Pre-historic India And The Harappan Culture

There are no written records are available for the prehistoric period. However, plenty of archaeological remains are found in different parts of India to reconstruct the history of this period.

In India, the prehistoric period is divided into the

• Palaeolithic (Old Stone Age),
• Mesolithic (Middle Stone Age),
• Neolithic (New Stone Age) and the Metal Age.

 

Paleolithic or Old Stone Age

• found in various parts of the Indian subcontinent.
• located near water sources.
• rock shelters and caves
• also lived rarely in huts made of leaves
• famous sites of Old Stone Age
  • The Soan valley and Potwar Plateau on northwest India.
  • The Siwalik hills on north India
  • Bhimpetka in Madhya Pradesh.
  • Adamgarh hill in Narmada valley
  • Kurnool in Andhra Pradesh and
  • Attirampakkam near Chennai

food was obtained by hunting animals and gathering edible plants and tubers.–hunter-gatherers

• used stone tools, hand-sized and flaked-off large pebbles for hunting animals
  • Stone implements are made of a hard rock known as quartzite
• A few Old Stone Age paintings found on rocks at Bhimbetka and other places.

Mesolithic or Middle Stone Age

• Mesolithic remains are found in Langhanj in Gujarat, Adamgarh in Madhya Pradesh and also in some places of Rajasthan, Utter Pradesh and Bihar
• paintings and engravings found at the rock shelters give an idea about the social life and economic activities of Mesolithic people.
• sites of Mesolithic Age, a different type of stone tools is found. These are tiny stone artefacts, often not more than five centimetres in size, and therefore called microliths
• a shift from big animal hunting to small animal hunting and fishing.
• use of bow and arrow also began during this period
• a tendency to settle for longer periods in an area
• domestication of animals, horticulture and primitive cultivation started
• Animal bones are found in these sites and these include dog, deer, boar and ostrich.
• Occasionally, burials of the dead along with some microliths and shells seem to have been practised.

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Neolithic Age

• 6000 B.C to 4000 B.C.
• found in various parts of India. These include the Kashmir valley, Chirand in Bihar, Belan valley inUttar Pradesh and in several places of the Deccan
• The important Neolithic sites excavated in south India are Maski, Brahmagiri, Hallur and Kodekal in Karnataka, Paiyampalli in Tamil Nadu and Utnur in Andhra Pradesh
• characteristic features
  • practice of agriculture
  • domestication of animal
  • polishing of stone tools
  • manufacture of pottery
  • Mudbrick houses were built instead of grass huts.
  • Wheels were used to make pottery.
  • cultivation of plants and domestication of animals led to the emergence of village communities based on sedentary life.
  • Pottery was used for cooking as well as storage of food grains
  • Large urns were used as coffins for the burial of the dead
  • There was also improvement in agriculture. Wheat, barley, rice, millet were cultivated in different areas at different points of time.
  • Rice cultivation was extensive in eastern India.
  • Domestication of sheep, goats and cattle
  • Cattle were used for cultivation and for transport
  • The people of the Neolithic Age used clothes made of cotton and wool

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Metal Age

• Neolithic period is followed by the Chalcolithic (copper-stone) period when copper and bronze came to be used.
• the technology of smelting metal ore and crafting metal artefacts
• But the use of stone tools was not given up
• micro-lithic tools continued to be essential items.
• People began to travel for a long distance to obtain metal ores
• This led to a network of Chalcolithic cultures
• Generally, Chalcolithic cultures had grown in river valleys.
• the Harappan culture is considered as a part of Chalcolithic culture
• In South India the river valleys of the Godavari, Krishna, Tungabhadra, Pennar and Kaveri were settled by farming communities during this period.
• Several bronze and copper objects, beads, terracotta figurines and pottery were found at Paiyampalli in Tamil Nadu.
• Chalcolithic age is followed by Iron Age
• Iron is frequently referred to in the Vedas.
• Iron Age of the southern peninsula is often related to Megalithic Burials
• burial pits were covered with these stones
  • Such graves are extensively found in South India.
• Some of the important megalithic sites are Hallur and Maski in Karnataka, Nagarjunakonda in Andhra Pradesh and Adichchanallur in Tamil Nadu
  • Black and red pottery, iron artefacts such as hoes and sickles and small weapons were found in the burial pits

HARAPPAN CULTURE

Important Sites

• Kot Diji in Sind, Kalibangan in Rajasthan, Rupar in the Punjab,
• Banawali in Haryana, Lothal, Surkotada and Dholavira, all the three in Gujarat

Mohenjodara is the largest of all the Indus cities and it is estimated to have spread over an area of 200 hectares

Origin and Evolution

• four important stages or phases of evolution
• pre-Harappan, early-Harappan, mature-Harappan and late Harappan.
• the pre-Harappan stage is located in eastern Baluchistan
  • In this stage, the nomadic people began to lead a settled agricultural life
• early-Harappan stage, the people lived in large villages in the plains.
  • gradual growth of towns in the Indus valley.
  • the transition from rural to urban life
  • sites of Amri and Kot Diji remain the evidence for early-Harappan stage

mature-Harappan stage, great cities emerged excavations at Kalibangan with its elaborate town planning and urban features prove this phase of evolution.

late-Harappan stage, the decline of the Indus culture started

• excavations at Lothal reveal this stage of evolution.
• It was surrounded by a massive brick wall as flood protection.
• Lothal remained an emporium of trade between the Harappan civilization and the remaining part of India as well as Mesopotamia.

