Harappan Civilization : History, Sites, and Culture

Harappan Civilization is the earliest known urban culture of the Indian subcontinent. It is also known as the Indus Valley Civilization. This civilization is famous for its advanced urban planning, craftsmanship, and script.

In this article, we will learn about the Indus Valley Civilization, its rich cultural heritage, and important sites like the Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro, etc in detail.

Indus Valley Civilization

Introduction to Harappan Civilization

Harappan Civilization is known to be a 4,700-year-old civilization in the subcontinent. It was discovered in 1920. Harappa, Lothal, Dholavira, Mohenjodaro, and Kalibangan are known as Harappa Cities and were discovered around the river Indus, hence the name Indus Valley Civilization.

• Harappan Civilization is a synonym for the Indus Valley Civilization, which arose in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent.
• It is called Harappa because this civilization was first discovered in 1921 at the modern site of Harappa situated in West Punjab (Pakistan).
• Harappa was excavated in 1921, by Dayaram Sahni while Mohenjo-Daro was discovered by R. Das Banerji in 1922 in the Larkana district of Sindh.
• It is said that the shape of the civilization was triangular being spread over 12,99,600 sq. km.
• Some of the major Harappan sites are :

1. Dholavira and Lothal are located in Gujarat.
2. Balathal and Kalibangan are located in the state of Rajasthan.
3. Rakhigarhi is situated in Haryana.
4. Ropar is another site currently located in Punjab.

Indus Valley Civilization Location on Map

Harappan Civilization Time Period

Three are four phases of Harappan Civilization in terms of the time period. They are as follows:

• Early Harappan Phase (3300 BCE to 2600 BCE)
• Mature Harappan Phase (2600 BCE to 1900 BCE)
• Late Harappan Phase (1900 BCE to 1300 BCE)
• Later Harappan phase (which is found in Rangpur and Rojdi in the Kathiawar Peninsula, Gujarat)

Archaeological Sites of Harappan Civilization

All the major archaeological sites of the Harappan Civilization, including Harappa, Mohenjo-Daro, and Dholavira have been listed in the table below.

Sites	Archaeological Findings	Discoverers of Sites	Year of Discovery
Harappan sites and Archaeological Findings
Harappa	6 granaries Seal (figure of a goddess on it) Stone symbols of male and female sex organs. Painted Pottery Vanity Box Copper made Mirror Dice Clay figure of Mother Goddess Wheat and barley in a wooden mortar	Dayaram Sahni	1921
Mohenjo-Daro	Great Granary Great bath (largest building of Harappa civilization) Assembly Hall Pashupati Mahadev Bronze Image of women dancer Steatite image of a bearded man Human Skeletons huddled together Clay figured Mother Goddess Painted Seal Fragment of woven cotton Brick Kilns 2 Mesopotamian Seals Dice Seals (more than 50% of the seals have been found from here)	Rakhal Das Banerji	1922
Lothal	Dockyard Rice Husk Shell ornament maker Bead makers’ shop Fire altars Terracotta figurine of a horse Double burial Terracotta model of ship Iranian and Bahraini seal Metal Workers Painted Jar	S.R.Rao	1957
Kalibangan	Ploughed field 7 fire altars Decorated bricks Wheels of aToy Cart Mesopotamian cylindrical seal	Luigi Pio Tessitori	1953
Chanhudaro	No citadel Inkpot Lipstick Metal workers Shell ornament makers Bead makers Imprint of a dog’s paw on the brick Terracotta model of a bullock Bronze toy cart	N.G.Majumdar	1931
Banawali	Grid pattern town planning Toy plough Clay figures of Mother Goddess. Lack of systematic drainage pattern	Ravindra Singh Bhist	1974
Dholavira	Water harnessing system Water drainage system A large well and a bath The only site is to be divided into 3 parts Largest Harappan inscription A Stadium	Ravindra Singh Bhist	1991
Surkotada	Bone of horse Oval grave Pot burials	Sri Jagat Pati Joshi	1964-1968,
Daimabad	Bronze images with a charioteer with a chariot, ox, elephant, and rhinoceros.	B.P. Bopardikar	1958

Major Harappan Sites on the Map

Some major Harappan sites, their related rivers and locations in today’s time have been tabulated below:

Main Sites	Related Rivers	Locations
Indus Valley Civilization on the Current Map
Harappa	Ravi	Montgomery District, Pakistan
Mohenjo-Daro	Daro Sindhu	Larkana District of Sindh, Pakistan
Kalibanga	Ghaghara	Hanumangarh of Rajasthan
Lothal	Bhogwa	Ahmedabad of Gujarat
Ropar	Sutlej	Ropar district of Punjab
Manda	Chenab	Jammu and Kashmir
Daimabad	Pravara	Ahmednagar District of Maharashtra
Alamgirpur	Hindon	Meerut District of Uttar Pradesh
Sutkagendor	Dasht	Balochistan Makran Coast, Pakistan
Rangpur	Madar	Kathiyawadi district of Gujarat

Do Check- Harappan Sites in India

Harappan Civilization Features

Some of the important features of the Harappan Civilization are:

1. Urban Planning
2. Agriculture
3. Domestication of Animals
4. Technology and Crafts
5. Trade and Commerce
6. Harappan Seals, Script, and Weights
7. Religion and Worship
8. Bronze Casting

Let’s discuss them in detail.

