ChronologyMain article:Periodization of the Indus Valley CivilizationThe mature phase of the Harappan civilizationlasted from c. 2600 to 1900 BCE. With the inclusion of the predecessor and successor cultures—Early Harappan and Late Harappan, respectively—the entire Indus Valley Civilization may be taken to have lasted from the 33rd to the 14th centuries BCE. Two terms are employed for the periodization of the IVC:PhasesandEras.[16][17]The Early Harappan, Mature Harappan, and Late Harappan phases are also called the Regionalisation, Integration, and Localisation eras, respectively, with the Regionalization erareaching back to the NeolithicMehrgarhII period. Discoveries at Mehrgarh changed the entire concept of the Indus civilization, according toAhmad Hasan Dani, professor emeritus atQuaid-e-Azam University,Islamabad. There we have the whole sequence, right from the beginning of settled village life.[18]DatesPhaseEra7000–5500 BCEMehrgarh I(aceramic Neolithic)Early Food-Producing Era5500–3300Mehrgarh II-VI (ceramic Neolithic)Regionalisation Era3300–2600Early Harappan3300–2800Harappan 1 (Ravi Phase)2800–2600Harappan 2 (Kot Diji Phase, Nausharo I, Mehrgarh VII)2600–1900Mature Harappan (Indus Valley Civilization)Integration Era2600–2450Harappan 3A (Nausharo II)2450–2200Harappan 3B2200–1900Harappan 3C1900–1300Late Harappan (Cemetery H);Ochre ColouredPotteryLocalisation Era1900–1700Harappan 41700–1300Harappan 51300–300Painted Gray Ware,Northern Black Polished Ware(Iron Age)Indo-Gangetic TraditionGeographyThe Indus Valley Civilization encompassed most of Pakistan and parts of northwestern India, Afghanistan and Iran, extending fromBalochistanin the west toUttar Pradeshin the east, northeastern Afghanistan to the north andMaharashtrato the south.[19]The geography of the Indus Valley put the civilizations that arose there in a highly similarsituation to those inEgyptandPeru, with rich agricultural lands being surrounded by highlands, desert, and ocean. Recently, Indus sites have been discovered in Pakistans northwestern Frontier Province as well. Other IVC colonies can be found inAfghanistanwhilesmaller isolated colonies can be found as far away asTurkmenistanand inGujarat. Coastal settlements extended fromSutkagan Dor[20]in Western Baluchistan toLothal[21]inGujarat. An Indus Valley site has been found on theOxusRiver at Shortughai in northern Afghanistan,[22]in theGomal Rivervalley in northwestern Pakistan,[23]atManda,Jammuon theBeas RivernearJammu,[24]India, andatAlamgirpuron theHindon River, only 28 kmfromDelhi.[25]Indus Valley sites have been found most often on rivers, but also on the ancient seacoast,[26]for example, Balakot,[27]and on islands, for example,Dholavira.[28]There is evidence of dry river beds overlapping with theHakrachannel in Pakistanand the seasonal Ghaggar River in India. ManyIndus Valley (orHarappan) sites have been discovered along the Ghaggar-Hakra beds.[29]Among them are:Rupar,Rakhigarhi, Sothi,Kalibangan, and Ganwariwala.[30]According to J. G. Shaffer and D. A. Lichtenstein,[31]the Harappan Civilization is a fusion of the Bagor,Hakra, and Koti Dij traditions or ethnic groups in the Ghaggar-Hakra valley on the borders of India and Pakistan.[29]According to some archaeologists, more than 500 Harappan sites have been discovered along the dried up river beds of the Ghaggar-Hakra River and its tributaries,[32]in contrastto only about 100 along theIndusand its tributaries;[33]consequently, in their opinion, the appellationIndus Ghaggar-Hakra civilizationorIndus-Saraswati civilizationis justified. However, these politically inspired arguments are disputed by other archaeologists who state that the Ghaggar-Hakra desert area has been left untouched by settlements and agriculture since the end of the Indus period and hence shows more sites than found in the alluvium of the Indus valley;second, that the number of Harappan sites along the Ghaggar-Hakra river beds have beenexaggerated and that the Ghaggar-Hakra, when it existed, was a tributary of the Indus, so the new nomenclature is redundant.