The Harappan Civilization: Insights into an Advanced Ancient Urban Culture, Study notes of History

Download The Harappan Civilization: Insights into an Advanced Ancient Urban Culture and more Study notes History in PDF only on Docsity!

Harappans

Indus Valley

Harappa

Mohenjo-Daro

2

Periods in History

Pleistocene Period :

These are geographical periods.

Pleistocene is known as Ice Age, it

ended around the 8th^ millennium B.C.

The Palaeolithic Age, in fact began in

this period and came to an end along

with this.

Holocene Period :

The Holocene period came

immediately after Pleistocene

period and continues till today.

4

Old World Civilizations

Harappan Civilization

Discovered in 1921.

After Ancient Egypt and

Mesopotamia this Civilization

emerged as the third major early

Civilization of Mankind.

7

Background

◈ The discovery of the Indus Valley civilization

was first recorded in the 1800's by the British.

The first recorded note was by a British army

deserter, James Lewis, who was posing as an

American engineer in 1826. He noticed the

presence of mounded ruins at a small town in

Punjab called Harappa

10 Alexander Cunningham Alexander Cunningham, who headed the Archaeological Survey of India, visited this site in 1853 and 1856 while looking for the cities that had been visited by Chinese pilgrims in the Buddhist period. The presence of an ancient city was confirmed in the following 50 years, but no one had any idea of its age or importance

Extent of the civilization

Sutkagendor(West) Manda(North) Alamgirpur(East) Daimabad(South)

Major Cities: Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa

◈ The cities are well known for their impressive,

organized and regular layout.

◈ They have well laid plumbing and drainage

system, including indoor toilets.

◈ Over one thousand other towns and villages also

existed in this region.

13

Major Cities: Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa

• The similarities in plan and construction between Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa

indicate that they were part of a unified government with extreme

organization.

• Both cities were constructed of the same type and shape of bricks.
• The two cities may have existed simultaneously and their sizes suggest that

they served as capitals of their provinces.

• In contrast to other civilizations, burials found from these cities are not

elaborate; they are more simplistic and contain few material goods.

• Remains of palaces or temples in the cities have not been found.
• No hard evidence exists indicating military activity, though the cities did

contain fortifications and artifacts such as copper and bronze knives, spears,

and arrowheads were recovered.

14

• Largest of all cities.
• Great Bath
• Great Granary
• Multi-pillared Assembly Hall Mohenjodaro

The Great Bath

◈ The "great bath" is the earliest public water tank. ◈ The tank measures approximately 12 meters north-south and 7 meters wide, with a maximum depth of 2.4 meters. ◈ Two staircases lead down into the tank from the north and south and small sockets at the edges of the stairs are thought to have held wooden planks or treads. ◈ At the foot of the stairs is a small ledge with a brick edging that extends the entire width of the pool. 17

Great Bath

Streets

At Mohenjo-Daro narrow streets and alleyways are off of the major streets, leading into more private neighborhoods. Many of the brick houses were two stories high, with thick walls and high ceilings to keep the rooms cool in the hot summer months.