FOUNDATION OF INDIAN CULTURE(HARAPPAN CULTURE)

DISCOVERY-  More than 4000 years ago, like nile valley civilisation  and mesopotamian civilisation , there a flourished a civilisation in the north-western part of indian sub -content. For very long period of time it was the general belief that vedic civilisation is the starting point of indian history. But later on, there came a change in this concept. CHARLES MASSON an adventurer,  came across the mound of harappan in 1826. a few years later a another travellor ALEXANDER BURNESS  visited the same place. both of  them regarded to be an important site, but were clueless as to this significance. then ALEXANDER CHUNNINGHAM a military engineer of east india company ,visited harappa in the 1850s. as keen student of archaeology he realised the historic worth of the mounds of harappan. excavation were conducted. remains of some structure came into limelight. but chuningham was not very much impressed with the findings and left the place.
He revisited the place in 1872. by this time he had adorned the post of first director general of archaeology survey of india. when he came to the site he was shocked to see the mound badly damaged by the railway contractors for extracting free bricks. this time chunningham found stone tools , pottery,and a seal from the excavation. but he failed to measure the correct time frame of the harappan culture.

Eventually excavation was made at harappa in montgomery district of punjab by DAYARAM SHANI in 1920. then the RAKHAL DAS BENARJEE under took the excavation  work at mohenjodaro (meaning the mount of dead) in the larkhan district of sindh  in 1921. now the both sites are in pakistan after partition of india. the distance between two cities was 350 mils. the harappan culture was not only antique by nature was far more advance than other western civilisation.

GEOGRAPHICAL EXTENT-

1) Harappan culture had extended over a vast patch of territory. from 1922 to 1947 hardly 40 settlements belongs to this culture had came to limelight.

2) but over the past 60 years thanks to our archaeologist and researchers they have brought into picture around 1400 settlements changing the previous idea completely. out of 1400 sites around 80% or 1100 settlement were on the sites of river saraswati (now lost) flowing in between ganga and indus. rest 250 settlements were the upper site of saraswati which include some portion of gujrat and maharashtra.


3) In terms of political boundaries of today, these 1400 sites, nearly 925 settlement are now in india and some 475 sites in pakistan. the total extent of the civilisation covered an area of about 1600 kilometers from east to west. in northen and southern direction the area covered was about 1400 kilometers.


 4) the big cities of harappan culture MOHENJODARO (250 hectares), HARAPPA (150 hectares),
GANAWARIWALA (80 hectares), KALIBAGAN (100 hectares), DHOLAVIRA (100 hectares) etc.

5) among the major harappan sites viz: harappa, mohenjodaro, kotdiji, gumla, tharor, mehergarh, sutkagender, nindovar, rahmandheri, tarkaikilla were in pakistan where as rupar, banwali, balu, mitathal, bhagwanpur, manpur, lothal, dholavira, kalibagan are in the indian territories.


6) in toto, it covered an area of about 1250000 square kilometers and the settlements were mostly located on river bank.  HARAPPA was the regarded as the capital of the indus empire.

TOWN PLANNING -  1) the big structures or palaces constructed at the upper side of the city was for the meant for the ruling class.

2) the lower part of the city that Is beyond these large structures , were the residential complexes densely populated by common dwellers.

3) the city was well protected by the boundary walls as know from remains. The cities were form of rectangle or square for symmetry. Certain specific cities like mohenjodaro, Harappa ,kalibagan  and surkotda had entrance gates as their unique features.

4) the prime specialty of Harappa culture was  its road system. Roads were very  wide and straight, criss-crossing the town from east to west and north to south . each crossing was vertical, with provision of lights post.

5) the houses were built on either side of the road with some distance from each other . proper drainage system was maintained on both the sides. The drain from each houses was connected with the main drain that stretched to the farthest extent of the town.

6)  the drain were properly covered which were an indicator of the sense of aesthetic beauty of citizens.

HOUSING MATERIALS   - 1) from the archaeological  remains discovered from the spot, one can easily make a general ideal about the housing materials.

