Chronology of Indus Valley Civilization

8/10/2019 Chronology of Indus Valley Civilization

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Chronology of Indus Valley CivilizationThe chronology y of the rips e and fall of the Harappa civilization has beenan is s use of debateAnd controversy y. Substantive work was done by Marshall who dated thiscivilization between

The 325 0-2700 BC. The modern res each bas end upon the C!" dating orradiocarbon dating has placed it between the #$%% &C to #%%% &C.However' recent e(cavations by the Harappa Archaeological )es each *ro+ecthave beenable to build on these earlier s studies to define at least t fivema+or periods of development.This latest t pro+ect was s started by the,niversity of California and it was named ,niversity of California&erkeley*ro+ect which s started in !$- under the leadership/f 0r. 1eorg e 2. 0ales

at Harappa in *akis tan. 0r. 0ales died in !$$# and the1overnment of *akistan named it as Harappa Archaeological )es each *ro+ect.

These five periods represent a continuous process s of cultural developmentwhere new aspects of culture are balanced with long term continuities andlinkages in many crafts and

Artifact styles.*eriod !3 *reHarappa or )avi aspect3 44%% &C c. #-%% &C*eriod #3 5it0i+i or 6arly Harappa3 c. #-%% &C c. #%% &C

*eriod 4A3 Harappa *hase a c. #%% &C c. #"7% &C*eriod 4&3 Harappa *hase & c. #"7% &C c. ##%% &C*eriod 4C3 Harappa *hase C ##%% &C c. !$%% &C*eriod "3 Harappa89ate Harappa Transitional c. !$%% &C c. !-%% &C :;t cram thesee dates. The only thing s should be kept in mind isthat the civilizationdates back to around 44%% &C to !4%% &C.The researcheshave made it clear that the Harappa Civilization was definitely in Contactwith the Mesopotamian civilization in #%% &C.The most accepted timelinefor development from the ?eolithic period to early historic*eriod through

Harappa Civilization is as follows3 :all dates are appro(imatess a collect ion of hymns by anumber

of priest f amilies. @t is organized in !% books which are called Mandalas. The

f irst and !%th Mandalas are t he youngest and t he longest books. Secondt o

Sevent h Mandalas are oldest part s of )igEeda but t he short est books.-th

and $th books are of mi(ed ages.

)igEeda is neit her a hist orical nor a heroic poem but is mainly a collection of

hymns by a number of priest ly f amilies. T hese were recit ed at t he t

ime ofsacrif icial rit es and ot her rit uals wit h ut most devot ion. T he )igEedacont ains

!%! :!%#-' including !! hymns of t he Ealakhilya recession< hymns:Sukt a< and

is divided int o t en mandalas. T he f irst and t he t ent h Mandalas aresaid t o


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have been added lat er as t heir language dif f ers slight ly f rom t he other eight

Mandalas.

=a%urveda

'(a)us' means Fsacrif icial f ormulaF and Ja+urveda is t he book of sacrificial

prayers. @t cont ains t he rituals of the =a%nas. @t is est imat ed t o havebeen

composed bet ween !'"%% and !%%% &C.@t prescribes t he rit uals f or perf orming dif f erent sacrif ices. @t was t hemanual

of t he 9dhvaryus.*dhvarus wre the people prepared the ground and thealtar,

offered the sacrificial victims and poured out the libations.

T here are t wo dist ant f orms of t his Eeda. @n t he oldest ' t he inst ruct

ions about

rit uals are mingled wit h t he verses f rom t he )igEeda. T he chiefrecession of

t his is t hat t aught by a school of t eachers called t he T ait t t iriyans. This was

called &lack Ja+urveda.

At a lat er dat e ot her scholars called t he Ea+asaneyins separat ed t he

e(planat ory mat t er f rom t he verses t o be recit ed and hence werecalled whit e

:Shukla< Ja+urEeda' t he ot her being called t he black :5rishna< Ja+urEeda.

