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Harappan Culture
Art
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| Small toy image or toy model from Harappa, c. 2500 BC. The Indus Valley Civilization made sculptures from terracotta to bronze and steaite. Whether these statues have religious significance is still unknown. |
An image of a "priest-king" among various gold, terracotta and stone statues displayed the beard and patterned dress. Another statue of bronze, known as the "dancing girl", is only 11 cm high and shows female figures in a pose that indicates the presence of some choreographed dance enjoyed by members of civilization. The terracotta work also included cows, bears, monkeys and dogs. In addition to the statues, the people of the Indus Valley are believed to have made necklaces, bangles and other ornaments.
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| Archaeological evidence from the docks and canals in the ancient city of Lothal, located in modern India, proves that the Indus Valley Civilization built boats and participated in a vast maritime trade network. |
The trade
focused on imports of minerals from Iran and Afghanistan, lead and copper from
other parts of India, jade from China, and cedar wood floating in the Himalayan
and Kashmir rivers, as well as other materials used in Harappan city workshops,
terracotta, gold, silver. Tools for making tools included flints, sea, pearls
and colored gemstones, such as lapis lazuli and turquoise.
A huge
maritime trade network was introduced between the Harappan and Mesopotamian
civilizations. Archaeological sites in various parts of Mesopotamia have
unearthed Harappan seals and ornaments, including most of modern-day Iraq,
Kuwait, and parts of Syria. Long-distance sea trade in bodies of water, such as
the Arabian Sea, the Red Sea, and the Persian Gulf, was probably made possible
by the development of plaque watercolors that were equipped with a central mast
supported by woven rash or cloth feathers.
Between
4300-3200 BC, also known as the Copper Age, the Indus Valley Civilization
region shows ceramic similarities with southern Turkmenistan and northern Iran.
During the first Harappan period (circa 3200-2600 BCE), pottery, seals, sculptures
and ornaments Caravan trade with the Iranian plateau.
Writing
The
Harappans are believed to have used the symbolic language Indus script. Harappa
is a collection of texts written on clay and stone tablets, carbonized from
3300-300 BC, with trident-shaped, tree-like markings. This Indus script
suggests that writing developed independently of the Indus Valley Civilization
from scripts used in Mesopotamia and ancient Egypt.
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| Indus Script. These ten Indus Script symbols were found on a “sign board” in the ancient city of Dholavira. |
About 600
unique Indus symbols have been found in seals, small tablets, ceramic pots and
more than a dozen other materials. Ordinary Indus inscriptions are no longer
than four or five characters in length, most of which are very short. The
longest of the single surface which is less than 1 inch (or 2.54 cm.) Square,
17 long marks. The characters are basically pictorial, but there are many
abstract signs that don’t seem to have changed over time.
The
inscriptions are thought to have been composed primarily from right to left,
but it is unclear whether this script constitutes a complete language. Signs
other than "Rosta Stone" have become inevitable for linguists and
archaeologists to use as a comparison with other writing methods.
Religion
The Harappan
religion remains a matter of conjecture. It has been widely suggested that the
Harappans worshiped a mother goddess who symbolized fertility. Unlike the
Egyptian and Mesopotamian civilizations, the Indus Valley Civilization lacks
temples or palaces that provide clear evidence of religious rites or specific
deities. Some Indus Valley seals show a swastika symbol, which was later
incorporated into Indian religions, including Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism.
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| "Shiva Pashupati" seal. This seal was excavated at Mohenjo-daro and depicts a seated and possibly ephemeral figure surrounded by animals. |
Many Indus Valley seals also include animal forms, some of which have been shown to be paraded, while others have shown alchemical creations, leading scholars to speculate on the role of animals in the Indus Valley religions. A seal from Mohenjo-daro shows a half-human, half-buffalo monster attacking a tiger. It may be a reference to the Sumerian fairy tale of a monster created by the Sumerian earth and fertility goddess Arunur to fight Gilgamesh, the protagonist of the ancient Mesopotamian epic.
Disappearance of the Indus
Valley Civilization
One theory
was that the Indo-European tribes called Aryans invaded and conquered the Indus
Valley Civilization.
Many scholars now believe that the Indus
Valley Civilization collapsed as a result of climate change.
The shift to
the east of the monsoon could reduce water supply, forcing the Harappans to
relocate to the Indus River Valley and establish small villages and isolated
farms.
These small
communities could not produce the surplus of farming needed to help the cities,
where they were then abandoned.
The Aryan Invasion Theory (c. 1800-1500 BC)
The Indus
civilization probably died because of the invasion. According to a theory by
British archaeologist Mortimer Wheeler, nomadic, Indo-European tribes, called
Aryans, were suddenly overwhelmed and conquered the Indus Valley.
Wheeler, who
was director general of the Archaeological Survey of India from 1944 to 1948,
commented that most of the top-level bodies at the Mohenjo-Daro archaeological
site had been found free of charge. The theory was that the Aryans could easily
defeat the peaceful Harappan people by using horses and more advanced weapons.
