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92-476: Mundigak was a large prehistoric town with an important cultural sequence from the 5th–2nd millennia BCE. It was excavated by the French scholar Jean Marie Casal  [ de ] in the 1950s. The mound was nine meters tall at the time of excavation. Pottery and other artifacts form the later 3rd millennium BCE, when this site became a major urban center, indicate interaction with Turkmenistan, Baluchistan, and

184-668: A UNESCO effort tasked to conserve the site at Mohenjo-daro. Other international efforts at Mohenjo-daro and Harappa have included the German Aachen Research Project Mohenjo-daro , the Italian Mission to Mohenjo-daro , and the US Harappa Archaeological Research Project (HARP) founded by George F. Dales . Following a chance flash flood which exposed a portion of an archaeological site at

276-643: A "relatively uniform" material culture in terms of pottery styles, ornaments, and stamp seals with Indus script , leading into the transition to the Mature Harappan phase. According to Giosan et al. (2012), the slow southward migration of the monsoons across Asia initially allowed the Indus Valley villages to develop by taming the floods of the Indus and its tributaries. Flood-supported farming led to large agricultural surpluses, which in turn supported

368-465: A continuity in cultural development but a change in population. According to Lukacs and Hemphill, while there is a strong continuity between the neolithic and chalcolithic (Copper Age) cultures of Mehrgarh, dental evidence shows that the chalcolithic population did not descend from the neolithic population of Mehrgarh, which "suggests moderate levels of gene flow." Mascarenhas et al. (2015) note that "new, possibly West Asian, body types are reported from

460-461: A courtyard. The east, south and west facades of the building were not preserved, but they may also have been decorated with pilasters. It was possible to distinguish between three renovation phases, all of which date to Period IV, layer 1. The later palace from Period IV, layer 2 and Period IV, layer 3 had completely fallen victim to the renovation work in Period V. About 200 m east of the palace stood

552-855: A decoration for bronze objects; there were no artifacts made entirely of iron. Apart from pottery and painted pottery, other artifacts found include crude humped bulls, human figures, shaft hole axes, adzes of bronze and terracotta drains. Painting on pots include pictures of sacred fig leaves ( ficus religiosa ) and a tiger-like animal. Several stone button seals were also found at Mundigak. Disk Beads and faience barrel beads, copper stamp seals, copper pins with spiral loops were also found. The female-looking human figurines (5 cm (2.0 in) in height) found at Mundigak are very similar to such figurines found at another archeological site in Afghanistan, Deh Morasi Ghundai (circa 3000 BCE). Collection: Field work: Jean Marie Casal From Misplaced Pages,

644-524: A highly uniform and well-planned grid pattern, suggesting they were planned by a central authority; extraordinary uniformity of Harappan artefacts as evident in pottery, seals, weights and bricks; presence of public facilities and monumental architecture; heterogeneity in the mortuary symbolism and in grave goods (items included in burials). These are some major theories: Harappans evolved some new techniques in metallurgy and produced copper, bronze , lead, and tin . A touchstone bearing gold streaks

736-571: A hundred excavated, there are five major urban centres: Mohenjo-daro in the lower Indus Valley (declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1980 as " Archaeological Ruins at Moenjodaro "), Harappa in the western Punjab region , Ganeriwala in the Cholistan Desert , Dholavira in western Gujarat (declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2021 as " Dholavira: A Harappan City "), and Rakhigarhi in Haryana . The Harappan language

828-547: A joint discussion. By 1924, Marshall had become convinced of the significance of the finds, and on 24 September 1924, made a tentative but conspicuous public intimation in the Illustrated London News : "Not often has it been given to archaeologists, as it was given to Schliemann at Tiryns and Mycenae , or to Stein in the deserts of Turkestan , to light upon the remains of a long forgotten civilisation. It looks, however, at this moment, as if we were on

920-472: A monumental building that was probably a temple built on virgin soil. It stood on a flat, approximately 2.5 m high hill and had a monumental outer wall, which was decorated on the outside with mighty buttresses, triangular in plan. The foundations were made of stone. Inside the complex was a courtyard with the actual temple in the middle. About 350 m south of hill A, parts of another large adobe building were excavated (excavation area F), which certainly also had

1012-621: A new viceroy of India, Lord Curzon , pushed through the Ancient Monuments Preservation Act 1904 , and appointed John Marshall to lead the ASI. Several years later, Hiranand Sastri , who had been assigned by Marshall to survey Harappa, reported it to be of non-Buddhist origin, and by implication more ancient. Expropriating Harappa for the ASI under the Act, Marshall directed ASI archaeologist Daya Ram Sahni to excavate

