[0:00]Hello everyone, today we will learn about Indus Valley Civilization. It's a very important topic. Every year, at least one question comes from Indus Valley Civilization in Ancient India. Okay, so let's study it. We'll divide it into three phases: Early Harappan phase, Mature Harappan phase, and Late Harappan phase. What does Early Harappan mean? It's when urbanization had just started. We also call it the Formative - Proto Urban phase. Then, Mature phase is when full-fledged urbanization had happened. It was advanced and full-fledged urbanization. That's called the Mature phase. Then, finally comes the Late phase. Late phase means when the decline of urbanization started. Okay, so these were the three phases. Now let's look at some important points. For example, the area of Harappa was larger than those of the contemporary civilizations of Mesopotamia and Egypt. The Mesopotamian civilization was also there at that time, and Egypt's too, right? So, Harappa's area was larger than Mesopotamia's. Now, we call Harappa the 1st Urbanisation, and what do we call the 2nd Urbanisation? The ones that formed during the Mahajanapadas phase, like Magadha, etc. Okay? So, those were the 2nd Urbanisation, and the 1st Urbanisation was during Harappa's time. Now, how was the trade? Intra-trade was done through a barter system. And inter-trade, like with Mesopotamia, was done through coins and seals. These were the earliest people to produce cotton. So, if there's a question about where cotton originated, it originated in India during the Harappan period. Woven cloth has been found in Mohenjo-Daro. Was there taxation? Yes, there was taxation, but not in the form of cash or coins, rather in the form of cereals. Okay, meaning in the form of food grains. Now, the Harappan culture was not horse-centered. That means it's not like everyone had horses, and horses were found very rarely. And where were these horses found? They were only found in Surkotada. Horse remains. So, this was very rare. Now, what other animals were found? Oxen, buffaloes, goats, sheep, pigs, humped bulls, dogs, cats, asses, camels, elephants. All these were found. Rhinoceros also. This is written separately because we can get confused here, as rhinoceros are not easily found in the open. Now, how to remember this? Instead of remembering what was found, it's better to remember what was not found. Two animals were not found: cow and lion. These two were not found. So, remember these two; the rest were found. Okay, now, what was the geographical extent? For this, I had told you a mnemonic earlier. Write "NEWS" and below it, write "MAST", like "masti", but replace 'T' with 'D'. So, NEWS MASD. North had Manda, East had Alamgirpur, West had Surkotada, and South had Daimabad. Okay, so we'll remember the boundary like that: Surkotada, Alamgirpur, Daimabad, and Manda. And the largest site was Rakhigarhi, which is in Haryana. Now next, what was the town planning and structures like? All the towns were divided into two parts: a citadel, which was the upper part, and a lower part. So, they were divided into two parts, but there's an exception: Dholavira.
[3:40]Dholavira was divided into three parts: Lower, Middle, and Upper Town. Okay, now they used burnt bricks. Who? The Harappan civilization. And baked bricks were used in contemporary Mesopotamia. What's the difference between these two? Let's see. So, first, mud bricks were used. What are mud bricks? Clay and soil mixed together and left in sunlight to bake, to gain strength. After that, technology advanced a bit, there was some progress, and baked bricks came into use.
[4:16]In baked bricks, kilns started being used. Meaning, they would be put in a kiln at high temperature, which would make them stronger. Then, there was further advancement, and burnt bricks came into use. In this, the kiln's temperature was raised even higher, so they gained even more strength. So, the only difference between these two is the temperature.
[4:41]In this, it was a bit lower, in that, it was higher. And in this, it was done in sunlight. Okay, so burnt bricks in Harappa, and baked bricks in Mesopotamia. Now, did they use iron ploughshare? No, they didn't. Why? Because iron hadn't been discovered yet. What is a ploughshare? This. The one used in agriculture to till the soil. Now, let's talk about scripts, weights, and measures. What kind of script was it? A pictorial script was used. Meaning, they didn't use alphabets; they used pictures in their script. This script hasn't been deciphered yet. That means it's in proto-history. Now, if someone asks which is the oldest script, it would be Harappan. But since this script hasn't been deciphered yet, the oldest script that has been deciphered is Brahmi. Okay? So, deciphered and oldest is Brahmi, and just oldest is Harappan. How were the seals? Seals were used for identification marks. Now, a signboard has also been found in Dholavira. What kind of signboard? Like this. Okay, so this signboard was found in Dholavira. How was society and polity? Social differentiation existed. Okay, like today, there are Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas, Shudras. Like there was differentiation in the Vedic age, social differentiation also existed in them. It wasn't rigid, but it was there. Fortification? Yes, it was there. Several cities, Dholavira in particular. Meaning, here, there was good fortification. In other places, it was there, but it wasn't a prominent feature. Taxation also existed, as we saw, in the form of cereals. What kind of religion? They followed Animism. What is Animism? Worshipping nature. For example, worshipping trees, stones, rocks, rain, water, fire, right? These are all nature. Worshipping these is called Animism. So, the Harappan civilization followed Animism. And they also worshipped Linga (phallus) and Yoni (female sex organ) by the Harappans. Now, evidence of fire worship has also been found at some sites such as Kalibangan and Lothal. Remember this. Temples were not there. Why? Because they followed Animism. What is Animism? Worshipping nature. So, when you worship nature, there's no need to build temples, right? Okay, that's why temples weren't found. Remember this. What were the funerary beliefs and practices? They used coffin burials. What is a coffin burial? It's a wooden structure, like in Christianity, where the body is placed inside. Now, women's bodies were first covered with reed mats. What are reed mats? These are made from reeds, a plant. So, women's bodies were first covered with reed mats, and then placed in the burial. Now, let's look at technology and crafts. We'll look at the important centers later, all in one place. Let's look at technology and crafts. Steatite was used for making beads and seals. If beads were being made, it means there was jewelry. If there was jewelry, it means people had a sense of fashion. Now, if there's fashion, what will happen? Status differentiation will occur. Someone's status will go up, someone's will go down, right? So that's the thing.
