Title: Early and the Mature Indus Civilization and its Sites.
Abstract
The Indus civilization is much older than previously thought, with excavations in present-day Punjab and Sindh dating it back at least 3,000, and possibly 5,000, years. Archaeologists have uncovered various features of the civilization at multiple excavation sites in different locations. Scholars have categorized the Indus Valley civilization into three phases: Early Harappan, Mature Harappan, and Late Harappan. Therefore, this write-up seeks to explore the history of the Indus people and their civilization by examining the two early phases. Furthermore, this writing will present archaeological evidence from various sites.
Introduction
The Indus Valley Civilization, also known as the Harappan Civilization, is believed to be one of the earliest urban civilizations of the Indian subcontinent. It was first discovered in 1921 at Harappa in Punjab and at Mohenjodaro near the Indus River in 1922. Both Harappa and Mohenjodaro are currently located in Pakistan. The Indus Valley Civilization is divided into three phases: Early Harappan, Mature Harappan, and Late Harappan. This write-up will explore the first two phases. Kot Diji, Amri-Nal, Sothi-Siswal, and Damb Sadaat are the four different archaeological phases of early Harappan sites, while Dholavira, Kunal, and Harappa are the major developmental sites of the mature Harappan phase. Additionally, sites such as Ghazi Shah, Nausharo, Amri, and Banawali were also early and mature Harappan phase sites. The major developmental aspects of the civilization, such as farming, trading, labour classification, and urbanization, began mostly during the mature Harappan phase.
Indus Valley Civilization
The Indus River Valley Civilization, which can be dated back to around 3300 to 1300 BCE, is also known as the Harappan Civilization. This civilization is divided into three phases: the Early Harappan Phase, which can be dated from 3300 to 2600 BCE, the Mature Harappan Phase, from 2600 to 1900 BCE, and the Late Harappan Phase, from 1900 to 1300 BCE.
In 1856, one of the colonial officials of British India was monitoring the construction of a railway to connect Lahore city and Karachi via the Indus River Valley, which is now in Pakistan. While they were working, some workers saw large quantities of fire-baked bricks in the dry terrain. They saw plenty of uniform old-looking bricks but did not bother about their existence and used them to construct the road. They had no idea about these ancient artefacts. Later, they also found bricks made of soap featuring intricate decorative marks. Archaeologists began to excavate in 1920 in the Punjab province, now in Pakistan. At first, scholars believed it was the Maurya Empire that had control with superior authority around 322-185 BCE. However, scholars have developed the hypothesis that the origin of the Harappan civilization is Mehrgarh in the foothills of Balochistan in Pakistan.
Early Harrapan
M.R. Mughal clearly defined the early Harappan Phase based on the study of archaeological artefacts dating back to around 3200 BCE to 2500 BCE. He used the term "early Harappan" to describe the cultural development stage in that region. He argued that the term "Pre-Harappan" is misleading and creates a chronological gap between the Pre-Harappan age and the Mature Harappan culture. Similarly, words such as "antecedent" and "proto-Harappan" used in the archaeological field are vague. Mughal believed that materials found at Amri, Kalibangan, and Kot Diji belong to the early Harappan period. There are approximately 477 early Harappan sites, which are around 4.51 hectares in size. Kot Diji, Amri-Nal, Sothi-Siswal, and Damb Sadaat are the four different archaeological phases of early Harappan sites.
There are 164 Amri-Nal Phase sites with an average size of 3.37 hectares and around 602 hectares of the settled area. The early settlement and habitation of the Amri-Nal phase can firstly be located in North Gujarat and later in southern Baluchistan and western Sindh. The Kirthar Piedmont, Gedrosia, and Sindha Kohistan are the sites of the Amri-Nal phase, where different ceramics were found. More Amri wares were found in the Sindh region, while a greater number of Nal wares were found in Gedrosia. However, in southwestern Sindh, the Amri-Nal and Kot Diji phase sites overlap, and there are more significant numbers of Kot Diji ceramics present at Amri-Nal sites. This shows the existence of economic, political, social, and cultural interaction between these two regions.
The next early Harappan site is seen in the North Baluchistan at Quetta Valley, which is called the Damb Saddat Phase. There are 37 sites of the Damb Saddat Phase with a site size of 2.64 hectares and an estimated total settled area of 98 hectares. The Quetta and Pishin valleys were the main routes for communication between Afghanistan and the Indus Plains, and its ceramics were also widely shared around Central Asia.