Urban Planning in Harappan Civilization

The town of Indus Valley Civilization was divided into two parts.  One part was, raised citadel where the rulers were staying, in the other part of the lower town lived the ruled and the poor. Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa had their own citadel.

Some of the important features of urban planning in harappan civilization are as follows:

• Houses in the cities followed the grid pattern.
• Burnt bricks were used in the construction.
• Underground drainage system (giant water reservoirs were found in Dholavira)
• Houses in harappan civilization were well planned and the material which was used for building included sun-dried bricks and burnt bricks.
• Houses had a separate bathing areas and were mostly one or two- storeyed.
• The houses had wells and each house had proper drainage system planned and were connected with the streets.
• The streets had proper planning of waste disposal, water supply and lighting.

Harappan Civilization and Citadel

1. The cities in Indus Valley Civilization were divided into two or more parts.
2. The eastern portion of the city was located in lower level but was larger in size. The western portion of the city was situated higher but was much smaller in size, this was the citadel.
3. In certain cities of Indus Valley Civilization, special buildings have been constructed on citadel. For instance, in case of Mohenjodaro of Indus Valley Civilization, special tank had been placed in citadel and it was termed as “Great Bath”.

Read More on, Town Planning of Harappan Civilization

Harappan Civilization: Agriculture

According to the findings, agriculture was the backbone of the Harappan Civilization. Sowing used to happen during the time of November.

1. No hoe or ploughshare has been discovered but furrows were discovered at the Kalibangan.
2. Wooden ploughshare is used by Harappans.
3. Gabarbands or nalas enclosed by dams were present in parts of Baluchistan and Afghanistan.
4. Canal Irrigation seems to be absent.
5. Harappan people used to grow wheat, barley, peas, sesamum, and mustard.
6. Lothal people used to grow rice.
7. Huge granaries were found in both Mohenjodaro and Harappa and possibly in Kalibangan.
8. It has been regarded that the Indus people were the earliest people to produce cotton.

Harappan Civilization: Domestication of Animals

Animals were domesticated in a big number.

• Oxen, buffaloes, goats, sheep, and pigs were animals that used to be domesticated.
• Harappans favored humped bulls.
• Dogs and Cats were domesticated.
• Asses and camels were animals that were used as beasts of burden.
• Horse domestication evidence comes superficially from Mohenjo-daro and from Lothal. Remains of the horse have been found from the Surkotada. But the horse was not in regular use among Harappans.
• Elephants and rhinoceros were also known by the Harappans.

Note: Harappan people in Gujarat produced rice and domesticated elephants.

Indus Valley Civilization: Technology and Crafts

Indus Valley Art came to emerge with prominence in the second half of the third millennium BCE.

Here are some of the important features of this important moment in Indian ancient history:

• The Harappan culture was from the Bronze Age.
• Harappans knew about Copper and it was brought by the Khetri copper mines of Rajasthan.
• Bronze smiths constituted an important group of artisans in the Harappan society.
• Utensils and images were produced.
• Tools and weapons such as axes, saws, knives, and spears were produced.
• A piece of woven cotton was recovered from the Mohenjo-Daro and textile impressions was also found on several objects.
• Spindle whorls were used for spinning.
• Huge brick structures were found that suggest bricklaying was an important craft.
• Boat-making was also practiced.
• Seal Making and terracotta manufacturing were important to the craft.
• Silver, gold, and precious were used for jewelry making, Bead making was also present there.
•  Pottery made by potter’s wheel 

Harappan Civilization: Trade and Commerce

• Mohenjo-Daro, Harappa, and Lothal were the important centers for metallurgy and tools and weapons production as well as kitchenware.
• Navigation was practiced on the coast of the Arabian sea.
• Good commercial links of Harappans with Rajasthan, Afghanistan, and Iran have been found
• Foreign trade was flourishing in Mesopotamia.

Seal and Script of Harappan Civilization

Indus Valley Civilization is known for its enigmatic script. Here are some important characteristics of the writing system and seals of this period.

• Like ancient Mesopotamia, Harappan knew the art of writing.
• The earliest script was noticed in 1853 and the complete script was discovered in 1923.
• It has not been deciphered yet.
• Harappans followed the pictographic script, their script was not alphabetical. This script was written from right to left
  Weights and Measures:
• Various articles of weight have been found.
•  Weighing mostly happened in 16 or its multiples.
• Sticks have been found, which were inscribed with measures marks.
• To facilitate long-distance communication seals and sealings were used.

