Ancient Indus questions answered by Dr. Shereen Ratnagar, was Professor of Archaeology at Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi, India and is now an independent scholar noted for her work on investigating the apparent decline of Indus Civilization. She is author of Trading Encounters and End of the Great Harappan Tradition. She has numerous articles on this website.
Professor Ratnagar critiques environmental theories as the sole explanation for the End of the Harappan Tradition, and suggests political collapse of the state is a crucial consideration. >
"In a city like Mohenjo-daro, the excavators have said that the thick-walled houses could have taken an upper storey; there were several rooms and courtyards to a house, but whether each of these was the space for specific activities, we don’t know."
What in your view are the most exciting, significant or illuminating insights gained? What avenues would you like to explore in future asssuming absolutely no practical or financial constraints whatsoever? Submitted by Paul Toth and Gharial Abramnova from school student questions
Harappan Civilisation is often characterised (for example by the Director of the British Museum on a Radio 4 series) or even idealised as peaceful and without warfare or conquest, (in comparison with all other First Civilisations) with its cities linked across vast regions and unified (variously) by trade and/or religion. Rulers have even been said to be priests or a theocracy. These interpretations are often presented as facts in books or articles for general consumption.