There are 111 Kot Diji Phase sites with an average site size of 6.3 hectares and an estimated total settled area of 700 hectares. This is the largest site of the early Harappan phase and played a crucial role in urbanizing the Indus. Its ceramics are found up to the Kirthar Range and Phang and in northern Sindh, the North Frontier, and Punjab.
The Sothi-Siswal Phase has 165 sites with an average site size of 4.28 hectares and an estimated total settled area of 706 hectares. Indian Punjab, Northern Rajasthan, and Haryana were the sites of Sothi-Siswal, the Northern Doab between Ganga and Yamuna rivers. This phase's ceramics and other materials were found to be very similar to the Kot Diji. B.K Thapar designated the fabric found A to F.
The faint black-painted, poorly-potted, short-necked jars with a black band at Kot Diji are designated to Fabric A. Rusticated and smooth pots of lower and upper, respectively, are designated to Fabric B. The find wares pottery with a smooth outer surface, which presents slips in red, purple, and plum red, are classified as Fabric C. Thick sturdy materials that were used as storage jars, basins, etc., were designated to Fabric D. Fabric E constitutes Buff ware and the grey ware that are flange neck jars, pots, and globular with flat lids with the vertical rim is placed to Fabric F. Although there were only smaller settlements with little evidence of public architecture and social classification, the early Harappan is considered an indicator of impending urbanization.
Mature Harappan
The early and mature Harappan periods were bridged by a transitional phase. Some think it lasted as short as 50 to 100 years while others believe it was longer, possibly more than 200 years. However, most agree that urbanization developed during this transition period in the Indus region. The earliest Harappan settlement dates back to Kaibangan at 2600 BCE, while Balakot, Allahdino, and sites in Saurashtra suggest that settlements were established in the southern part of the Indus valley around 2400 BCE. Drastic development and transition can be seen in the four sites: Dholavira, Kunal, Kot Diji, and Harappa. Additionally, sites such as Ghazi Shah, Nausharo, Amri, and Banawali were also early and Mature Harappan Phase sites. Thus, it is believed that the mature Harappan period was the beginning of a farming society, pastoral camps, urbanization, and larger settlements that marked sociocultural complexity. There was also a social class system, such as the classification of labor. Some scholars, such as Shaffer and Lichtenstein, believe that the Indus Valley civilization was a fusion of the Early Harappan People, which appeared to happen very quickly.
It is said that the people of Mature Harappan had knowledge of the writing system. They also engaged in the long-distance sea and overland trade. Additionally, the study of Ur's Mesopotamian cuneiform text revealed broad trade between Mesopotamia and Mature Harappa. A few temples for offerings, such as goddess Ningal, were found. Contacts between Mesopotamia and the Indus Civilization were evident throughout the Gulf. Mature Harappa was also in contact with the states of Northern Afghanistan and some parts of Central Asia via an overland route because there was a presence of Indus seals and other artefacts in Altyn Depe. In the Punjab and Sindh regions, barley might have been the main food grain. Mature Harappan farmers widely used this grain around the subcontinent. The Indus people were believed to be good at managing food grains and domesticated animals since their livelihood was highly dependent on those plants and animal domestication while travelling into different parts of Indus. Trade and commerce were also practised besides farming and pastoralism. There was also interaction with the West that made a firm grounding in the subsistence system with the seasonal migration of animals. This seasonal migration of pastoralists might have provided a good opportunity for trading goods. However, the interactions between the Indus civilization and the West were not strongly proven. Nevertheless, looking at the presence of some artefacts and ancient material, a hypothesis was developed about the existence of regional interaction with the West. Only the textual record in Mesopotamia was found, which can be dated back to around the third millennium BCE.
Conclusion
The Indus or Harappan civilization, which was discovered in 1921, is divided into three phases. Pre-Harappan was later renamed Early Harappan by M.R. Mughul, and its period can be traced back to 3300-2600 BCE. On the other hand, the mature Harappan phase took place from 2600 to 1900 BCE, during which significant developmental activities such as trade, farming, classification of society, and urbanization occurred. The Early Harappan phase comprises of four significant sites.
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| Karma Nidup Masters in Historical Studies School of Historical Studies, Nalanda University |
