1. Harappa
M.L. Anderson, 2009

2. Contents
 Indus Plain
 Largest Civilization in
Ancient World
 Harappan Civilization
 Timing
 City Structure
 Culture
 Trade & Economy
 Pictograms/ Writing
 1st Urban Sanitation
 Current Sanitation
 Fall of Indus River
Civilization / Climate Change

3.  India has had civilizations as far back as 200,000 years ago
 From 8000-5000 B.C.E. there were Neolithic villages west of the
Indus River valley in the Iranian Plateau
 Because water covers much of the oldest remains, archaeologists
and historians aren’t sure exactly how far back in time Harappan
civilization stretches. The earliest strata indicates that by 2500
B.C.E., Harappan civilization was well established.
Ancient Civilizations in
India

4. Largest Civilization in Ancient World
 A Civilization of large scale
cities.
 Indus River was largest
known Civilization in
Ancient World.
 Mohenjo Daro and Harappa
were urban giants, Bronze
Age Manhattans.
 Over 200,000 people in
Harappa at height of the
civilization.

5. Location
Dried-up tributaries
of Indus River:
Known as
Ravi River and
Saraswati River

6. Intro to Harappan
Civilization
 Like the Nile and Tigris/Euphrates
river valleys, the Indus Valley
deposited alluvial soil across its
flood plain, allowing early farmers
to establish agriculture.
 Indus river people domesticated
poultry, elephants, sheep, and
goats.
 This civilization was the 1st to
cultivate cotton by ~5000
B.C.E., for the production of cloth.
(Predates Egyptian production)

7. Intro to Harappan Civilization
 By ~3000 B.C.E. the
Dravidian People had
built a complex society
with large urban centers.
 Harappan civilization
controlled an area of
roughly 500,000 sq.
miles. The Harappan
“empire” was at least
twice as big as either
Egypt or Mesopotamia.

8. Harappan Civilization
 Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro were
the major cities (pop. 35-40,000) and
regional centers.
 There were about 300 smaller
settlements along the Indus River.
 City of Mohenjo-Daro emerged with
Harappa in 2600 BC.
 This civilization with writing
system, was re-discovered in 1920.
 The people used copper and bronze
knives, spheres, and arrowheads.
 There were centralized
administrative buildings for each city Images: archaeologyonline.net
and controlled management of their
geologic area.

9. Timin
g
 Indus Valley Civilization
 Re-discovered in early 1920’s.
 Existed from 4000BC to 500BC.
 High Period 2900BC to 1900BC.
 Far older than the Bible, Greek or Roman Civilizations.
 Same time-line as Ancient Egyptian Civilization.

10. Excavation of Harappa.
Harappan
Civilization
 By 2500BCE, communities had been turned into urban centers.
 6 urban centers
 3 in India: Gonorreala, Dokalingam, Mangalore
 3 in Pakistan: Harappa, Mohenjo-Daro, Diki
 In total, over 1052 cities and settlements have been found.
 The city was named Harappa, because it was the first city
discovered of the Harappan civilization.

11. Successive Cities
 Harappan cities did not develop slowly, which
suggests that whoever built these cities learned to do
so in another place.
 As the Indus flooded, cities were rebuilt on top of each
other. Archaeologists have discovered several
different cities, one built over the other, each built a
little less skillfully. The most skillful was on bottom. It
would appear that builders grew less able or less
interested in perfection over time. Each city is a
marvel, and each greatly advanced for its time.

12. Cities
 Cities. Of Harappa &
Mohenjo-Daro:
 Were constructed of the
same type and shape of
bricks.
 Both served as capitols of
their respective provinces.
 They were laid out in grids.
 These people were
incredible builders.
 The remains of the cities
signifies there were no
social class in this
civilization.

13. City Structure
Image from: Spiffykiffy.wordpress.com
 There is no evidence indicating royal authority or a significant
military.
 There are city walls, a large granary, and a fortified citadel in
each of the two major cities, indicating that Harappa and
Mohenjo-Daro were organizational centers.

14. COURTYARD
Image from: Mohenjador.net
 It was considered to be the most fascinating culture of its time.
 1052 towns and villages once were part of this civilization.
 The advanced architecture of the Harappans is shown by their
impressive dockyards, granaries, warehouses, brick
platforms, and protective walls.
 The massive citadels of Indus cities that protected the
Harappans from floods and attackers were larger than most
Mesopotamian ziggurats.

15. Streets
 Everywhere there are straight streets & well built homes! Cities
are well organized with roads in a perfect city grid layout.
 At MD, narrow streets & alleyways are off major streets, leading
down into private neighborhoods.
 The streets of the Indus cities are oriented towards the cardinal
directions.