T his implies t hat t he 5rishna Ja+urveda includes t he &rahmana prose


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discussions wit hin t he Samhit a :no &rahman< while t he ShuklaJa+urveda has

separat ely a &rahmana t e(t ' t he Shat apat ha &rahmana.

orld>s oldest prose lit erat ure of t he @ndo6uropeans is cont ained in

Ja+urveda.

a, Veda4

FSamanF means melody and it cont ains t he )yt hmic compilat ion ofHymns f or

)igveda. @t ranks ne(t in sanct it y and lit urgical import ance t o t he)igveda. @t

cont ains !7"$ hymns which are meant t o be sung at t he soma sacrif iceby a

special class of &rahmans called F,dgat risF. @t has t hree shakhas or

recensions3

5aut huma 3 *anchvish &rahmanat he Kaiminiya 3 +aiminiya &rahmana

)vyanNya 3 Shadvish &rahmana

T here are t wo Aranyakas 3 Chadogya Aranyaka and +aiminiya Aranyaka.

Chadogya Aranyaka has Chadogya ,pnishad and Kaiminiya Aranyaka has

Kaiminiya ,pnishad. 1andharveveda is Samveda>s ,pveda is is a t echnical

t reat ise on Music' 0ance and 0rama. @t is also called ?at ya Shasht ra.

9tharva Veda4

At harvaEeda is ent irely dif f erent f rom t he ot her t hree Eedas and is

chronologt ically t he last of t he f our. @t is import ant and int erest ing asit


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describes t hepopular beliefs and superstitions of the humble folk.*tharvaveda

contains the magic spells, incorporates much of early traditions of healing

and

magic that are paralleled in other Indo+uropean literatures.

2or a very long t ime it was not included in t he cat egory of t he

Eedas.>At harvan> was a legendary )ishi and is considered t o have sung the

At harvaveda. He is also said t o have f irst inst it ut ed t he f iresacrif iceor yagna.

At harvaveda was mainly composed by t wo groups of rishis known as t he

At harvanas and t he Angirasa' hence it s oldest name is Ot harvgirasa.

T here are t wo surviving recensions or Shakhas known as PaunakNya:AES< and

*aippalda :AE*s Mot t o comes f rom Mundaka ,panishad.

9rti+les fro, 'eneral


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Aranyakas were writ t en mainly f or t he hermit s and st udent s living int he

+ungles. *lease not e t hat Aranyakas are t he concluding port ion of t he

&rahmanas or t heir appendices. T hey lay emphasis not on sacrif ices buton

medit at ion. T hey are in f act ' opposed t o sacrif ices and many of t heearly

rit uals. T heir st ress is on moral values. T hey f orm a bridge bet weenway of

work :karma marga< which was t he sole concern of t he &rahmanas and the

way of knowledge :gyan marga< which t he ,panishads advocat ed.

T he 9itareya 9ranya*a is appended t o t he Ait areya &rahmana of t he

)igEeda. T he Sankhyayana or 5aushit aki Aranyaka is t he concluding

port ion of t he 5aushit aki &rahmana of t he )igEeda.

@n t he black Ja+urEeda' t he T ait t riya Aranyaka is only a cont inuat ionof

t he T ait t t riya &rahamana. @n t he whit e Ja+urEeda' t he !"t h book oft he

Sat apat ha &rahmana is in name only an Aranyaka t he &rihdarnayaka.

2or t he SamaEeda' t he only Aranyakas are t he f irst Aranyakalike

sect ions of t he Chhandogya ,panishad' which belongs t o t heT andyamaha &rahmana' and t he Kaimniya ,panishad &rahmana' which

is not hing but an Aranyaka of t he Kaiminiya or T alavakara school of t he

SamaEeda and comprises t he well 5nown 5ena :or T alvakra< ,panishad.

here are no 9ranya*as of 9tharvaveda



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;#anishad#%!! %7 %7 %"3%737 15TodayT he word ,panishad means to sit down near someone and denot es a studentsit t ing near his guru t o learn. 6vent ually t he word began t o be used f ort hesecret knowledge impart ed by t he guru t o his select ed pupils. A numberoft reat ises were prepared' f irst orally and t hen in writ ing' and were calledby t hesame name of ,panishad. T oday ,panishads specif y philosophicalknowledgeand spirit ual learning.