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1104-414: A palace and temple. It can be concluded that there is an advanced social structure. However, there is no evidence for the use of writing. The excavator distinguished three layers: IV.1, IV.2 and IV.3. In the center of the city is hill A, on which extensive remains of a palace complex were found. It is uncertain whether it was really a palace as the excavator suspected, but the construction undoubtedly served

1196-451: A public function. The building was extensively surrounded by a wall. To create a platform for the construction, older houses standing on the hill were leveled. The north facade of the palace was decorated with a row of pilasters that were stuccoed and painted white. At the top, these pilasters were bordered by a decorated tile strip. Some of them were still two meters high when they were excavated. The actual palace consisted of various rooms and

1288-400: A public function. There was a courtyard with a large water basin and various rooms arranged around it. The residential quarters have only been partially excavated. To the west of the palace the remains of a wall could be traced in various places. It consisted of two outer walls. The interior was divided by partitions; this created a series of interior rooms that were accessible through doors on

1380-599: A site whose entire upper layer had been stripped in the interim. Although his original goal of demonstrating Harappa to be a lost Buddhist city mentioned in the seventh century CE travels of the Chinese visitor, Xuanzang , proved elusive, Cunningham did publish his findings in 1875. For the first time, he interpreted a Harappan stamp seal , with its unknown script, which he concluded to be of an origin foreign to India. Archaeological work in Harappa thereafter lagged until

1472-570: A tradition in archaeology, the civilisation is sometimes referred to as the Harappan, after its type site , Harappa , the first site to be excavated in the 1920s; this is notably true of usage employed by the Archaeological Survey of India after India's independence in 1947. The term "Ghaggar-Hakra" figures prominently in modern labels applied to the Indus civilisation on account of a good number of sites having been found along

1564-400: Is mainly made by open forms. In particular, shell fragments have been found. The ceramic is partly painted, with simple geometric patterns predominating. Painted animals are also very rare. Period I.5 and the following Period II were separated by a thick layer of ash, which suggests that the place was uninhabited for a long time, at least in this area. Period II was divided into four layers by

1656-490: Is no conclusive evidence of palaces or temples. Some structures are thought to have been granaries. Found at one city is an enormous well-built bath (the " Great Bath "), which may have been a public bath. Although the citadels were walled, it is far from clear that these structures were defensive. Most city dwellers appear to have been traders or artisans, who lived with others pursuing the same occupation in well-defined neighbourhoods. Materials from distant regions were used in

1748-507: Is not directly attested, and its affiliations are uncertain, as the Indus script has remained undeciphered. A relationship with the Dravidian or Elamo-Dravidian language family is favoured by a section of scholars. The Indus civilisation is named after the Indus river system in whose alluvial plains the early sites of the civilisation were identified and excavated. Following

1840-519: Is related to religious activities. Early houses were constructed at Mundigak (during Period I.4) in the form of tiny oblong cells with pressed earth walls. In the following layer (Period I.5) larger houses with square and oblong houses with sun dried bricks were found. Ovens for cooking and wells for water storage were found during later phases. The finds include numerous terracotta figures, which often represent people, mostly women, but also men. There are also frequent depictions of cattle. In addition, in

1932-462: Is shown by their dockyards, granaries , warehouses, brick platforms, and protective walls. The massive walls of Indus cities most likely protected the Harappans from floods and may have dissuaded military conflicts. The purpose of the citadel remains debated. In sharp contrast to this civilisation's contemporaries, Mesopotamia and ancient Egypt , no large monumental structures were built. There

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2024-548: Is therefore the best documented layer. In area P, remnants of Period V came to light, which is otherwise only documented in area A. The upper layers in particular had completely disappeared as a result of erosion. In area A, a large palace was uncovered in Period V on the remains of the older palace. Otherwise, however, Period V is not easy to cover in the city. Most of the finds are now in the National Museum in Kabul and in

2116-474: Is uncertain; it may have enclosed the palace extensively. About 90 m to the west (excavation area E) were again the remains of a second wall, which was constructed similarly and could be traced over a length of about 120 m. This was probably the actual city wall. Residential buildings were mostly found in excavation area D, where the city wall still stood in Period IV.1; on the other hand, the area in Period IV.2

