History of Indus Valley Civilization and Main Causes of Decline

Indus Valley Civilization:

The Indus Valley Civilization is one of the ancient river valley civilizations of the world. It is also known as Harappan Civilization and Indus-Sarasvati Civilization. About 76 years ago, the residents of 'Haryana', located in 'Montgomery district' of 'West Punjab province' of Pakistan, probably did not have the slightest idea that they were using the bricks buried in the land around them so much.

They are no ordinary bricks, but the remains of a more than 5,000 years old and fully developed civilization. He realized this when in 1856 AD 'John William Bruntum' started excavation of these ruins to supply bricks for laying the railway line from Karachi to Lahore. During the excavation, the first remains of this civilization were found, which was given the name of this civilization as 'Harappan Civilization'.

How was the Indus Valley Civilization discovered?

The credit of discovering this unknown civilization goes to 'Rakhaldas Banerjee and Dayaram Sahni'. He got this place excavated in 1921 under the direction of 'Sir John Marshall', Director General of the Archaeological Survey Department. About a year later, in 1922, under the leadership of 'Shri Rakhal Das Banerjee', another place was discovered during the excavation of a Buddhist stupa located in Mohenjodaro of 'Larkana' district of Sindh province of Pakistan.

After this latest place came to light, it was assumed that possibly this civilization was confined to the valley of the Indus river, hence the name of this civilization was named 'Indus Valley Civilization'. For the first time in 1927, due to the excavation at a site called 'Harappa', the name of 'Indus Civilization' was 'Harappan Civilization'. But over a period of time 'Piggot' described Harappa and Mohenjodaro as 'twin capitals of a vast empire'.

Special buildings: Excavations in the Indus Valley region have yielded evidence of some important ruins.

Important among the remains found in the excavations of Harappa were -

  • Durg
  • Defense ramparts
  • Residence
  • Pops
  • Grain etc

Expansion of civilization:

Till now the remains of this civilization have been found in parts of Punjab, Sindh, Balochistan, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Haryana, western Uttar Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir of Pakistan and India. The spread of this civilization is from 'Manda' of 'Jammu' in the north to 'Bhagatrao' at the mouth of Narmada in the south and 'Sutkagendor' on the 'Makran' beach in the west to Meerut in western Uttar Pradesh in the east. The westernmost site of this civilization is 'Sutkagendor', the eastern site 'Alamgir', the northern site 'Manda' and the southern site 'Daimabad'.

This almost triangular part is spread over a total area of ​​about 12,99,600 square kilometers. The extent of the Indus civilization was 1600 km from east to west and 1400 km from north to south. Thus the Indus civilization spread over a much wider area than contemporary Egypt or the 'Sumerian Civilization'.

Determination of Indus Civilization by various scholars:

Era Scholar
3,500 - 2,700 BC Madhoswaroop Vats
3,250 - 2,750 BC John Marshall
2,900 - 1,900 BC Dales
2,800 - 1,500 BC , Ernest McKay
2,500 - 1,500 BC Martimer Heiler
2,350 - 1,700 BC CJ Gad
2,350 - 1,750 BC DP Agarwal
2,000 - 1,500 BC Fair service

Items imported in Harappan Civilization:

Things Location (Territory)
Tin From Afghanistan and Iran
Silver From Afghanistan and Iran
lead From Afghanistan, Rajasthan and Iran
Cell stacked From Gujarat, Rajasthan and Balochistan
Sleep From Iran
Copper From Khetri in Balochistan and Rajasthan
lajavard gem Mesopotamia

Important things related to Indus Civilization:

Important items Receipt point
Copper scale Harappa
The biggest brick Mohenjodaro
Hairdresser (comb) Harappa
Curved bricks Chanhudaro
Evidence of the gathered farm Kalibanga
Maize factory Chanhudaro, Lothal
Persian currency Lothal
Cat foot bricks Chanhudaro
Couple burial Lothal
Clay plow Banwali
Cunning fox seal Lothal
Horse bones Surkotada
Ivory scale Lothal
Flour mill Lothal
Evidence of mummy Lothal
Evidence of rice Lothal, Rangpur
Oyster scale Mohenjodaro
Bronze dancer statue Mohenjodaro

Harappan Civilization Sites:

The site Place
The westernmost site of the Harappan civilization Satkagendor (Balochistan)
Easternmost site Alamgirpur (Meerut)
Most complete site Manda (Jammu and Kashmir)
Southernmost site Daimabad (Maharashtra)

The main reasons for the decline of the Indus Valley Civilization:

