Indus Valley Civilization Notes for UPSC Exams

Indus Valley Civilization

Indus Valley Civilization, also known as Harappan civilization was the first urban culture in the Indian subcontinent. It was a bronze age culture that flourished in North-western Indian subcontinent. It was earlier known as the Indus valley civilization as most sites discovered were near the Indus valley river system. However, as the discovery of newer sites outside the Indus river system progressed it became clear that the extent of the civilization covered even the Ganga plains. Scholars now prefer to call it Harappa Civilization, after name of the first site discovered here.

Chronology of Indus Valley Civilization

Although various sites in the Indus valley dates back to the Neolithic era from before 5000BCE, the ‘bronze age’ Harappan civilization is dated between 3300 BCE to 1300 BCE. This whole period is divided into three phases: Early Harappan, Mature Harappan and Late Harappan, as given below –  

Harappan Phases		Important Sites	Features
Early Harappan (3300-2600BCE)	1A/B Ravi Phase (Hakraware) (3300 – 2800BCE)	Harappa, Amri Nal	Regionalisation Phase Small settlementsDevelopment of trade network, Increasing Specialisation in Crafts
	2 – Kot Diji Phase (2800-2600BCE)	Kot Diji
Mature Harappan (2600- 1900BCE)	Further divided into three phases: 3A (2600-2450BCE) 3B (2450-2200BCE) 3C (2200-1900BCE)	Mohenjo-Daro, Harappa, Kalibangan, Dholavira.	Integration Phase Organised irrigation system Full-scale urbanisation,Emergence of writing Uniformity in artefacts, Full-fledged trade
Late Harappan (1900- 1300BCE)	4 – Transitional Phase (1900-1700BCE)	Late Siswal, Rojdi, Rangpur	Localisation phase Decline, Abandonment of some sites,Rise of the pastoral mode
	5 – Cemetary H Phase (1700-1300BCE)	Cemetery-H at Harappa, Ochre colour pottery (OCP)

Early Harappan cultures  

These are situated in four clusters of cultures which cover the entire Indus basin and parts of Baluchistan. They are: –  

1. Kot Dijian culture

• It is the largest area covering NWFP, Pakistan’s Punjab and northern Sindh.
• It was occupied during both the early Harappan and mature Harappan phases.
  • Kot Diji had a fortified settlement with a town divided into an upper citadel and a lower town.
  • We find ‘well fired red and buff wares’ pottery with motifs like a horned deity, pipal leaves and fish scales engraved in black.

2. Sothi-Siswal culture

• It covers northern Rajasthan (Kalibangan), Indian Punjab and Haryana. 
• It was fortified with a wall. 
• Mud brick houses with central courtyards were found here. 
• A large hoard of lapis lazuli micro-beads was found here. 

3. Amri-Nal

Amri-Nal is spread in Baluchistan, Central and Southern Sindh, with extensions in Gujarat.

• Some of the settlements were fortified.
• In Baluchistan, Nal pottery and Sindh, Amri pottery were found.
• The people here were pastoralists, migrating to the highlands in summer and Indus valley in winter.

4. Damb Sadaat

• It is a part of Central Baluchistan. 
• Pottery similar to Kot Diji was found here but it had a distinct plant, animal and geometric motifs. 

5. Mature Harappan Culture  

During this phase, Harappan culture reached its peak and was the largest civilisation in the ancient world. It covered large parts of Pakistan and North-West India, and one site is located in Afghanistan.  

• We have found some new types of potteries (style, clay fabrics, vessel forms and painting) apart from the continuous previous phase. 
• There was an increasing use of bronze. 
• Use of Baked bricks in buildings and writing was now a standard across all sites. 
• Civic amenities such as houses with bathrooms, an efficient network of roads, and an elaborate system of drainage and water supply system were now a common feature across all sites. 

6. Late Harappan Culture 

By 1900BCE most of the mature Harappan cities were abandoned. People settled into new sites in Gujarat, Haryana and western UP, although, a few older Harappan sites continued to be occupied such as Siswal(Called late Siswal in late Harappan), Rangpur, Swat and Jhukar. 

• There was a disappearance of distinctive features of Harappan culture such as weights, seals, special beads, writing, long-distance trade, large public structures and craft specialisation 
• House construction techniques deteriorated. 
• There seems to be the arrival of a new group of people with distinct burial practices. They have different pottery than Harappans. Their cultures came to be known as ‘Cemetery H‘ culture (Late Siswal Culture).

The Extent of the Indus Valley Civilization

The Indus valley civilization extended from Manda in Kashmir to South Diamabad in the south and from Suktagendor in the west to Alamgirpur in the East.

Major sites of Harappan Cvilization 

There are hundreds of sites in the Harappan civilization. Most of them have similar finds such as seals, beads, pottery and city structure. However, there are few major sites which are rich in artefacts.  

Following are the eight most important Indus valley civilization sites.   

