The First Cities of India- 2

FIRST CITIES - 2

Till now we have read about the discovery of first cities of India, how the major cities were discovered after the year 1921 back to back, we also learnt about the structures and important buildings built in the city. Some how we got a brief idea about the basic town planning of the civilization.

Now let's gear up to read about the lifestyle and economic condition of the civilization. How the people lived there, knowing all this facts will be awesome as well as increase your knowledge. What religion they followed and how they traded with other contemporary civilizations of Egypt and Mesopotamia. And at the last the biggest question of all the factors which led to the decline of Harappan Civilzation.

Life Style at Harappan Civilization :

  An social environment as it is in the current India existed in Harappan Civilization also. 
  People of the Indus Valley Civilization were well cultured and were friendly with each  
  other. Men were used to wear Dhotis and shawls while the women used to wear skirts    
  and shawls, also some woven cloth material was also found which might be worn by       
  the priest or the ruler. They were found of  jewelleries which were mainly made by         
  gold, silver, copper, terracotta, beads, shells. The people of that period were great             
  craftsmen too, they made tools of copper such as sickles, razors, fishing hook, and          
  many weapons which required high degree skills.                                                                    

  Archaeologists also found many pottery pieces from the sites of excavation. Even clay          
  toys were also found at some of the sites which shows the harappan people also knew          
  how to use clay to make toys as well as pots. Pots were found in a great range at all the    
  sites as some were of the size of a thumb while some were used as large burial containers.
  The colour of the pottery was very specific as only red colour pottery with black design
  were found mainly.

The existence of large granaries also
prove that the main occupation was
farming and other related works which
include weaving, pottery making,
fishing, and trading. The proper way of
living style of harappan people is still
debateable as many questions still don't
have a proper answer such as; did the children go to school, what was the status of
women in the society, who actually was the ruling class, and many more similar questions.

But generally, it looks like the people had a very prosperous life, and it was the only reason
that the Harappan Civilization had a great growth with time till it suddenly declined. We will
later discuss the reasons for the decline of the harappan civilization.

Trade -

   As necessary for an culture, trade was the   

   prominent reason for the growth of the

   harappan civilization. Inter city as well as inter

   civilizational trade both flourished very well

   during the period. Seals which were found

   during the excavation of the cities were
   probably used as the as stamp by the traders or
   it might also have some monetary value

   which may be used as money as many Indus

   Valley Seals were found at the contemporary

   civilization. Many toy clay models of carts and

   boats were found which suggest that they
   must used both road and seas to trade. Different types of measures as well as weights
   were found. Some workshops were even discovered which were used to manufacture

   stone, shell, beads, and meats stuff. Even the dockyard of Lothal suggests that the harappan

   people were familiar with ships and overseas trade.

   

Religion -

  Harappan people used to worship mother goddess. This civilization is considered to be the
  most secular society and even no building as similar to temple had been found in any of the
  Harappan Civilization Cities. Idol worship was known as an idol of a man looking like a
  priest has been found. Animals and trees were also worshipped, seal with image of Pashupati
  gives an idea that lord shiva was might worshipped. Also the goddess of fertility was
  worshiped as a clay model of her was found. People might have used Great Bath even for
  religious ceremonies. Thus harappan civilization religion is not known yet.

   

Decline -

  The reason for the decline of the Indus civilization is still not clear as many historians had
  given there various stories about the sudden decline. It might not be sure that how such a
  great civilization ended but it is verified that the decline was all of sudden and happened in
  a few years and is roughly dated around 1500 BC. How it all destroyed has some common
  theories which are listed below:

  1. Periodic floods might have been the most prominent reason for people to move towards
      some safer place which might have led to the decline of the civilization.        

  2.The other most conclusive theory end up stating that the reason for the decline is the
      invasion of Aryans from the central asia.

  3.Historians like M.S.Vatsa also state that it might have occurred because of the change in
     course of rivers which also sounds true to some extent.

  4.There are many more reasons stated by other historians like low rainfall, natural calamities,

     ecological disturbances, etc.

 

These notes are useful for UPSC Prepration, board examinations, and various compteteive exams.

You can also refer to some informational short notes on different aspects of the civilization in other articals.