IGNOU HISTORY NOTES : India Earliest Times to the 8th Century A.D - Antecedents,Chronology and Geographical Spread

IGNOU HISTORY Study Notes for IAS, UPSC Exams

India Earliest Times to the 8th Century A.D

Antecedents,Chronology and Geographical Spread

Structure

5.0 Objectives

5.1 Introduction
5.2 An Old City is Discovered
5.3 The Age of the Harappan Civilization
5.4 Why it is called the Harappan Civilization
5.5 Antecedents
5.6 Geographical Features
5.7 Origins of Agriculture and Settled Villages
5.8 The Early Harappan Period
5.8.1 Southern Afghanistan
5.8.2 Quetta Valley
5.8.3 Central and Southern Baluchistan 1
5.8.4 The Indus Area
5.8.5 Punjab and Bahawalpur
5.8.6 Kalibangan

5.9 Emergence of Harrapan Civilization

5.10 Let Us Sum Up
5.11 Key Words
5.12 Answers to Check Your Progress 'Ekercises

5.0 OBJECTIVES

After reading this unit, you will be able to learn:
how the Harappan Civilization was discovered,
how its chronology was determined,
how the village communities gradually evolved into the Harappan Civilization, and
the geographical spread of the Harappan Civilization.
5.1 INTRODUCTION
In Block 1 you learnt about the evolutiqn of mankind from hunting gathering societies
to agricultural societies. The invention of agriculture led to far reaching changes in
human societies. One important result was the emergence of cities and civilizations.
In this Unit you will be made familiar with the birth of one such civilization namely
the Harappan civilization.

5.2 AN OLD CITY IS DISCOVERED

In 1826 an English man Charles Masson visited a village named Harappa in Western
Punjab (now in Pakistan). He noted the remarkably high walls, and towers of a very
old settlement. He believed that this city belonged to the times of Alexander the
Great. In 1872, a famous archaeologist Sir Alexander Cunningham came to this place.
The people of the surrounding areas told him that the high mounds of Harappa were
parts of a thousand year old city. It had been ruined because of the wickedness of its
king. Cunningham collected some archaeological objects from this site but he could
nat determine to which period of history they really belonged. He simply believed
that these objects were probably from outside India, Thus, he concurred with the
opinion of the people of the village that the city was about a thousand years old.
However, in 1924, when another archaeologist John Marshall reported about