3. DEFINITION OF CIVILISATION
• Civilization is defined as an advanced stage of human
cultural development. It implies the use of superior
technology and complex economic relationships .there are a
number of traits which mark a civilization. Some of these
are :-
Evolution of cities
Surplus food
Division of labour
System of writing
Monumental public buildings
Development of technology
6. Earliest civilizations in Indus
Valley was discovered in 1856
by a railroad crew.
Harappa
Mohenjo-Daro or
“Mound of the Dead”
Both cities shared urban
design and architectural
features.
3 miles in circumference
with populations of
40,000.
7.
8. Roots of Indus Valley Civilization
• Roots of Indus Valley began as early as 7000
B.C.E.
– Possibly began as herders who moved into
the river valley during colder months.
– Over time, they may have decided to farm –
river-watered lands of the valley.
– They began trading by boat along the Indus
down into the Arabian Sea, into the Persian
Gulf, and up the Tigris and Euphrates into
Mesopotamia.
9. • The Harappan culture existed along the Indus River in
what is present day Pakistan.
• It was named after the city of Harappa. Harappa and
the city of Mohenjo-Daro were important centers of the
Indus valley civilization.
• This Indus Valley “civilization” flourished around 4000-
1000 B.C.
12. Chronology
Ancient Indus Chronology
Period Phase Yrs. (B.C.E.)
5 Late Harappan (Cemetery H) ?1700-1300
4 Harappan/Late Harappan Transitional 1900-?1700
3C Harappan Phase c. 2200-1900
3B Harappan Phase c. 2450-2200
3A Harappan Phase c.2600-2450
2 Early Harappan/Kot Diji Phase c. 2800-2600
1A/B Early Harappan/Ravi Phase c. 3300-2800
13. Early Harappan-Ravi Phase
3300-2800 BC
This distinctive, regional culture
which emerged is called Early or Pre-
Harappan.
Trade networks linked this culture
with related regional cultures and
distant sources of raw materials,
including lapis lazuli and other
materials for bead-making.
Domesticated crops included peas,
sesame seeds, dates and cotton.
Domestic animals also used, such as
the water buffalo.
Mud brick for building.
14. Middle Harappan-Integration Era
2600-1900 BC
By 2500 BCE, communities had been
turned into urban centers (integration).
Six such urban centers have been
discovered, including: Harappa,
Mohenjo Daro and Dicki in Pakistan,
along with Gonorreala, Dokalingam
and Mangalore in India.
In total, over 1052 cities and
settlements have been found, mainly in
the general region of the Ghaggar-
Florence River and its tributaries.
Irrigation used to increase crop
production and mud brick structures.
15. Late Harappan-Cemetery H
1700-1300 BC
Cremation of human remains. The
bones were stored in painted pottery
burial urns. This is completely
different to the Indus civilization
where bodies were buried in wooden
coffins.
Reddish pottery, painted in black
with antelopes, peacocks etc., sun or
star motifs, with different surface
treatments to the earlier period.
Expansion of settlements into the
east.
Rice became a main crop.
Apparent breakdown of the
widespread trade of the Indus
civilization, with materials such as
marine shells no longer used.
Continued use of mud brick for
building.
16. Natural Resources
• The Indus Valley contained numerous natural
resources that were an important part of Harappan
civilization.
• Resources included:
–Fresh water and timber.
–Materials such as gold, silver, semi-precious stones.
–Marine resources.
17. Himalayan Mountains
Nanga Parbat and numerous other
mountains of the Himalaya,
Karakorum and Hindu Kush
provide a continuous source of
water for the Indus and its
tributaries.
These mountain ranges also
provided important timber, animal
products, and minerals, gold, silver,
tin and semiprecious stones that
were traded throughout the Indus
Valley.
18. Valleys
• Cedar in Chitral valley is still used to make houses
and coffins, following a tradition that dates back to
the first Indus cities.
• Beyond the mountains in the background is the
region of Badakhshan, Afghanistan, a source of
the deep blue lapis lazuli.
• This was mined during the Indus period and
traded throughout the Indus Valley and to far off
Mesopotamia and Egypt.
19. Coast
• The coast of Sindh and Makran have
bays and ancient Harappan sites have
been located along the coast to the
border of modern Iran.
• These coastal settlements were
involved in fishing and trading, using
the monsoon winds to travel back and
forth to Oman and the Persian Gulf
region.
