ARCHITECTURE AND CULTURE OF INDUS VALLEY SITES

ARCHITECTURE AND CULTURE OF INDUS VALLEY SITES

Indus Valley Civilization flourished around 2,500 BC, in the western part of South Asia, in contemporary Pakistan and Western India. It was the first urban civilization in South Asia, contemporaneous with the civilizations of Mesopotamia and Egypt. The remains of the sites reveal a lot of remarkable architectural, cultural, economic and anthropological features.

Architecture and Planning Significance

• Planned towns: The towns followed a grid pattern and streets ran from north and cut at right angles. The streets were wide, the main street being ten metres wide which divided the town into rectangular and square blocks.
• Citadel: Citadel mound suggests that this area may have been used for public gatherings, religious activities, or important administrative activities.
• Lower Town: Below the citadel in each city lay a lower town containing brick houses, which were inhabited by the common people. The arrangement of the houses in the cities is that they followed the grid system.
• Great bath: The floor of the tank was watertight due to finely fitted bricks laid on edge with a gypsum plaster, and the side walls were constructed in a similar manner.
• Water Supply: Because of the large number of wells, it is believed that the inhabitants relied solely on annual rainfall, as well as the Indus River’s course remaining close.
• Granary: A granary has been found which is the largest building of Mohenjo-Daro. This granary is divided into 27 rooms of different sizes and shapes. The granary was built on a raised platform to protect it from floods.
• Drainage: Sewage was disposed of through underground drains and ditches built precisely with bricks and sophisticated water management systems with numerous reservoirs.
• Building Materials: The main materials used were sun-dried and burnt bricks, which were made in molds of 1:2:4 ratios. Easy availability of wood for burning meant baked bricks were used in abundance in Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro.
• Housing: Houses ranged from 1-2 stories in height, with a central courtyard around which the rooms were arranged. The interior is not visible from the street, shut off using corridors or walls in the inside.
• Water Harvesting: Water collection techniques like dams and embankments are found in Dholavira and also unique water harvesting systems are found in Dholavira.
• Stadiums: The stadium-like structure found in Dholavira points to the scope for public events in the Indus valley sites.
• Mining: Copper was obtained from the Khetri copper mines of Rajasthan and Tin was possibly brought from Afghanistan.
• Construction of Forts: Fortification was well developed and standardized during the mature phase of Harappan civilization. These forts provided safety to residents of cities from flash floods, wild animals, and anti-social elements.
• Multi-Storeyed houses: The houses had often two or more storeys and had tiled bathrooms, and some houses even had their own wells.

Water management and water conservation in IVC

• Earliest example of waterproofing: The floors and walls of Great Bath were made water-tight by laying of bricks with gypsum mortar and using bitumen along sides of the tank.
• Sluice gates and spill channels: The dockyard in Lothal had provisions for maintaining regular water levels by means of a sluice gate and spill channels.
• Hydraulic system: In order to enable groundwater to rise higher due to hydraulic pressure, the wells had very small diameters in Alladhino (near Karachi).
• Water reserves: Mohenjo-daro had more than 700 wells. The majority of these wells were lined with specially made wedged-shaped bricks to form a structurally sound cylinder, which would not cave in under pressure from the adjacent earth.
• Construction of dams: The Harappans reduced the velocity of water flow further upstream by raising a series of dams. In Dholavira, dams were built across Manhar and Mandsar in order to channelize water into reservoirs.
• Reduction of turbidity in flood flow: The Harappans possibly knew how to reduce the turbidity of flood flow in the Manhar river by diverting its silt-laden water and allowing it to pass through a number of interconnected small reservoirs to allow sediments to settle.
• Separate drains for rainwater collection: The ancient cities of IVC had separate channels lining the Harappan streets for wastewater and stormwater (rainwater).
• Corbelled arches for discharging sewage: Bathing platforms and latrines of the houses were connected to medium-sized drains in the side streets. Corbelled arches allowed the larger drains to cut beneath streets or buildings until they finally exited under the city wall.
• Evidence of Flush system: There is evidence of flush systems in toilets in order to reduce water wastage.
• Treatment of waste water: There were provisions of intramural drains, vertical drain pipes in the walls, and chutes through walls to the streets.
• Water harvesting techniques: The citadel in Dholavira has yielded an efficient system of water harvesting through a network of drains to a reservoir carved out in open space provided in the bailey.

