The Indus Valley Civilization flourished during its formative period from 3300 to 1300 BCE, with its peak occurring between 2600 and 1900 BCE. This civilization occupied a vast territory along the Indus River, spanning from present-day northeast Afghanistan to Pakistan and northwest India.
Among the early civilizations of the ancient world, including Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia, the Indus Civilization was the most geographically extensive. Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro emerged as its principal cities around 2600 BCE, situated along the banks of the Indus River in present-day Sindh and Punjab provinces of Pakistan. Their excavation during the 19th and 20th centuries yielded valuable archaeological insights into ancient societies.
Architecture
The Harappan city was organized into distinct areas, with the western part being smaller yet elevated, serving as the citadel, and the eastern section being larger but at a lower elevation, known as the lower town. The citadel housed granaries, religious structures, public buildings, and assembly halls, while the lower town was divided into rectangular segments intersected by wide roads.
Artifacts from the Harappan civilization were crafted from various materials such as stone, shell, and metal. Copper and bronze were utilized for crafting tools, weapons, ornaments, and vessels, while gold and silver were employed for fashioning ornaments and vessels. Stone seals were also a notable aspect of their material culture, and they produced pottery adorned with intricate black designs. The city’s bricks were exceptionally well-made, exhibiting durability over thousands of years and laid in an interlocking pattern for added strength. Unfortunately, around a century and a half ago, many of these bricks were removed by engineers.
Residential structures in the Harappan city were typically one or two stories high, arranged along roads with rooms surrounding courtyards. The city boasted a sophisticated drainage system, with each house connected to street drains, which in turn emptied into larger drainage channels. These drains were covered with stone slabs arranged in straight lines, with inspection holes for maintenance purposes.
Farming
The farming and herding practices of the Harappan civilization included:
- Cultivation of wheat, barley, pulses, peas, rice, sesame, linseed, and mustard. They introduced new tools such as the plough for planting seeds and tilling the soil, necessitated by the low rainfall in the region.
- Herding of cattle, sheep, goats, and buffalo. Water sources and pastures were abundant around many settlement sites. Additionally, people supplemented their diet by collecting fruits, fishing, and hunting wild animals.
- Urban centers like Mohenjodaro, Harappa, and Lothal featured large storage facilities known as granaries for storing grains. Sites like Kalibangan and Lothal had prominent fire altars used for sacrificial rituals. Lothal also boasted a substantial dockyard for the loading and unloading of goods.