16. Houses
 Houses were one or two
stories high, made of
thick, baked brick walls, with
flat roofs, and high ceilings to
keep the rooms cool during
the hot summers.
 Each was built around a
courtyard, with windows
overlooking the courtyard.
The outside walls had no
windows.
 The dwelling places in the
cities indicate a large degree
of social stratification, but
nearly all houses had indoor
plumbing with showers and
toilets.

17. LOWER TOWN
 Crafts Quarters – are identified by large quantities of
manufacturing debris, such as stone beads, shell
ornaments, glazed faience ornaments, stone tools
and gold working.
Image from: Mohenjador.net

18. Image from: Mohenjador.net
The Grainery of Harappa
 A large brick structure that was built on a massive brick
foundation over 45m x 45m.
 Two rows of 6 rooms, each arranged along a 7m wide
central hall.
 Each room is 15.2m x 6.1m and has 3 sleeper walls
with air spaces in between.

19. RINGSTONES
Ringstones were used as supports for wooden poles and
timbers for doors, gates, and fake walls made of fabric, wood
or woven fronds.

20. Water / Irrigation Systems
 “Sometime in the third millennium B.C., the Harappan
civilization of the Indus Valley built water systems that in
many ways would rival and surpass any other water
system, except that of the Romans, until the middle of
the 19th century.” (Carter)
 It was the Harappan civilization that gave us the plumber
and the first indoor plumbing. The mains that carried
wastewater to a cesspit were tall enough for people to
walk through. “Even today, nothing like this exists for
nearly half of the world's population." (Carter)

21. Earliest Form of
Sanitary Engineering
 1st known toilets and running
water in residential buildings in
the world.
 By 2500BC, highly developed
drainage system where
wastewater from each house
flowed into the main drain.
 The ancient Indus systems of sewage and drainage that
were developed and used in cities throughout the Indus
Empire were far more advanced than any found in
contemporary urban sites in the Middle East and even more
efficient than those in some areas of modern Pakistan and
India today.

22. First Urban Sanitation System
 The people had water borne toilets
in each house. The houses were
lined with drains covered with
burnt clay bricks (burning makes
clay harder, more dense). The
system had manhole
covers, chambers, etc., to facilitate
maintenance. It was the first form
of sanitary engineering.
 From a room that appears to have
been set aside for bathing, waste
water was directed to covered
drains, which lined the major
streets.

23. Houses and Running Water
 Each home had its own
private drinking well and its
own private bathroom.
 Clay pipes led from the
bathrooms to sewers
located under the streets.
 These sewers drained
into nearly rivers and
streams.

24. Town Planning / Sanitary Sewers
 Scientists have found giant reservoirs for fresh water. They
have also found that even the smallest house at the edge of
each town was linked to that town's central drainage system.
 They not only drained waste water out, but also had a system
to pump fresh water into the homes, similar to modern
plumbing.
 After the decline of the Indus Valley Civilization, the science
of engineering disappeared from India.
 Today, many towns in So. Asia still do not even come close to
the detail, organization and depth of hydro-engineering that
was used over 4500 years ago!

25. The Pool/ Great Bath
 About 2200 B.C., Mohenjo Daro's people built what
archaeologists regard as the most spectacular
feature yet discovered: a pool 39’ long, 23’
wide, and 8’ deep.
 The brick walls were sealed with bitumen, and the
floor was slanted toward a corner drain. There are
two flights of steps into this commodious
tank, used 4,000 years ago.

26. Mohenjo-Daro Bath
 The Great public bath at Mohenjo-Daro.
 The earliest public water tank;
 2 staircases led down into the tank.
 Predates Roman baths by @2000 years !
 Was ritual cleanliness an important part of Harappan religion?

27. Earthen Tanks of Today
 “On another day I watched crews excavate a huge
stone-lined cistern. Men dug, and women (often laborers
in India) bore away the debris, walking gracefully with
laden pans upon their heads. Their saris and veils–
red, orange, yellow–lit up the sere countryside.”
 “Numerous reservoirs were scattered about
Dholavira, and some may have been used for ritual
bathing. But mainly, the people were thinking not to let a
single drop of water escape. No freshwater river flowed
into the salty coastal regions; hence Dholavira must
have relied heavily on the monsoon rains. Two gullies
near the city were dammed to catch water when it came;
ditches diverted it into reservoirs.” (Edwards, M.)

28. Current Sanitary Conditions
 Visiting India, Edwards learned that only 232 of
the nation's 5,003 towns had sewer systems.
 Citizens of the other 4,771 communities used dry
latrines or nothing at all. The sacred Ganges
River, known as Maa Ganges (Mother
Ganges), is a source of drinking water as well as
a place to bathe and scatter ashes after
cremation.
 The river festers with untreated sewage and
bodies that are only partially cremated, yet
people cook with Ganges water. (Edwards, M.)