[34]Harappan Civilization remains the correct one, according to the common archaeological usage of naming a civilization after its first findspot.Early HarappanThe Early Harappan Ravi Phase, named after the nearbyRavi River, lasted from circa 3300 BCE until 2800 BCE. It is related to the Hakra Phase, identified in the Ghaggar-Hakra River Valley to the west, and predates theKot DijiPhase (2800–2600 BCE, Harappan 2), named after a site in northernSindh, Pakistan, nearMohenjo Daro. The earliest examples of theIndus scriptdate from around 3000 BCE.[35]Discoveries fromBhirrana,Rajasthan, in India, by archeologistK. N. Dikshitindicate thatHakraware from this area dates from as early as 7500 BC.[36]The mature phase of earlier village cultures is represented byRehman DheriandAmriin Pakistan.[37]Kot Diji(Harappan 2) representsthe phase leading up to Mature Harappan, with the citadel representing centralised authority and an increasingly urban quality of life. Another town of this stage was found atKalibanganin India on the Hakra River.[38]Trade networks linked this culture with relatedregional cultures and distant sources of raw materials, includinglapis lazuliand other materials for bead-making. Villagers had, by this time, domesticated numerous crops, includingpeas,sesame seeds,dates, andcotton, as well as animals, including thewater buffalo. Early Harappan communities turned to large urban centres by 2600 BCE, from where the mature Harappan phase started.Mature HarappanBy 2600 BCE, the Early Harappan communitieshad been turned into large urban centres. Such urban centres includeHarappa,Ganeriwala,Mohenjo-Daroin modern day Pakistan, andDholavira,Kalibangan,Rakhigarhi,Rupar, andLothalin modern day India. In total, more than 1,052 cities and settlements have been found, mainly in the general region of the Indus Rivers and their tributaries.CitiesComputer-aided reconstruction of coastal Harappan settlement at Sokhta Koh nearPasni, PakistanA sophisticated and technologically advanced urban culture is evident in the Indus Valley Civilization making them the first urban centres in the region. The quality ofmunicipaltown planning suggests the knowledge ofurban planningand efficientmunicipal governmentswhich placed a high priority onhygiene, or, alternatively, accessibility to the means of religious ritual.As seen in Harappa, Mohenjo-Daro and the recently partially excavatedRakhigarhi, this urban plan included the worlds first known urbansanitationsystems: seehydraulic engineering of the Indus Valley Civilization. Within the city, individual homes or groups of homes obtained water fromwells. From a room that appears to have been set aside for bathing,waste waterwas directed to covered drains, which lined the major streets. Houses opened only to innercourtyardsand smaller lanes. The house-building in some villages in the region still resembles in some respects thehouse-building of the Harappans.[39]The ancient Indus systems of sewerage and drainage that were developed and used in cities throughout the Indus region were far more advanced than any found in contemporary urban sites in theMiddle Eastand even more efficient than those in many areas of Pakistan and India today. The advanced architecture of the Harappans is shown by their impressive dockyards,granaries, warehouses, brick platforms, and protective walls. The massive walls of Indus cities most likely protected the Harappans from floods and may have dissuaded military conflicts.[citation needed]So-called Priest King statue,Mohenjo-Daro, lateMature Harappanperiod, National Museum, Karachi, PakistanThe purpose of the citadel remains debated. In sharp contrast to this civilizations contemporaries,MesopotamiaandAncient Egypt, no large monumental structures were built. There is no conclusive evidence of palaces or temples—or of kings, armies, or priests. Some structures are thought to have been granaries. Found at one city is an enormous well-built bath (the Great Bath), which may have been a public bath. Although the citadels were walled, it is far from clear that these structures were d
Posted on: Thu, 13 Feb 2014 04:35:04 +0000