When did the Harappan civilization exist? The Harappan civilization is the cradle of Indian culture.

Background

Writing

Ethnic and genetic affiliation

The issue of ethnicity has not been resolved, most often a connection with the speakers of the Dravidian languages was assumed. At the same time, linguistic data indicate that representatives of three ethnolinguistic groups contacted each other in northern and northwestern India: Proto-Indian, Proto-Austronesian and Proto-Sino-Tibetan.

The area of civilization distribution correlates well with the distribution of the Y-haplogroup L, as well as with the area of the highest diversity of the Y-haplogroup R1a1a (M17) associated with the Indo-Aryans.

Some well-known modern scientists adhere to the hypotheses of the Indo-Aryan roots of the Harrap civilization: the Flemish Indologist Konrad Elst, the German-Canadian Indologist Klaus Klostermeier, the Indian author and researcher Shrikant Talageri, and the Indian archaeologist BB Lal. This hypothesis is also popularized by British journalist and researcher Graham Hancock.

Excavations and monuments

The first chance finds related to ancient civilization Indus, came across to Europeans from the middle of the XIX century, but for science the proto-Indian civilization was discovered by the Indian archaeologists R.B.Sakhni and R.D.Banerjee in the early 1920s. Then began the systematic excavation of the hills of Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa, which continued until the late 1960s (with a break, which was associated with the outbreak of World War II). At the same time, excavations were going on in other places - Kot-Diji (1955-1957), Amri (1959-1961), Kalibangan, Lothal, Rangpur, Allahdino and the Pakistani part of the Thar desert. By the end of the twentieth century, archaeologists have discovered about 1000 settlements belonging to Harappan culture... Among the numerous cities and settlements, two centers were best explored - Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa. List of archaeological sites of the Indian civilization:

Notes (edit)

Literature

History the ancient East, v. 1.M. 1986.
Albedil M.F. Forgotten civilization in the Indus Valley. - SPb. : Science, St. Petersburg. department, 1991 .-- 176 p. - (From the history of world culture). - 23,000 copies. - ISBN 5-02-027307-4

Links

The main archaeological cultures Bronze Age of Eurasia
Atlantic Europe	Argarian \| Artenakskaya \| Bronze Age of the Atlantic \| Bronze Age Britain (Deverell-Rimbery, Food Vessels, Wessex) \| Bronze Age of Scandinavia \| Bronze Age of Southwest Iberia \| Vila Nova de São Pedro \| Kogotas I \| Bell-shaped cups \| Montelavar \| Motillas
Italy and the Adriatic	Apennine \| Villanova \| Castelluccio \| Nuragic \| Terramar
Carpathians, Balkans and Crete	Vitenberg \| Monteoru \| Noua \| Ottoman \| Aegean (Cycladic, Minoan, Mycenaean, Hellenic, Western Anatolian)
Central Europe	Battle axes \| Zhutsevskaya \| Kurgan burials \| Luzhitskaya \| Fields of burial urns \| Tshinetskaya \| Unetitskaya
Forest belt of Eurasia	Abashevskaya \| Andronovskaya \| Belogrudovskaya \| Glazkovskaya \| Pozdnyakovskaya \| Mesh ceramics \| Sredneprovskaya \| Fatyanovskaya (Balanovskaya)
Eurasian steppe

Harappan civilization:

OK. 3500 BC NS. - settlements of farmers appear in the Indus Valley.
OK. 2500-1800 biennium BC NS. - the highest flourishing of civilization in the Indus Valley.
OK. 1500 BC NS. - the invasion of the Aryans.

From about 1800 BC NS. civilization in the Indus Valley begins to decline. Nobody really knows the answer to the question of why this happened.

It is officially believed that the decline of the Harappan civilization is associated with climate change, drought and cold. Perhaps the fertile soil was depleted as a result of its merciless use and excessive destruction of forests. Or maybe the reason is the discord between the cities.

Nevertheless, there are researchers (for example, D. Davenport) who believe that traces of the destruction of one of the main cities of the Harappan civilization, Mohenjo-Daro, can be interpreted as traces of a serious military defeat that occurred 2000 BC. He notes the green glass formed by the melting of sand and clay from temperatures in the order of 1500 - 2000 ° C; skeletons with traces of increased radiation by 50 times. Studying the ruins of buildings in the city, he determined the center of the main explosion, the diameter of which is about 50 m. Many buildings were destroyed by the shock wave that came from above. From the position of the skeletons, it can be seen that death fell upon the townspeople suddenly.

There is also an opinion about the impact of catastrophic natural processes (natural disasters) on the Harappan civilization. The ancient epicenter of the earthquake was discovered 140 km south of Mohenjo-Daro. The catastrophic discharge of rocks, which occurred during the earthquake, blocked the flow of the river. Ind. The water overflowed, flooding the valley. The settlements were buried under a multi-meter layer of sand and silt. The American scientist D. Rakes established five such floods. Each flood lasted for several decades. The inhabitants of ancient cities tried to build dams. The struggle with the forces of nature undermined their economy, and later, under the onslaught of the Aryan tribes, the Harappan civilization perished.