Yet shortly
after Wheeler proposed his theory, other scholars rejected it, explaining that
the skeletons were not victims of assault, but rather remains of burial in a
hurry. Wheeler himself finally admitted that the theory could not be proven and
that the skeletons indicated only a final phase of human occupation, with the
erosion of urban structures likely to make it uninhabitable.
Opponents of
the later invasion theory have so far argued that the adherents of the concept
published in the 1940s justified the British government's policy of
infiltration and India's subsequent colonial rule.
Various elements of the Indus Valley Civilization are found in later cultures, implying that the civilization did not suddenly disappear as a result of the invasion. Many scholars believed in the Indo-Aryan migration theory and said that the Harappan culture was incorporated during the migration of the Aryan community to north-western India.
The Climate Change Theory (c. 1800-1500 BC)
Other
scholars suggest the collapse of Harappan society as a result of climate
change. Some experts believe that the drying up of the Saraswati River, which
began in 1900 BC, was the main cause of climate change, and others concluded
that a massive flood hit the region.
Any major
environmental change such as deforestation, floods or droughts as a result of
river diversion can have a devastating effect on Harappan society such as crop
failure, starvation and disease. Skeletal evidence proves that many people died
from malaria, which is often spread by mosquitoes. This can lead to economic
and civic discipline disasters in urban areas.
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| The ruins of the city of Lothal. Archaeological evidence suggests that the site was a major city before the fall of the Indus Valley Civilization, and that the area remained sparsely populated after the collapse. |
Another
catastrophic change in Harappan weather could be the rain or wind blowing
eastwards that brings heavy rainfall. Rainfall can be both beneficial and
detrimental to the climate, depending on whether it supports or destroys
agriculture. The monsoon rains in the Indus Valley helped to increase the
agricultural surplus, which helped in the development of cities like Harappa.
The population began to rely more on the monsoon season than on irrigation, and
the water supply dried up as the rains moved eastward.
By 1700 BC,
the climate in the Indus Valley had become colder and drier, and a tectonic
event could turn the Ghagar-Hakra river system towards the Gangetic plain. The
Harappans migrated eastwards to the Ganges basin, where they established
villages and isolated farms.
These small
communities cannot produce the same agricultural surplus to support large
cities. Trade with Egypt and Mesopotamia declined, including declining
production of goods. By 10,000 BC, most of the cities of the Indus Valley
Civilization had been abandoned.
The Indo-Aryan Migration and the Vedic Period
The
Indo-Aryans were part of the Indus Valley and Gangetic plains from 1800-10000
BC. This has been explained through Indo-Aryan migration and Kurgan theory.
The
Indo-Aryans came with their distinct religious beliefs and practices and
settled the Ganges plain.
The Vedic
period (1750-500 BC) is named for the Vedas, the oldest scriptures of Hinduism,
which were written at this time. The period can be divided into early Vedic
(1750-1000 BCE) and later Vedic (1000-500 BCE) periods.
Scholars
have debated the origins of the Indo-Aryan community in northern India. Many
have rejected Indo-Aryan language and claims outside India entirely outside
India. Other source estimates include an Indo-Aryan migration between 1800-1500
BC, and a mixture of nomadic peoples known as the Kurgan. Much of the history
of this period is derived from the Veda, the oldest scripture of Hinduism,
which helps to compile a timeline of an era from 1750-500 BC known as the Vedic
period.
The Indo-Aryan Migration (1800-1500 BCE)
It is
believed that foreigners migrated to India from the north and settled in the
Indus Valley and Gangetic plain from 1800 BC. The most prominent people in this
group spoke Indo-European languages and were called Aryans or
"aristocrats" in Sanskrit. These Indo-Aryans are a branch of the
Indo-Iranians, whose origins are in present-day northern Afghanistan. Around
1500 BC, the Indo-Aryans formed small herds and agricultural communities in
northern India.
In the
mid-1940s, British archaeologist Mortimer Wheeler estimated that these
migrations lasted for more than a century and probably did not involve any
attacks. Wheeler, who was the director general of the Archaeological Survey of
India from 1944 to 1947, suggested that the Indo-European tribe, the Aryans,
had suddenly conquered the Indus Valley. He based his decision on the ruins of
perfect corpses found at the top of the Mohenjo-daro archeological site, one of
the great cities of the Indus Valley Civilization, which he said were the
victims of war. Yet shortly after Wheeler offered his theory, other scholars
rejected it, explaining that the skeletons were not the victims of an assault,
but a remnant of a hasty burial. Wheeler himself finally admitted that the
theory could not be proven.
The Kurgan Hypothesis
The Kurgan
Hypothesis The Most Recognized Scenario of Indo-European Origins. It posted
that Pontic Stepp was a group of so-called Kurgan culture, Yamuna or Pit grave
culture, and its predecessors were speakers of the Proto-Indo-European
language. According to this theory, these nomadic priests spread throughout the
entire Pontic-Caspian steppe and spread to Eastern Europe as early as 3000 BC.
The people of Kurgan were mobile because of keeping their horses and later
using chariots.
Sources
-Boundless World History
-knowindia.gov.in/culture-and-heritage
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