Chapter 3 In The Earliest Cities

Saving An Old Building

Observing old, perhaps dilapidated buildings, one might wonder about their significance. However, such structures often hold historical value, showcasing remarkable architecture and craftsmanship like fine wood carving. Recognizing this, some people advocate for the preservation and repair of these old buildings, understanding that they tell a story of the past.

The Story Of Harappa

Old buildings indeed have stories to tell, as exemplified by the site of Harappa, located in present-day Pakistan. Its story began nearly 150 years ago when railway engineers, while laying down railway lines in Punjab, stumbled upon a mound that seemed like a convenient source of ready-made, high-quality bricks. They took thousands of bricks from the old buildings, unfortunately causing considerable damage and destroying many structures.

About 80 years later, archaeologists discovered the site and realized its true significance: it was one of the oldest cities in the Indian subcontinent. Since Harappa was the first city found from this civilization, all other sites where similar buildings and artifacts were discovered were subsequently termed Harappan sites. These cities flourished approximately 4700 years ago.

Given the common practice of demolishing old buildings for new construction, the story of Harappa underscores the importance of preserving historical structures to understand our past.

What Was Special About These Cities?

The cities of the Harappan civilization had several remarkable and distinctive features:

• City Division: Many cities were divided into two or more parts.
  • The part to the west was typically smaller but higher, referred to by archaeologists as the citadel.
  • The part to the east was generally larger but lower, known as the lower town.
• Walls of Baked Brick: Each part of the city was often surrounded by walls constructed from baked bricks. These bricks were exceptionally durable, lasting for thousands of years, and were laid in an interlocking pattern, making the walls very strong.

Special buildings were frequently constructed on the citadel:

• The Great Bath: In Mohenjodaro, a very special tank known as the Great Bath was located in the citadel area. It was constructed with bricks, coated with plaster, and sealed with natural tar to make it watertight. Steps led down from two sides, and rooms were situated on all sides. Water for the tank was likely sourced from a well and drained out after use. This tank may have been used by important people for ritual baths on special occasions.
• Fire Altars: Cities like Kalibangan and Lothal had fire altars, suggesting that sacrifices might have been performed there.
• Store Houses: Some cities, including Mohenjodaro, Harappa, and Lothal, featured elaborate store houses, indicating organized storage of goods.

Harappan cities were found in regions that are now part of Pakistan (Punjab and Sind) and India (Gujarat, Rajasthan, Haryana, and Punjab).

Archaeologists consistently found a set of unique objects across almost all these cities, which serve as markers of the Harappan civilization:

• Red pottery with designs painted in black.
• Stone weights.
• Seals (often with animal carvings and script).
• Special beads.
• Copper tools.
• Parallel-sided long stone blades.

Houses, Drains And Streets

The residential areas and urban infrastructure of Harappan cities were well-planned:

• Houses: Generally one or two storeys high. Rooms were built around a central courtyard. Most houses included a separate area for bathing, and some had wells to ensure water supply.
• Drains: A key feature was the presence of covered drains. These drains were carefully laid out in straight lines and had a gentle slope to allow water to flow through. Inspection holes were provided at intervals for cleaning the drains.
• Streets: Drains from individual houses were connected to larger drains on the streets. Smaller street drains fed into bigger ones.

The planning suggests a high level of urban organisation: houses, drains, and streets were likely planned and constructed simultaneously as an integrated system.

Life In The City

Life in a Harappan city was bustling and diverse, involving various groups of people performing different roles:

• Rulers: Were likely involved in planning the construction of special buildings. They may have sent people to distant lands to acquire valuable resources like metals and precious stones, and possibly kept valuable objects for themselves.
• Scribes: People who were literate and knew how to write. They were likely involved in preparing seals and possibly writing on other materials (though many of these have not survived).
• Craftspersons: Both men and women engaged in making a wide variety of objects, either in their homes or in specialized workshops.
• Travelers: People traveled to distant lands to bring back raw materials, and perhaps also shared stories upon their return.