Aryan invasion

Ultimately, the Indus Valley region was invaded by a people known as the Aryans, who spoke Aryan dialects. This people appeared in the valley of the river. Indus from 1500 to 1200 BC. Here the Aryans destroyed the conquered Harappan civilization and spread across the lands of Hindustan. They brought with them a new one way of life.

The emergence of the Aryan peoples contributed to the formation of castes and estates. The first period of Aryan India is held under the rule of the priests - the Brahmins, who declared themselves living gods.

Thus, the Vedic civilization arose in India after the Harappan civilization, at least a thousand years. Although, according to the Hindus themselves, based on the content of the Vedic books, her birth dates back to 7 thousand BC.

Indus Valley Cities

By about 2500 BC. NS. in the Indus Valley there were more than a hundred settlements and cities. The two most populous were Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa.

Inside the walled city fortress were the most important public buildings. Houses in the cities of the Harappan civilization were built of mud bricks. The house was built around an open courtyard. In the summer, people slept on the roof. The toilet was connected to a sewer that ran under the street and was periodically cleaned by people.

The streets in the cities of the Indus Valley were perfectly straight. Bulls pulled carts along them. On the streets, traders sold various goods: beads, fabrics, etc.

Mohenjo-daro city

As with other cities in the Indus Valley, Mohenjo-Daro's development plan was carefully thought out. In the center of it there was a fortress wall, which was built on a huge, hand-made hill. Another defensive wall surrounded the city.

Great bath

In Mohenjo-Daro, inside the fortress, there was a huge swimming pool. Perhaps the clergy and rulers washed in it before the religious rites.

Giant Granary

Farmers in Mohenjo-Daro had to give part of their harvest to the city. The grain was kept behind the fortress wall, in a huge barn. It could come in handy in a lean year or in case the flood period turns out to be short. Material from the site

Agriculture

The land in the Indus Valley was suitable for farming. As in Sumer and Ancient egypt, the river overflowed here every year. The flood also helped farmers in these parts to increase their harvests.

Soon there was no need for everyone to cultivate the land. Some of the former farmers could do other work.

People built cities, mastered new crafts and started trading.

Trade

It is known that the inhabitants of the Indus Valley traded with the Sumerians: their beads and pottery were found there. They also sold wool, cotton and various spices.

Crafts

Potters made vessels for cooking food, jugs for storing food or oil, bowls, and toys for children. Beads for necklaces and bracelets were made of gold, clay and semi-precious stones. Farmers of the Indus Valley were the first to grow cotton and weave fabric from it. Stone carvers made carved seals with inscriptions and images of animals. The merchants may have had a personal seal to seal the purchased goods. Until now, no one has been able to decipher the writing from the Indus Valley.

Pictures (photos, drawings)

Indus Valley Map
An ordinary street in Mohenjo-daro. Part of one house is given in a section: this allows you to see how it was arranged from the inside
Great Bath at Mohenjo-Daro
This statuette probably depicts a priest or ruler of one of the cities.
Giant Granary at Mohenjo-Daro
Indus Valley Vessel
Toys in the form of a pig (left) and a bull (right)
Necklace
Picking cotton
Stone carved seal depicting a humpbacked bull

March 24th, 2013

Oriental studies as a science originated in XVI-XVII centuries when the countries of Europe embarked on the path of colonial conquests, although the acquaintance of Europeans with the Arab world took place many centuries ago. But Egyptology arose much later - the date of its birth is considered to be 1822, when the French scientist Champollion deciphered the system of Egyptian hieroglyphic writing. And only relatively recently, in 1922, archaeologists first began to explore the territory along the banks of the Indus River. And immediately there was a sensation: a previously unknown ancient civilization was discovered. It was called the Harappan civilization - after one of its main cities - Harappa.

When Indian archaeologists D.R.Sakhin and R.D.Banerjee were finally able to look at the results of their excavations, they saw the red-brick ruins of the oldest city in India belonging to the proto-Indian civilization, a city quite unusual for the time of its construction - 4.5 thousand years ago. It was planned with the greatest meticulousness: streets stretched as if along a ruler, houses are basically the same, in proportions reminiscent of cake boxes. But behind this "cake" shape, sometimes the following structure was hidden: in the center - a courtyard, and around it - four or six living rooms, a kitchen and a room for ablution (houses with this layout are found mainly in Mohenjo-Daro, the second big city). Spans for stairs preserved in some houses suggest that two-story houses were also built. The main streets were ten meters wide, the network of thoroughfares obeyed a single rule: some went strictly from north to south, and transverse ones - from west to east.

But this monotonous city, like a chessboard, provided its inhabitants with conveniences unheard of in those days. Ditches flowed along all the streets, and from them water was supplied to houses (although wells were found near many of them). But what is even more important - each house was connected with a sewage system, laid underground in pipes made of baked bricks and leading all sewage outside the city limits. This was an ingenious engineering solution that allowed large masses of people to gather in a rather limited space: in the city of Harappa, for example, at times up to 80,000 people lived. The instinct of the then city planners is truly amazing! Knowing nothing about pathogenic bacteria, especially active in warm climates, but possessing, probably, the accumulated experience of observations, they protected the settlements from the spread of the most dangerous diseases.

