📅 1. Time Period and Discovery
- Period:
c. 2500 BCE – 1750 BCE (Mature phase)
- Early Harappan Phase: 3300–2600 BCE
- Mature Harappan Phase: 2600–1900 BCE
- Late Harappan Phase:
1900–1300 BCE
- Discovered by:
- Harappa:
1921 – by Daya Ram Sahni (Punjab, now in Pakistan)
- Mohenjo-Daro:
1922 – by R.D. Banerjee (Sindh, Pakistan)
- Excavations supervised by: Sir John Marshall (then Director-General, ASI)
- Nature:
Bronze Age civilization (use of copper + bronze; no iron)
🗺️ 2. Geographical Extent
- Covered parts of modern-day India, Pakistan, and
Afghanistan
- North:
Manda (Jammu & Kashmir)
- South:
Daimabad (Maharashtra)
- East:
Alamgirpur (Uttar Pradesh)
- West:
Sutkagendor (Baluchistan, near Iran border)
- Area covered:
~12.5 lakh sq. km (larger than Mesopotamia or Egypt)
- Main Rivers:
Indus, Ravi, Beas, Sutlej, Chenab, Ghaggar-Hakra (Saraswati)
🏙️ 3. Town Planning & Architecture
- Highly planned urban centers with grid pattern (streets cut each other at
right angles)
- Main materials:
Baked bricks (uniform size)
- Cities divided into:
- Citadel:
Elevated area for administrative and religious buildings
- Lower town:
Residential area for common people
- Drainage system:
Underground, covered drains with inspection holes
- Public buildings:
Granaries, Great Bath, Assembly halls
- No large palaces or temples found → indicates egalitarian society
🏗️ Important Sites &
Unique Features
|
Site |
Location |
Special
Features |
|
Mohenjo-Daro |
Sindh (Pakistan) |
Great Bath, Granary, Bronze
Dancing Girl, Pashupati Seal, Bearded Priest, Assembly Hall |
|
Harappa |
Punjab (Pakistan) |
Granaries, Cemetery R-37, Evidence
of burial practices |
|
Dholavira |
Gujarat |
Water reservoirs, stadium,
signboard with Harappan script |
|
Lothal |
Gujarat |
Dockyard, Fire altars, Bead-making
factory |
|
Kalibangan |
Rajasthan |
Ploughed field, Fire altars, Human
skeletons, wooden plough evidence |
|
Banawali |
Haryana |
Fortified town, pre- and
post-Harappan phases |
|
Rakhigarhi |
Haryana |
Largest IVC site in India, human
skeletons with DNA found |
|
Chanhudaro |
Sindh |
Bead-making factory, toys, no
citadel |
|
Sutkagendor |
Baluchistan |
Coastal trading post near Iran |
|
Alamgirpur |
Uttar Pradesh |
Easternmost site, pottery and
terracotta figures |
|
Ropar |
Punjab (India) |
Burial site with dog & human
skeletons together |
|
Daimabad |
Maharashtra |
Southernmost site; bronze chariot,
buffalo & elephant figures |
⚙️ 4. Economic Life
Agriculture
- Main occupation
- Crops: Wheat, Barley, Mustard, Dates, Melons, Sesamum,
Cotton (Harappans were first to grow cotton in the world)
- Evidence of plough fields – Kalibangan
- Irrigation system possibly used (wells, canals, tanks)
- Domesticated animals: Humped bull, buffalo, sheep,
goat, dog, camel, elephant
Industry & Crafts
- Highly skilled craftsmen
- Crafts: Pottery, bead-making, metalwork, shell &
ivory carving
- Chanhudaro
– bead-making center
- Lothal & Dholavira – evidence of metallurgy
- Metals known:
Copper, Bronze, Gold, Silver, Lead
- Iron was unknown
- Pottery: Red or black polished ware with geometric
designs
- Seals & ornaments: Used for trade & identity
Trade
- Internal trade:
Between cities & villages
- External trade:
With Mesopotamia, Oman, Bahrain (Dilmun & Magan)
- Ports:
Lothal, Sutkagendor
- Transport:
Bullock carts, boats
- Weights & measures: Binary system (16, 64, 160)
- Currency:
No coins → Barter system
🙏 5. Religion
- Polytheistic
and nature-based
- Main deities:
- Mother Goddess (symbol of fertility)
- Proto-Shiva / Pashupati (seated figure with animals)
- Other symbols:
- Sacred animals: Bull, Elephant, Tiger, Unicorn
- Sacred tree: Peepal
- Fire worship at Kalibangan & Lothal
- No temples or idol worship like later periods
- Burial practices:
- Types: Complete burial, fractional burial, urn burial
- Found at: Harappa, Ropar, Lothal
👩👩👧 6. Society & Culture
- Urban, class-based, and literate society
- Diet:
Wheat, barley, fish, meat, milk, dates, vegetables
- Dress:
Cotton & woolen garments, ornaments of gold, silver, copper, beads
- Entertainment:
Dancing, music, dice, games, animal fights
- Art & sculpture:
- Bronze Dancing Girl (Mohenjo-Daro)
- Bearded Priest (Mohenjo-Daro)
- Terracotta figures, toys, carts, seals
✍️
7. Script & Language
- Script:
Pictographic (around 400–500 symbols)
- Writing style:
Right to Left (sometimes boustrophedon)
- Undeciphered:
Possibly Dravidian or Proto-Dravidian language
- Found on seals, pottery, tools, copper tablets, etc.
⚰️ 8. Decline of Civilization
Probable causes:
1.
Recurrent floods and earthquakes
2.
Drying of Saraswati (Ghaggar-Hakra)
river
3.
Overuse of land → soil exhaustion
4.
Decline of trade with Mesopotamia
5.
Climate change & desertification
6.
Some theories mention Aryan invasion
(less accepted now)
📚 9. Important Quick Facts (for Exams)
|
Fact |
Answer |
|
First site discovered |
Harappa (1921) |
|
Great Bath found at |
Mohenjo-Daro |
|
Dockyard found at |
Lothal |
|
Fire altars |
Kalibangan, Lothal |
|
Ploughed field |
Kalibangan |
|
Largest site overall |
Mohenjo-Daro |
|
Largest site in India |
Rakhigarhi |
|
Smallest site |
Allahdino |
|
Granary |
Harappa, Mohenjo-Daro |
|
Bronze Dancing Girl |
Mohenjo-Daro |
|
Bearded Priest |
Mohenjo-Daro |
|
Water management system |
Dholavira |
|
Port city |
Lothal |
|
Southernmost site |
Daimabad |
|
Script deciphered? |
No |
|
Metal unknown |
Iron |
|
First to grow cotton |
Harappans |
|
Major export |
Beads, metals, jewelry |
|
Major import |
Tin, silver, lapis lazuli |
🧠 10. Key Takeaways for MCQs
- Harappan Civilization = Bronze Age, Urban, Secular
- First Planned Cities in World History
- No temples or idols → non-theocratic governance
- Highly developed drainage and sanitation system
- Trade with Mesopotamia (Evidence: Mesopotamian seals
mention Meluhha)
- Decline due to environmental and economic factors