2208-599: The Ghaggar-Hakra River in northwest India and eastern Pakistan. The terms "Indus-Sarasvati Civilisation" and "Sindhu-Saraswati Civilisation" have also been employed in the literature by supporters of Indigenous Aryanism , after a posited identification of the Ghaggar-Hakra with the river Sarasvati described in the early chapters of the Rigveda , a collection of hymns in archaic Sanskrit composed in

2300-621: The Indus Civilisation , was a Bronze Age civilisation in the northwestern regions of South Asia , lasting from 3300  BCE to 1300 BCE, and in its mature form from 2600 BCE to 1900 BCE. Together with ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia , it was one of three early civilisations of North Africa , Southwest Asia and South Asia , and of the three, the most widespread, its sites spanning an area including much of modern-day Pakistan , northwestern India and northeast Afghanistan . The civilisation flourished both in

2392-706: The Museum Guimet in Paris. The excavator Jean Marie Casal had been employed in the latter museum since 1957. The new research shows the site of Mundigak presents four periods of occupation from its early days till its urban development: On the other hand, archaeologists Jarrige , Didier, and Quivron considered that Periods III and IV in Mundigak have archaeological links with Periods I, II, and III in Shahr-i Sokhta . The lowest layer of Period I in Mundigak

2484-614: The alluvial plain of the Indus River , which flows through the length of Pakistan, and along a system of perennial monsoon -fed rivers that once coursed in the vicinity of the Ghaggar-Hakra , a seasonal river in northwest India and eastern Pakistan. The term Harappan is sometimes applied to the Indus Civilisation after its type site Harappa , the first to be excavated early in the 20th century in what

2576-528: The article wizard to submit a draft for review, or request a new article . Search for " Jean Marie Casal " in existing articles. Look for pages within Misplaced Pages that link to this title . Other reasons this message may be displayed: If a page was recently created here, it may not be visible yet because of a delay in updating the database; wait a few minutes or try the purge function . Titles on Misplaced Pages are case sensitive except for

2668-491: The water buffalo . Early Harappan communities turned to large urban centres by 2600 BCE, from where the mature Harappan phase started. The latest research shows that Indus Valley people migrated from villages to cities. The final stages of the Early Harappan period are characterised by the building of large walled settlements, the expansion of trade networks, and the increasing integration of regional communities into

2760-579: The "palace" and the "temple" and possibly the city walls as well date from this period. Another destruction layer and a marked ceramic change indicate a gap of abandonment between Periods IV and V, followed by a period of further building and construction of new monuments, including the "massive monument". Periods VI and VII saw only periodic occupation on a small scale. Mundigak and Deh Morasi provide early developments in what may be now called religious activities. A white-washed, pillared large building with its door way outlined with red, dating around 3,000 BC

2852-566: The ASI attempted to "Indianise" archaeological work in keeping with the new nation's goals of national unity and historical continuity, in Pakistan the national imperative was the promotion of Islamic heritage, and consequently archaeological work on early sites was left to foreign archaeologists. After the partition, Mortimer Wheeler, the Director of ASI from 1944, oversaw the establishment of archaeological institutions in Pakistan, later joining

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2944-619: The Company any historical artifacts acquired during his travels. Masson, who had versed himself in the classics , especially in the military campaigns of Alexander the Great , chose for his wanderings some of the same towns that had featured in Alexander's campaigns, and whose archaeological sites had been noted by the campaign's chroniclers. Masson's major archaeological discovery in the Punjab

3036-722: The Early Harappan Indus region. Mundigak flourished during the culture of the Helmand Basin (Seistan), also known as the Helmand culture ( Helmand Province ). With an area of 21 hectares (52 acres), this was the second largest centre of the Helmand Culture, the first being Shahr-i-Sokhta which was as large as 150 acres (60 hectares), by 2400 BCE. Bampur in Iran is a closely related site. Earlier, it

3128-991: The Early Harappan, Mature Harappan, and Late Harappan phases. Mehrgarh is a Neolithic (7000 BCE to c.  2500 BCE ) mountain site in the Balochistan province of Pakistan , which gave new insights on the emergence of the Indus Valley Civilisation. Mehrgarh is one of the earliest sites with evidence of farming and herding in South Asia . Mehrgarh was influenced by the Near Eastern Neolithic, with similarities between "domesticated wheat varieties, early phases of farming, pottery, other archaeological artefacts, some domesticated plants and herd animals." Jean-Francois Jarrige argues for an independent origin of Mehrgarh. Jarrige notes "the assumption that farming economy

