Evolution

Blog posts relating to the evolution of the ancient Indus Valley civilization society and practices.

Interaction Networks of the Ravi Phase

Sir Mortimer Wheeler noted that "Harappa has produced a hint of an antecedent culture... " The so-called Ravi Phase, an early phase of Indus culture (c. 3300-2800 BCE), elaborated by discoveries in the late 1990's by HARP (the Harappa Archaeological Research Project led by Jonathan Mark Kenoyer, Richard H. Meadow and Rita P. Wright) suggests that even before the the full ancient Indus civilization phase at Harappa, raw materials such as agate, lapis lazuli, steatite, marine shell and copper were transformed into ornaments and tools for local trade. For more see Around the Indus in 90 Slides 2.

Lothal Sanitation

Lothal's sophisticated sanitary and drainage system was a hallmark of ancient Indus cities. All of Lothal's drainage channels met at right angles, engineered with several steps to separate solid and liquid wastes.

Indus City Layers

How old are ancient Indus cities? Excavations at Harappa show activity going back to approximately 3500 BCE, as do excavations at Mohenjo-daro. Neither site has been fully excavated, however. Attempts to go deep at Mohenjo-daro failed. As Sir Mortimer Wheeler wrote, "The lower level of excavations at Mohenjo-daro have never been reached by excavation due to difficulties of a high water-table. The two photographs illustrate an attempt made with pumps in 1950 to reach the lower levels and the subsequent flooding which happened overnight." (Civilizations of the Indus Valley and Beyond, p. 73).

Lothal and Mohenjo-daro: 3 Similarities

1. "The word 'Lothal' in Gujarati formed by combining the words Loth and thal (sthal) means 'the mound of the dead'. The word 'Mohenjodaro' in Sindhi also conveys the same meaning." (S.R. Rao, Lothal, p. 18). 2. "Wheeler had also observed that even during the occupation of the citadel [of Mohenjo-daro] the rising water-table had posed a problem and necessitated protecting the platform by a mud-brick embankment or bund, 13 metres-wide, at an early date of the occupation of the city.

Mohenjo-daro Stupa Mound: Before and After Excavations

The color photograph is a slightly expanded view of the same area from the same angle. The stupa is to the right outside the frame of John Marshall’s original photograph from the 1920's. The new photograph was taken by Mark Kenoyer on Dec. 8, 2013, when Sindh had a Culture Day celebration, and thousands of people were visiting Mohenjo-daro to express their cultural pride in their Sindhi heritage. They were carrying flags and wearing Sindhi ajraks and dancing and singing all over the campus, the museum and the site.

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