[8:21]Beadmakers' shops have been found at Chanhudaro and Lothal. Okay, Chanhudaro and Lothal. This shows status-worthy and used fashion. So, if it's asked whether people there had a sense of fashion or not, yes, people of the Harappan civilization had a sense of fashion. And ornaments were also status-worthy, meaning there was a sense of hierarchy. Now, ornaments were also found. What was found? Necklaces, armlets, earrings, beads, bangles, etc. were found. And these ornaments were worn by both sexes, males and females. And hair dressing was also found for both, men and women.
[9:02]Now, pottery was mostly wheel-made, and they were treated with a red coating, and had decorations in black. Okay, so wheel-made and red coating and decoration with black color. Now, in seals, there was less depiction of horses, because, as we saw, horses were rare. They were only found in Surkotada.
[9:33]Here, it's written, Surkotada. Sorry. In Surkotada, they were found. So, that's why it was rare. So, seals had less depiction of horses. Now, bronze casting, this also happened, but not in huge amounts. In this, lost-wax technique was used. What is lost-wax technique? For example, a structure would be made, and then from a hole at the top, wax would be poured in. Later, when it was heated and opened, a shape would form for various things. This is called the Lost Wax Technique. Now, let's look at seals. Among these, the most prominent was the Pashupati Seal. Who is Pashupati? Horned Male Deity. Look at this picture, here he is. These are the horns. This is the deity, and around him, there are four animals: elephant, tiger, rhinoceros, and buffalo. And at his feet, there are four deer.
[10:31]So, there were a total of five animals in this seal. Out of male and female deities, female deities were more prominent, because they were worshipped as fertility goddesses. Now, what was their trade like? Lapis-lazuli was traded. Lapis-lazuli are sparkling blue stones. These were found from Afghanistan. Copper was found from the Khetri mines in Rajasthan. Gold came from Kolar gold fields of Karnataka. Silver came from Jwar mines of Rajasthan, and turquoise and jade were imported from Central Asia. Seashells came from Gujarat. Timber came from northern regions, like Jammu Kashmir. Now, evidence indicates that Mesopotamia imported copper, carnelian, ivory, shell, lapis-lazuli, pearls, and ebony from Meluhha. Okay, Meluhha is a place in the Harappan civilization. Silver was more common than gold. That's why, silver was cheap, gold was expensive. So, silver was more common than gold. Now, let's look at some important features of cities. For example, Great Bath was found in Mohenjo-Daro. Granaries were most prominently found in Mohenjo-Daro, and also in Harappa and Kalibangan. A dockyard was found in Lothal. Lothal was a port city, we'll see that too. Terracotta plough was found in Banawali. Furrows and plough-marks were found in Kalibangan. And forts within forts. This is important. This was found in Dholavira. Meaning, forts were built inside forts in Dholavira. Woven cotton, Mohenjo-Daro. Beadmakers' shops, we saw earlier, were found in Chanhudaro and Lothal. Copper dog statue was found in Lothal. And Bronze Dancing Girl was found in Mohenjo-Daro. Bearded Man was also found here. Okay, these were found in Mohenjo-Daro. And fire worship was done in Kalibangan and Lothal. Fire worship is Animism. Okay, now let's look at their important sites. So, I have written all the important sites in one place and what was found in them. For example, Harappa. In this, what do you need to remember? That this site is on which river? For example, Harappa is on the Ravi River. Mohenjo-Daro is on the Indus. Chanhudaro is also on the Indus. Lothal is on the Bhogava River. Dholavira is on Khadir Bet Island. Kalibangan is on Ghaggar. And Rakhigarhi is on Ghaggar-Hakra. So, now, what was found, which things, that's something to memorize. You can just read it once. The main thing here is which port cities were there. That can come in matching questions. So, the mnemonic to remember this is BSNL. Meaning, Balakot, Sutkagendor, Nageshwar, and Lothal. These four cities were port cities. Now, which was the oldest site? It was Bhirrana. This is in Haryana. Earlier, it was believed to be Mehrgarh, but recently Bhirrana has been discovered, and this is the oldest. So, if Bhirrana is in the option, you'll choose that, otherwise, Mehrgarh. This is in Pakistan. Okay, and these are some important sites and what was found in them. That's written. This map has been added to show which site is where. Just take a look at it, in case a mapping question comes, like Manda is in the North, Sutkagendor in the West, Alamgirpur is in the East, and Daimabad will be in the South. Okay. And this is also a map, showing how the Indus Valley Civilization developed. Okay, so with this, we have completed the Indus Valley Civilization. Now, tell me what topic to make the next video on. And thank you.