29. Harappan Culture
 One striking feature of
Harappan civilization was
that throughout the large
territory there was a
remarkable degree of
standardization in not only
in architectural styles, but
also weight and measures
and even brick sizes.
 The layout of the major
cities indicates that they
were planned before they
were built, rather than
rising up organically as
the population grows, like
today.

30. Harappan Burial Rituals
 There are very few grave sites throughout the Harappan
lands; in other civilizations, grave burials normally help
historians understand the beliefs of ancient cultures.
 This lack of evidence means that there aren’t as many
preserved luxury goods.
 Simple burials. Early Harappan burial sites yielded simple
wooden coffins which were entombed in a rectangular pit
with burial offerings in pottery vessels.
 Offerings: Gold, agate, jasper, steatite, and greenstone.
 In addition, cremation of Human remains and bones were
also stored in pottery burial urns.
Images: archaeologyonline.net

31. Standardized Weights & Measures
 Cubical weights were found in graduated sizes in
Harappa.
 These weights conform to the standard Harappan
binary weight system that was used in all of the
settlements.
 Probably for controlling trade and quite possibly for
collecting taxes.
 The smallest weight is 0.856g and the most common
weight is @13.7g. (a 1/16 ratio)

32. Trade & Economy
 It was mainly an urban culture
 Majority agriculture
 Traded with Mesopotamia
 Mostly brick houses and
fortified administrative and
religious centers
 Seals were used to identify
property and shipment
 Wheel-made pottery & animal
cultivation
Image: chemistryland.com

33. Agricultural Base
 Terraced fields
 Fishing with hooks Image: fao.org
 Earthen walls were built to control the River’s
annual flooding.
 Crops grown include
wheat, barley, peas, melons, rice, vegetables, fruit
s and sesame.
 This civilization was the 1st to cultivate cotton for
the production of cloth.
 Several animals were domesticated, including the
elephant, sheep, pigs, zebus (cow), and water

34.  Trade networks linked this culture
Economy with related regional cultures and
distant sources of raw materials
including lapis lazuli and other
materials for bead making.
 These people were traders across Persian Gulf.
 Inhabitants of the Indus Valley traded with Mesopotamia, So.
India, Afghanistan, and Persia.
 Between 2300-1750 B.C.E. the Harappan people traded
pearls, gems, copper, and ivory for Mesopotamian
wool, leather, and olive oil.

35. Pictogram Writing
 The Harappan people used
pictographic script.
 3500 specimens of the script
survive in stamp seals carved out of
stone, in molded terra cotta, faience
amulets, pottery fragments, and in other
inscribed objects.
 Along with the pictographs are more
realistic pictures of animals, cultic
scenes, and deity worship.
 The origins of Indus writing can be
traced to the Ravi Phase in Harappa:
from 3300 – 2800BC.
Image from: thenagain.info

36. Pictogram Writing
 Artifacts found are small square steatite seals of
human and animal motif
 Writings couldn’t be analyzed despite the help of
philologists from all over the world
 Writings are also hard to match with proto-
Dravidian, proto-Sramanic, vedic, or non-vedic
scripts

37. Language / Writing
 In addition to inconvenient water, Harappan civilization
remains mysterious because historians can’t read
Harappan script.
 The civilization consisted of literate people who used
Dravidian language to communicate.
 Harappan script seems to have used 400 characters
that were both phonetic and logographic on thousands
of clay seals and copper tablets.

38. Art
 Their art works were very small and
used as personal possessions.
 Harappan artisans produced many
beautiful ornaments and statues.
 Some art statuary seems to have an
early Mesopotamian / Assyrian
influence.

39. Indus Plains Today
Image from: Mohenjador.net

40. Holocene Climate Changes 1
 During Early Holocene this region was an open steppe rich
in grasses, Artemisia and sedges.
 @ 7500BP early agriculture and land alteration. Appearance
of charcoal and Cerealia type pollen.
 Increase in mesophytic vegetation between 5000 to 3500
BP. (Singh et al,1974) to represent the moistest period of
Holocene.
 During the Early Holocene, So. Asian may have been 2o to
4o warmer than present with increased summer rainfall
relative to that at present, creating a very hospitable climate
for a civilization to flourish.
 Pollen bearing sediments suggest far greater ppt than at
present time. Bryson & Swain 1981 estimate that ppt of
Western Rajasthan between 10,000 to ~ 3,500BP
(1500BC) may have been 3x that of present.