Harappan Culture: Religion and Worship

Let’s discuss about the nature of worship and religious practices in the Indus Valley Civilization.

• In Indus Valley Civilization, people practiced nature worship and yoni worship.
• No signs of temples have been found at the Harappan site. Except for the Great Bath, no religious structure has been found.
• Fire cult practices indication has been found in Lothal Gujarat.
• Numerous terracotta figurines have been found. (In one figurine plant is shown growing out of the embryo of a woman, which was assumed as the goddess of the earth.)
• The male deity was represented on a seal. This god has three hands and horns. This god has been represented in the sitting posture of a yogi, placing one foot on the other.
• He is surrounded by an elephant, a tiger, a rhinoceros, and a buffalo below his throne. At his feet appear two deer. it has a resemblance to Pashupati Mahadev.
• Numerous symbols of the phallus and female sex organs made of stone related to worship have been found in Harappa.
• Tree (Pipal Tree) worshipping was also there. 
• Humped bulls and the animals surrounding the Pashupati Mahadeva were worshipped
• In Harappan culture, no temple practice was there.
• The founding of a large number of amulets indicates that Harappans believed in ghosts and evil forces.

Indus Valley Civilization: Bronze Casting

Certain types of bronze statues have been discovered from Harappa, which were made by technique known as Lost Wax technique. Certain parts of the country still uses this method and the method was popular in almost all sites. Both humand animal figurines have been made in this manner.

Harappan Civilization: Geographical Expansion 

Indus Valley Civilization covers parts of Punjab, Sindh, Baluchistan, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Jammu and Kashmir, and the fringes of western Uttar Pradesh

1. Western boundary:  Sotka-koh and Sutkagen-Dor on the Makran coast.
2. Eastern boundary: Bargaon, Manpur, and Alamgirpur in U.P.
3. Northern Boundary: Manda in Jammu and Ropar in Punjab.
4. Southern Boundary: Daimabad in Maharashtra and Bhagatrav in Gujarat.

Of the 250 Harappan sites only six Harappan sites are regarded as cities. 

1. Harappa: Punjab
2. Mohenjo-Daro: Sindh. 
3. Chanhu-Daro (130 km south of Mohenjo-Daro in Sindh).
4. Lothal: Gujarat
5. Kalibangan Northern Rajasthan
6. Banawali: Hisar, Haryana

Note: Banawali and Kalibangan saw two cultural phases pre-Harappan and Harappan.

• The Capital City of the civilization was Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro
• Port Cities were Lothal, Sutkagendor, Allahdino, Balakot and Kuntasi.

Indus Valley Civilization- FAQs

Q 1. Which of the following is the westernmost site of the Indus Valley Civilization?

1. Mohenjo-Daro
2. Daimabad
3. Sutkagen-Dor
4. Alamgirpur

3. Sutkagen-Dor

Q 2. Mohenjo-Daro was discovered in which year:

1. 1921
2. 1922
3. 1923
4. 1920

2. 1922

Q 3. The expansion of the Indus Valley Civilization does not cover which of the following state?

1. Madhya Pradesh
2. Gujarat
3. Maharashtra
4. Uttar Pradesh

1. Madhya Pradesh

Q 4. Which of the following was the port city of the Indus Civilization?

1. Daimabad
2. Chanhudaro
3. Sutkagendor
4. Surkotada

Sutkagendor

Q 5. Which of the following pair is correctly matched?

City	River
1. Harappa	Sutlej
2. Roper	Bhogya
3. Alamgirpur	Hindon
4. Lothal	Saraswati

3. Alamgirpur- Hindon

Q 6. Harappans do not know which of the following animal?

1. Rhinoceros
2. Lion
3. Elephant
4. Sheep

1. Rhinoceros

Q 7. Which of the following is the feature of the Harappan script?

1. Left to right
2. Alphabetical
3. Pictorial
4. None of the above

3. Pictorial

Q 8. “A piece of cotton” was discovered from which of the following place?

1. Mohenjo-Daro
2. Harappa
3. Lothal
4. Manda

1. Mohenjo-Daro

Q 9. Remains of Horse has been found from which of the following place?

1. Daimabad
2. Lothal
3. Mohenjo-Daro
4. Surkotada

4. Surkotada

Q 10. Which year was Harappan Civilization discovered in?

1. 1921
2. 1922
3. 1923
4. 1920

1. 1921

Q 11. Is Indus Valley Civilization and Harappan Civilization the same?

Yes, Harappan Civilization is just an another name for the Indus Valley Civilization. Since Harappa was the first site to be discovered, the Indus valley civilisation is also referred to as the Harappan civilisation.