3220-500: The Ghaggar-Hakra system might yield more sites than the Indus river basin. According to archaeologist Ratnagar, many Ghaggar-Hakra sites in India and Indus Valley sites in Pakistan are actually those of local cultures; some sites display contact with Harappan civilisation, but only a few are fully developed Harappan ones. As of 1977, about 90% of the Indus script seals and inscribed objects discovered were found at sites in Pakistan along

3312-558: The Harappan civilisation lasted from c.  2600 –1900 BCE. With the inclusion of the predecessor and successor cultures – Early Harappan and Late Harappan, respectively – the entire Indus Valley Civilisation may be taken to have lasted from the 33rd to the 14th centuries BCE. It is part of the Indus Valley Tradition, which also includes the pre-Harappan occupation of Mehrgarh, the earliest farming site of

3404-571: The Indus Civilization , London: Arthur Probsthain, 1931. The first modern accounts of the ruins of the Indus civilisation are those of Charles Masson , a deserter from the East India Company 's army. In 1829, Masson traveled through the princely state of Punjab, gathering useful intelligence for the Company in return for a promise of clemency. An aspect of this arrangement was the additional requirement to hand over to

3496-616: The Indus River Valley site of Mehrgarh and is dated to 7,000  YBP ." The Early Harappan Ravi Phase, named after the nearby Ravi River , lasted from c.  3300 BCE until 2800 BCE. It started when farmers from the mountains gradually moved between their mountain homes and the lowland river valleys, and is related to the Hakra Phase , identified in the Ghaggar-Hakra River Valley to

3588-791: The Indus Valley Civilisation, in the Gomal River valley in northwestern Pakistan, at Manda, Jammu on the Beas River near Jammu , and at Alamgirpur on the Hindon River , only 28 km (17 mi) from Delhi. The southernmost site of the Indus Valley Civilisation is Daimabad in Maharashtra . Indus Valley sites have been found most often on rivers, but also on the ancient seacoast, for example, Balakot ( Kot Bala ), and on islands, for example, Dholavira . "Three other scholars whose names I cannot pass over in silence, are

3680-525: The Indus Valley. Several periodisations are employed for the IVC. The most commonly used classifies the Indus Valley Civilisation into Early, Mature and Late Harappan Phase. An alternative approach by Shaffer divides the broader Indus Valley Tradition into four eras, the pre-Harappan "Early Food Producing Era", and the Regionalisation, Integration, and Localisation eras, which correspond roughly with

3772-573: The Indus river, while other sites accounts only for the remaining 10%. By 2002, over 1,000 Mature Harappan cities and settlements had been reported, of which just under a hundred had been excavated, mainly in the general region of the Indus and Ghaggar-Hakra rivers and their tributaries; however, there are only five major urban sites: Harappa , Mohenjo-daro , Dholavira , Ganeriwala and Rakhigarhi . As of 2008, about 616 sites have been reported in India, whereas 406 sites have been reported in Pakistan. Unlike India, in which after 1947,

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3864-607: The Kot Diji related material". He sees these areas as "catalytic in producing the fusion from Hakra, Kot Dijian and Amri-Nal cultural elements that resulted in the gestalt we recognize as Early Harappan (Early Indus)." By 2600 BCE, the Early Harappan communities turned into large urban centres. Such urban centres include Harappa , Ganeriwala , Mohenjo-daro in modern-day Pakistan, and Dholavira , Kalibangan , Rakhigarhi , Rupar , and Lothal in modern-day India. In total, more than 1,000 settlements have been found, mainly in

3956-467: The alluvial plain of the Indus and its tributaries. In addition, there was a region with disparate flora, fauna, and habitats, up to ten times as large, which had been shaped culturally and economically by the Indus. Around 6500 BCE, agriculture emerged in Balochistan , on the margins of the Indus alluvium. In the following millennia, settled life made inroads into the Indus plains, setting

4048-542: The citadel representing centralised authority and an increasingly urban quality of life. Another town of this stage was found at Kalibangan in India on the Hakra River. Trade networks linked this culture with related regional cultures and distant sources of raw materials, including lapis lazuli and other materials for bead-making. By this time, villagers had domesticated numerous crops, including peas , sesame seeds , dates , and cotton, as well as animals, including

4140-514: The cities for constructing seals, beads and other objects. Among the artefacts discovered were beautiful glazed faïence beads. Steatite seals have images of animals, people (perhaps gods), and other types of inscriptions, including the yet un-deciphered writing system of the Indus Valley Civilisation . Some of the seals were used to stamp clay on trade goods. Although some houses were larger than others, Indus civilisation cities were remarkable for their apparent, if relative, egalitarianism . All