And other protection from natural adversity was invented by ancient builders. Like the early great civilizations born on the banks of rivers - Egypt on the Nile, Mesopotamia on the Tigris and Euphrates, China on the Yellow and Yangtze - Harappa originated in the Indus Valley, where soils were highly fertile. But on the other hand, these very places have always suffered from high floods, reaching 5-8 meters in the flat course of the river. To save cities from spring waters, in India they were built on brick platforms ten meters in height or even higher. And yet cities were built in short term, for several years.

The first inhabitants of the Indus River Valley were nomadic tribes who gradually settled and engaged in agriculture and cattle breeding. Conditions for urbanization and the emergence of urban culture were gradually created. Since 3500 BC on the territory of the Indus river valley, large cities with a population of up to 50,000 people arise. The cities of the Harappan civilization had a strict layout of streets and houses, a sewage system and were perfectly adapted for life. Their design was so perfect that it did not change for a millennium! In its development, the Indus Valley Civilization was not inferior to the great civilizations of that time. A brisk trade was carried out from the cities with Mesopotamia, the Sumerian kingdom and Central Asia, and a unique system of measures and weights was used.

Archaeological finds also testify to the rather high culture of the "Harappans". There were found terracotta and bronze figurines, models of carts, seals, jewelry. These findings are the oldest artifacts of Indian culture. By the beginning of the second millennium BC, the Indus Valley Civilization fell into decay and disappeared from the face of the earth for unknown reasons.

In the early twenties of the now last century, the Indian scientist R. Sakhni led the first expedition to the Indus delta to find the ruins of a temple that belonged to the most ancient deity - "old Shiva". The temple was mentioned in many legends of the Ho people, whose possessions in ancient times bordered on the territory belonging to the northern Maharaj. Myths talked about "mountains of heavenly gold stored in the dungeons of the temple" ... So the incentive to dig in the swampy ground was still considerable.

Imagine the surprise of Sakhni when his people began to dig out of the ground entire city blocks of high-rise buildings, imperial palaces, huge statues of bronze and pure iron. From under the shovels appeared the pavements, equipped with deep grooves for the wheels of carriages, gardens, parks, yards and wells. Closer to the outskirts, luxury diminished: here one- and two-story buildings of four or six rooms with a toilet were grouped around central courtyards with wells. The city was surrounded by a wall of rough, rough, but very tightly adjoining stones, alternating with the laying of adobe bricks. The citadel was an even higher and more solid stronghold, equipped with several towers. In the imperial chambers, a real and very cleverly designed water supply system was equipped - and this was three and a half thousand years before the laws of hydraulics were discovered by Pascal!

Excavations of huge libraries, represented by depositories of stearin tablets with pictograms that have not yet been deciphered, caused considerable surprise. There were also kept images and figurines of animals, which also had mysterious letters. Experts, who have established some periodicity of signs, came to the conclusion that a rhymed epic or religious prayers in verse was recorded here. Among the found metal items were copper and bronze knives, sickles, chisels, saws, swords, shields, arrowheads and spearheads. No iron items were found. Obviously, people had not yet learned how to mine it by that time (And in the previous paragraph it was said that statues made of iron were found! That means they knew how to mine! And melt! And make statues !!! - D.B.). It came to Earth only with meteorites and was considered a sacred metal, along with gold. Gold served as a setting for ritual objects and women's jewelry.

In the best years of the Harappan civilization, smaller settlements grew like mushrooms around the cities of Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro - there were about 1400 of them. To date, excavations have liberated only one tenth of the area of the two ancient capitals. However, it has already been established that the monotony of buildings is broken in some places. In Dolavir, lying to the east of the Indus Delta, archaeologists have discovered ornate gates, arches with colonnades, in Mohenjo-Daro - the so-called "Great Pool", surrounded by a veranda with columns and rooms, probably for undressing.

Townspeople

The archaeologist L. Gottrell, who worked in Harappa in 1956, believed that in such barracks cities you can find not people, but disciplined ants. "In this culture," wrote the archaeologist, "there was little joy, but a lot of work, and the material played a predominant role." However, the scientist was wrong. The strength of the Harappan society was precisely the urban population. According to the conclusions of today's archaeologists, the city, despite its architectural impersonality, was inhabited by people who did not suffer from melancholy, but, on the contrary, were distinguished by enviable vitality and hard work.

What did the inhabitants of Harappa do? The face of the city was defined by merchants and artisans. Here they spun yarn from wool, weaved, made earthenware - in terms of strength it approaches a stone, cut into bone, made jewelry. Blacksmiths worked with copper and bronze, forged tools from it, surprisingly strong for this alloy, almost like steel. They knew how to heat treatment to give certain minerals such a high hardness that they could drill holes in carnelian beads. The products of the then masters had already a unique appearance, a kind of ancient Indian design that has survived to this day. For example, today in the peasant houses located in the excavation areas of Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro, there are things in the household that amazed archaeologists with their "proto-Indian" appearance. This circumstance only underlines the words of the founder of the Indian state, J. Nehru: "Over the five millennia of history of invasions and coups, India has maintained a continuous cultural tradition."