20. Major Cities: Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa
The cities are well
known for their
impressive, organized
and regular layout.
They had well laid
plumbing and drainage
systems, including indoor
toilets.
Over one thousand other
towns and villages also
existed in this region.
21. Cities
The similarities in plan and construction between Mohenjo-Daro and
Harappa indicate that they were part of a unified government
with extreme organization.
– Both cities were constructed of the same type and shape of
bricks.
– The two cities may have existed simultaneously and their sizes
suggest that they served as capitals of their provinces.
– In contrast to other civilizations, burials found from these
cities are not elaborate; they are more simplistic and contain
few material goods.
– Remains of palaces or temples in the cities have not been
found.
– No hard evidence exists indicating military activity, though
the cities did contain fortifications and artifacts such as
copper and bronze knives, spears, and arrowheads were
recovered.
22. Mohenjo-Daro
• This shows the high western mound made up of a massive mud brick
platform and brick houses of the Harappan period ( 2600 to 1900 B. C.).
• On top of the Harappan structures is a Buddhist period stupa made of
mud brick that dates to the first century A.D.
23. The Great BathThe "great bath" is the earliest
public water tank.
The tank measures
approximately 12 meters north-
south and 7 meters wide, with
a maximum depth of 2.4
meters.
Two staircases lead down into
the tank from the north and
south and small sockets at the
edges of the stairs are thought
to have held wooden planks or
treads.
At the foot of the stairs is a
small ledge with a brick edging
that extends the entire width
of the pool.
24. Streets
At Mohenjo-Daro narrow
streets and alleyways are off
of the major streets, leading
into more private
neighborhoods.
Many of the brick houses
were two stories high, with
thick walls and high ceilings
to keep the rooms cool in the
hot summer months.
25. Wells
• Private wells were
rebuilt over many
generations for large
households and
neighborhoods.
• This well in DK G area
at Mohenjo-daro stands
like a chimney because all
of the surrounding earth
has been removed by
excavation.
26. Harappa
The high mound at Harappa
(Mound AB) is surrounded by a
massive mud brick city wall
with large square ramparts.
One of these eroding ramparts is
visible through the underbrush
that now covers the site. The
flags mark the tomb of a Muslim
saint.
27. Granary
• The "granary" of Harappa is found
on Mound F.
• It is a brick structure that was built
on a massive brick foundation over
45 meters north-south and 45 meters
east-west.
• Two rows of six rooms that appear
to be foundations are arranged along
a central passageway that is about 7
meters wide and partly paved with
baked bricks.
• Each room measures 15.2 by 6.1
meters and has three sleeper walls
with air space between them.
28. Well
• A large public well and public
bathing platforms were found
in the southern part of
Mound AB at Harappa.
• These public bathing areas
may also have been used for
washing clothes as is common
in many traditional cities in
Pakistan and India today.
29. Harappa: Mound E and ET
• Inside the city is an area that has
been identified as a crafts
quarter.
• Large quantities of
manufacturing debris have been
found in this area indicating the
presence of workshops for
making stone beads, shell
ornaments, glazed faience
ornaments, stone tools and
possibly even gold working.
30. Language
The Indus (or Harappan) people used a pictographic script.
Some 3500 specimens of this script survive in stamp seals
carved in stone, in molded terracotta and faience amulets, in
fragments of pottery, and in a few other categories of
inscribed objects.
In addition to the pictographic signs, the seals and amulets
often contain iconographic motifs, mostly realistic pictures of
animals apparently worshipped as sacred, and a few cultic
scenes, including anthropomorphic deities and worshippers.
This material is important to the investigation of the
Harappan language and religion, which continue to be major
issues.
31. The origins of Indus writing
• The origins of Indus writing can
now be traced to the Ravi Phase
(c. 3300-2800 BC) at Harappa.
• Some inscriptions were made on
the bottom of the pottery before
firing.
• This inscription (c. 3300 BC)
appears to be three plant
symbols.
33. Economy-Trade
The Harappan civilization was mainly urban
and mercantile.
Inhabitants of the Indus valley traded with
Mesopotamia, southern India, Afghanistan,
and Persia for gold, silver, copper, and
turquoise.