Mohenjo-Daro (the mound of the dead)             Imagesource: https://www.harappa.com/slide/great-bath-mohenjo-daro-0	It is the 2nd largest site250 hectares it is the 2nd largest site of Harappan Culture after Rakhigarhi. Discovery and excavations by RD Banerjee (1922) & John Marshall, Ernest Mackay, K. N. Dikshit (the 1930s). Region: on River Indus in Sindh Province, Pakistan  Structure of the town: The town was divided into a western citadel mound and an eastern lower town. Both parts were built on a platform and had walled fortifications. Major buildings/Artefacts discovered here: Buildings/Constructions: Great Granary, Great Bath (the largest building of civilization), Assembly Hall, Brick Kilns. Sculptures: Bronze Image of a nude woman dancer (“The Dancing Girl”), bronze bull, Steatite image of a bearded man, Clay figures of Mother Goddess, cylindrical stones which could be shiva-ling. Seals: Pashupati Mahadeva/ProtoShiva (seal), 2 Mesopotamian seals, 1398 seals (56% of total seals of civilization). Other items found: Shell strips, A fragment of woven cotton, Dice, and Human skeletons huddled together.  The Great Bath- is the unique feature in this site. It was situated in the citadel part of the town in a hall.  In an adjacent room was a big well, meant to supply water to the bathing pool. Drains were connected to the bath for in-let and out-let of water. A ring of rooms, both big and small, as well as corridors were around the bath. On three sides of the bath were galleries for spectators. It is believed that the Great Bath was for the exclusive use of the ruling and priestly classes.
Harappa       https://www.harappa.com/slide/granary-harappa	Discovery and excavations by Daya Ram Sahni(1930s). Region: on river Ravi in Punjab, Pakistan. Structure of the town: Here too the town was divided into a western citadel mound and an eastern lower town. The citadel area was surrounded by a thick mud-brick wall. Major buildings/Artefacts discovered here: Buildings/Constructions: 6 Granaries in a row and a circular brick platform (for threshing grains) in the south of granaries, two rooms barrack for housing labourers, Cemetery R-37 and cemetery- H. Sculptures: a red sandstone male torso. cylindrical stones which could be shiva-ling. Seals: Virgin goddess seal Jewellery/Ornaments: Vanity box Other items found: Coffin burials (only found here), Piece of Pottery with Indus Script, Copper scale, Barley in a wooden mortar, and Dice.
Kalibangan      https://www.harappa.com/blog/indus-cylinder-seals	Discovery and excavations by BB Lal and BK Thapad Region: west of river Ghaggar in Rajasthan, India Structure of the site: It consists of a higher citadel mound on the west, and a lower residential mound on the east. The citadel is divided into a northern and southern sector by a wall. In the northern sector, a few houses and a road has been recovered. The southern sector has no residential structure. This site had pre-Harappan continuity. Major buildings/Artefacts discovered here: Buildings/Constructions: mud brick platforms in the southern sector of the citadel had decorated bricks. Sun dried bricks were used in building houses. Seals: Mesopotamian style cylindrical seal. Other items found: a few altars containing ash, charcoal, and clay stele on the mud brick platform of the southern sector of the citadel. Fire altars in the eastern lower mound. Ploughed field surface, Wheels of a toy cart.
Chanhudaro	Discovery and excavations by N. G. Majumdar in March 1931. Region: on River Indus in Sindh, Pakistan It is the only major site with no fortified citadel. Discovery of various factories for Bead making, shell making, bangles and ladles making suggest that it was more of an industrial town. Major buildings/Artefacts discovered here: Buildings/Constructions: Workshops and industrial quarters and some warehouses were found here. Sculptures: A terracotta model of a bullock cart, Bronze toy cart. Seals: Various Harappan seal were manufactured here. Other items found: a hoard of copper and bronze tools.
Lothal    https://www.harappa.com/lothal/14.html	Discovery and excavations by S.R Rao in 1955. Region: It is located in the low deltaic region of the Saurashtra peninsula on River Bhogava inGujarat. It is the only major port site of Harappa. It is believed that the sea was once closer to this site. Here both the citadel and the lower town are located within the same complex. It was an important site for shell working. Major buildings/Artefacts discovered here: Buildings/Constructions: warehouse building in the citadel, a dockyard, fire altars Sculptures: A terracotta model of a bullock cart and a model of a ship. Bronze toy cart. Seals: Terracotta seals having impressions of reed, woven fibre, cords, and matting, Persian / Iranian seal, Baharainean seal Other items found: Double burial (a male & a female in a single grave), Rice husk (found in only two places, other is Rangapur), early chess set, copper furnace.
Dholavira	Discovery and excavations by Jagat Pati Joshi in 1968. Region: Situation on River Luni in on an island in Runn of Kutch. Instead of two, it has three parts a town citadel-bailey(courtyard) complex, a middle town and a lower town located within the same fortified complex. Major buildings/Artifacts discovered here: Buildings/Constructions: Buildings made of locally available sandstone instead of mud bricks. Various reservoirs like such as check dams to conserve water, and a stadium. Sculptures: Bronze animal figurine, a stone sculpture of a mongoose. Other items found: a Harappan inscription on a signboard.
Banawali	Discovery and excavations by Dr R.S.Bhist in 1974.         Region: It is situated at Dried Rangoi River in Haryana, India         The town is fortified with a radial pattern. The citadel and lower town were situated in the same complex. This site has continuity of both pre and mature Harappan cultures.         Major buildings/Artifacts discovered here: Buildings/Constructions: A multi-roomed house may be of a merchant. Sculptures: terracotta plough model Seals: inscribed steatite seals, terracotta seals,        Jewellery/ornaments: beads of semi-precious stones, terracotta, steatite and bangles of clay, shell, faience and copper. Other items found: a sophisticated red ware with animal and floral design, foil in gold, copper fish hooks, and charred barley grains.
Rakhigarhi (Hisar,Haryana)   Source:https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-46806084	Area: It is the biggest site of Harappa with recent finds suggesting an area of around 550 hectares, being double the size of Mohenjodaro. Here Harappan Site is located exactly below the present settlement.         River-Drishadvati River         It was continually inhabited between 6000BCE to 2500BCE, giving the indication of Gradual evolution of the Harappans.         Major buildings/Artefacts discovered here: Around 40 human remains were found. Some are being used to recreate the faces of Harappan people. Five trenches have revealed residential rooms, a bathroom with a soak jar, drainages, a hearth, and a platform. A seal and a potsherd, both inscribed with the Harappan script; The potsherds are painted with concentric circles, fish-net designs, wavy patterns, floral designs and geometric designs; Hopscotches and shell bangles, steatite seals, terracotta bangles, terracotta unbaked sealing with relief of elephants. Structure of some houses, lanes and a drainage system, jewellery-making unit were found. The structure of the house revealed an aristocratic settlement.

