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62-604: Harappa ( Punjabi pronunciation: [ɦəɽəˈpaː] ) is an archaeological site in Punjab, Pakistan , about 24 kilometres (15 miles) west of Sahiwal . The Bronze Age Harappan civilisation , now more often called the Indus Valley Civilisation , is named after the site, which takes its name from a modern village near the former course of the Ravi River , which now runs eight kilometres (five miles) to
124-494: A Geographical Information Systems (GIS) and that will contain both locational information and a combination of various information. This tool is very helpful to archaeologists who want to explore in a different area and want to see if anyone else has done research. They can use this tool to see what has already been discovered. With this information available, archaeologists can expand their research and add more to what has already been found. Traditionally, sites are distinguished by
186-414: A form of writing or script. Despite the efforts of philologists from all parts of the world, and despite the use of modern cryptographic analysis , the signs remain undeciphered. It is also unknown if they reflect proto- Dravidian or other non- Vedic language(s). The ascribing of Indus Valley Civilisation iconography and epigraphy to historically known cultures is extremely problematic, in part due to
248-682: A local community, the Bishnois , has made special efforts to protect them. Other mammals in the Thar Desert include a subspecies of red fox ( Vulpes vulpes pusilla ) and the caracal , and a number of reptiles dwell there too. The region is a haven for 141 species of migratory and resident desert birds, including harriers , falcons , buzzards , kestrels , vultures , short-toed eagles ( Circaetus gallicus ), tawny eagles ( Aquila rapax ), greater spotted eagles ( Aquila clanga ), and laggar falcons ( Falco jugger ). The Indian peafowl
310-640: A paleo channel of Ghaggar-Hakra River - identified with the paleo Sarasvati River , after confluence with Sutlej flowed into the Nara river - a delta channel of the Indus River , changed its course, leaving the Ghaggar-Hakra as a system of monsoon-fed rivers which did not reach the sea and now ends in the Thar desert. Around 5,000 years ago when the monsoons that fed the rivers diminished further,
372-630: A previously unknown civilisation by its first excavated site, the Indus Valley Civilisation is also called the Harappan Civilisation. The ancient city of Harappa was heavily damaged under British and French rule , when bricks from the ruins were used as track ballast in the construction of the Lahore–Multan Railway . The current village of Harappa is less than one kilometre ( 5 ⁄ 8 mi) from
434-683: A sequence of natural geological or organic deposition, in the absence of human activity, to constitute a site worthy of study. Archaeological sites usually form through human-related processes but can be subject to natural, post-depositional factors. Cultural remnants which have been buried by sediments are, in many environments, more likely to be preserved than exposed cultural remnants. Natural actions resulting in sediment being deposited include alluvial (water-related) or aeolian (wind-related) natural processes. In jungles and other areas of lush plant growth, decomposed vegetative sediment can result in layers of soil deposited over remains. Colluviation ,
496-546: A set scale of gradations. Distinctive seals were used, among other applications, perhaps for the identification of property and shipment of goods. Although copper and bronze were in use, iron was not yet employed. "Cotton was woven and dyed for clothing; wheat, rice, and a variety of vegetables and fruits were cultivated ; and a number of animals, including the humped bull , was domesticated ," as well as " fowl for fighting ". Wheel-made pottery—some of it adorned with animal and geometric motifs—has been found in profusion at all
558-412: A site as well. Development-led archaeology undertaken as cultural resources management has the disadvantage (or the benefit) of having its sites defined by the limits of the intended development. Even in this case, however, in describing and interpreting the site, the archaeologist will have to look outside the boundaries of the building site. According to Jess Beck in "How Do Archaeologists Find Sites?"
