ISS THE FIRST CITIES

• The Indus Valley Civilization, or Harappan civilization, began around 2500 BCE along the Indus River. It existed at the same time as the Egyptian, Mesopotamian, and Chinese civilizations. Harappa and Mohenjodaro in Pakistan are notable sites, and other locations include Ropar, Lothal, Dholavira, Kalibangan, Banawali, Alamgirpur, and Chanhudaro.
• The Harappan culture covered parts of Punjab, Sindh, Baluchistan, Gujarat, Rajasthan and the fringes of Western Uttar Pradesh. One of the recent sites to be discovered is Rakhigarhi (in Haryana).
• the reasons for settlement of these 2 big cities . Harappa and mohenjodaro , in the valley of the indus river were many : • The rivers provided plenty of water for growing food. • The climate was warm and moist. • The land was extremely fertile for growing wheat, barley, sesame and mustard. ⚫ Silt-bearing floods, by the river Indus kept the land fertile. Chronology Indus Valley Civilisation: 2500-1500 BCE Decline of Indus Valley Civilisation: 1500 BCE
• Harappa and Mohenjodaro had two parts: the citadel (upper town) on high ground with walls to avoid floods, and the lower town. The cities had a grid layout with roads forming blocks. Burnt bricks were commonly used. In Mohenjodaro's citadel, the Great Bath was important.
• The lower town was much bigger and contained houses of the common people. The houses were generally of one or two storeys. Rooms were built around the courtyard. Each house had a bathroom and a toilet. Some even had wells. The houses were also provided with doors and small windows.
• Harappa and Mohenjodaro boasted a remarkable drainage system with 30-60 cm deep drains along main streets, carrying waste to larger drains that emptied into the river. Even kitchens had drains, cleaned regularly, covered with bricks and stone slabs. Street drains featured manholes, making the drainage system unique and efficient.
• The Great Granary at Mohenjo-Daro, 45.71 m long and 15.23 m wide, featured a high loading platform for farmers to deposit grain from carts. Harappa had six grain storage facilities. South of Harappa's granaries were working floors with circular brick platforms for threshing grains, as evidenced by wheat and barley found in the floor crevices. Grains were stored for ceremonial and religious reasons.
• The key feature on the citadel was the Great Bath, lined with bricks and plaster, made waterproof with natural tar. Rectangular in shape with stairs on all sides, it had two large doors. Changing rooms lined its sides, one with a well supplying water. Measuring 11.88 × 7.01 meters and 2.43 meters deep, it had an outlet for draining used water. The Great Bath was used for religious bathing occasions.
• Society was divided into many classes : The ruling class consisted of rich merchants and priests who were the privileged class. The second class comprised small merchants, artisans and craftsmen. The third group consisted of poor labourers who lived in the outskirts of the city. Then there were the farmers who lived and worked in the villages.
• The Harappans grew wheat and barley to make bread. same and mustard was used for oil. The Indus people ere the earliest people to produce cotton. They ate getables, fruits and dates. They domesticated a nber of animals including oxen, buffaloes, sheep, assses , dogs, cats, pigs, camels and horses.
• Both men and women wore clothes made of cotton and wool. Men wore a garment similar to that of a dhoti. Women wore a short skirt and tied a girdle around the waist to keep it in place. They also took a shawl around the shoulder. Women wore necklaces, bracelets, bangles and earrings. Men wore amulets. While the poor wore ornaments made of bones, shells and copper, the rich wore jewellery made of gold and silver.
• The Harappan people played a game similar to that of chess. They also enjoyed singing and dancing. The Harappan people were very creative. They designed and crafted toys like small clay carts, rattles, whistles and dolls. Toys with movable limbs, and whistles shaped like birds were used by the children for playing
• The children of the Harappan cities had a variety of toys to play with. Children could make their own toys with wet clay. There were special toys that could move their arms by means of strings and bulls who could nod their heads . Archaeologists have found many toy factories in many towns .