What is the basis of this consistency? Anthropologist G. Possel from the University of Pennsylvania (USA) came to the conclusion that this is the result of the combination in the character of the ancient Hindus of such qualities as prudence, peacefulness and sociability. No other historical civilization has combined these features.
Between 2600 and 1900 BC NS. the society of merchants and artisans is flourishing. The country then covers more than one million square kilometers. Sumer and Egypt, taken together, were half the size.

It was not by chance that the proto-Indian civilization arose on the shores of the Indus. As in Egypt and Mesopotamia, the river was the basis of life: it brought fertile silt from the upper reaches and, leaving it on the vast banks of the floodplain, maintained the high fertility of the land. People began to engage in agriculture in the ninth-seventh millennia. Now they no longer had to hunt or gather edible greens from morning to night; a person had time for reflection, for the manufacture of more advanced tools. Stable harvests have given people the opportunity to develop. A division of labor arose: one plowed the land, the other made stone tools, the third exchanged artisan products in neighboring communities for something that his fellow tribesmen did not produce.

This Neolithic revolution took place on the banks of the Nile, Tigris and Euphrates, Yellow River and Indus. Archaeologists in India have unearthed its late phase - when Harappa and other cities reached a certain perfection. People engaged in rural labor by this time had already learned how to cultivate many crops: wheat, barley, millet, peas, sesame seeds (here is the birthplace of cotton and rice). They raised chickens, goats, sheep, pigs, cows and even zebu, engaged in fishing and collected edible fruits grown by nature itself.

The well-being of the Harappan civilization was based on highly productive agriculture (two harvests per year) and cattle breeding. An artificial canal with a length of 2.5 kilometers opened in Lothal suggests that an irrigation system was used in agriculture.

One of the researchers of Ancient India, the Russian scientist A. Ya. Shchetenko, defines this period as follows: thanks to "magnificent alluvial soils, a humid tropical climate and proximity to the advanced foci of agriculture in western Asia, already in the IV-III millennia BC. The population of the Indus Valley is significantly ahead of in the progressive development of southern neighbors. "

Riddles of letters

The society of merchants and artisans, apparently, did not have either a monarch or priests at its head: in cities there are no luxurious buildings intended for those who stand above the common people. There are no magnificent grave monuments, even remotely resembling Egyptian pyramids its scale. Surprisingly, this civilization did not need an army, it did not have campaigns of conquest, but it seems that it had no one to defend against. As far as can be judged from the excavations carried out, the inhabitants of Harappa had no weapons. They lived in an oasis of peace - this is in perfect agreement with the characteristics of the customs of the ancient Hindus, given above.

Print with a picture of a unicorn and hieroglyphs.

Some researchers associate the absence of fortresses and palaces in cities with the fact that ordinary citizens also took part in decisions that were important for society. On the other hand, numerous finds of stone seals depicting all kinds of animals indicate that the rule was oligarchic, it was divided among themselves by clans of merchants and landowners. But this point of view is to some extent contradicted by another conclusion of archaeologists: in the excavated dwellings, they did not find signs of wealth or poverty of the owners. So maybe writing can answer these questions?

Scientists studying the history of ancient India find themselves in a worse position than their counterparts concerned with the past of Egypt and Mesopotamia. In the last two civilizations, writing appeared many hundreds of years earlier than in Harappa. But it's not only that. Harappan letters are extremely stingy and, it is not enough to say, are laconic, drawing signs, that is, hieroglyphs, are used in the inscriptions in literal units - 5-6 hieroglyphs per text. The longest text was found recently, it has 26 characters. Meanwhile, inscriptions on household pottery objects are quite common, and this suggests that literacy was not the lot of only a select few. The main thing, however, is that the decoders are still ahead: the language is not known, and the writing system is not yet known either.

All the more important for the present stage work acquires the study of found objects of material culture. For example, a graceful figurine of a dancing woman fell into the hands of archaeologists. This gave rise to one of the historians to assume that the city loved music and dancing. Usually, this kind of action is associated with the administration of religious rites. But what is the role of the "Great Pool" opened at Mohenjo-Daro? Was it a bathhouse for residents, or was it a place for religious worship? Unable to answer even this important question: did the townspeople worship the same gods, or did each group have its own special god? Ahead - new excavations.

Neighbors

Archaeologists have a rule: to look for traces of its ties with the neighbors of the country under study. The Harappan civilization found itself in Mesopotamia - its merchants visited the banks of the Tigris and Euphrates. This is indicated by the indispensable companions of the merchant - weights. The Harappan type of weight has been standardized, so the weights from these locations are similar to tagged atoms. They are found in many places on the coast of the Arabian Sea, and if you move to the north, then on the shores of the Amu Darya. The presence of Indian merchants here is also confirmed by the found seals of the Harappan merchants (this is indicated in his book "Forgotten Civilization in the Indus Valley" by Doctor of Historical Sciences IF Albedil). In the Sumerian cuneiforms, the overseas country Melukh, or Melukha, is mentioned; today's archeology identifies this name with Harappa.