4232-437: The civilisation may have contained between one and five million individuals during its florescence. A gradual drying of the region during the 3rd millennium BCE may have been the initial stimulus for its urbanisation. Eventually it also reduced the water supply enough to cause the civilisation's demise and to disperse its population to the east. Although over a thousand Mature Harappan sites have been reported and nearly

4324-518: The context of other cultures and thus also in time. The excavation report largely focuses on decorated forms, so the undecorated pottery is less well known. There were hand-formed vessels, but also those that were made on the potter's wheel. Periods I and II are dominated by simple, painted geometric patterns, often on the upper edge of bowls; in Period III the painting becomes more complex. There are still predominantly geometric patterns that belong to

4416-410: The death rate increased, as the close living conditions of humans and domesticated animals led to an increase in contagious diseases. According to one estimate, the population of the Indus civilisation at its peak may have been between one and five million. During its height the civilisation extended from Balochistan in the west to western Uttar Pradesh in the east, from northeastern Afghanistan in

4508-409: The development of cities. The IVC residents did not develop irrigation capabilities, relying mainly on the seasonal monsoons leading to summer floods. Brooke further notes that the development of advanced cities coincides with a reduction in rainfall, which may have triggered a reorganisation into larger urban centres. According to J.G. Shaffer and D.A. Lichtenstein, the Mature Harappan civilisation

4600-527: The dissolution of the East India Company and the establishment of Crown rule in India , archaeology on the subcontinent became more formally organised with the founding of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). Alexander Cunningham , the Survey's first director-general, who had visited Harappa in 1853 and had noted the imposing brick walls, visited again to carry out a survey, but this time of

4692-541: The earliest and best-known of which is named after Mehrgarh , in Balochistan , Pakistan. Harappan civilisation is sometimes called Mature Harappan to distinguish it from the earlier cultures. The cities of the ancient Indus were noted for their urban planning , baked brick houses, elaborate drainage systems, water supply systems, clusters of large non-residential buildings, and techniques of handicraft and metallurgy . Mohenjo-daro and Harappa very likely grew to contain between 30,000 and 60,000 individuals, and

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4784-431: The earliest layer of Kot Diji. Remains of a "palace" have been found in one mound. Another mound revealed a large "temple", indicating urban life. An extensive series of mounds marks the site of a town. The chronology is still uncertain, but it has tentatively been divided into seven main periods with many subdivisions. The main period seems to be Period IV, which saw a massive rebuilding after an earlier destruction. Both

4876-493: The excavation area. On Tépé (hill) A, the highest point in the city, remains of a palace were excavated in Period IV, level 1 and Period V. Urban areas from almost all periods of the place were found here. Area C is northwest of Area A. Only a small area has been excavated here, with the remains reaching back to Period III. In the other parts of the city, various, larger or smaller areas were exposed (areas B, D to I and P and R), whereby mainly remnants of Period IV came to light, which

4968-452: The excavations. This consisted of a number of rooms that could not be entered, so they had a pure support function. The actual building on this platform has completely disappeared. In other parts of the city there is also evidence of development during this period, but the remains are very poorly preserved. It is clear, however, that Mundigak continued to be an important city in Period V, but the remains of it have largely disappeared. After that,

5060-419: The excavator: II.1, II.2, II.3a and II.3b. The population density in area A increased. Various multi-room buildings could be excavated. There was a deep well in one courtyard. Compared to layer I, however, the quality of the ceramic decreases. There are a lot less painted types. Many pots are rather roughly worked. Period III is again mainly known from area A, where six layers were distinguished. From area C come

5152-410: The first character; please check alternative capitalizations and consider adding a redirect here to the correct title. If the page has been deleted, check the deletion log , and see Why was the page I created deleted? Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_Marie_Casal " Indus Valley civilization The Indus Valley Civilisation ( IVC ), also known as

5244-514: The foot of the Bolan Pass in Balochistan , excavations were carried out in Mehrgarh by French archaeologist Jean-François Jarrige and his team in the early 1970s. The cities of the ancient Indus had "social hierarchies, their writing system, their large planned cities and their long-distance trade [which] mark them to archaeologists as a full-fledged 'civilisation.'" The mature phase of

