Class 12 History – Chapter 1 Bricks, Beads and Bones | Harappan Civilization Notes

Class 12 History – Chapter 1 Bricks, Beads and Bones | Harappan Civilization Notes

Ancient India
Published on By Amresh Academy

🧱✨ CHAPTER 1: BRICKS, BEADS AND BONES

🏙️ THE HARAPPAN CIVILISATION


📌 A. Introduction

The Harappan Civilisation, also known as the Indus Valley Civilisation, is one of the earliest urban civilisations in the world.

The most distinctive artefacts of this civilisation are the Harappan seals, usually made of steatite (a type of stone). These seals often depict animals and contain inscriptions written in a script that has not yet been deciphered.

Although we cannot read their script, we know a great deal about the Harappans through archaeological evidence, such as:

  • Houses
  • Pottery
  • Ornaments
  • Tools
  • Seals

These materials help historians reconstruct the life and culture of the Harappan people.


📍 B. Terminologies, Places and Time

🔹 Name and Meaning

The term “Harappan Civilisation” comes from Harappa, the first site where this civilisation was discovered. It is also called the Indus Valley Civilisation because many of its sites are located near the Indus River.


⏳ Time Period

The civilisation existed from approximately 6000 BCE to 1300 BCE and is divided into three main phases:

1.   Early Harappan Phase (6000 BCE – 2600 BCE)

o   This was the formative stage

o   Beginning of agriculture and settlements

2.   Mature Harappan Phase (2600 BCE – 1900 BCE)

o   The most developed urban phase

o   Planned cities and advanced features

3.   Late Harappan Phase (1900 BCE – 1300 BCE)

o   Period of decline

o   Gradual disappearance of urban features


🌍 Geographical Extent

Harappan civilisation spread over a vast region including:

  • Afghanistan
  • Pakistan (Sindh and Punjab)
  • India (Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra)

Archaeological remains such as pottery, bricks, seals, beads, and tools have been found across these areas.


🏠C. Harappan Settlements

More than 2000 Harappan sites have been discovered in the Indian subcontinent.

Most of these settlements are located near:

  • The Indus River
  • The Saraswati (Ghaggar-Hakra) Basin

🔹 Types of Settlements

  • Large cities
  • Small towns
  • Villages
  • Ports
  • Craft production centres

⭐ Major Urban Centres

  • Harappa
  • Mohenjodaro
  • Dholavira
  • Rakhigarhi
  • Ganweriwala

These cities were important centres of administration, trade, and culture.


🌱 1. Beginnings of the Harappan Civilisation

Before the Mature Harappan phase, several regional cultures existed. These cultures showed:

  • Evidence of agriculture
  • Pastoralism (animal rearing)
  • Craft production

The settlements during this period were generally small and did not have large buildings.

Archaeological evidence suggests that the Harappan civilisation developed gradually from early farming communities around 7000 BCE.

The Mature Harappan phase emerged as a result of long-term development and transformation.


🌾 2. Subsistence Strategies

The Harappans had a well-developed system of food production.

🍞 Crops Cultivated

  • Wheat
  • Barley
  • Lentils
  • Chickpeas
  • Sesame
  • Millets (especially in Gujarat)

Rice was rarely found, indicating it was not a major crop.


🐄 Animal Husbandry

The Harappans domesticated several animals:

  • Cattle
  • Sheep
  • Goat
  • Buffalo
  • Pig

They also consumed:

  • Fish
  • Birds

Bones of wild animals such as deer and boar have also been found, suggesting hunting.


🚜  Agricultural Technologies

Although direct evidence is limited, archaeologists have reconstructed agricultural practices.

🔹 Key Features:

  • Use of plough
  • Oxen used for ploughing

📍 Evidence:

  • Ploughed field discovered at Kalibangan (Rajasthan)

This field had two sets of furrows, indicating that two different crops were grown together (mixed cropping).


💧 Irrigation

Most Harappan regions were semi-arid, so irrigation was necessary.

  • Evidence of canals found at Shortughai (Afghanistan)
  • No major canal system found in Punjab or Sindh


🏙️ 3. Mohenjodaro: A Planned Urban Centre

One of the most important features of the Harappan civilisation was the development of planned cities.

Mohenjodaro is one of the best examples of urban planning.


🏰 Division of the City

The city was divided into two parts:

1.   Citadel

o   Smaller but elevated

o   Built on mud-brick platforms

o   Contained public buildings

2.   Lower Town

o   Larger area

o   Residential buildings

Both parts were often surrounded by walls.


🧱 Building Features

  • Use of standardised bricks
  • Ratio of bricks: Length : Breadth : Height = 4 : 2 : 1
  • Buildings constructed on platforms

This shows a high level of planning and organisation.


🚰  Drainage System

The Harappan civilisation is famous for its advanced drainage system.

🔹 Features:

  • Streets laid out in a grid pattern
  • Drains connected to houses
  • Covered drainage system

This indicates:
👉 High level of civic sense and urban planning


🏡  Domestic Architecture

The houses in the Harappan cities were well-designed.