620-453: A site worthy of study. Different archaeologists may see an ancient town, and its nearby cemetery as being two different sites, or as being part of the same wider site. The precepts of landscape archaeology attempt to see each discrete unit of human activity in the context of the wider environment, further distorting the concept of the site as a demarcated area. Furthermore, geoarchaeologists or environmental archaeologists would also consider
682-712: Is a big question as to if we can call what we have found true writing, but we have found symbols that have similarities to what became Indus script" said Dr. Richard Meadow of Harvard University, Director of the Harappa Archeological Research Project. These primitive symbols are placed slightly earlier than the primitive writing of the Sumerians of Mesopotamia , dated c.3100 BC. These markings have similarities to what later became Indus Script which has not been completely deciphered yet. Archaeological site An archaeological site
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#1732766015137744-500: Is a branch of survey becoming more and more popular in archaeology, because it uses different types of instruments to investigate features below the ground surface. It is not as reliable because although they can see what is under the surface of the ground, it does not produce the best picture. Archaeologists still have to dig up the area in order to uncover the truth. There are also two most common types of geophysical survey, which is, magnetometer and ground penetrating radar. Magnetometry
806-410: Is a major opium production and consumption area. P. cineraria wood is reported to contain high calorific value and provide high-quality fuel wood. The lopped branches are good as fencing material. Its roots also encourage nitrogen fixation, which produces higher crop yields. Desert safaris on camels have become increasingly popular around Jaisalmer. Domestic and international tourists frequent
868-412: Is a place (or group of physical sites) in which evidence of past activity is preserved (either prehistoric or historic or contemporary), and which has been, or may be, investigated using the discipline of archaeology and represents a part of the archaeological record . Sites may range from those with few or no remains visible above ground, to buildings and other structures still in use. Beyond this,
930-507: Is a resident breeder in the Thar region. The peacock is designated as the national bird of India and the provincial bird of the Punjab (Pakistan) . It can be seen sitting on khejri or pipal trees in villages or Deblina. The natural vegetation of this dry area is classified as northwestern thorn scrub forest (i.e. small, loosely-scattered patches of greenery). The densities and sizes of these green patches increase from west to east, following an increase in rainfall. The primary vegetation of
992-517: Is clear is that Harappan society was not entirely peaceful, with the human skeletal remains demonstrating some of the highest rates of injury (15.5%) found in South Asian prehistory. Examinations of Harappan skeletons have often found wounds that are likely to have been inflicted in battle. Paleopathological analysis demonstrated that leprosy and tuberculosis were present at Harappa, with the highest prevalence of both disease and trauma present in
1054-586: Is one of the most heavily populated desert areas in the world with the main occupations of its inhabitants being agriculture and animal husbandry. Agricultural production is mainly from kharif crops , which are grown in the summer season and seeded in June and July. These are then harvested in September and October and include bajra , pulses such as guar , jowar ( Sorghum vulgare ), maize ( zea mays ), sesame and groundnuts . The Thar region of Rajasthan
1116-629: Is the technique of measuring and mapping patterns of magnetism in the soil. It uses an instrument called a magnetometer, which is required to measure and map traces of soil magnetism. The ground penetrating radar is a method that uses radar pulses to image the subsurface. It uses electromagnetic radiation in the microwave band of the radio spectrum and detects the reflected signals from subsurface structures. There are many other tools that can be used to find artifacts, but along with finding artifacts, archaeologists have to make maps. They do so by taking data from surveys, or archival research and plugging it into
1178-575: Is when the great cities were at their height. Then, from around 2000 BC, there was a steady disintegration that lasted till 1400 BC – what is usually called Late Harappan. There is no sign that the Harappan cities were laid waste by invaders. The evidence strongly points to natural causes. A number of studies show that the area which is today the Thar Desert was once far wetter and that the climate gradually became drier. The Indus Valley civilization