In one of the bays of the Arab Sea, recently during excavations, they found the port city of Lothal, which belonged to the Harappan complex. There was a shipyard, a grain warehouse and a pearl workshop.

Bulls harnessed to a cart. Children's toy found in the excavations of the Harappan civilization.

By the middle of the 20th century, the excavations began to decline. However, the researchers' curiosity did not run out. After all, the main mystery remained unresolved: what was the reason for the death of a great and formidable civilization?
About thirty years ago, New York City researcher William Fairservice claimed he was able to recognize some of the Harappan script found in the Metropolitan Library. And seven years later, Indian scientists tried to combine what they read with the ancient legends of the peoples of India and Pakistan, after which they came to interesting conclusions.

It turns out that Harappa originated long before the third millennium. On its territory there were at least three warring states - carriers of different and cultures. The strong fought against the weak, so in the end there were only rival countries with the administrative centers in Mohend Daro, Harappa. The long war ended with an unexpected peace, and the kings shared power. Then the most powerful of them killed the rest and thus appeared before the face of the gods. Soon the villain was found killed, and the royal power passed into the hands of the high priest. Thanks to contacts with the "supreme mind," the priests passed on useful knowledge to people.

In just a couple of years (!), The inhabitants of Harappa were already using huge flour mills, grain storage conveyors, foundries, and sewers with might and main. Carts drawn by elephants moved along the streets of the cities. V large cities there were theaters, museums and even circuses with wild animals! In the last period of Harappa's existence, its inhabitants learned how to mine charcoal and build primitive boiler houses. Now almost every city dweller could take a hot bath! The townspeople mined natural phosphorus and used some plants to illuminate their homes. They were familiar with winemaking and opium smoking, as well as the full range of amenities offered by civilization.

A sculpture from Mohenjo-Daro, where the people lived, apparently, they did not know the rulers and priests.

What kind of goods did the proto-Indian merchants carry, for example, to Mesopotamia? Tin, copper, lead, gold, shells, pearls, and ivory. All these expensive goods, as one might think, were intended for the court of the ruler. The merchants also acted as intermediaries. They sold copper from Baluchistan, a country west of the Harappan civilization, gold, silver and lapis lazuli bought in Afghanistan. They brought construction timber from the Himalayas on oxen.

In the 19th century BC. NS. the proto-Indian civilization ceased to exist. At first, it was believed that she died from the aggression of the Vedo-Aryan tribes, who plundered farmers and merchants. But archeology has shown that the cities freed from the sediments do not bear signs of struggle and destruction by the barbarian invaders. Moreover, recent studies by historians have found that the Vedo-Aryan tribes at the time of the death of Harappa were far from these places.

The extinction of civilization occurred, most likely, due to natural causes. Climate change or earthquakes could change the course of rivers or dry them out, and the soils were depleted. The farmers were no longer able to feed the cities, and the inhabitants left them. The huge socio-economic complex disintegrated into small groups. Written language and other cultural achievements were lost. Nothing suggests that the decline occurred overnight. Instead of the deserted cities in the north and south, new settlements appeared at this time, people moved east, to the Ganges valley.

A female figurine discovered by archaeologists.

There is also such an unpopular opinion:

They explained this in different ways: floods, a sharp deterioration in the climate, epidemics, invasions of enemies. However, the flood version was soon ruled out, because in the ruins of cities and layers of soil there were no signs of the rampant elements. The versions about epidemics were not confirmed either. Conquest was also ruled out, since there were no traces of the use of cold weapons on the skeletons of the inhabitants of Harappa. One thing was clear: the suddenness of the disaster. And just recently, scientists Vincenti and Davenport put forward a new hypothesis: civilization died from atomic explosion caused by aerial bombardment!

The entire center of the city of Mohenjo-Daro was destroyed so that there was no stone left over. The pieces of clay found there looked melted, and structural analysis showed that the reflow occurred at a temperature of about 1600 degrees! Skeletons of people were found on the streets, in houses, in basements and even in underground tunnels. Moreover, the radioactivity of many of them exceeded the norm by more than 50 times! In the ancient Indian epic there are many legends about a terrible weapon, "sparkling like fire, but having no smoke." The explosion, after which the sky is covered with darkness, is replaced by hurricanes, "bringing evil and death." The clouds and the earth - all this mixed together, in chaos and madness, even the sun began to walk quickly in a circle! Elephants, scorched by the flames, rushed about in horror, the water boiled, the fish were charred, and the warriors rushed into the water to wash away the "deadly dust" ...

However, the following research results have recently appeared:

In a publication on the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution's website, "Climate change led to the collapse of the ancient Indus civilization, the study finds," Liviu Jiosan, research leader and lead author, geologist at the institute, says: "We have restored the dynamic landscape of the plain where the Indus civilization formed 5,200 years ago. , built its cities, and then slowly faded away somewhere from 3900 to 3000 years ago. ancient culture and a mighty, life-giving river.

Today, the remains of the Harappan settlements are located in a vast desert region far from rivers. "

During archaeological research in Pakistan and India, a complex urban culture with many inland trade routes, sea links with Mesopotamia, unique building structures, sewers, highly developed arts and crafts and writing.