🔹 Structure:

  • Built around a central courtyard
  • Rooms on all sides

🔐 Privacy:

  • No windows on ground level
  • Entrances designed to avoid direct view inside


🚿 Facilities:

  • Bathrooms in each house
  • Drains connected to street drains

Some houses also had:

  • Staircases (for upper floors)
  • Wells (around 700 wells in Mohenjodaro)


🏛️  The Citadel

The citadel contained important public structures.

📦 Important Buildings:

  • Warehouse (for storage)
  • Great Bath


🛁 The Great Bath

The Great Bath is one of the most famous structures.

🔹 Features:

  • Large rectangular tank
  • Waterproof construction using bricks and gypsum
  • Steps on both sides

💡 Purpose:

  • Likely used for ritual bathing


⚠️  The Plight of Harappa

Although Harappa was the first site to be discovered, it suffered heavy damage.

  • Bricks were taken away for construction of railway lines
  • Many structures were destroyed

In contrast, Mohenjodaro is better preserved.


🧠✨ FINAL REVISION POINTS

  • Harappan = Indus Valley Civilisation
  • Time: 6000 BCE – 1300 BCE
  • Phases: Early, Mature, Late
  • Planned cities with drainage system
  • Agriculture + animal domestication
  • Important cities: Harappa, Mohenjodaro


📌 4. TRACKING SOCIAL DIFFERENCES

🔹 4.1 Burials

Archaeologists try to understand social and economic differences in ancient societies by studying burial practices.

👉 The basic idea is:
If some people are buried with more valuable objects than others, it may indicate inequality in society.


🪦 Harappan Burial Practices

At Harappan sites, the dead were generally:

  • Buried in simple pits
  • Laid in a specific manner

However, there were variations:

  • Some burial pits were plain
  • Some were lined with bricks

👉 These differences might suggest social differences, but:
❗ Archaeologists are not fully certain


💍 Grave Goods (Objects buried with dead)

Some graves contained:

  • Pottery vessels
  • Ornaments
  • Jewellery
  • Copper mirrors

👉 These objects may indicate a belief in life after death, where such items could be used.

📍 Important Evidence

At Harappa cemetery (mid-1980s excavation):

  • A male skeleton was found with:
    • 3 shell rings
    • Jasper bead
    • Hundreds of micro beads

👉 This shows:

  • Some individuals had more items than others
  • But differences were not very extreme


⚠️ Key Conclusion

Unlike Egypt:

  • Harappans did not bury huge wealth
  • No clear evidence of strong social hierarchy

👉 So, social differences existed but were:
➡️ Limited / not very sharp


🔹 4.2 Looking for “Luxuries”

Another way to identify social differences is by studying artefacts.

🛠 Two Categories of Artefacts

1. Utilitarian Objects (Daily Use)

  • Made easily
  • From ordinary materials
  • Widely available

Examples:

  • Pottery
  • Tools
  • Needles
  • Querns

👉 These were found everywhere


💎 2. Luxury Objects

  • Rare
  • Made from:
    • Costly materials
    • Non-local materials
    • Complex techniques

👉 Example:

  • Faience objects (made from silica + colour + gum)


📍 Key Observation

  • Luxury items mostly found in:
    👉 Large urban centres (Harappa, Mohenjodaro)
  • Rare in:
    👉 Small villages

👉 This suggests:
➡️ Some level of social difference / access to resources

🪙 Hoards (VERY IMPORTANT CONCEPT)

👉 Hoards =
Collections of valuable objects stored carefully

  • Kept inside pots or containers
  • Could include:
    • Jewellery
    • Metal objects

💡 Important Point

  • These were stored for future use or reuse
  • If not recovered → remained buried

👉 Archaeologists later discover them

🏭 5. FINDING OUT ABOUT CRAFT PRODUCTION

Harappan civilisation had highly developed craft production.

🔹 Specialised Production Centres

📍 Example: Chanhudaro

  • Very small settlement (<7 hectares)
  • Almost entirely focused on:
    • Bead making
    • Shell cutting
    • Metal working
    • Seal making

👉 This shows:
➡️ Specialisation in economy

🔹 Raw Materials Used

🪨 Stones:

  • Carnelian (red stone)
  • Jasper
  • Quartz
  • Steatite

🔩 Metals:

  • Copper
  • Bronze
  • Gold

🐚 Others:

  • Shell
  • Faience
  • Terracotta

🔹 Variety of Beads

Beads were made in many shapes:

  • Disc-shaped
  • Cylindrical
  • Spherical
  • Barrel-shaped
  • Segmented

👉 Some beads were:

  • Painted
  • Engraved
  • Decorated

🔹 Bead-Making Process (VERY IMPORTANT)

1.   Raw material collected

2.   Cut into rough shapes

3.   Finely shaped (flaking)

4.   Grinding

5.   Polishing

6.   Drilling hole

📍 Evidence:

  • Special drills found at:
    • Chanhudaro
    • Lothal
    • Dholavira

🔹 Shell Craft Production

📍 Centres:

  • Nageshwar
  • Balakot

🐚 Products:

  • Bangles
  • Ladles
  • Decorative items

👉 These goods were:
➡️ Transported to other cities

🔹 5.1 Identifying Production Centres

Archaeologists identify craft centres by finding:

  • Raw materials
  • Tools
  • Unfinished goods
  • Waste material

💡 Most Important Indicator:

👉 Waste material (scraps)

➡️ If waste found → production happened there

🚚 6. STRATEGIES FOR PROCURING MATERIALS

Harappans used both local and non-local materials.