5336-909: The 💕 Look for Jean Marie Casal on one of Misplaced Pages's sister projects : [REDACTED] Wiktionary (dictionary) [REDACTED] Wikibooks (textbooks) [REDACTED] Wikiquote (quotations) [REDACTED] Wikisource (library) [REDACTED] Wikiversity (learning resources) [REDACTED] Commons (media) [REDACTED] Wikivoyage (travel guide) [REDACTED] Wikinews (news source) [REDACTED] Wikidata (linked database) [REDACTED] Wikispecies (species directory) Misplaced Pages does not have an article with this exact name. Please search for Jean Marie Casal in Misplaced Pages to check for alternative titles or spellings. You need to log in or create an account and be autoconfirmed to create new articles. Alternatively, you can use

5428-433: The general region of the Indus and Ghaggar-Hakra Rivers and their tributaries. A sophisticated and technologically advanced urban culture is evident in the Indus Valley Civilisation, making them the first urban centre in the region. The quality of municipal town planning suggests the knowledge of urban planning and efficient municipal governments which placed a high priority on hygiene , or, alternatively, accessibility to

5520-571: The graves of Mehrgarh beginning in the Togau phase (3800 BCE)." Gallego Romero et al. (2011) state that their research on lactose tolerance in India suggests that "the west Eurasian genetic contribution identified by Reich et al. (2009) principally reflects gene flow from Iran and the Middle East." They further note that "[t]he earliest evidence of cattle herding in South Asia comes from

5612-411: The houses had access to water and drainage facilities. This gives the impression of a society with relatively low wealth concentration . Archaeological records provide no immediate answers for a centre of power or for depictions of people in power in Harappan society. But, there are indications of complex decisions being taken and implemented. For instance, the majority of the cities were constructed in

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5704-419: The inside of the wall. There were supporting pillars on the outer facade. A corner of the wall has been found. Here stood a tower with four interiors and once with perhaps four support pillars on each side. Only on the north side are all four preserved. Even in Period IV, layer 1, the area around the wall was densely built on both sides with simple houses, mostly consisting of a few rooms. The function of this wall

5796-446: The late Mr. R. D. Banerji , to whom belongs the credit of having discovered, if not Mohenjo-daro itself, at any rate its high antiquity, and his immediate successors in the task of excavation, Messrs. M.S. Vats and K.N. Dikshit . ... no one probably except myself can fully appreciate the difficulties and hardships which they had to face in the three first seasons at Mohenjo-daro."  — From, John Marshall (ed), Mohenjo-daro and

5888-490: The local population. Despite these reports, Harappa was raided even more perilously for its bricks after the British annexation of the Punjab in 1848–49. A considerable number were carted away as track ballast for the railway lines being laid in the Punjab. Nearly 160 km (100 mi) of railway track between Multan and Lahore , laid in the mid-1850s, was supported by Harappan bricks. In 1861, three years after

5980-513: The means of religious ritual. As seen in Harappa, Mohenjo-daro and the recently partially excavated Rakhigarhi , this urban plan included the world's first known urban sanitation systems . Within the city, individual homes or groups of homes obtained water from wells . From a room that appears to have been set aside for bathing, waste water was directed to covered drains, which lined the major streets. Houses opened only to inner courtyards and smaller lanes. The housebuilding in some villages in

6072-718: The north to Gujarat state in the south. The largest number of sites are in the Punjab region , Gujarat, Haryana , Rajasthan , Uttar Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir states, Sindh , and Balochistan. Coastal settlements extended from Sutkagan Dor in Western Baluchistan to Lothal in Gujarat. An Indus Valley site has been found on the Oxus River at Shortugai in Afghanistan which is the northernmost site of

6164-516: The one led by Mortimer Wheeler , a new director-general of the ASI appointed in 1944, and including Ahmad Hasan Dani . After the partition of India in 1947, when most excavated sites of the Indus Valley Civilisation lay in territory awarded to Pakistan, the Archaeological Survey of India, its area of authority reduced, carried out large numbers of surveys and excavations along the Ghaggar-Hakra system in India. Some speculated that

6256-465: The other is disc-shaped and carved from stone. Stone vessels are attested in almost all layers. From Period I, level 2 onwards, bronze objects are attested. Initially, they are simple tools such as needles and weapons. However, the remains of a mirror also come from Period IV. An investigation showed that these artifacts were mostly made of bronze with a low tin content. Five objects with iron elements from Period IV are noteworthy. The iron always served as

6348-434: The palace. The goblets exposed there were intact. From Period IV there are two larger ceramic vessels with a sliding lid that may have served as mouse traps. Comparable mouse traps are known from Mohenjo-Daro in the Indus Valley. The corresponding finds from Mundigak are probably several centuries older. Spinning whorls are from Period I.4. attested, of which there were two types: one is conical in shape and made of clay,

