Harappa

Harappa is an archaeological site in Punjab, Pakistan, about 24 kilometres (15 miles) west of Sahiwal. It is named after a nearby village close to where the Ravi River used to flow.

The city of Harappa was once a big place, home to many people. It had houses made from clay bricks.

During British rule, the city was damaged when its bricks were used for building a railway. Today, a modern village named Harappa stands nearby. It has a historic railway station from that time. In 2004, Harappa was added to the tentative list for UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Plans for an amusement park were stopped when important old items were found.

History

The Harappan Civilization began around 6000 BC, with early roots in places like Mehrgarh. Its two largest cities, Mohenjo-daro and Harappa, appeared around 2600 BC near the Indus River valley. These cities had advanced features such as drainage systems and organized layouts.

As time passed, changes in climate and falling sea-levels caused some areas to be abandoned. The civilization slowly declined, with its mature phase lasting from 2600 BC to 2000 BC. The decline was likely due to natural changes in the environment.

Culture and economy

The Indus Valley civilization was a town-based culture. It grew extra food from farming and traded with other places. They traded with Elam, Sumer, and southern Mesopotamia. Both Mohenjo-daro and Harappa had special areas to live, with brick houses that had flat roofs. They also had strong centers that may have been for leaders or religious purposes.

People in Harappa used standard weights and measures. They made special seals to track goods. They wove and dyed cotton for clothes. They grew wheat, rice, and many vegetables. Animals like the humped bull were domesticated, and they kept fowl for fighting. They made lots of pottery, with some pictures of animals and shapes on it. Harappans traded along the Indus River as far as the Persian Gulf, Mesopotamia, and Egypt. They traded valuable items like carnelian and lapis lazuli.

Trade

The people of Harappa traded with ancient lands such as Mesopotamia, especially Elam. They sent cotton clothes and farm goods to these places. Their merchants set up trading centers in Mesopotamia. They also traded with folks in southern India, close to today's Karnataka, to get valuable materials like gold and copper.

Archaeology

See also: Harappan architecture

Significance

Harappa is the type site of the Bronze Age Indus Valley Civilisation ("IVC"). It was the first IVC site to be dug up by the Archaeological Survey of India during the British Raj. Its importance grew after the discovery of Mohenjo-daro in Sindh, Pakistan. Because of this, the IVC is sometimes called the "Harappan civilisation," especially by the Archaeological Survey of India after decolonization in 1947.

Chronology

The people at Harappa lived there in several periods:

1. Ravi Aspect of the Hakra phase, around 3300 – 2800 BC
2. Kot Dijian (Early Harappan) phase, around 2800 – 2600 BC
3. Harappan Phase, around 2600 – 1900 BC
4. Transitional Phase, around 1900 – 1800 BC
5. Late Harappan Phase, around 1800 – 1300 BC

During the Harappan Phase, the city covered about 150 hectares (370 acres), making it one of the largest settlements of its time. Archaeologists have found many small, square steatite (soapstone) seals with pictures of animals and people. These seals have markings that might be an early form of writing, but we still do not know what they mean. The Indus Valley Civilisation stretched across a very large area, covering around 2,400 kilometres (1,500 mi).

Symbols similar to the Indus script

Archaeologists found clay and stone tablets at Harappa from 3300 to 3200 BC. These tablets have marks shaped like tridents and plants. They look like the Indus Script. Experts do not know if these marks are true writing. But they look older than similar symbols from Mesopotamia.

In 2006, a teacher in Tamil Nadu found a stone tool with markings. Some think these markings might also be in the Indus Script. This made some people think the people of the Indus Valley may have spoken a Dravidian language. But this idea is still being discussed by researchers.

Dating

Harappa has some interesting statues, like the famous Harappa male dancer. Scientists use a method called radiocarbon dating to guess when Harappa was busy, and their studies suggest it was around the year 3251 BC.

Another big city from the same time is Mohenjo-daro, located in Sindh province of Pakistan. One of its famous buildings is the Great Bath of Mohenjo-Daro.