Indus valley civilization or Harappa Civilization 3000 BC to 1500 BC

Indus valley civilization or Harappa Civilization 3000 BC to 1500 BC: India is one of the greatest countries in the world due to its great Vedic culture. India has the great civilization that is Indus valley civilization also called as Harappa Civilization.
The meaning of the civilization is Advancement or advanced stage in social development
It was called Indus valley civilization because at the beginning most of the cities were found in Indus valley. After discovered Harappa civilization in 1921 the historians thought that the ‘Harappa’ is the most appropriate name for this civilization.
Time of the civilization is 3000 BC to 1500 BC.

This civilization was spread in the north western part of Indian sub content.
The Harappa civilization was spread in
Panjab
Sindh
Baluchistan
Gujarat
Rajasthan
Haryana
Western Uttar Pradesh outer parts
Harappa civilization spread approximately 1.3 million square kilometers.
Harappa or Indus valley civilization is bigger than Egyptian and Mesopotamian civilizations.

Main cities in the Indus valley civilization are:

Harappa – Panjab
Mohenjo daro – Sindh
Chanhu daro – Sothern Sindh
Lothal – Gujarat
Kalibangan – Rajasthan
Banwali – Haryana
Indus valley Civilization has 250 cities total.

Great Things about Harappa or Indus valley civilization are:

Excellent Town Planning
Art of writing
Artistic skills
Dance
Gambling
Hunting
Cock Fighting
Indus valley Civilization has excellent town planning.
They divided the city into blocks in the rectangle shape.
Their main street has 30 feet width.
They divided the house into Central court yard, Three to four living rooms, a kitchen and bathroom.
They also maintained drainage system.

Indus Valley civilization Over View in Brief:

Bath rooms had drains and they were connected with sewers in the street.
They used large brick slabs to cover the sewers.
They also constructed manholes.
In the world no other contemporary civilization has drainage system.
Used burnt bricks
One more important feature is in the Indus valley civilizations is the Citadel.
They constructed a thick wall with mud bricks, towers at corners and bastions.
In Harappa civilization Citadel contains government buildings, religious buildings and granaries.
The wonderful thing about the Indus valley civilization was their pictographic script.
This civilization used 250 to 400 pictographs.
Style of the writing is right to left and left to right.
In Mohenjodaro a bronze dancing girl was found with artistic skills and bearded man, animals, silver, gold, valuable stones, glossy and pottery.

Origin of Indus Valley Civilization:

Three views are available which explains about the Indus Valley Civilization.

Indus Valley Civilization – View-I:
According to the first view the Indus Valley Civilization developed under the Sumerian Civilization’s influence.
This view holds by Mortimer Wheeler.
He was the Indian archeology after the 2nd world war.
According to the Wheeler both the Indus Valley Civilization and Sumerian civilization’s urban element was common.
Sumerian civilization was older than Indus Valley Civilization and fully developed earlier.
Hence Mortimer Wheelar thought that the Indus Valley Civilization might have developed under the influence of Sumerian civilization.
But in both Indus Valley Civilization and Sumerian Civilization similarities are very less.
They don’t have similarities in religion, technology and town planning.

Indus Valley Civilization View-II:
The second view was proposed by Mohammad Rafiq.
According to Rafiq Indus Valley Civilization was evolved from the Baluchi cultures.
It has four culture groups
i. Zhob
ii. Quetta
iii. Nal
iv. Kuli
Indus Valley Civilization III View:
Proposed by AK. Ghosh
According to him the Indus Valley Civilization was formed from Amri, Kot Diji and Kalibangan.
Indus Valley Civilization Decline
The main reasons for the decline are floods, Aryan invasions, earthquakes and desert expansion.

Indus Valley Civilization Living conditions:

Social Class in Indus Valley Civilization:
In the families different classes were existed.
They lived in 2 or 3 roomed apartments
Mother goddess was popular
Seals and terracotta figurines explains the religious life

Indus valley civilization-Devotional life :

Worshipped goddess, horned deity (Shiva), phallus, bull and papal.
Historians found many amulets in this civilization.
So can expect they might have belief in the magical charms and spells.
They have belief in life after death.
They kept pottery, implements in the grave with the dead.

FOOD In Indus valley civilization:

They have taken many items as their food. Meat, Fish, Milk products ,eggs, fruits, wheat, barley.

Indus Valley Civilization-Dress:

They used dhoti and shawl which are made up of woolen or cotton.
ORNAMENTS in Indus valley civilization::
The people in this civilization both the men and women none ornaments.

Main Ornaments are:

Necklaces, Finger vines, ear Rings, Headbands.
They made the-r ornaments with gold, silver, copper.
Women used hair styles and cosmetics like face creams.

Shelter:
Houses are well planned.
Houses contain three or four rooms.
They have facility of kitchen and bathrooms also,
Bath rooms have drains to send the waste water out.
Used burnt bricks to built houses.

Entertainment:

Indus valley civilization
Music, dance, hunting, indoor activities.
Economic life in Indus valley civilization ::

Occupation:

Main occupation is agriculture.
Maintained large granaries,
Historians found there granaries at Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro.
Maintained agriculture fields on the river banks.

Animal:

Oxen, Buffaloes, Sheep, Goat, Camels and elephants.
Horses they d-d not used.
But at surkatada the rema-ns of horses found.

Indus valley civilization Trade:

This civilization performed internal and external trade.

Internal trade:

They purchased different types of metals, stones from their neighboring countries.
They used bull cart and ships for the trade.
Bought gold from south India, Iran.
Silver from-afghanisthan.
Copper from-rajasthan, Baluchistan.
Tin –Afghanistan and Bihar.
Valuable stone –south India.

Indus valley civilization-External Trade:

They forformed external trade with mesopotmia.
Main exported things cotton, ivory, combs, silver, peacocks.
They used barter exchange mode.
(Mesopotamian texts refer to Indus or Saurastra regions as meluha)

Indus valley civilization-Technology:

The indus valley civilization people known gold, silver, bronze and tin, copper.
They don’t know iron.
Used burnt bricks to build houses.
Excellent town planning.
Used ships on the sea for transportation.
Used carts run with wheels.