The Harappan Civilization

As we all know that Harappan civilization was a Bronze Age dated from 3300 to 1300 BCE mostly situated in North-West Indian subcontinent and in some parts of North-East Afghanistan. Majority of its sites are found in India and the largest concentration being along the Valley of Saraswati River and its tributary Drisadvati. This civilization, though being one of the oldest showed remarkable urban characteristics relevant to present day urban characteristics and was well known to the world for this. It’s known for its planned cities, drainage system and fire brick. Another remarkable aspect of Harappan culture was its craftsmanship and cottage industry which made it the wealthiest civilization in the world. Cities found near coastal regions have

For weighing of goods both small as well as large there were perfectly made cubes of agate that were used. The weight’s numerical value followed a binary system in the lower denominations for smaller weight and then to the decimal multiples and then in decimal multiples like 320, 640 etc. The things they might have imported were the things that were unavailable like copper, gold, silver, turquoise, Jade, etc. The trade things used by merchants like seals and other related objects have been found in Mesopotamia. They were also a symbolic expression of religious belief and the best example of craftsmanship in Harappan civilization. According to Mesopotamian literature, the merchants of Mesopotamia use to carry on trade with foreign countries. Among these countries the ones most mentioned were Meluhha, Magan and Tilmun. Tilmun is mostly identified as the island of Bahrein in the Persian Gulf. Magan is considered to be Oman or any other port of South Arabia. Meluhha is now generally understood or considered to mean India, moreover from the Indus region and Saurashtra marks the foreign

The city was divided into two parts; one was the Citadel where institution related to civil and religious concerns were found and the normal urban population area or the lower residential area where the people use to live. In Mohenjo-Daro as well as in Harappa, the citadel was surrounded by walls whereas in Kalibangan both residential as well as citadel were surrounded by wall. The towns and cities were parallel laid and the house were built of baked and unbaked bricks which tells us that brick making was a large scale industry of that time. If we look into the Citadel, the most important architecture was the ‘Great Bath’. The purpose of it is assumed to be for ritual practices or was of great importance to the people. There are also large granaries to the west of the ‘Great Bath’. The other side of the ‘Great Bath’ has a long building which is supposed to have been recognized as the gathering place for higher officials. Another important building present is the Assembly Hall. Also large number of granaries has been found in 2 rows of 6 with a central