6440-438: The place appears to have been abandoned. After 2500 BCE there was no longer a city here. This is particularly noteworthy as there is no chronological overlap with the Indus culture. No structural remains have been preserved from Period VI. In addition to fireplaces, there were primarily numerous ceramics that have similarities with that of the earlier layers. The excavator suspects that these remains came from nomads. It seems that

6532-696: The population gave up their lifestyle in permanent settlements and moved to nomadism. This can also be observed in other places in Afghanistan and India. The last development is called Period VII. These are various agricultural storehouses, which probably date back to the 1st millennium BCE. Mundigak has some material related to the Indus Valley civilization . This material consists in part of ceramic figurines of snakes and humped bulls, and other items, similar to those found at other Indus Valley sites. Pottery found at Mundigak had number of similarities with such material found at Kot Diji . This material shows up at

6624-407: The region still resembles in some respects the housebuilding of the Harappans. The ancient Indus systems of sewerage and drainage that were developed and used in cities throughout the Indus region were far more advanced than any found in contemporary urban sites in the Middle East and even more efficient than those in many areas of Pakistan and India today. The advanced architecture of the Harappans

6716-417: The remains of Period IV, the head of a limestone man's statue was found. It is the only object that can be called a work of art in the narrower sense. The face is rather roughly worked. The eyes and eyebrows are heavily stylized. The man has short hair and a headband that ends in two falling strips of fabric on the back. Statues were also found sporadically in the Indus culture, in the oasis culture spread around

6808-418: The remains of a cemetery that was still occupied by Period IV. The dead lay here in a crouched position. There were hardly any additions. Only in one case were pearls used as a bracelet. The development in area A is now even more dense. They are mostly smaller houses with two or three rooms. Seals with geometric patterns also come from this layer. In Period IV, Mundigak developed into a fully developed city with

6900-577: The same time in the north and in Shahr-i Sukhta , which is also attributed to the Helmand culture . The statues show a man kneeling on the floor, often described as a priest-king. It has been suggested that Mundigak's head also belonged to such a figure, but this cannot be proven. Pottery is particularly important for small finds. Most of the ceramics are painted, some of them polychrome. Various decoration traditions can be proven that are also known from other places and thus help to locate Mundigak in

6992-612: The second-millennium BCE, which are unrelated to the mature phase of the Indus Valley Civilization. Recent geophysical research suggests that unlike the Sarasvati, described in the Rigveda as a snow-fed river, the Ghaggar-Hakra was a system of perennial monsoon-fed rivers, which became seasonal around the time that the civilisation diminished, approximately 4,000 years ago. The Indus Valley Civilisation

7084-464: The site's two mounds. Farther south, along the main stem of the Indus in Sind province, the largely undisturbed site of Mohenjo-daro had attracted notice. Marshall deputed a succession of ASI officers to survey the site. These included D. R. Bhandarkar (1911), R. D. Banerji (1919, 1922–1923), and M. S. Vats (1924). In 1923, on his second visit to Mohenjo-daro, Baneriji wrote to Marshall about

7176-417: The site, postulating an origin in "remote antiquity", and noting a congruence of some of its artifacts with those of Harappa. Later in 1923, Vats, also in correspondence with Marshall, noted the same more specifically about the seals and the script found at both sites. On the weight of these opinions, Marshall ordered crucial data from the two sites to be brought to one location and invited Banerji and Sahni to

7268-499: The so-called Quetta style. Others are painted in the style of the Nal culture or have similarities with ceramics of the Amri culture . In Period IV there are also isolated figurative representations, especially cattle. Various clay chalices come from Period IV, decorated with rows of animals painted in black, but also with individual plants. A group of these chalices was found in room XXII in

7360-412: The stage for the growth of rural and urban settlements. The more organized sedentary life, in turn, led to a net increase in the birth rate. The large urban centres of Mohenjo-daro and Harappa very likely grew to containing between 30,000 and 60,000 individuals, and during the civilisation's florescence, the population of the subcontinent grew to between 4–6 million people. During this period

7452-882: The threshold of such a discovery in the plains of the Indus." In the next issue, a week later, the British Assyriologist Archibald Sayce was able to point to very similar seals found in Bronze Age levels in Mesopotamia and Iran, giving the first strong indication of their date; confirmations from other archaeologists followed. Systematic excavations began in Mohenjo-daro in 1924–25 with that of K. N. Dikshit , continuing with those of H. Hargreaves (1925–1926), and Ernest J. H. Mackay (1927–1931). By 1931, much of Mohenjo-daro had been excavated, but occasional excavations continued, such as