Archaeologists have also found numerous terracotta toys, suggesting that children in the cities played with them.

New Crafts In The City

Harappan cities were centers of advanced craftsmanship. Many artifacts discovered by archaeologists are made from durable materials:

• Stone, Shell, and Metal: These were primary materials used for production.
• Metals: Including copper, bronze, gold, and silver.
  • Copper and Bronze were used to manufacture tools, weapons, ornaments, and vessels.
  • Gold and Silver were typically used for creating ornaments and vessels.

Some of the most notable craft finds include:

• Beads: Often made from beautiful stones like carnelian. The process involved cutting, shaping, polishing, and drilling a hole for stringing.
• Weights: Carefully and precisely shaped, often cubical, weights made from stones like chert. These were likely used for weighing valuable items like precious stones or metals.
• Blades: Long, parallel-sided stone blades were also common finds.
• Seals: Made from stone, generally rectangular, and typically featuring an animal carved on the surface.
• Pottery: Harappans created pots adorned with beautiful black designs.

Evidence suggests the use of cotton, which was likely grown in the region around Mehrgarh as early as 7000 years ago. Actual pieces of cloth have been found at Mohenjodaro, attached to the lid of a silver vase and some copper objects. The discovery of spindle whorls made of terracotta and faience indicates that spinning thread was a practiced craft.

Many products were likely the work of specialists – individuals trained in a single craft, such as stone cutting, bead polishing, or seal carving. For example, a stone statue from Mohenjodaro shows intricate carving, including a carefully depicted beard, indicating the work of a highly skilled craftsperson. It is not definitively known if only men or only women were specialists, or if both genders engaged in specialized crafts.

Faience was an artificially produced material, unlike natural stone or shell. It was made by shaping sand or powdered quartz into objects using gum, which were then glazed to achieve a shiny, glass-like surface, usually in blue or sea green colors. Faience was used to make items like beads, bangles, earrings, and small vessels.

In Search Of Raw Materials

Raw materials are substances found naturally (like wood, metal ores) or produced through farming and herding. These are processed into finished goods. While some raw materials used by the Harappans were sourced locally, many essential items had to be procured from distant locations, indicating extensive trade networks:

• Copper: Probably obtained from present-day Rajasthan in India and possibly Oman in West Asia.
• Tin: Likely brought from present-day Afghanistan and Iran (Tin was mixed with copper to make bronze).
• Gold: Could have come from as far as present-day Karnataka in India.
• Precious Stones: Sourced from present-day Gujarat in India, as well as Iran and Afghanistan.

Food For People In The Cities

While cities were centres of crafts and administration, the population living in the surrounding countryside, consisting of farmers and herders, was responsible for supplying food to the city dwellers (craftspersons, scribes, rulers, etc.).

Based on plant remains, we know that the Harappans cultivated a variety of crops:

• Wheat
• Barley
• Pulses
• Peas
• Rice
• Sesame
• Linseed
• Mustard

A new tool, the plough, was used for digging the earth, turning the soil, and planting seeds. Although actual wooden ploughs have not survived, toy models made of terracotta have been found, providing evidence of their use.

Since the region did not receive heavy rainfall, some form of irrigation was likely practiced. This means water was stored and supplied to the fields as needed while plants were growing.

The Harappans also reared various animals:

• Cattle
• Sheep
• Goat
• Buffalo

Water and pasture areas were available near settlements for these animals. During dry summer months, large herds were likely taken to greater distances in search of grass and water. In addition to domesticated animals, people collected fruits like ber, caught fish, and hunted wild animals such as the antelope.