1240-647: The Cholistan Desert ). The Indo-Gangetic Plain lies to the north, west and northeast of the Thar desert, the Rann of Kutch lies to its south, and the Aravali Range borders the desert to the east. The most recent paleontological discovery in 2023 from the Thar Desert in India, dating back to 167 million years ago, pertains to a herbivorous dinosaur group known as dicraeosaurids . This discovery marks
1302-520: The Indus River valley in Punjab and Sindh . The civilization, with a possible writing system , urban centres, drainage infrastructure and diversified social and economic system , was rediscovered in the 1920s also after excavations at Mohenjo-daro in Sindh near Larkana , and Harappan cities, in west Punjab south of Lahore . A number of other sites stretching from the Himalayan foothills in
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#17327660151371364-478: The Indus Valley Civilisation (IVC) prospered in this area, with the rise of numerous IVC urban sites at Kalibangan ( Rajasthan ), Banawali and Rakhigarhi ( Haryana ), Dholavira and Lothal ( Gujarat ) along this course. 4,000 years ago when monsoons diminished even further, the dried-up Harkra become an intermittent river, and the urban Harappan civilisation declined, becoming localized in smaller agricultural communities. The northeastern part of
1426-534: The Bhatti rulers of Multhan because they wanted to end the slave raids that were made by the Turkic ruler of Ghazni, but the alliance was broken apart by Alp Tigin in 977 CE. Bhati dominions continued to shift southwards: they ruled Multan, then finally got pushed into Cholistan and Jaisalmer, where Rawal Devaraja built Dera Rawal / Derawar . Jaisalmer was founded as the new capital in 1156 by Maharawal Jaisal Singh and
1488-426: The Thar Desert is composed of trees, shrubs , and perennial herb species, including: The endemic floral species include Calligonum polygonoides , Prosopis cineraria , Acacia nilotica , Tamarix aphylla , and Cenchrus biflorus . The Thar people are the natives of the area. The Thar Desert is the most widely populated desert in the world, with a population density of 83 people per km . In India,
1550-515: The Thar Desert is in India, and about 15% is in Pakistan. The Thar Desert is about 4.56% of the total geographical area of India. More than 60% of the desert lies in the Indian state of Rajasthan ; the portion in India also extends into Gujarat , Punjab , and Haryana . The portion in Pakistan extends into the provinces of Sindh and Punjab (the portion in the latter province is referred to as
1612-555: The Thar Desert lies between the Aravalli Hills . The desert stretches to Punjab and Haryana in the north, to the Great Rann of Kutch along the coast, and to the alluvial plains of the Indus River in the west and northwest. Much of the desert area is covered by huge, shifting sand dunes that receive sediments from the alluvial plains and the coast. The sand is highly mobile due to the strong winds that rise each year before
1674-787: The Thar Desert. It was built to halt any spreading of the desert into fertile areas. There are several protected areas in the Thar Desert: Some wildlife species that are fast vanishing in other parts of India are found in the desert in large numbers, including the blackbuck ( Antilope cervicapra ), chinkara ( Gazella bennettii ), and Indian wild ass ( Equus hemionus khur ) in the Rann of Kutch . This may be partly because they are well adapted to this environment: they are smaller than similar animals that live in other environments, and they are mainly nocturnal. It may also be because grasslands in this region have not been transformed into cropland as fast as in other regions, and because
1736-594: The ancient site. Although modern Harappa has a legacy railway station from the British Raj period, it is a small crossroads town of 15,000 people today. In 2005, a controversial amusement park scheme at the site was abandoned when builders unearthed many archaeological artefacts during the early stages of building work. The Harappan Civilization has its earliest roots in cultures such as that of Mehrgarh , approximately 6000 BC. The two greatest cities, Mohenjo-daro and Harappa, emerged c. 2600 BC along
1798-583: The area, and if they have the money and time for the site, they can start digging. There are many ways to find sites, one example can be through surveys. Surveys involve walking around analyzing the land and looking for artifacts. It can also involve digging, according to the Archaeological Institute of America, "archaeologists actively search areas that were likely to support human populations, or in places where old documents and records indicate people once lived." This helps archaeologists in
1860-573: The areas with numerous artifacts are good targets for future excavation, while areas with a small number of artifacts are thought to reflect a lack of past human activity. Many areas have been discovered by accident. The most common people who have found artifacts are farmers who are plowing their fields or just cleaning them up, and they often find archaeological artifacts. Many people who are out hiking and even pilots find artifacts, and they usually end up reporting them to archaeologists for further investigation. When they find sites, they have to first record