7544-472: The west, and predates the Kot Diji Phase (2800–2600 BCE, Harappan 2), named after a site in northern Sindh , Pakistan, near Mohenjo-daro . The earliest examples of the Indus script date to the 3rd millennium BCE. The mature phase of earlier village cultures is represented by Rehman Dheri and Amri in Pakistan. Kot Diji represents the phase leading up to Mature Harappan, with

7636-568: Was "a fusion of the Bagor, Hakra, and Kot Diji traditions or 'ethnic groups' in the Ghaggar-Hakra valley on the borders of India and Pakistan". Also, according to a more recent summary by Maisels (2003), "The Harappan oecumene formed from a Kot Dijian/ Amri-Nal synthesis". He also says that, in the development of complexity, the site of Mohenjo-daro has priority, along with the Hakra-Ghaggar cluster of sites, "where Hakra wares actually precede

7728-618: Was Harappa, a metropolis of the Indus civilisation in the valley of Indus's tributary, the Ravi river . Masson made copious notes and illustrations of Harappa's rich historical artifacts, many lying half-buried. In 1842, Masson included his observations of Harappa in the book Narrative of Various Journeys in Baluchistan, Afghanistan, and the Punjab . He dated the Harappa ruins to a period of recorded history, erroneously mistaking it to have been described earlier during Alexander's campaign. Masson

7820-485: Was built on with simple residential buildings. Period V was very poorly preserved due to the erosion of the excavation area. On the main hill, on the remains of the old palace, a large building was erected (called the Monument Massif by the excavators), with the old structures buried and partially preserved under the new and very massive building. A monumental ramp that led to a platform was still preserved during

7912-499: Was found in Banawali , which was probably used for testing the purity of gold (such a technique is still used in some parts of India). The people of the Indus civilisation achieved great accuracy in measuring length, mass, and time. They were among the first to develop a system of uniform weights and measures. A comparison of available objects indicates large scale variation across the Indus territories. Their smallest division, which

8004-407: Was impressed by the site's extraordinary size and by several large mounds formed from long-existing erosion. Two years later, the Company contracted Alexander Burnes to sail up the Indus to assess the feasibility of water travel for its army. Burnes, who also stopped in Harappa, noted the baked bricks employed in the site's ancient masonry, but noted also the haphazard plundering of these bricks by

8096-594: Was introduced full-fledged from Near-East to South Asia," and the similarities between Neolithic sites from eastern Mesopotamia and the western Indus valley, which are evidence of a "cultural continuum" between those sites. But given the originality of Mehrgarh, Jarrige concludes that Mehrgarh has an earlier local background, and is not a "'backwater' of the Neolithic culture of the Near East". Lukacs and Hemphill suggest an initial local development of Mehrgarh, with

8188-469: Was only excavated in the central mound (area A). It probably dates to the fifth millennium BC. Period I was divided into five layers by the excavator (Period I, layers 1–5). The first evidence of permanent buildings comes from layer 3. House floor plans have only been preserved for layers 4 and 5. In these layers the buildings were rather simple. These are rectangular adobe residential buildings that consisted of one to three small rooms. The ceramic from Period I

8280-694: Was roughly contemporary with the other riverine civilisations of the ancient world: Ancient Egypt along the Nile , Mesopotamia in the lands watered by the Euphrates and the Tigris , and China in the drainage basin of the Yellow River and the Yangtze . By the time of its mature phase, the civilisation had spread over an area larger than the others, which included a core of 1,500 kilometres (900 mi) up

8372-500: Was then the Punjab province of British India and is now Punjab, Pakistan . The discovery of Harappa and soon afterwards Mohenjo-daro was the culmination of work that had begun after the founding of the Archaeological Survey of India in the British Raj in 1861. There were earlier and later cultures called Early Harappan and Late Harappan in the same area. The early Harappan cultures were populated from Neolithic cultures,

8464-567: Was thought that around 2200 BCE, both Shahr-i-Sokhta and Mundigak started declining, with considerable shrinkage in area and with brief occupation at later dates. During the French Archaeological Mission (MAI) excavations from 1951 to 1958 in ten campaigns under the direction of Jean Marie Casal with the support of the DAFA , different levels of settlement could be distinguished. The excavations took place in eleven places in

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