CHAPTER ONE:
THE INDUS CIVILIZATION
GEOGRAPHICAL
FEATURES
This week, we move out of
the Fertile Crescent region and shift our focus east to the great river
valley civilizations of Asia, beginning with India. The influential and
distinctive Indian civilization grew up along, and was dependent on, the
fertile Indus River valley. Later, the
civilization expanded further to the east as cities grew up around the Ganges river valley. As a starting point to our
overview of Indian civilization, we look at the key geographic influences
impacting the development of this influential civilization.
We begin with the key,
cradle river valley. The Indus River (which today is located in the country of Pakistan) was neither as deadly as the
Tigris, nor as benevolent as the Nile. The Indus enabled Indians to rely on productive agricultural
yields which sustained sizable populations; this river was also an important
means of transportation and early communication between Indian settlements. However
it was also a river capable of destructive flooding, destruction clearly
evident in the archaeological remains of early cities. Thus early Indians
benefited from, and were respectfully wary of, this great
"mother" river.
Another important
geographic feature influencing Indian development was the relative
protection afforded by the mountain ranges to the north, including the Himalayas. These mountains shielded early Indians
from some of the violence and disruption of northern nomads and later
empires. However, this protection was not total. The Khyber Pass
is an important passage in this mountainous barrier, an opening which
throughout history allowed beneficial trade, migrations and
disruptive invading forces to enter India from the northwest. The
relative isolation of India
provided this civilization with the opportunity to cultivate distinctive and
fascinating cultural traditions, however, at key points in its history, India was
significantly influenced by outside influences.
The geography of the
sub-continental region of India
is diverse and divided, ranging from dense jungles to stretches of desert;
rivers and mountains carve up the landscape. These geographic features created
territorial separations that resulted in pronounced regional differences.
Although much of what we discuss in this unit covers the common, shared aspects
of Indian civilization, recognize that in cultural, religious, and certainly
political terms, India
was and is a civilization with clear regional distinctions. This is most
obvious when looking at political patterns in Indian history. Throughout most
of its history, India
was fragmented into many independent states; it was not a stable, unified
country. So while there are profoundly "Indian" cultural
elements we trace which tie the peoples of this sprawling civilization
together, politically there were significant divisions. Important
regional differences and distinctions remain to the present day.
MOHENJO-DARO
In
discussing the chronology of Indian civilization, we start with a dramatic
story of discovery. As recently as 1920, the accepted interpretation of
ancient Indian history was that settled, structured civilization emerged in the
middle of the second millennium BCE - sometime around 1500 BCE. This was
the era when Aryan (Indo-European) tribes migrated into this region.
However in 1921, as a result of excavations near the Indus
river, a massive forgotten city was unearthed - called Mohenjo Daro. This city
was stunning in its size and complexity; its discovery pushed the
"clock" of Indian history back almost one thousand years. 2500
BCE is now the date cited as the beginning of Indian civilization, a culture
centered around the Indus
River. A second
great city, Harappa, was
later discovered farther to the north. Cities and small towns dating back
to the third millennium are still being discovered. This earlier
phase of Indian development, rediscovered only in the early 20th century, is
referred to as the Indus civilization or named
for one of the great cities - the Mohenjo Daro or Harappan
civilization.
There is still much we do not know about this early Indian civilization.
Historians are limited to relying on physical evidence since there are no
decipherable written records. The development of writing did occur
- but there is not enough of the writing to enable us to crack the code and
read this evidence. (see
samples of script) So, at this point, we cannot address the hearts and
minds of this civilization, nor document chronology. We can undertake some
analysis based solely on physical evidence, for example it is clear that this
early phase of Indian civilization enjoyed tremendous success - spreading
across a vast territory and encompassing many cities and towns throughout the Indus River
valley. Physical evidence also indicates trade between the Indus
civilization and Mesopotamia. A class
system is clearly indicated since there were stark differences in dwellings and
burial sites. Physical remnants also reveal remarkable advancements in
art and crafts.
What most intrigues
historians are the features of the cities themselves. Unlike the sprawl
and confusion that usually occurs
when people move into an urban area (just look out the window!), these Indus cities were orderly; the first instance of
city planning. (see image)
The width of the streets and size of the bricks were standardized. The cities
of Mohenjo Daro and Harappa were laid out
based on a grid pattern, extending outward from central public centers and
structures. (see image)
The advanced degree of urban planning which resulted in the orderly structure
of these Indus cities was not equaled by other
cultures until the Greek city-states arose centuries later. What is even
more fascinating is that the construction of these Indus
cities incorporated a system of public sanitation! Indians
constructed and maintained water supply and waste systems using engineering
technology not matched by other civilizations for centuries.
These achievements have led
many to conclude that some form of very effective central leadership ruled this
Indus civilization. This conclusion is
based on the premise that only a powerful leadership could create and maintain
such standardized layout, irrigation, and sanitation systems. Whether
that leadership was based on religion, military power or some other factor is
simply not known. We can trace the vague outlines of this civilization, but
without decipherable writing or additional sources, we cannot speak about the
specific beliefs or structures. We cannot tap into the values and beliefs
of these peoples. Indus society is one
of many areas in ancient history where there is a great deal still to be
learned.
Of course the final mystery
about this civilization is what happened to it. Despite these visible
achievements, this civilization collapsed somewhere around 1500 BCE - and in
fact disappeared from history! It was basically lost to history until
rediscovered this century. This is always an interesting and disturbing
question - what causes a civilization to collapse? Recognize, when we
speak of a fallen or collapsed civilization, what is meant is that although
there are usually still people living in that region, the integrity, cohesion,
and much of the knowledge and achievements of the structured
civilization are dispersed or forgotten. Often, even the knowledge
of the written language is lost. In later discussions, we discuss the
collapse of other accomplished civilizations such as the Minoan and the Mayan
cultures. The questions raised by such a collapse are and should be of critical
interest to contemporary citizens of 'civilizations'. We should care
about the causes for the 'fall' - there are lessons to be learned. In the
case of the Indus civilization, this was a
society that survived for close to one thousand years, enjoying remarkable
accomplishments in technology and engineering - but which then fell apart,
collapsed, and virtually disappeared! And we still do not fully understand
why.
With the
collapse of the Indus, (and we see this with many "lost"
civilizations) key factors identified as contributing to collapse were multiple,
influences such as: natural disaster(s), disease(s), misuse of the land leading
to declining food production, and draining, exhausting warfare (both internal
strife and outside invasion). For the Indus
civilization, it was probably a combination of many or all of these factors
which caused people to desert the great cities. Recognize, however, although
the structures of the Indus civilization fell apart, people
continued to live scattered throughout this region after 1500 BCE; these
descendants of the Indus civilization are
often referred to as the Dravidians. Likely, they preserved
some echoes and remnants of Indus society and world view; certainly, these
descendants contributed to the next period of development in India which began in 1500 BCE after the collapse
of the Indus civilization. As the great Indus cities were declining, a powerful new influence was
moving into this region - the Aryans.
Interesting Related Web
Sites
The Ancient Indus Valley (great
links!)
Latest Discoveries - Indus
Valley
Links to Images from the Indus
Civilization
GO TO CHAPTER TWO
BACK TO UNIT FOUR
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