THE INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION சிந்து சமவெளி நாகரிகம்

 THE INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION

The discovery of the ancient ruins of Harappa by Dayaram Sahni in 1921 and of Mohenjodaro by Rakhaldas Banerjee in 1922-23, both officers of the Archaeological Survey of India, exploded an age-old myth, It was earlier believed that the history of India began with the coming of the Aryans.

ORIGIN

This civilization belonged to theBronze Age and no traces of iron have been found. It is estimated that the Indus Valley civilization flourished between500 BCE and 1500 BCE. About 2,800 sites have been discovered so far, making the Indus Valley civilization the largest civilization of the ancient world.

Some major sites of the Indus Valley civilization are Lothal (Gujarat), Ropar (Punjab), Kalibangan(Rajasthan), Alamgirpur (Uttar Pradesh),Surkotada (Gujarat) and Banawali The two newest sites are Rakhigarhi (Haryana)and Dholavira (Gujarat).

Town Planning 

The Indus Valley cities were very well-planned and followed a grid system. The main streets ran parallel to each other. The main roads were straight and very wide (about 30 feet).The streets were often paved with baked bricks.

Dwelling Houses

Large blocks of houses were built along the sides of the streets. The houses, many of them double storeyed, had flat roofs.An average house had a courtyard surrounded by rooms, upstrairs.

Public Buildings

The Great Granary at Harappa was a large building. Historians believe that it was used to store surplus food grains. There were two rows of granaries. Each row, had six granaries. It's found in Mohenjodaro.

GREAT BATH

Another important building was the Great Bath at Mohenjodaro. This building resembled a huge swimming pool.  Two flights of steps led to the bottom of the pool. The floor and walls of the pool were made of burnt bricks and made watertight with a lining of bitumen.The Great Bath was probably used during religious ceremonies.

The Great Buth at Mohenjodaro is probably the oldest water tank in the history of human civilization

The Assembly Hall was another striking building found in Mohenjodaro. Hall with thick walls and 20 pillars.This may have been an assembly hall, a prayer hall or a palace.

Drainage System

The people of the Indus Valley had an excellent well-planned drainage system. The kitchens and the bathrooms (with sloping floors) had drains connected to the street drains. The street drains ran along the sides of the streets and w usually covered. They had manholes at regul intervals (for inspection and cleaning). Th drainage system proves that the Indus Valley people paid great attention to sanitation a cleanliness.

Society

Social Structure

The Harappan society probably consisted of several social groups-rulers, merchants traders and artisans, farmers and anual labourers.

Food

Wheat was the staple food, Farmers also grew barley, mustard, fruits and vegetables. Milk meat, fish and eggs formed a part of their diet

Dress and Ornaments

People wore cotton and woollen garments Two-piece dresses were worn by both men and women. The men wore a garment similar to the dhoti while the women wore skirts. The upper garment was a shawl worn around the shoulder Both men and women wore ornaments. They wore necklaces, amulets and finger rings. The women also wore a headdress, earrings, bangles girdles, bracelets änd anklets, The rich wore ornaments made of gold silver and ivory. The poor wore shell, bone and copper jewellery

The men kept beards. Their hair was combed backwards and was either cut short or coiled in a knot on top of the head. The women probably tied their hair tightly and used hairpins and combs to keep their hair in place . They also used cosmetics.