What is Harappa History?

The seals suggest a symbolic or religious intent. Stone sculptures carved in steatite, limestone, or alabaster depict a male figure who may have represented a god.

The lifestyle and faith of the people of Harappa and Mohenjo Daro are still under doubt. Some artefacts, such as the Pashupati Seal, suggest that the people would worship an 'animal deity', who would protect them from wild beasts

The discovery of the site was very dramatic. Bengali architect Rakhaldas Bandopadhyay, an officer at the Archaeological Survey of India, went to the site in 1919-20 to identify a Buddhist stupa. There, he found a flint scraper that was much older than the stupa itself. This discovery led to a large scale excavation led by Kashinath Narayan Dikshit in 1924-25 and John Marshall in 1925-26, and the rest is history

Pottery figures were shaped into humans and animals. Very few bronze figures have been recovered.

The reason behind the decline of the Indus Valley Civilisation is still unknown. Many cite the Aryan invasion, drought and deluge as probable reasons but none of those have been proved.

It is the best-preserved city of Indus Valley civilization. It was built around 2500 BC. It is approximately the same time when pyramids of Egypt seem to be built.

The Indus Valley civilization existed in most of what makes up North India and Pakistan today. It extended to the Iranian border, Gujarat, and Bactria.

The whole city of Mohenjo-Daro was spanned across 500 acres which is very large as per that time. The 5,000-year-old city could host a population of 40,000.

The city of Mohenjo-Daro was divided into two districts, The Citadel, and Lower Town. The City’s exception monuments were present in The Citadel district.

Buildings in Mohenjo-Daro were made of fired and mortared bricks, as well as some sun-dried mud bricks and some wooden structures.

900 Square feet Great bath (water tank) built with walls of bricks was built in Citadel district which worked as a public pool. it was 8 feet deep, 23 feet wide and 39 feet long. many small changing rooms were found around the bathing pool. even changing rooms had attached bathrooms. Seems like they were conscious about hygiene too. They knew it’s necessary to take a bath before and after using a public bath.

It is also fascinating that multistoried buildings were found at the site of Harappa and Mohenjo Daro.

There are around 1,500 sites of the Indus Valley Civilization and no sign of warfare or weapons have been found. This implies that the Indus natives were peaceful in nature, which might have made it vulnerable to foreign invaders.

The mode of transport during the Indus Valley Civilization may be bullock carts and white horses. Archaeologists found a clay bullock cart in the city of Mohenjo Daro, which indicated that bullock carts were used as a mode of transport.

Mohenjo-Daro had a marketplace in its central region.

The city also had a sophisticated water system. Houses had toilets and baths with proper water sewage system. This suggests that residents had an impeccable sense of urban planning. The city also had very advance waste disposal management system and all drains were covered.

The city did not have any place of worship or governance. It appears that there was no real central controlling government or royalty, but there may have been elected officials from each region in the city representing them in a larger government.

The civilization belonged to the Bronze Age. The inhabitants of the ancient city did not know the usage of iron.

The city’s lower town could host around 20000-40000 people. The city was designed as per modern day’s street grid system

The city’s lower town could host around 20000-40000 people. The city was designed as per modern day’s street grid system

The city’s lower town could host around 20000-40000 people. The city was designed as per modern day’s street grid system

With the archaeological evidence like ‘the dancing girl’ statue, a guess has been formed that the ladies during the Indus Valley Civilization wore bangles from their upper arm. They also wore earrings, finger rings, necklaces, and bracelets. According to the archaeologists, not only women but men also loved to decorate their body parts with jewelry.

The city hosted enormous granary with multiples divisions made by woods. It even had air ducts to keep the grains fresh.

It seems like City residents were the first to use chicken breeding for business proposes.

The city of Mohenjo-Daro collapsed approximately after 600 after it was built.