34. Trade
Gold Disc
The central ornament worn on the
forehead of the famous "priest-king"
sculpture from Mohenjo-daro appears
to represent an eye bead, possibly
made of gold with steatite inlay in
the center.
35. Harappan Astronomy
• Although the translation of the Harappan script is still not
complete, there are numerous indications that Harappans were well
versed in astronomy.
• The straight streets of the Indus cities are oriented towards the
cardinal directions.
• Astronomical evidence dates the compilation of the Vedic calendar
at around the 23rd century B.C., when the Indus civilization
flourished.
• Like other urban civilizations, it undoubtedly needed a calendar
that adjusted to the lunar and solar transitions.
36. Harappan Astronomy
The Pleiades hold a prominent place as the
mothers or wet nurses of the newborn infant in
one of the most ancient and central Hindu myths,
that of the birth of the war-god Rudra/Skanda.
The Pleiades are said to have been the wives of the
seven sages, who are identified with the seven
stars of the Great Bear.
37. Burial
• The body was placed inside a wooden
coffin (which later decayed) and
entombed in a rectangular pit
surrounded with burial offerings in
pottery vessels.
• The man was buried wearing a
necklace of 340 graduated steatite
beads and three separate pendant
beads made of natural stone and three
gold beads. A single copper bead was
found at his waist.
38. Burial• Burial of woman and infant, Harappa.
• This burial was disturbed in
antiquity, possibly by ancient
Harappan grave robbers.
• Besides the fact that the body is
flipped and the pottery disturbed,
the left arm of the woman is broken
and shell bangles that would
normally be found on the left arm are
missing.
• The infant was buried in a small pit
beneath the legs of the mother.
39. Collapse of Harappan “Civilization”
• The de-urbanization period of the Harappan
Civilization saw the collapse and disappearance of
the urban phenomena in the South Asia.
• The theme for this period is localization.
• Architectural and ceramic forms changed along with
the loss of writing, planned settlements, public
sanitation, monumental architecture, seaborne and
exotic trade, seals, and weights.
40. Four Theories of Collapse
Archaeologists have offered four explanations for the collapse
of the Harappan “Civilization”.
Three are based on ecological factors: intense flooding,
decrease in precipitation, and the desiccation of the Sarasvati
River.
The fourth hypothesis is that of the Aryan Invasion,
proposed by Sir R. E. Mortimer Wheeler and Stuart Piggott.
Image in text of “massacre” thought to support this
hypothesis. Later interpreted as “peaceful” mass burial.
Fourth largely abandoned in the 1940s in favor of a
combination of factors from ecological disasters.
41. Enter: The Aryans
Approximately 1500 B.C.E. a nomadic
and pastoral people who spoke the
Indo-European language passed
through the Hindu Kush mountains.
They called themselves “Aryans” or
“noble people.”
They established small herding and
agricultural communities throughout
northern India.
Their migrations took place over
several centuries.
42. Aryan Influence on Harappan Society
Aryan migrations took place over several centuries.
Their arrival was not an invasion or organized military
campaign.
It is likely that Indo-European migrants clashed with
Dravidians (people settled in the Harappan area.)
By the time Aryans entered India, internal problems had already
brought Harappan society to the point of collapse.
During the centuries after 1500 B.C.E., Dravidian and Indo-
European peoples intermarried and laid social and cultural
foundations that influenced Indian society to present day.
43. Aryan Influence on Harappan Society
Aryan migrations took place over several centuries.
Their arrival was not an invasion or organized military
campaign.
It is likely that Indo-European migrants clashed with
Dravidians (people settled in the Harappan area.)
By the time Aryans entered India, internal problems had
already brought Harappan society to the point of collapse.
During the centuries after 1500 B.C.E., Dravidian and Indo-
European peoples intermarried and laid social and cultural
foundations that influenced Indian society to present day.
44. Aryan Influence on Harappan Society
The Aryans survived on pastoral
economy, sheep and goats.
The especially prized their horses
and cattle, but horses did not breed
well in India so they had to import
animals from Asia.
The Aryans consumed both dairy
products and beef. Centuries later
cattle would become sacred.
45. Aryan Influence on Harappan Religion
The Vedas were collections of religious and literary poems and
songs transmitted orally.
There were four parts.
The most important part was the Rig Veda, a collection of
1,028 hymns addressed to the Aryan gods.
Aryan priests compiled the Rig Veda between 1400 and 900
B.C.E.