A Closer Look — Harappan Towns In Gujarat

Two notable Harappan towns in present-day Gujarat provide additional insights into the civilization:

• Dholavira: Located on Khadir Beyt in the Rann of Kutch. This site had access to fresh water and fertile soil. Unlike most Harappan cities divided into two parts, Dholavira was uniquely divided into three parts. Each part was surrounded by massive stone walls with gateways for entrances. The settlement included a large open area likely used for public ceremonies. A significant find here was large letters of the Harappan script carved from white stone and possibly inlaid in wood – a rare example, as Harappan script is usually found on small objects like seals.
• Lothal: Situated beside a tributary of the Sabarmati river, close to the Gulf of Khambat. Its location was advantageous as raw materials like semi-precious stones were easily available nearby. Lothal was an important center for crafting objects from stone, shell, and metal. The city also had a large store house where many seals and sealings were found.

A remarkable structure found at Lothal is believed to have been a dockyard. This large tank likely served as a place where boats and ships arriving from the sea via the river channel could enter and where goods were loaded and unloaded for trade.

Evidence of craft production was found in a building at Lothal, likely a workshop for making beads, containing pieces of stone, half-finished beads, tools, and completed beads.

Seals And Sealings

Seals were important administrative and perhaps symbolic tools in the Harappan civilization. They were likely used to stamp bags or packets of goods being transported between places. To use a seal for this purpose, a layer of wet clay was applied over the knot securing the bag, and the seal was then pressed into the clay.

The impression left by the seal on the clay is called a sealing. If the sealing was found intact upon arrival, it indicated that the goods had not been tampered with during transit. Seals are still used today for purposes such as official authentication or identification.

The Mystery Of The End

Around 3900 years ago, signs of a major change began to appear, leading to the eventual decline and abandonment of many Harappan cities. The exact cause of this decline remains a mystery, as no single explanation accounts for the end of all cities.

Evidence of the beginning of the end includes:

• People stopped living in many of the cities.
• The use of writing, seals, and weights became rare.
• Raw materials previously brought from long distances were no longer easily available.
• In cities like Mohenjodaro, garbage accumulated on the streets, the drainage system deteriorated, and new, less sophisticated houses were built even over the streets, indicating a breakdown of urban order.

Various theories have been proposed to explain the decline:

• Some scholars suggest that rivers dried up, impacting water supply for cities and agriculture.
• Others propose widespread deforestation, possibly due to the need for fuel for baking bricks and smelting metals.
• Excessive grazing by large herds of cattle, sheep, and goats may have destroyed the green cover.
• Floods in some areas could have caused destruction.

However, river drying up or floods would likely only affect specific areas, not the entire civilization.

It is also suggested that the rulers might have lost control, leading to a breakdown of the complex urban system. Regardless of the precise cause, the decline resulted in sites in Sind and west Punjab being abandoned, with many people migrating to newer, smaller settlements located to the east and the south.

New cities would emerge in the subcontinent much later, about 1400 years after the decline of the Harappan civilization.

Elsewhere

Examining other ancient civilizations provides context. In Egypt, a country largely dominated by desert except for the fertile lands along the river Nile, kings ruled around 5000 years ago. These kings were powerful and sent armies to distant lands to acquire valuable resources like gold, silver, ivory, timber, and precious stones.

Egyptian kings famously built huge tombs known as pyramids. When a king died, his body was preserved through a process called mummification and buried in a pyramid. These preserved bodies are known as **mummies**.

Elaborate burials in Egypt often included a vast number of objects buried with the deceased ruler, such as food, drink, clothes, ornaments, utensils, musical instruments, weapons, and even animals. In some cases, serving men and women were also buried with the rulers, highlighting the belief in an afterlife and the desire to continue one's life and status in the next world. These Egyptian burials are among the most elaborate known in world history.

Imagine

This section prompts an imaginative exercise: to envision a journey from Lothal to Mohenjodaro about 4000 years ago, describing the modes of travel, items carried, and sights encountered in Mohenjodaro based on the information presented in the chapter.

Let’s Recall

This section contains questions intended for review and recall of key facts presented in the chapter.

Let’s Discuss

This section contains questions designed to encourage deeper thinking, comparison, and discussion of the concepts and evidence related to the earliest cities.