In this PPT, I have discussed the history of Indus Valley Civilisation from it's discovery to different theories about it's origin. Hope you'll find it helpful.

1. Indus-Saraswati civilization
Its origin

2. Discovery
• In 1924 – John marshall announced the
existence of Harppan civilisation.
• Charles Mason – 1st person to come across
Harappa.
• Cunningham – mistakenly concluded site to be
Buddhist Monastery.
• Dayaram Sahani in1920 excavated
‘HARAPPA’ and Rakhaldas Banerjee in 1921
‘MOHENJODARO’.

3. Nomenclature
1) Indus valley
• First site was discovered in the valley of Indus and its tributaries.
Hence it was given the name ‘Indus Valley Civilisation’.
• However, the vast geographical extent of the civilisation make
the objection to the terms.

4. 2) Indus-Saraswati
• Because a large number of sites were located on the
banks of the Ghaggar-Hakra river, identified by some
scholars with the ancient Sarasvati mentioned in the
Rig Veda.
• Since civilisation was not confined to the Valleys of
the Indus or Ghaggar-Hakra, so objection can be
applied to the terms ‘Indus-Saraswati’.
3) Harappa Civilisation
• Best option to use.
• Based on archaeological convention of naming a
culture after the site where it is first identified.

5. Chronology
• Can be dated between 3300 BCE to 1300 BCE (C-14 Dating).
• Dates may vary of individual sites.
• Timeline can be divided into 5 phases:
Pre-harappan = ( c.7000-c.5500 BCE)
Early Harappan (c.5500 – 2800 BCE)
Mature Harappan(c.2800-c.1900 BCE)
Late Harappan (c.1900-c.1500 BCE)
Post Harappan (c.1500-c.600 BCE)
Recent Discovery
Researchers from Deccan college pune along with
ASI have established the human remains
recovered at Rakhigarhi-date back around 8000
years.
This research has found strong evidence that the
harappan civilisation is 7,000 to 8,000 years.

6. Origin
• There is much debate whether the
civilisation had Indigeneous, Aryan or
Foreign influence.
• However they had a script and left behind
enough artefacts but we haven’t decipher it
yet. So we don’t know who they were, where
they came from.
• Perhaps the only thing we know is that their
trading partners in West Asia referred to
their land as ‘Meluhha’.

7. • .
There are various theories about the origin of the Harappa civilisation:
1)The Harappans as Vedic Aryans.
2)Foreign influence.
3)The Harappans as west Asian migrants
who may have brought the Dravidian
languages to India.
4)The original settlers of India as Harappans
( Indigenous origin).

8. The Harappans as Vedic Aryans
• Historians – SR Roy, TR Ramchandran, KV Shastri.
• Argued that H.C was developed by Aryan People but
view is refuted because of contrast between both the
culture.
• Rakhigarhi DNA – R1a Gene found ; mean that Indo-
European language speakers were already present in
India.
• Long awaited confirmation for the advocates of Vedic
Aryans-as-Harappans theory.
• However, opponents still argue- ‘Presence of R1a might
only be representative of a small band of newly arrived
Aryans who merged with local populations.’

10. Foreign Influence
• Diffusion or migration.
• Mesopotamia as most favoured.
• E.H.Mackay- interaction between invaders from
uruk culture and the indigenous people.
• Wheeler- also supported mackay’s view but
gave other perspective , since Mesopotamia was
1st to urbanize, it acted as a model.
• But still there are differences between these 2
civilisations; in scripts, shape and size of seals,
religious structures absent in Harappa.

11. Indigenous origin
• Historians – A.Ghosh, M.R. Mughal
• Settled farming cultures which gradually evolved
and finally resulted in rise of civilisation.
• Similarities between pre-harappan and mature
harappan by A.Ghosh.
• limitation:
1. Exclusively based on comparison of Pottery.
2. Many harappan sites with no early harappan
level.

12. The Harappans as west Asian migrants
• Migrated from mediterranean to N.W region of india;
mingled with native race and formed ‘Dravidians’.
Language – Brahui ( western Pakistan) , Places –
Korkai ( in pak and in tamil nadu), script.
• B.A. Mukhopadhyay, an independent researcher-
Words used for elephant in Mesopotamia were
borrowed from Proto-Dravidian word, prevalent in
H.C.
• Proto-Dravidian speakers migrating from H.C to south
india.
• Dravidian partisans were migrants.