The Indus valley Civilization saw many striking features that the civilizations of that time, namely, Mesopotamia, Egypt and China lacked. These include the focus on sanitation, city planning, secular society and the degree of equality. This aspect is discussed in detail in our next page. 

Chronology of Excavations/Discovery of sites 

Following is the gist of all the major excavations that have taken place till date in the Indus valley civilization. 

Year	Archaeologist	Excavations/Finds
1829	Charles Masson	He came across Harappa in 1829 and wrongly identified it as Sangala, a city of the time of Alexander.
1856	Alexander Cunningham (1st ASI director)	Visited Harappa & wrongly concluded it to be a Buddhist monastery.
1872-75	He published about 1st Harappan Seal and said it was not of Indian origin as it depicted a bull without a hump.
1900s	Daya Ram Sahni (1st Indian ASI director)	Discovered many Seals in the area.
1921	Began excavating Harappa with MS Vats, on the banks of the river Ravi.
1921	Rakhal Das Banerji, Ernest JH Mackay, John Marshall (ASI director)	– Found similar seals at Mohenjo-Daro, leading to the conjecture that sites were part of a single archaeological culture. – Continued excavation by JH Mackay, GF Dales & MS Vats.
1946	REM Wheeler	Excavates Harappa and Kot Dijian deposits
1955	SR Rao	Began excavations at Lothal.
1955	F.A Khan	Identified Kot Diji
1960	BB Lal & BK Thapar	Began excavations at Kalibagan
1974	MR Mughal	Began excavations at Bahawalpur
1980	German & Italian team	Began surface explorations at Mohenjo-Daro.
1986	American team	Began excavations at Harappa.
1990	RS Bisht	Began excavations at Dholavira.
2004	L.S Rao	Began excavations at Bhirrana (Haryana)
2019		New archaeological findings in Keezhadi (Tamil Nadu) suggested connection with Harappan culture
2022	S K Manjul	New round of excavations at Rakhigarhi

FAQ’s Related to Indus Valley Civilization Notes for UPSC

Who discovered harappan civilization?

Harappan Civilization was discovered by archaeologist Sir John Marshal and Daya Ram Sahni in 1921. Daya Ram Sahni excavated the site of Harappa in modern day Pakistan.

Top 10 Sites of Indus Valley Civilization

10 famous sites of Indus Valley civilization-

1. Mohenjo-Daro, Pakistan
2. Harappa, Pakistan
3. Dholavira, India
4. Lothal, India
5. Kalibangan, India
6. Ganeriwala, Pakistan
7. Rakhigarhi, India
8. Surkotada, India
9. Rupar, India
10. Banawali, India

Which is the oldest civilization in the world?

Sumerian Civilization in Mesopotamia, dating back to around 4500BCE, is considered the world’s oldest civilization. Indus Valley civilization (3300BCE- 1300BCE)

Explore additional significant articles on Ancient Indian History listed in the table below:

Various Aspects of Harappan Civilisation	Decline of Harappan Culture
Stone Age	Vedic Culture
The Mahajanapadas	Persian and Greek Invasions
Mauryan Empire	Gupta Empire