1922-428: The burial of a site by sediments moved by gravity (called hillwash ) can also happen at sites on slopes. Human activities (both deliberate and incidental) also often bury sites. It is common in many cultures for newer structures to be built atop the remains of older ones. Urban archaeology has developed especially to deal with these sorts of site. Many sites are the subject of ongoing excavation or investigation. Note
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1984-428: The definition and geographical extent of a "site" can vary widely, depending on the period studied and the theoretical approach of the archaeologist. It is almost invariably difficult to delimit a site. It is sometimes taken to indicate a settlement of some sort, although the archaeologist must also define the limits of human activity around the settlement. Any episode of deposition, such as a hoard or burial, can form
2046-507: The desert seeking adventure on camels for one to several days. This ecotourism industry ranges from cheaper backpacker treks to plush Arabian night-style campsites replete with banquets and cultural performances. During the treks, tourists are able to view the fragile and beautiful ecosystem of the Thar Desert. This form of tourism provides income to many operators and camel owners in Jaisalmer, as well as employment for many camel trekkers in
2108-408: The desert to shift. To counteract this problem, sand dunes are stabilised by first erecting micro windbreak barriers with scrub material and then by afforestation of the treated dunes—planting the seedlings of shrubs (such as phog , senna , and castor oil plant ) and trees (such as gum acacia , Prosopis juliflora , and lebbek tree ). The 649-km-long Indira Gandhi Canal brings fresh water to
2170-595: The desert villages nearby. People from various parts of the world come to see the Pushkar ka Mela (Pushkar Fair) and oases. The government of India initiated departmental exploration for oil in 1955 and 1956 in the Jaisalmer area, Oil India Limited discovered natural gas in 1988 in the Jaisalmer basin . The Desert National Park in Jaisalmer district has a collection of 180-million-year- old animal and plant fossils. Jaisalmer State 's historical foundations are in
2232-611: The difference between archaeological sites and archaeological discoveries. Thar Desert The Thar Desert , also known as the Great Indian Desert , is an arid region in the north-western part of the Indian subcontinent that covers an area of 200,000 km (77,000 sq mi) in India and Pakistan . It is the world's 18th-largest desert , and the world's 9th-largest hot subtropical desert . About 85% of
2294-606: The dry season. The salt comes from the weathering of rocks in the region. Lithic tools belonging to the prehistoric Aterian culture of the Maghreb have been discovered in Middle Paleolithic deposits in the Thar Desert. The climate is arid and subtropical. Average temperature varies with season, and extremes can range from near-freezing in the winter to more than 50 °C in the summer months. Average annual rainfall ranges from 100 to 500 mm, and occurs during
2356-511: The east Punjab , India in the west, to Gujarat in the south and east, and to Pakistani Balochistan in the west have also been discovered and studied. Although the archaeological site at Harappa was damaged in 1857 when engineers constructing the Lahore - Multan railroad used brick from the Harappa ruins for track ballast , an abundance of artefacts have nevertheless been found. Because of
2418-458: The economic decline, but the kingdom nevertheless became impoverished. To make matters worse, there was a severe drought and a resulting famine from 1895 to 1900, during the reign of Maharawal Salivahan Singh, which caused the widespread loss of the livestock upon which the increasingly agriculturally based kingdom had come to rely. In 1965 and 1971, population exchanges took place in the Thar between India and Pakistan; 3,500 Muslims shifted from
2480-412: The existence of a standardised system of urban layout and planning, the similarities are largely due to the presence of a semi-orthogonal type of civic layout, and a comparison of the layouts of Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa shows that they are in fact, arranged in a quite dissimilar fashion. The weights and measures of the Indus Valley Civilisation, on the other hand, were highly standardised, and conform to