  • Ecological imbalance: the opinion of the Fair Service,
  • Increased dryness and drying up of Dhaggar: D.P. Aggarwal, Sood and Amalanand Ghosh's opinion,
  • Change of the course of the river: The father of this idea is Madhoswarup Vatsa. Dulles is of the opinion that the reason for the change in the course of the river Dhaggar is the reason for the decline of Kalibanga. Lesbrick believes the same.
  • Flood: The signs of flood are evident from Mohenjodaro. Mr. McKay believes that Chanhudaro also ended due to floods, while S.R. Rao believes that there were two severe floods in Lothal and Bhagavatrao.
  • Each type of water inundation: It is known from the observation of sites like Mohenjodaro, Amri etc. that there has also been another type of water inundation in the Indus civilization. Stagnant water is obtained from some places. The exponent of this idea is - M.R. Sawhney. An American hydrologist R.L. Rikes also corroborates this view and says that it was probably caused by an earthquake.
  • External Invasion: In 1934 Garden Child raised the issue of Aryan invasion and Martimer Wheeler confirmed this view in 1946 AD. The following evidence has been presented in support of this view. Evidence of fire is found from areas like Nal and Dabarkot of Balochistan. Skeletons of children, women and men are found from Mohenjodaro. The word Hariupiya is used in the Rigveda, it has been identified as modern Harappa. Indra is said to be Purandar, that is, the destroyer of forts.

Indus Valley Civilization Quiz:

Question Which civilization was a half-historic civilization?
Answer The Saidhav civilization was a civilization of the half-historic period.
Question By what other name is the Harappan Civilization known?
Answer The Harappan Civilization is also known as the Bronze Age Civilization.
Question What was the method used by the Harappans to make bronze?
Answer The Harappan people knew the method of making bronze by mixing tin with copper.
Question When and by whom were the Harappan mounds mentioned?
Answer The Harappan mound was first mentioned in 1826 by Charles Masson.
Question When and during which event the civilizations of Harappa and Mohenjodaro were discovered?
Answer Harappa and Mohenjodaro civilization was revealed in 1856 during the laying of railway track between Karachi and Lahore.
Question Who discovered the ancient cities of Harappa and Mohenjodaro?
Answer The Britishers named John Brunton and William Brunton had discovered the ancient city of Harappa and Mohenjodaro civilization.
Question Where and under whose leadership did the work of excavation of Harappan civilization take place?
Answer In 1921 AD, the first excavation work took place under the leadership of Dayaram Sahni and Madhav Swarup Vats at a site called Harappa (Montgomery district) located in the Punjab province of Pakistan.
Question Where and under whose leadership did the work of excavation of Mohenjodaro civilization take place?
Answer The excavation work of Mohenjodaro civilization (Mound of Murtko) started in 1992 AD under the leadership of Rakhaldas Banerjee, which is located in Larkana district of present-day Sindh province of Pakistan.
Question Who called Harappa and Mohenjodaro as twin capitals?
Answer Piggott described Harappa and Mohenjodaro as twin capitals.
Question Information about how many sites of Harappan civilization has been received?
Answer Information about about 1000 sites of Harappan civilization has been received.
Question How many sites of Harappa and Mohenjodaro are considered as cities?
Answer Only 6 sites of Harappa and Mohenjodaro are considered as cities. In which- Harappa, Mohenjodaro, Chanhudaro of Sindh, Lothal of Gujarat, Kalibanga of northern Rajasthan and Banwali located in Hisar district of Haryana are included.
Question What evidence of Harappan culture is found in Kalibanga and Banawali?
Answer The following evidences of Harappan culture are found in Kalibanga and Banawali, where there are remains of unpaved bricks, roads and drains.
Question What type of picture is inscribed on the coins of Harappan civilization?
Answer The picture of 'Garuda' is inscribed on the coins of Harappan civilization.
Question What was the area of ​​Harappan Civilization?
Answer The entire area of ​​the triangular Harappan civilization was 12,99,600 square kilometers.
Question What was the main feature of the Indus Valley Civilization?
Answer The biggest feature of the Indus Valley Civilization was 'town planning'.

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Read also:

Indus Valley Civilization FAQs:

Kalibanga is an ancient and historical place in Hanumangarh district of Rajasthan. Important remains of the Indus Valley Civilization have been found here.

Based on the discovery of the Pashupati seal at Mohenjodaro, historians and archaeologists believe that the people of the Indus Valley worshiped Lord Shiva. Shiva is the lord of the four-legged animals (Pashupati).

The Indus Civilization was a planned civilization, in which the houses were made of burnt bricks, the roads cut each other at right angles, the roads and streets were 9 to 34 feet wide and in some places went straight for half a mile.

Lothal is one of the most important port cities of the ancient Indus Valley Civilization. This ancient city dating back to around 2400 BC is located in the Bhal region of the Indian state of Gujarat and was discovered in 1954.

The most important feature of the Indus Valley Civilization was the buildings made of bricks. It is also known as the Harappan Civilization. It is said that agriculture started around 4000 BC and around 3000 BC there appeared the first signs of urbanization.

  Last update :  Fri 30 Sep 2022
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  Post Category :  Ancient Indian History