Bricks, Beads and Bones: The Harappan Civilization

Introduction

The Harappan Civilization, also called the Indus Valley Civilization (IVC), was one of the world’s earliest urban cultures, flourishing between 2600 BCE and 1900 BCE across northwestern India and Pakistan. It extended over a vast region of about 1.3 million square kilometers, larger than Egypt or Mesopotamia.

The civilization is known for its planned cities, standardized weights, craft traditions, agriculture, trade networks, and enigmatic script. Archaeologists often use the phrase “Bricks, Beads and Bones” to symbolize its material remains—burnt bricks of houses and city walls, beads and ornaments of craft production, and bones that reveal dietary habits and burial practices.

1. Discovery and Chronology

• The first discoveries were made in the 1920s at Harappa (Punjab, Pakistan) and Mohenjo-daro (Sindh, Pakistan).
• Excavations revealed an advanced urban civilization contemporary with Mesopotamia and Egypt.
• The civilization is divided into phases:
  • Early Harappan (3300–2600 BCE): Pre-urban stage, village farming communities, regional cultures.
  • Mature Harappan (2600–1900 BCE): Urban peak, great cities, trade, craft specialization.
  • Late Harappan (1900–1300 BCE): Decline, deurbanization, regional cultures.

2. Settlement Pattern and Urban Planning

The Harappans built their settlements with burnt bricks, symbolizing durability and engineering expertise.

🌟 Key Features of Town Planning:

• Grid Pattern: Streets laid out at right angles forming rectangular blocks.
• Citadel and Lower Town: Elevated citadel for administrative/religious activities, lower town for residential areas.
• Drainage System: Underground covered drains with inspection holes; one of the most sophisticated in the ancient world.
• Standardized Bricks: Ratio of 1:2:4 (height:width:length) used uniformly.
• Public Buildings: Granaries, assembly halls, and the famous Great Bath at Mohenjo-daro.
• Private Houses: Courtyards, bathrooms, wells; houses opened to inner courtyards rather than streets.

Examples:

• Mohenjo-daro – Great Bath, granaries, advanced drainage.
• Harappa – granaries, workers’ quarters.
• Dholavira (Gujarat) – water reservoirs, unique town planning with three divisions.
• Lothal (Gujarat) – dockyard, bead-making workshops.

3. Economy of the Harappans

The Harappan economy was diverse and integrated, based on agriculture, craft production, trade, and technology.

Agriculture

• Evidence of wheat, barley, rice (Lothal, Rangpur), pulses, sesame, mustard, and cotton.
• Harappans were the earliest cultivators of cotton (“Sindon” in Greek).
• Used ploughs (found at Kalibangan) and irrigation (dams, wells, reservoirs).

Animal Husbandry

• Cattle, sheep, goat, buffalo, and pig domesticated.
• Humped bull (zebu) depicted in seals.
• Elephants, camels, and horses debated; horse remains controversial.

Craft Production

• Bead-making (Lothal, Chanhudaro).
• Shell, ivory, stone carving.
• Metallurgy: Copper, bronze, gold, silver (no iron).
• Pottery: Red ware with black designs; standardization.

Trade

• Internal trade: Raw materials moved from rural to urban centers.
• External trade: With Mesopotamia (Meluhha), Oman, Bahrain, and Iran.
  • Evidence: Mesopotamian texts mention “Meluhha,” Harappan seals found in Mesopotamia, and imported raw materials (lapis lazuli from Afghanistan, carnelian from Gujarat).
• Modes of Transport: Bullock carts, boats (dockyard at Lothal).

4. Society and Social Organization

The Harappan society was urban and stratified, but without evidence of centralized kingship like Mesopotamia.

🌟 Indicators of Social Structure:

• Standardized weights and measures suggest centralized control.
• Uniform town planning implies authority or civic body.
• Burials show simple practices (no pyramids or elaborate tombs).
• Craft specialization indicates division of labor.
• Elite groups likely resided in citadels; common people in lower towns.

Gender roles are debated: figurines of mother goddesses suggest female-centered fertility cults; but seals also depict male deities and yogi-like figures.

5. Religion and Beliefs

The Harappan religion is reconstructed through seals, figurines, and material remains.

• Mother Goddess figurines suggest fertility cults.
• Pashupati Seal (proto-Shiva): A horned deity seated in yogic posture with animals around, interpreted as early Shiva.
• Sacred Animals: Bull, elephant, unicorn motif.
• Sacred Trees: Peepal tree worship.
• Fire Altars: Found at Kalibangan and Lothal.
• No temples discovered—religious practice likely centered around household and nature.

6. Script and Seals

• The Harappan script remains undeciphered.
• Found on seals, pottery, tablets, copper plates.
• Comprises about 400–600 signs; possibly logo-syllabic.
• Seals used for trade, property marking, and religious symbolism.
• Unicorn seal most common.

7. Science, Technology and Art

• Weights and Measures: Cubical weights of chert stone; binary system.
• Metallurgy: Bronze tools, gold jewelry, silver ornaments.
• Terracotta figurines: Toys, carts, animals.
• Art: Bead-making (carnelian, faience, steatite), bronze figurines (famous “Dancing Girl of Mohenjo-daro”).

8. Bones: Food Habits and Burials

• Bones of cattle, buffalo, sheep, goat, pig, and fish found at sites.
• Diet: Wheat, barley, pulses, fruits, meat, dairy.
• Burial practices: Extended inhumation, sometimes with grave goods (pottery, ornaments).
• Evidence of cremation or secondary burial in few sites.
• Bones provide insights into diet, health, and disease patterns.

9. Decline of the Civilization

By 1900 BCE, the Harappan Civilization declined. Reasons are debated:

• Environmental changes: Drying of rivers (Ghaggar-Hakra, Saraswati).
• Floods at Mohenjo-daro.
• Decline in trade with Mesopotamia.
• Overuse of resources and deforestation.
• Fragmentation into regional cultures (Cemetery H, Jhukar, Rangpur).
• Invasions (Aryan invasion theory now largely rejected).

Most historians believe in multiple causes—climate change, ecological stress, and economic breakdown.

10. Legacy of the Harappan Civilization

• Urban planning and drainage influenced later Indian towns.
• Weights and measures system.
• Agricultural practices (cotton cultivation, ploughing).
• Possible continuity in religious traditions (Shiva, mother goddess, sacred animals, trees).
• Influence on craft traditions like bead-making, pottery, and metallurgy.

Conclusion

“Bricks, Beads and Bones” capture the essence of the Harappan Civilization—its urban planning (bricks), craft excellence (beads), and human life (bones). Though the script is undeciphered and mysteries remain, archaeology has revealed a culture that valued order, standardization, and community life.

The Harappans laid a foundation of urban culture in South Asia, influencing later civilizations and leaving behind an enduring legacy of innovation, resilience, and cultural depth.

FAQs

Q1. Why is the Harappan Civilization called “Bricks, Beads and Bones”?
It refers to the major archaeological remains—bricks (town planning), beads (crafts and trade), and bones (diet and burials).

Q2. What was unique about Harappan urban planning?
Use of a grid system, drainage, standardized bricks, and division into citadel and lower town.

Q3. Which was the main port city of the Harappans?
Lothal, known for its dockyard and bead-making.

Q4. Did the Harappans worship Shiva?
The Pashupati seal is interpreted as proto-Shiva, but this is debated.

Q5. What led to their decline?
Environmental changes, trade disruptions, floods, and regional fragmentation.