Unlike the Egyptians and Mesopotamians who used irrigation systems, the Harappans relied on a gentle, reliable monsoon cycle. Monsoons filled local rivers and springs. It was a "moderate civilization" - as the researchers call it for its balance climatic conditions, explains the author of a blog on the New York Times website.

But after two thousand years, the climatic window for agricultural stability closed. A dramatic climate change has buried this ancient civilization.

Scientists from the United States, Great Britain, Pakistan, India and Romania specializing in geology, geomorphology, archeology and mathematics conducted research in Pakistan in 2003-2008. The researchers combined satellite imagery data and topographic maps and also collected soil and sediment samples from the Indus delta and its tributaries. The data obtained made it possible to recreate the picture of changes in the landscape of this region over the past 10 thousand years.

New research shows that the decrease in monsoon rainfall has weakened the dynamics of the Indus River and played a critical role in both the development and decay of the Harappan culture.

Before the plain began to be massively populated, the wild and strong Indus and its tributaries flowing from the Himalayas cut deep valleys, leaving high areas in the interfluves. The existence of deep rivers was also supported by monsoon rains. The result was a hilly plain with heights of 10 to 20 meters, a width of more than one hundred kilometers and a length of almost a thousand kilometers - the so-called Indus mega-watershed formed by the river.

“Nothing of the kind has been described on such a scale in the geomorphological literature. The Mega Divide is a striking sign of the stability of the Indus flatland over the past four millennia. The remains of the Harappan settlements are still on the surface of the ridge, and not underground, ”geologist Liviu Jiosan is quoted as saying in a press release by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.

Over time, the monsoons weakened, the runoff from the mountains decreased, and the Indus subsided, allowing the establishment of agricultural settlements on the shores. For two thousand years, civilization flourished, but the climate in the region gradually became drier, and the favorable "window" eventually closed. People began to go east to the Ganges.

In parallel, the researchers managed, in their opinion, to clarify the fate of the mythical Saraswati River, according to the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution website. In the Vedas, the region west of the Ganges is described as "the land of seven rivers." It also speaks of a certain Saraswati, who "surpassed all other waters in her grandeur." Most scientists suspect that it comes about the Gaggar river. Today it flows only during strong monsoons along the dry Hakra valley.

Archaeological evidence suggests that this valley was densely populated during Harappan times. Geological evidence suggests that the river was large, but its bed was not as deep as that of the Indus and its tributaries, and there is no connection with the nearby rivers Sutlej and Yamuna, which are filled with water from the Himalayan glaciers, and the Vedas specify that Saraswati flowed precisely from the Himalayas.

A new study claims that these fundamental differences prove that Saraswati (Gaggar-Hakra) was filled not with Himalayan glaciers, but with perennial monsoons. With climate change, the rains have begun to bring less moisture, and the once full-flowing Saraswati River has turned into a seasonal mountain stream. 3900 years ago, rivers began to dry up and the Harappans began to move into the Ganges basin, where monsoon rains fell steadily.

“Thus the cities collapsed, but the small agricultural communities were resilient and prosperous. Much of urban art, such as writing, has disappeared, but Agriculture continued and, oddly enough, was diverse, ”Dorian Fuller of University College London quotes in his Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution study.

Liviu Jiosan, geologist at the Oceanographic Institute at Woods Hall, head of the study says a surprising amount of archaeological work has accumulated over the past decades, but has never been properly linked to the evolution of the river landscape.

“We now see the dynamics of the landscape as a link between climate change and people,” Liviu Jiosan notes in a piece published by the institute.

sources

Key words of the synopsis: Harappan civilization, Dravidians, Aryan invasion, Indo-Aryans, Aryans, Indo-Aryans, Sanskrit, stratification.

(middle of III - 1st half of II millennium BC) - the most ancient civilization of the Indus Valley. Named probably for the largest city - Harappa... Other famous centers were Mohenjo-Daro and Kalibangan). The Harappans built comfortable stone cities, primarily with a developed sewage system. Ethnically, the Harappans are often referred to as Dravidians - the modern non-Indo-European population of India.

The cities had regular buildings, rectangular blocks, water supply and sewerage systems. One- and two-story houses of 4-6 rooms with a toilet were usually grouped around a central courtyard and a well. The citadel of the city was fortified by a wall with towers. The ruins of seaports, border fortresses, the remains of rural settlements... The main building material - raw brick ... And also for the construction of the foundations of fortresses was used stone .

The backbone of the economy was cattle breeding (buffaloes, pigs) and irrigation agriculture ... The development of the craft is evidenced by the finds of copper and bronze tools (knives, sickles, chisels, saws and others), weapons (arrowheads and spearheads, short swords, etc.), and various ceramics. Finds of weights, things from the countries of Western Asia, and on the other hand - seals characteristic of Harappa in the cities of Mesopotamia indicate international trade relations carried out by caravan and, possibly, sea routes.

The spiritual sphere of the Harappians is not very well known; the most valuable source for the mythology of religion is seals with images of various deities and animals. For example, a cross-legged horned deity surrounded by animals, reminiscent of the Sumerian gods. Clay figurines from Harappan cities strongly resemble.