It wasn’t put into writing until about 600 B.C.E.
46. The Vedic Age 1500 to 500 B.C.E.
•The Vedas refer often to conflicts
between Aryans and the Dravidians and
other people already living in India.
•The Vedas refer to Indra, the Aryan war
god and military hero, who would
destroy parts of the city.
•This suggests that the Aryans clashed
repeatedly with the Dravidians of the
Indus valley, attacking their cities and
wrecking their irrigation systems.
47. The Vedic Age 1500 to 500 B.C.E.
•The Aryans often had friendly relations
with Dravidian peoples.
•They learned about the land and
adopted Dravidian agricultural methods.
•Still there was competitions over land
and resources.
•It appears that the Aryans did not have
a formal government but they formed
chiefdoms with a leader known as a raja
(Sanskrit term for king.)
48. Aryan Migrations in India
•Aryans first settled in the Punjab, the upper Indus River valley that
straddles modern-day border between northern India and Pakistan.
•They spread east and south and established communities throughout
much of the subcontinent.
•They learned to make iron tools and with axes and plow they cleared
forests and established agricultural communities in the Ganges valley.
•The Aryans gradually lost the tribal political organization they had
brought into India and evolved into small kingdoms with formal
governments.
49. The Caste System
•Originally based on color: Aryans were “wheat-colored” and
Dravidians were darker skinned.
•Four Main Varnas or Castes:
•Priests (brahmins)
•Warriors and Aristocrats (Kshatriyas)
•Cultivators, artisans, and merchants (vsaishyas)
•Landless peasants and serfs ( shudras)
•Untouchables (people who performed dirty tasks) added
much later
50. Jati (Subcastes)
As Vedic Society became more
complex and specialized, the caste
system changed to include specialized
occupations.
Occupation determined an
individuals jati (subcaste).
By the 18th and 19th centuries
C.E., the system featured several
thousand jati.
Brahmins alone have some 1,800
jati.
51. The Development of a Patriarch Society
•Aryan Society had a strong patriarchal social order at the time of
their migration into India.
•All priests, warriors and tribal chiefs were men.
•Women influenced affairs within their families but had no public
authority.
•Women rarely learned the Vedas and were denied formal education.
•Sati, the practice of a wife sacrificing herself on her husband’s funeral
pyre, was considered noble.
52. Religion in Vedic Age
•The Rig Veda sheds light on religious
practices.
•The chief deity was Indra, a war god,
who was partial to fighting and drink.
•Varuna was a god who presided over the
sky from his heavenly palace. He oversaw
behavior of morals and preserved order.
•Cattle, sheep, goats, and horses from
Aryan herds were sacrificed to gain divine
support, large families, long life, and
abundant herds.
53. Religion in Vedic Age
•Around 800 B.C.E. some individuals
withdrew into the forest of the Ganges valley
and lived as hermits.
•They drew inspiration from religious beliefs
of Dravidian people who worshipped nature
spirits.
•Dravidians also believed that human souls
took on new physical forms after the deaths of
their bodies.
•The idea of reincarnation was born.
54. •Appeared late in Vedic Age, around 800
to 400 B.C.E.
•Upanishad means “sitting in front of”
and refers to practice of disciples gathering
before a sage for discussion of religious
issues.
•The Upanishads were dialogues that
explored the Vedas.
UPANISHADS
55. The Upanishads
•Each person is part of a large, cosmic order and
forms a small part of a universal soul known as
Brahman.
•Brahman is an eternal, unchanging foundation for
all things.
•Individual souls were born into physical world
many times.
•Their souls were most often humans but sometimes
animals, and even occasionally plants.
•The highest goal of the individual soul is to escape
the cycle of birth and rebirth to enter into permanent
union with Brahmin.
56. Doctrines of the Upanishads
•Samsara – Upon death, individuals go temporarily to the World of the
Fathers and then return to earth in a new form.
•Karma – “…a man of good acts will become good, a man of bad acts,
bad. He becomes pure by pure deeds, bad by bad deeds.”
•Suffering – A certain amount of pain and suffering is inevitable in
human existence.
•Moksha is a deep endless sleep that comes with permanent liberation
from physical incarnation.
•Brahmin – You can achieve Brahmin through meditation and
asceticism, leading extremely simple lives and denying all pleasure.
