The Rise of Harrapan Civilization
Going back as far as 5,000 B.C.E., evidence of what would become known as the Harrapan Civilization can be found in the Indus Valley region. Thousands of years of continued occupation and refinement of agriculture, animal husbandry and other technologies gave rise to large population centers along the Indus and Saraswati rivers. These rivers provided a rich alluvial soil that made the area extremely fertile for farming. The waterways also provided easy routes for river-barge commerce which became a hallmark of Harrapan Culture.
Harrapa and Mohenjo-Daru
The two best known sites of the ancient Indus Valley Civilization are Harrapa, from whence the culture gets its name, and Mohenjo-daru, a city located near the Persian Gulf and ideally suited as an overseas trade hub. Although extensive archaeological evidence has been recovered at these sites, their language remains to be translated. Without textual knowledge, much of the workings of this civilization are lost to history . However, the evidence that does exist demonstrates a thriving culture with distinct similarities and differences when compared to others from this period.
Similar to the ancient river based cultures of Mesopotamia and Egypt, elements of the Harrapan Era can still be witnessed in use today. This includes the river barges used to convey cargo, as well as ornamental jewelry such as bangles and nose rings. These cities also shared a common component with other river borne civilizations, that being the use of bricks for extensive building projects.
One of the unique qualities of Harrapan Civilization is the apparent absence of any palatial compounds or other evidence of privileged elites. This is coupled with a lack of evidence of conquest or large scale warfare. There was, however, some degree of social stratification as both single family as well as tenement size structures have been identified.
Ancient Trade Network
The Harrapan Civilization is known to have developed in its own region with a focus on commerce. Overland through mountain passes, and along the Indus and Saraswati rivers, trade goods were moved both within the region and as part of a trade network that may have reached as far as Egypt.
Regionally, the Harrapan civilization extended over 500,000 square miles across which more than 1,500 sites have been identified. By the time of the civilization's apex, it had launched such ventures as the ambitious colony of Shortughai, located in the Amu Dar’yu Valley in Afghanistan. This city was positioned to control the flow of lapis-lazuli which was a prized trade commodity.
Both the archaeological and textual records offer evidence of long standing commercial contact between the Harrapan Civilization and Ancient Mesopotamia and Syria. Finds such as a Harrapan cylinder seal at the site of Elba show that there was a cultural as well as a commercial exchange. For centuries this trade network connected the ancient world and Harrapan culture thrived. A legacy of Harrapan commercial ability is reflected in the system of weights and measures that has been handed down to the modern world in the form of the decimal system.
For unknown reasons the Indus Valley was largely abandoned by 1900 B.C.E. and the flow of goods stopped along the extent of the Persian Gulf. Although theories involving a series of natural disasters that caused the population to leave the region have gained some acceptance, more work remains before modern scholars can understand what befell the once thriving Harrapan Civilization.
Sources:
Sardesai, D.R. India: The Definitive History,(Westview Press, Boulder, 2008.)
Roaf, Michael, Cultural Atlas of Mesopotamia, (Andromeda, Oxfordshire, 2004)
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