Harappa

The Harappa Civilization is the type site of the Indus Valley Civilizations of the Bronze Age in the Northwestern region of South Asia.

Location

• Banks of the Ravi River, a tributary of the Indus River

Salient Features:

• Farming and herding was prevalent
• City - pakka housed with baked bricks
• International trade

Salient missing features:

• Did not use iron (as it came later in the Iron Age)
• Did not use horses
• Did not cultivate sugarcane

Discovery¶

• Initially discovered by railway workers laying train in Punjab (presently in Pakistan)
• Archaeologists re-discovered in 1921 by Dayaram Sahni

Period of City¶

???

Trading in Harappa¶

• Copper from present-day Rajasthan and Oman
• Tin from Afghanistan and Iran
  • Tin was mixed with Copper to produce Bronze - Hence Bronze Age civilization
• Gold from present-day Karnataka
• Precious stones from Gujarat, Iran, Afghanistan

Transportation¶

• Use of Carts on wheels

Food and Agriculture¶

Food¶

Harappans grew

• wheat
• barley
• pulses
• peas
• Rice
• sesame
• linseed
• mustard

Agriculture¶

Plough¶

Harappans knew about plough, used to dig earth.

Irrigation¶

Harappans knew about Irrigation - as the region did not have enough rainfall.

Animal Husbandry¶

Reared

• cattle
• sheet
• goat
• buffalo

They did NOT use horses.

Hunting¶

Hunted wild animals like

• Antelope

Caught fish - fishing was prevalent.

The decline of Harappa¶

Around 1900 BCE, people stopped living, writing, and importing from long distances.

Mohenjodaro has traces of garbage piled up on the street, and broken drainage system.

Theories¶

• Rivers dried up
• Deforestation
  • Use of fuel for making bricks and smelting ores for metals
  • Grazing by herds

None explain everything fully.