41. Water Supply Harappa
Early Holocene Climate shift
Harappan Civilization Collapse

42. Global Climate Change 2
 It is believed that there was a significant amount of global
climate change, because of expansion of arctic air which may
have caused drought.
 Using NE Arabian Sea sediment cores, geochemist Michael
Staubuasser examined the link between the abrupt climate
change @4200 BP (2200BC) and the collapse of the
Harrappan Civilization in the Indus River Valley.
 Oxygen isotope shifts in a sediment core revealed a sharp
decline in the outflow from the Indus River 4200BP that
transformed the Indus River Valley Civilization from a highly
urban phase to a rural post-urban phase.
 Cultural centers such as the large cities of Mohenjo – Daro &
Hrappa, were almost completely abandoned.
 The Saraswati River was totally dry by 1900BC.

43. Fall Of Harappan Civilization
Annual Precipitation
 The reduction of average rainfall over the Indus River
watershed restricted Harappan farming in the Indus Valley
and left large city populations unsustainable.

44. River Avulsion
 Harapa lies on an old terrace of the Ravi River.
 River avulsion also has important archaeological significance
for this region. The tributaries of the Indus
(Ravi, Sutlej, Sarawati) have had a very dynamic nature.
 The Earliest Phase of the Ravi River was 3300-2800 BC. This
is when Pre-Harappan regional culture emerged and
subsequently the great Indus River Civilization.
 By 2600BC, The Indus valley was verdant, forested and
teeming with wildlife. Since then, there has been frequent
avulsion and sediment deposition.
 Harappa now lies some 20 km south of the present Ravi River.
 Both ancient site and modern town are located on south bank
of a channel that often carries water during the summer
monsoon floods, which was once the main course of the Ravi.
 The Ravi River meandered @ Harappa. At least 3 meanders of
different ages were identified through soil analysis @ Harappa.

45. River Avulsion

46. Climate Change Background
 In So. Asia, the Himalayas create the monsoon
 The monsoon provides the water that supports
agriculture in this region
 As the monsoon declined over time it shifted east
 As precipitation in the region declined, river dried up
and the Indus Valley cities died.

48. Monsoon
and
Population
Shift
 As the Monsoon shifted East to Ganges Plain many
Indus people followed monsoon and migrated to
Ganges Plain @ 1500BC
 Same time as Arian invasion from the North.
 Arian’s : “ Civilized Ones”.

49. The End
Image from: Mohenjador.net

50. Graphs and Primary Sources
 Wright, R.P., M. Afzal Khan & J. Schuldenrein.; 2005a. The emergence of
satellite communities along the Beas drainage: preliminary results from
Lahoma Lal Tibba and Chak Purbane Syal, in C. Jarrige & V. Lef`evre
(ed.) South Asian Archaeology 2001 (Proceedings of the 16th
International Conference of the European Association of South Asian
Archaeologists, College de France, Paris, 2-6 July 2001): 327-35. Paris:
Recherche sur les civilisations.
 Wright, R.P., J. Schuldenrein, M. Afzal Khan & S. Malin-Boyce. 2005b.
The Beas River landscape and settlement survey: preliminary results from
the site of Vainiwal, in U. Frank-Vogt & H.-J.
 Weisshaar (ed.) South Asian Archaeology 2003 (Proceedings of the 17th
International Conference of the European Association of South Asian
Archaeologists, Bonn, 7-11 July 2003): 101-11. Aachen Linden Soft. 48
 Amundson, R. & E. Pendall. 1991. Pedology and Late Quaternary
environments surrounding Harappa: a review and synthesis, in R.H.
Meadow (ed.) Harappa Excavations 1986-1990: a multidisciplinary
approach to third millennium urbanism (Monographs in World
Archaeology 3):13–27. Madison (WI): Prehistory Press.

51. Primary Sources
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Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London (Series
B, Biological Sciences) 267(889): 467-501.
 Singh, G., R.J. Wasson & D.P. Agrawal. 1990. Vegetational and
seasonal climatic changes since the last full glacial in the Thar
Desert, northwestern India. Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology 64:
351-8.
 Staubwasser, M., F. Sirocko, P.M. Grootes & M. Segl. 2003. Climate
change at the 4.2 ka BP termination of the Indus Valley civilization and
Holocene South Asian monsoon variability. Geophysical Research
Letters 30: 1425-9.
 Schuldenrein, J. 2002. Geoarchaeological perspectives on the
Harappan sites of South Asia, in S. Settar & R. Korisettar (ed.) Indian
Archaeology in Retrospect, Volume 2 (Protohistory), Archaeology of the
Harappan Civilization: 47-80. New Delhi: Indian Council of Historical
Research/Manohar
 Bindeswar Pathak, Ph.D., D.Litt. at the International Symposium on

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