🔹 Local Materials:

  • Clay

🔹 Non-local Materials:

  • Stone
  • Timber
  • Metals

👉 These had to be imported

🔹 Transport System

  • Bullock carts (land routes)
  • River transport
  • Sea routes

👉 Evidence: toy models of carts

🔹 6.1 Materials from Subcontinent

Harappans obtained materials by:

📍 Establishing settlements near sources:

  • Nageshwar → Shell
  • Lothal → Carnelian
  • Rajasthan → Copper
  • South India → Gold
  • Afghanistan → Lapis lazuli

📍 Expeditions:

  • Sent to mining areas
  • Established contact with local communities

👉 Example:

  • Ganeshwar-Jodhpura culture → Copper supply

🔹 6.2 Contact with Distant Lands

Harappans had long-distance trade relations.

🌍 Regions:

  • Oman
  • Mesopotamia

🔬 Evidence:

  • Chemical similarity in copper
  • Harappan jars found in Oman
  • Mesopotamian texts mention:

👉 “Meluhha” = Harappan region

📦 Goods traded:

  • Carnelian
  • Lapis lazuli
  • Copper
  • Gold
  • Wood

🚢 Transport:

👉 Mainly sea trade

👉 Mesopotamians called Harappans:
➡️ “Land of seafarers”

🔖 7. SEALS, SCRIPT AND WEIGHTS

🔹 7.1 Seals and Sealings

Seals were used for:

  • Trade
  • Identification
  • Security

🧵 Process:

1.   Goods packed in bags

2.   Mouth tied with rope

3.   Wet clay applied

4.   Seal pressed

💡 Importance:

  • If seal intact → no tampering
  • Showed identity of sender

🔹 7.2 Harappan Script

The Harappan script is still:

❗ Undeciphered

📜 Features:

  • Found on:
    • Seals
    • Tools
    • Tablets
    • Jewellery
  • Short inscriptions (max ~26 signs)
  • Total signs: 375–400
  • Not alphabetical

👉 Writing direction:
➡️ Right to left

💡 Important Insight:

  • Found on many objects
    👉 Possibly widespread literacy

🔹 7.3 Weights

  • Made of chert stone
  • Usually cubical

⚖️ System:

  • Binary: 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32
  • Decimal: 160, 200, 320

💡 Use:

  • Trade
  • Measuring goods
  • Jewellery weighing

🏛 8. ANCIENT AUTHORITY

Evidence suggests strong organisation in Harappan society.

🔹 Indicators:

  • Uniform bricks across regions
  • Standard weights
  • Planned cities

👉 Suggests:
➡️ Central authority OR strong control system

🔹 8.1 Palaces and Kings

❗ No clear evidence of kings

🤔 Theories:

1.   No rulers (equal society)

2.   Multiple rulers

3.   Single central authority

📍 Important:

  • “Priest-King” statue found
    👉 But no solid proof of monarchy

⚠️ 9. THE END OF THE CIVILISATION

Around 1800 BCE:

  • Many cities abandoned

🔻 Major Changes:

  • Decline of urban centres
  • Disappearance of:
    • Writing
    • Seals
    • Beads
  • Reduction in trade
  • Decline in craft production

🔍 Causes (Multiple Theories):

  • Climate change
  • Floods
  • River drying
  • Deforestation
  • Overuse of land

⚠️ Important:

👉 No single cause explains everything

📍 Result:

➡️ Shift to rural lifestyle
➡️ Late Harappan culture

🔎 10. DISCOVERING THE HARAPPAN CIVILISATION

🔹 Early Situation:

  • People unaware of ancient civilisation
  • Artefacts found accidentally

🔹 10.1 Cunningham’s Limitation

  • Focused on later periods
  • Ignored Harappan importance

🔹 10.2 Discovery Phase

  • Dayaram Sahni → Harappa
  • Rakhal Das Banerji → Mohenjodaro

👉 John Marshall (1924):
➡️ Announced Harappan civilisation

🔹 10.3 Modern Archaeology

  • Wheeler introduced:
    👉 Stratigraphy (layer study)
  • Scientific excavation methods

📍 Today:

  • International research
  • Advanced scientific techniques

🧠🔥 FINAL DEEP REVISION (TOPPER LEVEL)

  • Limited social differences
  • Strong craft specialisation
  • Long-distance trade
  • Advanced urban planning
  • No clear ruler system
  • Decline gradual, not sudden

 

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