Salient Features of the Harappan Culture

Town Planning

• • grid system – that is streets and lanes cutting across one another almost at right angles thus dividing the city into several rectangular blocks
  • Harappa, Mohenjodaro and Kalibangan each had its own citadel built on a high podium of mud brick
  • Below the citadel in each city lay a lower town containing brick houses, which were inhabited by the common people.
  • large-scale use of burnt bricks in almost all kinds of constructions and the absence of stone buildings are the important characteristics of the Harappan culture.
  • underground drainage system connecting all houses to the street drains which were covered by stone slabs or bricks.
• a public place of Mohenjodaro is the Great Bath
  • Flights of steps at either end lead to the surface
  • side rooms for changing clothes
  • the floor of the Bath was made of burnt bricks.
  • Water was drawn from a large well in an adjacent room, and an outlet from one corner of the Bath led to a drain.
  • must have served as a ritual bathing site.
• largest building in Mohenjodaro is a granary
• in the citadel of Harappa we find as many as six granaries.

Economic life

• great progress in all spheres of economic activity such as agriculture, industry and crafts and trade.
• Wheat and barley were the main crops grown besides sesame, mustard and cotton
• The surplus grain is stored in granaries
• sheep, goats and buffalo were domesticated.
• use of the horse is not yet firmly established
• artisans include goldsmiths, brick makers, stone cutters, weavers, boat-builders and terracotta manufacturers
  • Bronze and copper vessels are the outstanding examples of the Harappan metal craft
  • Gold and silver ornaments are found in many places
• Pottery remains plain and in some places red and black painted pottery is found.
• Beads were manufactured from a wide variety of semi-precious stones
• Internal trade was extensive with other parts of India
• Foreign trade was mainly conducted with Mesopotamia, Afghanistan Iran
• saw gold, copper, tin and several semi-precious stones were imported
• exports were several agricultural products such as wheat, barely, peas, oil seeds and a variety of finished products including cotton goods, pottery, beads, terracotta figures and ivory products.
• much evidence to prove the trade links between the Indus and Sumerian people.
• seals of Indus valley have been found in Mesopotamia.
• Trade was of the barter type
• The seals and the terracotta models of the Indus valley reveal the use of bullock carts and oxen for land transport and boats and ships for river and sea transport.

Social Life

• The dress of both men and women consisted of two pieces of cloth, one upper garment and the other lower garment.
• Beads were worn by men and women.
• Jewellery such as bangles, bracelets, fillets, girdles, anklets, ear-rings and finger-rings were worn by women.
• These ornaments were made of gold, silver, copper, bronze and semi-precious stones.
• use of cosmetics was common
• Various household articles made of pottery, stone, shells, ivory and metal have been found at Mohenjodaro. Spindles, needles, combs, fishhooks, knives are made of copper.
• Children’s toys include little clay carts
• Marbles, balls and dice were used for games
• Fishing was a regular occupation while hunting and bullfighting were other pastimes.
• There were numerous specimens of weapons of war such as axes, spearheads, daggers, bows, arrows made of copper and bronze

Arts

• revealed a high degree of workmanship
• Figures of men and women, animals and birds made of terracotta and the carvings on the seals show the degree of proficiency attained by the sculptor.
• figure of a dancing girl from Mohenjodaro made of bronze is remarkable for its workmanship
• the right-hand rests on the hip, while the left arm, covered with bangles, hangs loosely in a relaxed posture.
• Two stone statues from Harappa, one representing the back view of a man and the other of a dancer are also specimens of their sculpture

pottery

• pots and jars were painted with various designs and colours
• pictorial motifs consisted of geometrical patterns like horizontal lines, circles, leaves, plants and trees.

Script

• still to be fully deciphered.
• The script was mostly written from right to left.
• In a few long seals the boustrophedon method – writing in the reverse direction in alternative lines – was adopted.

Religion

• The chief male deity was Pasupati, (proto-Siva) represented in seals as sitting in a yogic posture with three faces and two horns.
  • surrounded by four animals (elephant, tiger, rhino, and buffalo each facing a different direction).
  • Two deer appear on his feet
• . The chief female deity was the Mother Goddess represented in terracotta figurines
• In later times, Linga worship was prevalent.
• Trees and animals were also worshipped by the Harappans.
• They believed in ghosts and evil forces and used amulets as protection against them.

Burial Methods

• cemeteries discovered around the cities like Mohenjodaro, Harappa, Kalibangan, Lothal and Rupar
• Complete burial and post-cremation burial were popular at Mohenjodaro
• At Lothal the burial pit was lined with burnt bricks indicating the use of coffins
• Wooden coffins were also found at Harappa.
• practice of pot burials is found at Lothal sometimes with pairs of skeletons.
• there is no clear evidence for the practice of Sati

The decline of the Harappan Culture

• Natural calamities like recurring floods, drying up of rivers, decreasing the fertility of the soil due to excessive exploitation and occasional earthquakes might have caused the decline of the Harappan cities.

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