he ,ain ,otto of the ;#anishads is >,panishads are called Eedant a :t he end of t he Eeda< f irst ly' because theydenot e t he last phase of t he Eedic period and secondly' because t heyrevealt he f inal aim of t he Eeda.T he /ldest ,panishads are &rhadaranyaka and Chandogya ,panishadswhichdat e as back as t he f irst millennium &C. 9at est were composed in t hemedieval and early modern period. T he lat est ,pnishad is Mukt ik

,pnishadand was recorded by 0ara Shikoh.@t dat es t o !7. 0ara Shikoh was son ofMughal emperor Shah Kahan and is known t o have t ranslat ed f if t y,panishadsint o *ersian. T here are !%- ,panishads and t hey are also called Eedanga.F,paF means nearby and FsadaF means sit . So ,panishads cont ain t heknowledge impart ed by t he gurus t o t heir disciples.T here are !%- ,panishad. are predominant and they are called 'ukhya/panishadsF. T hey are as f ollows3Qt able idR"! 89itareya ;#anishad

Ait areya ,panishad should be not ed f or one of t he " Mahavakyas viz.F0ra)anam "rahamaF or FConsciousness is &rahmanF. T he 2our MahavakyasofEedas are as f ollows30ra)nanam "rahma FConsciousness is &rahmanF :Ait areya ,panishad oft he )ig Eeda::: "C and theearliest e#ample is ehrgarh Culture. ehrgarh is the oldest agricultural

settlementin the Indian subcontinent.$ehrgarh CultureMehrgarh is t he oldest agricult ural set t lement in t he @ndian subcont inentAgricult urebased ?eolit hic set t lement s. 0espit e being t he agricult ureset t lement ' it used only st one t ools' so is why placed in ?eolit hic 6ra. @tf lourished in t he sevent h millennium &.C.Mehrgarh is locat ed on t he &olan )iver' a t ribut ary of t he @ndus' at t heeast ernedge of t he &aluchist an plat eau overlooking t he @ndus plain. T heMehrgarh

cult ure has been divided int o - sub periods and f ollowing are import antf eat ures of t hese subperiods3!irst erio d6arliest period of Mehrgarh is charact erized by polished st one t ools'microlit hs and bone t ools. @n t his phase t he subsist ence economyconsist ed of a combinat ion of hunt ing' st ockbreeding and plantcult ivat ion.T he domest icat ed animals comprise cat t le' sheep' goat and wat erbuf f alo while t he cult ivat ed plant s comprise several variet ies of wheatand barley.


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T he houses were made of mud and mudbricks.Mult iple rooms wit hout doors are believed t o have been used f or st oringgrain.1he dead were buried under the floors of the houses where people lived.Some of t he skelet ons which were buried have been f ound sprinkled wit hred ochre.?ecklaces of microbeads of st eat it e along wit h beads of t urDuoise'lapis lazuli and sea shell' st one a(es and microlit hs have also beenf ound in t he graves.In two cases, bodies of young goats were also found.T here was no pot t ery at t his st age but basket s coat ed wit h bit umenwere used.e+o nd erio d

T his period has lef t evidences of handmade' basket impressed coarseware. T here was emergence of wheelmade pot t ery paint ed in reddishand black color wit h simple st raight and curved lines' rows of dot s andcrisscrosses.Sickles made of st one bladelet s' set obliDuely in wood handles wit hbit umen as t he adhesive mat erial' may have been used f or harvest ing.Met al t echnology st art ed ' evident f rom t he discovery of a copper ringand a bead .T erracot t a human f igurines and bangles also appear. hird erio d

@mproved f arming around 4%%% &C is evident f rom a new variet y ofbarley' viz. $ordeum sphaerococcum' which can be grown only in irrigat edf ields.T he presence of cotton seeds suggests the possibility of the use of this fibrefor te#tile manufacture.T he Eessels were now decorat ed wit h paint ings of birds and animals asalso wit h geomet ric designs. /at s and anot her variet y of wheat wasadded t o t he agricult ure.St one bead manuf act uring and copper smelt ing st art ed.!ourth eriod6mergence of polychrome pot t ery wit h a t all goblet wit h wide mout h and

a pedest al base as a new shape.6(t ensive use of t imber in t he const ruct ion of houses' of f emalet erracot t a f igurines wit h pendulous breast s and of st amped seals oft erracot t a and bone.6mergence of commercial t ransact ions.!if t h erio dA marked decline in polychrome decorat ion on pot t ery.i:t h erio d0ramat ically increase in pot t ery st yles and t he f irst evidence of pot t erykilns.