2) every houses rested on a strong plinth of burnt bricks and wood.

3) for the common houses the size of  the  bricks was 71/2*15*30cm. while size of the brick for a palatial complex was 10*20*40cm. the proportion of each brick was 1:2:4 meaning the breathed was two times the width and length was four times the width.

4) the windows were made of wood or had certain made of bamboo. Earthen floor were common though pucca floors were also In use. Especialy the floors of the bath rooms and drains were made of bricks or stone.

5) wooden beams were used for roofs. The building  were painted with colours for beautification.

RESIDENTAL HOUSES – 1) Several types of residential houses were as well as public structures have come to lime light by archaeological excavation. They can be placed under three categories.

                                  a)ordinary houses

                                  b) big building surrounded by small houses .

                                  c) huge public structure.

2) big courtyard  were part and parcel  of large buildings. Each house had kitchen, bathroom, and several other rooms. There are instance of double or triple storeyed  buildings with stair cases.

3) well and proper drainage system  was a common  features of all houses. The waste  water of the house was fleshed out to main drain of the town.

4) it is a strange phenomenon that archaeologists  have not found a single house without courtyard, kitchen, well, bathroom or drain. The design of constriction found in Harappa houses clearly bring out their health consciousness.

5) all these point out the Harappan’s stress   on public and personal hygiene. Strangely enough, such designs were lacking in other contemporary  civilizations. In many ways the Harappans led a cleaner and better life than millions living in slums of 21^ST  century cities.   
                 

 TRADE-
                              

1)the disciplined social life, prosperous economy, high life style of the people focus our attention on another significant aspect of the civilization and that is trade and Commerce.

2) Beside agriculture, craft and technology, another major aspect of Harappan culture included trade and commercial activities of the people .In the initial phase, while it was confined within the territory of Harappa and Mohenjodaro later on it extended to Mesopotamia ,sumer, Egypt and other regions.

3) The people had acquired mastery over both inland and external trade activities. the perennial flow of the Indus and other rivers had paved the way for establishing commercial contact with outside world through navigation.

4) the Dockyard discovered at Lothal may be referred to in this context. The harbour was 23 meters  in length, 35 meters in breadth and 8 meters in depth. It was connected with Canal from the river. a jetty  was adjacent to it. Archaeologists opine that most probably the Jetty was used for loading and unloading goods from boats and ships. The discovery of lots of seals and measures of weight from the Dockyard very well proves its active role in the Harappan trade culture.

ANIMALS -

1)Agriculture and pastoralism being  co-related the in habitations of Harappa culture attached equal importance to pastoralism buffaloes bulls Bullocks and Camels where used for agriculture purpose.

 2) Lots of animal skeleton have become to limelight from archaeological remains .They include Sheep goat  bull elephant dog cat pig and camel. Domesticating these animals the people utilised them for agriculture and harvesting and acknowledge their service by carving the images of animals on the seals.

3) The wild pigs deer and rabbits were used for food. Hunting of birds and catching fish were favourite pastimes.

4) The agriculture and pastoral life of the harappans was certainly of a high order.Food and livestock where found in plenty.Therefore, they spent a lot of leisure and talent towards craft and architecture, apart from spending time in smaller past times and hobbies.

SCRIPT-

1)Agriculture and pastoralism being  co-related the in habitations of Harappa culture attached equal importance to pastoralism buffaloes bulls Bullocks and Camels where used for agriculture purpose.

 2) lots of animal skeleton have become to limelight from archaeological remains .they include Sheep goat  bull elephant dog cat pig and camel.Domesticating these animals the people utilised them for agriculture and harvesting and acknowledge their service by carving the images of animals on the seals.

3) the wild pigs deer and rabbits were used for food. hunting of birds and catching fish were favourite pastimes.

4) the agriculture and pastoral life of the harappans was certainly of a high order. food and livestock where found in plenty. Therefore, they spent a lot of leisure and talent towards craft and architecture, apart from spending time in smaller past times and hobbies.