Harappan Civilization: Origins and Development

UNIT Five HARAPPAN CIVILIZATION-One

Five point zero OBJECTIVES

In this unit, we are going to understand the formative phase of the Harappan civilization. We will be focusing on the various cultures that laid the foundation of the civilization and study the debate about the factors that led to the rise of the Mature Harappan phase. In this unit, you will be able to learn about:

· the discovery of Harappan civilization;

· the chief characteristics of the Early Harappan culture;

· the extent and the geographical spread of the Harappan civilization;

· the debate among archaeologists on the origins of the Harappan civilization;

· the various regional early Harappan cultures; and

· the transition from the Early Harappan to Mature Harappan.

Five point one INTRODUCTION

In this unit, we are going to study the origin of India's first urban culture: the Indus or Harappan civilization. In the previous units, you have studied the emergence of the first farming cultures in various parts of the subcontinent, particularly, in Baluchistan and Uttar Pradesh. From being hunter-gatherers, humans became food producers, a development encapsulated in the term 'Neolithic Revolution'. The next important stage in the human development is the emergence of cities or urbanization. These settlements were distinct from villages, and were centers of powers or secondary economic activities like trade, crafts and arts. They mark the rise of a more sophisticated civilization and way of living.