The funeral rite is of the Yamny type. The carriers of this culture worshiped the mother goddess, god - the prototype of Shiva, fire, trees, animals.

The decline of the Indian civilization falls on the XVIII-XV centuries BC. NS. At this time, the Dravidian population shifted to the southeast and lost its former level of development. It is likely that it was caused by the deterioration natural conditions, impoverishment and waterlogging of soils, the spread of malaria and other diseases.

The writing of the proto-Indian civilization remains undeciphered.

One of the branches of the Indo-European peoples language family, according to the most common version: they came to the Indian subcontinent from the northeast. Indo-Aryans (also Indo-Aryans), along with Iranians, is one of the two main aryan branches ... The speakers of the Gypsy dialects spread across the countries of the Middle East, Central Asia and Europe.

The history of the Indo-Aryans has undergone a large number of interpretations. For example, in the 19th century. the model was developed the Aryan invasion; according to which the indigenous population of the Indus Valley consisted of dark-skinned, peace-loving Dravidians, whose traces are imprinted in the remains of the Harappan civilization.

Around 1500 BC NS. India was invaded by the Aryan tribes, who probably came from the northeast. Their material level of development was significantly lower than the Harappan one, with two important exceptions. First, the Indo-Aryans, like other Indo-Europeans, used war chariots , which gave serious advantages over the clumsy armies of the ancient Eastern states. The second technical advantage was the possession bronze weapons - the famous battle axes. The warlike tribes of the Aryans began to invade the area of modern Punjab through the passes of the Hindu Kush. Their distinctive properties are a good knowledge of the art of war and poetic skill. White nomadic tribes brought with them a characteristic social stratification and Vedic literature in Sanskrit. The conquerors conquered the indigenous population, imposing their "Laws of Manu" .

Opponents of the invasion theory believe that the Aryan conquest never took place. They are based on a number of discoveries made by both Western and Indian scientists.

One way or another, the language of the Aryans was Sanskrit- the oldest surviving form once common language Indo-Europeans. All later Indo-European languages were derived from this single language, including Russian ... Until now, some Russian words have preserved Sanskrit roots. So, in the word "mother" one can guess the Sanskrit "mater", in the word "lion" - the Sanskrit "leu", in the word "snow" - the Sanskrit "sneig", etc.

This is a synopsis of the topic. Choose further actions:

Go to the next synopsis:

Oriental studies as a science originated in the 16th-17th centuries, when the countries of Europe embarked on the path of colonial conquests, although the acquaintance of Europeans with the Arab world took place many centuries ago. But Egyptology arose much later - the date of its birth is considered to be 1822, when the French scientist Champollion deciphered the system of Egyptian hieroglyphic writing. And only relatively recently, in 1922, archaeologists first began to explore the territory along the banks of the Indus River. And immediately there was a sensation: a previously unknown ancient civilization was discovered. It was called the Harappan civilization - after one of its main cities - Harappa.

When Indian archaeologists D.R.Sakhin and R.D.Banerjee were finally able to look at the results of their excavations, they saw the red-brick ruins of the oldest city in India belonging to the proto-Indian civilization, a city quite unusual for the time of its construction - 4.5 thousand years ago. It was planned with the greatest meticulousness: streets stretched as if along a ruler, houses are basically the same, in proportions reminiscent of cake boxes. But behind this "cake" shape, sometimes the following structure was hidden: in the center - a courtyard, and around it - four or six living rooms, a kitchen and a room for ablution (houses with this layout are found mainly in Mohenjo-Daro, the second big city) ... Spans for stairs preserved in some houses suggest that two-story houses were also built. The main streets were ten meters wide, the network of thoroughfares obeyed a single rule: some went strictly from north to south, and transverse ones - from west to east.

And other protection from natural adversity was invented by ancient builders. Like the early great civilizations born on the banks of rivers - Egypt on the Nile, Mesopotamia on the Tigris and Euphrates, China on the Yellow and Yangtze - Harappa originated in the Indus Valley, where soils were highly fertile. But on the other hand, these very places have always suffered from high floods, reaching 5-8 meters in the flat course of the river. To save cities from spring waters, in India they were built on brick platforms ten meters in height or even higher. And nevertheless, the cities were built in a short time, in a few years.

Townspeople

Riddles of letters

The society of merchants and artisans, apparently, did not have either a monarch or priests at its head: in cities there are no luxurious buildings intended for those who stand above the common people. There are no magnificent grave monuments, even remotely resembling the Egyptian pyramids in their scale. Surprisingly, this civilization did not need an army, it did not have campaigns of conquest, but it seems that it had no one to defend against. As far as can be judged from the excavations carried out, the inhabitants of Harappa had no weapons. They lived in an oasis of peace - this is in perfect agreement with the characteristics of the customs of the ancient Hindus, given above.

Print with a picture of a unicorn and hieroglyphs.