Cultural Significance

1. Seals: Thousands of seals were discovered from the sites, usually made of steatite, and occasionally of agate, chert, copper, faience, and terracotta, with beautiful figures of animals. The purpose was thought to be mainly for commercial purposes and trade.
   • Example: The Pashupati Seal found in Mohenjo-daro shows a three-faced deity wearing a buffalo-horned headdress, seated cross-legged on a throne surrounded by an elephant, a tiger, a buffalo, a rhinoceros, and two deer at his feet.
2. Bronze Casting: Bronze casting was practiced on a wide scale in almost all major sites of the civilization. The technique used for Bronze Casting was Lost Wax Technique.
   • Example: The bronze dancing girl was found in Mohenjo-daro. Bronze figure of a bull from Kalibangan.
3. Terracotta Figures: In terracotta, we find a few figurines of bearded males with coiled hair, their posture rigidly upright, legs slightly apart, and arms parallel to the sides of the body.
   • Example: Figure of the mother goddess, toys depicting objects such as Ikka (small chariot), and elephants discovered at various places.
4. Stone Statues: Limestone, alabaster (gypsum-like material), and steatite (soft white stone) varieties of stone were used to make sculptures.
   • Example: Bearded priest found in Mohenjodaro, dancing girl made of steatite found at Harappa, two cows found at Lothal.
5. Pottery: A large quantity of pottery excavated from the sites enables us to understand the gradual evolution of various design motifs as employed in different shapes and styles. Plain pottery is more common than painted ware. Plain pottery is generally of red clay, with or without a fine red or grey slip.
6. Beads and Ornaments: The Harappan men and women decorated themselves with a large variety of ornaments produced from every conceivable material ranging from precious metals and gemstones to bone and baked clay.
7. Paintings: The art of painting was highly advanced in Harappan civilization. These paintings were primarily made in black color, which depicted geometrical designs, birds and animals, fish, flowers, and pictographic scripts.

Significance today

• Anthropological Studies: Harappan civilization provides important insights into the relationship between civilizational collapse, violence, and disease.
• Urban Planning: Their expertise in town planning, water management, and harvesting systems as well as drainage mechanisms is unparalleled.
• Proto-Religion: The IVC shows the early origins of religion in the subcontinent, most similar to later Hinduism in the form of the Pashupati seal and the mother goddess.
• Currency: The seals indicate the earliest forms of currency used to trade goods and products from all over the Indus Valley as well as sites as far as Mesopotamia.
• Art and Crafts: Many of the pottery and sculpting techniques of the IVC are still used in the region surrounding Rajasthan and Sindh.
• Water Harvesting: Dholavira shows the use of water harvesting for various purposes like agriculture and domestic use.
• Health & Hygiene: The presence of wells and wash areas in all houses and the ritualistic great bath shows the importance of hygiene.
• Agriculture: Crop diversification by growing multiple crops such as wheat, barley, peas, mustard, and cotton.
• Sewage and waste disposal: IVC cities such as Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa used underground waste transportation in their cities. The sewage from homes was transported in closed drains outside the cities in the same manner.
• Food and agriculture habits: IVC food primarily consisted of barley, rice, wheat along with meat and fish. This food habit has been observed in present day as well. Cotton cultivation, which started during IVC, is still present in the majority of the Indian population.
• Climate Change: The IVC’s decline is often attributed to climate change, with erratic rainfall, drying up of water sources, and desertification. It offers clues for modern studies of climate change.

Religious practices of Indus valley civilisation traced through its art and sculpture

• Tree worship: Some seals depict a tree which the Indus Valley believed to be the tree of life, guarded by a spirit to keep the evil forces away from the tree.
• Pashupati: The people of the Indus Valley also appear to have worshipped a male god similar to the later gods like Rudra and Shiva.
• Fertility cult: It was prevalent during this time. People practiced phallus (Shiva linga) worship and yoni worship.
• Swastik Symbol: Some Indus Valley seals show a swastika symbol, which was included in later Indian religions, including Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism.
• Seals: Many Indus Valley seals also include the forms of animals, with some depicting them being carried in processions, while others showing chimeric creations.
  • Example: A seal from Mohenjo-daro shows a half-human, half-buffalo monster attacking a tiger and can be connected to the Sumerian myth of a monster created by Aruruto to fight Gilgamesh.
• Fire worship: Fire altars discovered at Banawali, Lothal, and Kalibangan reveal that fire worship was done. Black marks on seals indicate that oil and fragrance were burnt in front of deities to please them.
• Bath houses: They built bathhouses and practiced ritual bathing.
  • Example: The Great Bath of Mohenjo-Daro was probably a prototype of a sacred tank found mostly in ancient temples in southern India where people may have performed important rituals for special occasions.

Similarities between Indus valley civilisation and Mesopotamian civilisation

• Use of bricks: Both Indus and Mesopotamian civilizations used sun-burned bricks to build houses.
• Town planning: Both had small and narrow side streets.
• Weapon material: Arrows were used in both civilizations and were commonly made out of bronze.
• Cultivation: Both grew wheat, barley, figs, and peas as common agricultural produce.
• Technology: Both developed writing systems, wheeled vehicles, and had their own boats.

Comparison between Ancient Civilizations