2542-742: The first of its kind to be unearthed in India and is also the oldest specimen of the group ever recorded in the global fossil record. During the Last Glacial Maximum 20,000 before present, an approximately 2,400,000 square kilometres (930,000 sq mi) ice sheet covered the Tibetan Plateau , causing excessive radiative forcing i.e. the ice in Tibet reflected at least four times more radiation energy per unit area into space than ice at higher latitudes , which further cooled overlying atmosphere at that time. This impacted
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2604-636: The four signs were in the Indus script and called the find "the greatest archaeological discovery of a century in Tamil Nadu". Based on this evidence, he went on to suggest that the language used in the Indus Valley was of Dravidian origin. However, the absence of a Bronze Age in South India, contrasted with the knowledge of bronze making techniques in the Indus Valley cultures, calls into question
2666-420: The future. In case there is no time or money during the site's discovery, archaeologists can come back and visit the site for further digging to find out the extent of the site. Archaeologist can also sample randomly within a given area of land as another form of conducting surveys. Surveys are very useful, according to Jess Beck, "it can tell you where people were living at different points in the past." Geophysics
2728-416: The inhabitants comprise Hindus , Jains , Sikhs , and Muslims . In Pakistan, inhabitants include both Muslims and Hindus. About 40% of the total population of Rajasthan lives in the Thar Desert. The main occupations of the inhabitants are agriculture and animal husbandry . Jodhpur , the largest city in the region, lies in the scrub forest zone at the desert's perimeter. Bikaner and Jaisalmer are
2790-541: The large empire ruled by the Bhati dynasty. The empire stretched from what is now Ghazni in modern-day Afghanistan to what is Sialkot , Lahore and Rawalpindi in modern-day Pakistan to the region that is Bhatinda and Hanumangarh in modern-day India. The empire crumbled over time because of continuous invasions from central Asia. According to Satish Chandra, the Hindu Shahis of Afghanistan made an alliance with
2852-433: The largest cities located entirely in the desert. In the true desert areas, the only sources of water for animals or humans are small, scattered ponds - some that are natural ( tobas ) and some that are human-made ( johads ). The persistence of water scarcity heavily influences life in all areas of the Thar, prompting many inhabitants to adopt a nomadic lifestyle. Most of the permanent human settlements are located near
2914-562: The major Indus sites. A centralised administration for each city, though not the whole civilisation, has been inferred from the revealed cultural uniformity; however, it remains uncertain whether authority lay with a commercial oligarchy . Harappans had many trade routes along the Indus River that went as far as the Persian Gulf, Mesopotamia, and Egypt. Some of the most valuable things traded were carnelian and lapis lazuli . What
2976-457: The north. The core of the Harappan civilisation extended over a large area, from Gujarat in the south, across Sindh and Rajasthan and extending into Punjab and Haryana . Numerous sites have been found outside the core area, including some as far east as Uttar Pradesh and as far west as Sutkagen-dor on the Makran coast of Balochistan , not far from Iran. The site of the ancient city contains
3038-581: The onset of the monsoon . The Luni River is the only river in the desert. Rainfall is 100 to 500 mm (4 to 20 in) per year, almost all of it between June and September. Saltwater lakes within the Thar Desert include the Sambhar , Kuchaman, Didwana , Pachpadra , and Phalodi in Rajasthan and Kharaghoda in Gujarat. These lakes receive and collect rainwater during monsoon and evaporate during
3100-471: The presence of both artifacts and features . Common features include the remains of hearths and houses. Ecofacts , biological materials (such as bones, scales, and even feces) that are the result of human activity but are not deliberately modified, are also common at many archaeological sites. In the cases of the Palaeolithic and Mesolithic eras, a mere scatter of flint flakes will also constitute
3162-774: The primary trading objects. The Harappan merchants also had procurement colonies in Mesopotamia as well, which served as trading centres. They also traded extensively with people living in southern India , near modern-day Karnataka , to procure gold and copper from them. The excavators of the site have proposed the following chronology of Harappa's occupation: Period 1 occupation was thought to be around 7 to 10 hectares, but following excavations and findings of pottery in Mound E, along with previously found Mound AB pottery, suggest Ravi/Hakra phase would have been extended, together in both mounds, to 25 hectares. Period 2, Kot Diji phase,
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#17327660151373224-464: The rather tenuous archaeological evidence for such claims, as well as the projection of modern South Asian political concerns onto the archaeological record of the area. In February 2006 a school teacher in the village of Sembian-Kandiyur in Tamil Nadu discovered a stone celt (tool) with an inscription estimated to be up to 3,500 years old. Indian epigraphist Iravatham Mahadevan postulated that