• Agriculture was the main occupation. Besides farming, the Harappan people followed different occupations. They were spinners, weavers, potter toy makers, jewellers and traders. The art of potter making had reached great heights. Beautiful reddish glazed pottery with animal figures and leaf designs has been discovered at the Indus valley sites.
• The Harappan people carried on a flourishing trade The trade with Afghanistan was limited to the import of the blue gemstone, lapis lazuli. Marked sticks have also been found. This must have been used to measure articles. Tin, which was mixed with copper to produce bronze was brought from Afghanistan and Iran. Gold was bought from Karnataka, Copper was obtained from the Khetri mines of Rajasthan and from Baluchistan.
• Trade was carried on with Mesopotamia and Afganistan from the port of Lothal. Harappan seals have been discovered in the cities of ancient Mesopotamia. Similarly, Mesopotamian seals have been found in Harappa. Trade was carried by both land and sea routes. Copper, gold, silver and semi- precious stones were brought in from Persia, Oman, Afghanistan and Gujarat. A variety of weights and measures have also been discovered at the sites of Harappan civilisation
• More than 2,000 seals have been discovered in Harappa. They are mostly rectangular and square in shape. They carry short inscriptions with pictures of carved animals on them. They provide a lot of information about the daily life of the people, their religious beliefs, occupations, customs and trade.
• The Indus Valley people were adept at blending copper and tin to create bronze, evident in bronze statues and items found from that era. Animal figures like doves and bulls were discovered, along with ornaments and vessels made from gold, silver, and bones. Considerable bronze tools and weapons left by the Harappans showcase their craftsmanship.
• Bronzesmiths constituted an important group of artisans in the Harappan society. A piece of woven cotton has been recovered from Mohenjo-daro. Spindle whorls were used for spinning. Weaver wove cloth of wool and cotton. Huge brick structures suggest that brick- laying was an important craft. the harrapans were also experts in bead makeing . the otters wheel was in full use and they ,made beautiful pottery , which was glossy and shining .
• The Harappan script is pictographic. Most of the inscriptions are engraved on seals and contain only a few words. There are about 250 to 400 pictographs. The script has not been deciphered so far.
• Factors contributing to the decline of the Indus Valley civilisation:
• Climate change led to the decline of land and agriculture, forcing inhabitants to leave the valley and move to smaller settlements
• Frequent floods resulted in the destruction of the city
• The invasion of the Aryans also contributed to the decline of the civilisation
• Decreasing fertility due to increasing salinity of the soil caused by the expansion of the neighbouring desert also played a role in the downfall of the Indus Valley civilisation
• Natural disasters like earthquakes changed the course of the Indus river
• Deforestation occurred due to the need for fuel for baking bricks and melting copper ores
• Dholavira lies in the Khadir island of Kutch. It is locally known as Kotada. It is one of the two longest settlements in India and the fourth or fifth largest in the subcontinent. Dholavira is different from other Harappan cities in that it is divided into three distinct complexes : a citadel, middle town and lower town. A lot of pre-planning seems to have been put in the designing and construction of the citadel. It is one of the most impressive complexes in the city.
• A variety of funeral structures have also been been found. They throw light on the socio-religious beliefs of the Indus people of Dholavira.
• Lothal is a Gujarati word meaning 'place of the dead. Lothal was essentially a cultural site. The Harappans were attracted to Lothal not only for its dockyard but also for its bead-making industry. The city was divided into two parts a citadel and a lower town. The citadel included baths, underground drains and a well for drinking water.
• The lower town of lothal was subdivided into two parts the commercial sector and the residential sector. Lothal enjoyed a lot of prosperity owing to foreign trade. It produced chisels, spearheads, fishhooks and ornaments which were supplied all over the western province.
• Gola Dhoro It lies half a kilometre north-east of a sleepy village of Bagasra. Excavations undertaken at the site reveal the the city Sourished in craft and trading activities The people of Gola Dhoto manufactured several items made of shells, semi-precious stones, fence and copper A unique seal shaped like a bor has also been found