All the more important at the present stage of work is the study of the found objects of material culture. For example, a graceful figurine of a dancing woman fell into the hands of archaeologists. This gave rise to one of the historians to assume that the city loved music and dancing. Usually, this kind of action is associated with the administration of religious rites. But what is the role of the "Great Pool" opened at Mohenjo-Daro? Was it a bathhouse for residents, or was it a place for religious worship? It was not possible to answer such an important question: did the townspeople worship one god, or did each group have its own special god? Ahead - new excavations.

Neighbors

Bulls harnessed to a cart. Children's toy found in the excavations of the Harappan civilization.

In just a couple of years (!), The inhabitants of Harappa were already using huge flour mills, grain storage conveyors, foundries, and sewers with might and main. Carts pulled by elephants moved along the streets of the cities. In large cities, there were theaters, museums and even circuses with wild animals! In the last period of Harappa's existence, its inhabitants learned how to mine charcoal and build primitive boiler houses. Now almost every city dweller could take a hot bath! The townspeople mined natural phosphorus and used some plants to illuminate their homes. They were familiar with winemaking and opium smoking, as well as the full range of amenities offered by civilization.

A sculpture from Mohenjo-Daro, where the people lived, apparently, they did not know the rulers and priests.

A female figurine discovered by archaeologists.

There is also such an unpopular opinion:

The entire center of the city of Mohenjo-Daro was destroyed so that there was no stone left over. The pieces of clay found there looked melted, and the structural analysis showed that the melting occurred at a temperature of about 1600 degrees! Skeletons of people were found on the streets, in houses, in basements and even in underground tunnels. Moreover, the radioactivity of many of them exceeded the norm by more than 50 times! In the ancient Indian epic there are many legends about a terrible weapon, "sparkling like fire, but having no smoke." The explosion, after which the sky is covered with darkness, is replaced by hurricanes, "bringing evil and death." The clouds and the earth - all this mixed together, in chaos and madness, even the sun began to walk quickly in a circle! Elephants, scorched by the flames, rushed about in horror, the water boiled, the fish were charred, and the warriors rushed into the water to wash away the "deadly dust" ...

However, the following research results have recently appeared:

Today, the remains of the Harappan settlements are located in a vast desert region far from rivers. "

Archaeological research in Pakistan and India has revealed a complex urban culture with many inland trade routes, sea links with Mesopotamia, unique building structures, sewers, highly developed arts and crafts and writing.

Unlike the Egyptians and Mesopotamians who used irrigation systems, the Harappans relied on a gentle, reliable monsoon cycle. Monsoons filled local rivers and springs. It was a "moderate civilization" - as researchers call it for the balance of climatic conditions, explains the author of a blog on the New York Times website.

But after two thousand years, the climatic window for agricultural stability closed. A dramatic climate change has buried this ancient civilization.

Scientists from the United States, Great Britain, Pakistan, India and Romania specializing in geology, geomorphology, archeology and mathematics conducted research in Pakistan in 2003-2008. The researchers combined data from satellite photographs and topographic maps, and collected soil and sediment samples from the Indus delta and its tributaries. The data obtained made it possible to recreate the picture of changes in the landscape of this region over the past 10 thousand years.

New research shows that the decrease in monsoon rainfall has weakened the dynamics of the Indus River and played a critical role in both the development and decay of the Harappan culture.

In parallel, the researchers managed, in their opinion, to clarify the fate of the mythical Saraswati River, according to the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution website. In the Vedas, the region west of the Ganges is described as "the land of seven rivers." It also speaks of a certain Saraswati, who "surpassed all other waters in her grandeur." Most scientists suspect that this is the Gaggar River. Today it flows only during strong monsoons along the dry Hakra valley.

The new study argues that these fundamental differences prove that Saraswati (Gaggar Hakra) was not filled with Himalayan glaciers, but with perennial monsoons. With climate change, rains have begun to bring less moisture, and the once full-flowing Saraswati River has turned into a seasonal mountain stream. 3900 years ago, rivers began to dry up and the Harappans began to move into the Ganges basin, where monsoon rains fell steadily.

“Thus the cities collapsed, but the small agricultural communities were resilient and prosperous. Much urban art, such as writing, disappeared, but agriculture continued and, oddly enough, was diversified, ”Dorian Fuller of University College London quotes in his Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution study.

“We now see the dynamics of the landscape as a link between climate change and people,” Liviu Jiosan notes in a piece published by the institute.

When did the Harappan civilization exist? The Harappan civilization is the cradle of Indian culture.

Background

Writing

Ethnic and genetic affiliation

Excavations and monuments

see also

Notes (edit)

Literature

Links

Aryan invasion

Indus Valley Cities

Mohenjo-daro city

Great bath

Giant Granary

Agriculture

Trade

Crafts

Pictures (photos, drawings)

Indus Valley Map

An ordinary street in Mohenjo-daro. Part of one house is given in a section: this allows you to see how it was arranged from the inside

Great Bath at Mohenjo-Daro

This statuette probably depicts a priest or ruler of one of the cities.

Giant Granary at Mohenjo-Daro

Indus Valley Vessel

Toys in the form of a pig (left) and a bull (right)

Necklace

Picking cotton

Stone carved seal depicting a humpbacked bull