3286-517: The reduced sea-levels , certain regions in the late Harappan period were abandoned . Towards its end, the Harappan civilization lost features such as writing and hydraulic engineering . As a result, the Ganges Valley settlement gained prominence and Ganges' cities developed. The earliest recognisably Harappan sites date to 3500 BC. This early phase lasts till around 2600 BC. The civilization's mature phase lasted from 2600 BC to 2000 BC. This
3348-629: The regional climate. Without the thermal low pressure caused by the heating, there was no monsoon over the Indian subcontinent . This lack of monsoon caused extensive rainfall over the Sahara , expansion of the Thar Desert, more dust deposited into the Arabian Sea , a lowering of the biotic life zones on the Indian subcontinent, and animals responded to this shift in climate with the Javan rusa deer migrating into India. 10,000-8,000 years ago
3410-684: The ruins of a Bronze Age fortified city, which was part of the Harappan civilisation centred in Sindh and the Punjab , and then the Cemetery H culture . The city is believed to have had as many as 23,500 residents and occupied about 150 hectares (370 acres) with clay brick houses at its greatest extent during the Mature Harappan phase (2600 BC – 1900 BC), which is considered large for its time. Per archaeological convention of naming
3472-505: The short July-to-September southwest monsoon. The desert has both a very dry part (the Marusthali region in the west) and a semidesert part (in the east) that has fewer sand dunes and slightly more precipitation. The soil of the Thar Desert remains dry for much of the year, so it is prone to wind erosion . High-velocity winds blow soil from the desert, depositing some of it on neighboring fertile lands, and causing sand dunes within
3534-639: The skeletons from Area G (an ossuary located south-east of the city walls). Furthermore, rates of craniofacial trauma and infection increased through time demonstrating that the civilisation collapsed amid illness and injury. The bioarchaeologists who examined the remains have suggested that the combined evidence for differences in mortuary treatment and epidemiology indicate that some individuals and communities at Harappa were excluded from access to basic resources like health and safety. The Harappans had traded with ancient Mesopotamia , especially Elam , among other areas. Cotton textiles and agricultural products were
3596-475: The state took its name from the capital. On 11 December 1818 Jaisalmer became a British protectorate through the Rajputana Agency . Because the kingdom's main source of income had long been levies on caravans , its economy suffered after Bombay became a major port, and sea trade largely replaced trade along the traditional land routes. Maharawals Ranjit Singh and Bairi Sal Singh tried to reverse
3658-531: The two seasonal streams of the Karon-Jhar hills. Potable groundwater is also rare in the Thar Desert. Much of it tastes sour due to dissolved minerals. Potable water is mostly available only deep underground. When wells are dug that happen to yield sweet tasting water, people tend to settle near them, but such wells are difficult and dangerous to dig, sometimes claiming the lives of the well-diggers. Crowded housing conditions are common in some areas. The Thar
3720-492: The validity of this hypothesis. The area of the late Harappan period consisted of the areas of the Daimabad , Maharashtra , and Badakshan regions of Afghanistan . The area covered by this civilisation would have been very large with a distance of around 2,400 kilometres (1,500 mi). Clay and stone tablets unearthed at Harappa, which were carbon-dated 3300–3200 BC, contain trident-shaped and plant-like markings. "It
3782-408: Was basically an urban culture sustained by surplus agricultural production and commerce, the latter including trade with Elam and Sumer in southern Mesopotamia . Both Mohenjo-daro and Harappa are generally characterised as having "differentiated living quarters, flat-roofed brick houses, and fortified administrative or religious centers." Although such similarities have given rise to arguments for
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#17327660151373844-440: Was extended in the same two mounds, AB and E, covering over 27 hectares. In Period 3, Harappa phase, the settlement reached 150 hectares. By far the most exquisite and obscure artefacts unearthed to date are the small, square steatite (soapstone) seals engraved with human or animal motifs. A large number of seals have been found at such sites as Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa. Many bear pictographic inscriptions generally thought to be
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