Harappan Society

aThe Indus-Sarasvati (or Hakra) civilisation was located around the Indus and GhaggarHakra rivers; divided chronologically into four eras it stretches in time from the Neolithic period to the Iron Age. When examining the technological and cultural advances of this society, the period in which the Early Harappan phase (part of the Regionalisation era) develops into the Mature Harappan phase (Integration era), that is from 2800-2200BCE is of particular interest. In studying the developments of this society it is essential to take into account its various urban centres in order to compare and contrast, centres examined include Harappa, Mohenjo-daro (both in modern day Pakistan), Kalibangan and Lothal (in modern India). Various qualities that indicate a high level of technological and cultural advancement include the ample archaeological evidence of municipal town planning, in particular regards to the well developed hygiene facilities, an analysis of Mature Harappan subsistence methods (and how they developed from Early Harappan practices), evidence of developed trade routes over both land and sea, the detailed, highly crafted pottery and seals found at many of the sites and the mysterious undeciphered Harappan symbol script. Nearly all of the Mature Harappan sites discovered (406 in Pakistan, 616 in India) have shown ample archaeological evidence of forethought in the planning and though the sites span an area of over 2.5 million square miles, similarities in architectural devices appear. The location of many of the Harappan settlements is conditioned by river flooding patterns (to be returned to later in examination of subsistence practices), climate, the accessibility of natural resources and by the external and internal trade routes that existed. With populations ranging between 35-41,000 peoplei he cities themselves had various layouts, most likely for utilitarian purposes, both Harappan and Mohenjo-daro have a citadel mound that is quite distinct from the lower

Bibliography: -U. Singh: A History of Ancient Early Medieval India: From the Stone age to the 12th Century. This book provided me with information which allowed me to mould and develop both my thesis and the subjects examined. U. Singh 's analysis, while being on par with other well respected texts in terms of content and complexity, was accessible and comprehensive enough to be of use. Many of the texts I looked at were to refined to give someone who had no research background regarding the Indus Civilisation such as myself any relatable or easily understandable information. -bruceowen.com/worldprehist/EMC9f18.htm -G. Possehl: Harappan Civilisation and Rodji. -G. F. Dales: Excavations at Mohenjo Daro, Pakistan: the pottery. I was able to comprehend little of this book as it was written at a high level of specialisation yet what I could to extract was very useful in my discussion of Harappan pottery. -J. P. Joshi: Harappan Architecture and Civil Engineering. I found this useful when studying the houses and cities of the Harappans. -http://www.historytution.com/indus_valley_civilization/index.html -J. Marshall: Mohenjo-daro and the Indus Civilisation. -C. A. Winters: Harappan Basic Signs. This essay gave me a basic understanding of the Indus Script and its controversialities. i Dr. B. Owen: Anthropology 341: Lecture 18, 1999. ii S. R. Rao: Lothal. Archaeological Survey of India, 1985. iii Dr. J.P. Joshi: Harappan Architecture and Civil Engineering, 2002. iv U. Singh: A History of Ancient Early Medieval India: From the Stone Age to the 12th Century. v G. Possehl: Essay extract 1979 vi There is as yet, no resolution on the climactic conditions of the time with substantial evidence pointing in many directions. vii S. Ratgnar: unidentified paper, 1969. viiiJ. Hawkes: The first great civilisations, 1973. ix Lamberg Karlevsky suggests interaction sphere encompassing modern day Turkmenistan, Siestan and Afghanistan. x S. Ratnagar: unidentified paper, 1969. xi By this I mean that though Harappan artefacts have been found at Mesopotamian sites it is possible that intermediary cultures acted intermediary traders between the two ruling out certainty of established direct contact. xii W. Doniger: The Hindus, 2010. xiiiIt is quite possible that gold was hard-rock mined indicating a great level of organisation, technological efficiency and manpower. xiv J. Marshall: Mohenjo-Daro and the Indus Civilisation, 1944 (despite the age of this research the claim still stands). xv S.R. Rao: Dawn and Devolution of the Indus Civilisation, 1992. xvi Y. Knorozov: Protoindiyskie nadpisi (k probleme deshifrovki) - Sovetskaya Etnografiya ~ Proto-label (to the problem of decryption)- Soviet Ethnography. xvii T.Carr: The Harappan civilisation.