Indus River Valley (Harappa)

Indus River Valley (Harappa)

Day 1Map of IndiaCivilization - achievement Hierarchy - specializationEconomy - surplusBarter - polytheismMonotheism - institutionscribe

Day 2

Many UnknownsArcheological sites not excavated

until the 1920’s

Enormous territory

Writing not yet deciphered

Literally piecing together history

Indus River

Fertile Plain Hindu-Kush

and Himalaya Mountain Ranges

Location, Location, Location!Geographic Benefits:

Mountain Ranges offer protection Source of rivers Monsoons

River Valley Perks: Flooding Soil

Access to private beaches: Ports for trade

Monsoons

Dominates climate

Winter Monsoon (Oct-May) dry air from northeast

Summer Monsoon (June) picks up moisture from the Indian Ocean

MonsoonsPeople depend on summer

monsoons to provide life giving rain

Monsoon late -crops die causing famine

Monsoon brings too much rain-rivers overflow causing deadly floods

In Comparison…..How does the geography and climate of

the Indus River Valley compare to other river valley (agrarian ) civilizations we have studied?

Make a prediction: Will the Indus River Valley civilization evolve in a similar fashion to Egypt and Mesopotamia or will it develop unique qualities we have yet to see? Decide on an answer and defend your argument in a well written paragraph.

DAY 3

Urbanized SocietyPlanned cities

Mohenjo Daro Harappa

Laid out in grid pattern Streets and alleyways off of major streets

lead to private neighborhoods Houses with thick walls and high ceilings to

keep the rooms cool in the hot summer months

Houses of varying size Between1and 3 floors Same pattern – enclosed courtyard

Map of Mohenjo-Daro

Cities Centered On…

Citadel-walled fortress that housed assembly halls, granaries, and

public baths

Cities Centered On…Crafts quarter/Central MarketEvidence of workshops, beads,

shell ornaments, glazed pottery ornaments, stone tools and even gold

Social StructureRuling Elite

Not known if cities were ruled by priests or wealthy merchants

Priest classDivision of labor:

City planners - Architects Merchants - Farmers Artisans

Similar housing structures suggest social divisions were not great

Political Structure-Central Gov’tTheocracy???Public Works:

Plumbing and sewage systems Public baths Granaries Levees Standardized measures and weights

Walls for protection Floods Invasion

Limited conflict Few weapons found …. Why?

Public Works

Granary at Mohenjo-Daro World’s first sewage system?

Indus Valley (Harappan) EconomyIrrigated agriculture was used to

take advantage of the fertile grounds along the Indus River

Both brick and earthen walls were built to control the annual flooding

Domesticated Animals included: Elephant Water Buffalo Oxen Goats

Economic ResourcesNatural Resources

Fresh water and timber Materials such as gold, silver, semi-

precious stones Marine resources

Agricultural Resources Domesticated crops included wheat,

barley, peas, sesame seeds, dates and cotton

First civilization to cultivate cotton for the production of cloth

TradePossible because of central

location Exported timber Imported precious metals/stones

Evidence of substantial trade with Mesopotamia

Marketplaces or crafts-quarters in cities like Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa buzzed with activity

ReligionNot much is known about

religious practices No monumental symbols of religion

Believed to be polytheistic: Prayed for good harvests and protection

from floods River often changed course Unpredictable flooding

Animals

ReligionStatues and Figurines indicate

worship of Mother goddess Fertility gods Links to Hinduism?

ReligionArcheological evidence suggests

belief in an afterlife

TechnologyPlanned Cities:

Straight streets in grid-like pattern Public water supply (baths) Public and private sanitation

Standardization of: Weights Measurements Oven-baked bricks Distance

Astronomy and Geometry?

Technology – Written LanguageAlphabet

contained over 400 symbols

Not yet deciphered

Pictographic or Phonetic?

Stamps and seals

Day 4

What happened to this Civilization?Everything we have examined about the

Indus River Valley (Harappan) civilization to this point suggests that it was a well organized and thriving civilization. However, something happened that caused this civilization to vanish from history for close to 3,000 years. Many theories have been developed to explain the mysterious end to this early Indian civilization; some of which we will examine. Before looking at the theories take a few minutes and predict what historians believe was the true cause of the Harappan decline.

Theories We do know that between 2000

BC and 1500 BC cities like Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa were abandoned

There are two major theories that exist:

Natural Catastrophe and Nomadic Invasion

The Case for Natural DisasterSome historians argue that natural

catastrophes or disasters led to the demise of this great civilization

Tectonic events such as earthquakes could have:

Caused the river to migrate Shifted the river’s floodplains

Climatic changes Rainfall decreased and caused sustained

drought

The Case for Natural DisasterOver farming and deforestation

may have depleted the soil making it useless

Evidence: Archeological work at Mohenjo-Daro

suggests that the river migrated Some cities were believed to have been

rebuilt several times Indian Plate boundary very close Most of the ancient civilization is now

desert

The Case for Aryan InvasionThe Aryan Invasion theory

suggests that pastoral nomads (Aryans) from the plains of Asia migrated and conquered Harappan settlements

The Case for Aryan InvasionReligious texts describe

conquests of great citiesHuman remains that suggest

traumatic deathsSimilarities between perceived

religious symbols of Harappan cities and Hinduism

Indo-European language Social structure - Varnas