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*ipal leaf and humped bull designs appear on pot t ery which ant icipat eHarappan mot if s.*rolif erat ion of t erracot t a f igurines' improved f emale f igurines.eventh eriod)ichness and variet y of t erracot t a f igurines very much similar t o t he@ndus Ealley Civilizat ion.Medial part it ion of t he hair suggest ing t he popular pract ice among Hinduwomen.T erracot t a bulls wit h prominent humps and rams made in alabast er.0esigns of swast ika' crucif orms and running animals on t erracot t af igurines.6mergence of monument al archit ect ure evident f rom a large brickplat f orm.

ight h erio dSt ruct ured graves' semiprecious st one beads and a bronze shaf t holea(e.Cigar Snapped handmade &rick st ruct ures wit h f ire places' st one bladeindust ry using f lint ' composit e st ickle' grinding st ones' bone t ools'*ot t ery et c.@n April #%%' it was announced in t he scient if ic +ournal ?at ure t hat t heoldest:and f irst early ?eolit hic< evidence in human hist ory f or t he drilling of teet h in a

living person was f ound in Mehrgarh. Mehrgarh is now seen as a precursor tot he @ndus Ealley Civilizat ion. F0iscoveries at Mehrgarh changed t he ent ire

concept of t he @ndus civilizat ion'F



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T he largest sit e of t he Chalcolit hic period is 0iamabad sit uat ed on t helef t bank of t he *ravara )iver.T he pot t ery ranges f rom )ed ware ' deep red ware t o deep brown andblack' *ict ographic red and black and polished red.o,e Chal+olithi+ Cultures49hara Culture4 T he sit es of Ahar Cult ure were Aahar :)a+ast han


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#%!! %7 %" !73%734# 15Today'* long march preceded our arrival at $aripah, through )angal of the closestdescription.... When I )oined the camp I found it in front of the village andruinousbrick castle. "ehind us was a large circular mound, or eminence, and to thewestwas an irregular rocky height, crowned with the remains of buildings, infragmentsof walls, with niches, after the eastern manner.... 1radition affirms thee#istencehere of a city, so considerable that it e#tended to Chicha Watni thirteen.ossesdistant, and that it was destroyed by a particular visitation of 0rovidence,

broughtdown by the lust and crimes of the sovereign'T his was t he f irst narrat ion of t he Harappa Civilizat ion by an6nglishman Charles Masson in !-"#. T he coss is around # miles and it hasbeen used as a unit of lengt h in @ndia since Eedic T imes.However' t he discovery of Charles Masson could not at t ract anyarcheologicalint erest f or many years.@n !-#' Sir Ale(ander Cunningham published t he f irst Harappan seal.About half a cent ury lat er in !$!# more Harappan seals were discovered by

K2leet . 9at er an e(cavat ion campaign was carried out under Sir Kohn HubertMarshall and t his culminat ed in t he discovery of a Civilizat ion at HarappabySir Kohn Marshall' )ai &ahadur 0aya )am Sahni and Madho Sarup Eat s' andat Mohen+o0aro by )akhal 0as &aner+ee' 6. K. H. Mac5ay' and Sir KohnMarshall.:tent of the Indus Valley CivilizationT he cent re of t he civilizat ion was in Sind and *un+ab in undivided @ndia' fromt his cent re' t he civilizat ion spread t owards all direct ion. @n est t he last

e(t entis seaboard of Sout h &aluchist an at t he Sukt agendor which can be calledit swest ern border. @n east Alamagirpur in ,t t ar *radesh :0ist rict Meerut

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Chronology of Indus Valley Civilization