel with the main
street.
Dr.R.PRICILA

16. The Great Bath at Mohenjodaro
 The great Bath strikes every visitor to that place.
 It consists of an open quadrangle with verandas
backed by galleries and rooms on all side, the
swimming bath, wells from which the bath was
filled and an upper storey of timber.
 The swimming bath is 30 feet x 23x 8 feet.
 There is provision for the flights of the steps at
the ends.
Dr.R.PRICILA

17. DRAINAGE
 The people of the IndusValley had a perfect
system of drainage.
 Brick laid channels flowed through every street.
 The channels were covered with loose bricks
which can be removed when necessary.
 Large channels were made of stone were also
covered with stone.
 Cess-Pits were provided for the flow into them.
Dr.R.PRICILA

18.  Long drains were provided at intervals with with
sumps so that the channels may be cleaned
without difficulty.
 The animals domesticated by the people were
the elephant,camel,pig,buffalo,sheep, the
humped bull and also probably horses and dogs.
 The remains of such animals as black rat, deer
and mongoose have also been found.
 The figurines of bison,hare,monkey,tiger,bear
have also been excavated.
Dr.R.PRICILA

19.  As regards diet of the people, it must have
consisted of wheat, barley, milk
products,fish,mutoon,beef,pork,poultry,flesh of
tortoise.
 There must be have been a lot of trade and
commercial activities.
 People must have cultivated wheat and barley.
 It appears that the people used gold, silver,
copper,tin and lead.
 However, the use of iron was not known.
Dr.R.PRICILA

20.  The other materials used by the people were bones,
shells, ivory
 The people had an excellent supply of water
 A large number of wells have been found in that city.
 The pottery of the Indus people was generally made
on the wheel.
 It was painted red and black
 More than 500 seals have discovered at various
places.
 More than 500 seals have been discovered at various
places.
 These were made of terracotta and are small in size.
Dr.R.PRICILA

21. RELIGION
 According to Sir John Marshall, the foremost among the
Indus pantheon was the Mother Goddess.
 A large number of terracotta female figures recovered
from the Indus sites are considered to be representations
of the Mother-Goddess.
 The cult of the Mother Goddess did not dominate the
Indus religion.
 Pipal God was the supreme deity and a large number
subordinate male deities ruled over the destinies of the
poor mortals inhabiting the Indus region.
 The pipal and Acacia trees regarded as celestial plants
and were supposed to be inhabited by divine spirits.
Dr.R.PRICILA

22. DISPOSAL OF THE DEAD
 It appears that the people of the Indus Valley
disposed their dead by the method of cremation.
 A large number of urns containing human bones
and ashes, and vessels of burnt and other
offerings for the use of the dead in after life have
also have been found.
Dr.R.PRICILA