UPSC History Optional Answer writing

Model Answer

Approach

• The theme and central demand of the question is to provide a detailed evaluation for role of subsistence base in harappan or Indus valley civilisation (IVC) which acted as a base for creating urbanised civilisation.
• Elaborate on the nature of geographical area, subsistence base, its components and how they impacted the socio-economic arena of IVC.  
• Discuss the main factors which can be counted as an urbanised. Analyse IVC’s urbanisation and evaluate the role of diverse subsistence base for the same.
• Quote the works or observations of historians in this regard.
• Conclude presenting a balanced position.

The Harappan civilization covered an enormous area within which there was great ecological variety—alluvial plains, mountains, plateaux, and sea-coasts. The resource potential of this area was rich enough to generate the food surpluses that are an important aspect of urbanization.

The diversity of the subsistence base may also have been an important sustaining factor—if one food resource failed, people could turn to others. Agriculture was the mainstay, supplemented by animal husbandry and hunting. Riverine and marine food resources were tapped, where available.

The sources of information on the subsistence patterns of the Harappans consist of plant remains, animal bones, artefacts, motifs on seals and pottery, and analogies with modern practices.

Subsistence is closely related to environment, and the nature of the Harappan environment is the subject of continuing debate. Archaeologists such as Mortimer Wheeler and Stuart Piggott suggested a wetter climate in Harappan times on the basis of the following arguments:

(a)    The large number of burnt bricks found at Harappan sites would have required large quantities of fuel, which would only have been possible with a heavy forest cover, supported by heavier rainfall;

(b)    The gabarbands (embankments) constructed in the Baluchistan area suggest heavier rain;

(c)     The depiction of animals such as the tiger, elephant, and rhinoceros on seals indicates a forest and grassland vegetation that could only have been supported by heavier rainfall;

(d)    The elaborate drainage system of the cities was geared towards carrying off rain water. The first and last points can be refuted most easily. It is not easy to estimate just how much wood (and forest) would have been required to make the burnt bricks, and the Harappan drains were largely part of a system of sewage disposal.

• Many scholars hold that climatic conditions in the greater Indus valley have remained more or less constant since Harappan times. However, some studies suggest otherwise. Plant palynologist Gurdip Singh analysed pollen from the three salt lakes of Sambhar, Didwana, and Lunkaransar, and the freshwater Pushkar Lake, and constructed a profile of rainfall in this part of Rajasthan from c. 8000 BCE to 1500 BCE.
• He concluded that there was an increase in rainfall in c. 3000 BCE and a decrease in 1800 BCE. However, a recent study of the Lunkaransarlake suggests that it had dried up by 3500 BCE and that the climate had become drier long before the emergence of the Harappan civilization. The issue of the nature of climatic conditions in Harappan times thus remains unresolved.
• Given the area covered by the civilization, naturally there were regional variations in the plants grown by farmers. Wheat has been found at Mohenjodaro and Harappa; barley at Mohenjodaro, Harappa, and Kalibangan; and sesamum at Harappa. Harappa has also given evidence of watermelon seeds, peas, and dates. Rice occurs at Harappa, Kalibangan, Lothal, and Rangpur.
• Millets have been identified at Harappa, Surkotada, and Shortughai. The crop remains identified here included various types of barley, wheat, rice, horse gram, green gram, chickpea, field pea, grass pea, sesamum, melon, watermelon, date, grapes, and the earliest evidence of garlic.
• Apart from the wide range of cereals, pulses, vegetables, and fruits grown by the Harappans, another striking point is the similarity of the past and present plant economies in the various regions.
• Modern cropping practices provide some clues to protohistoric patterns. Today, in Sindh, rainfall levels are low, but the Indus brings down flood waters and silt. The fertile land requires no deep ploughing, irrigation or manuring. Sesamum and cotton were probably sown in June/July and reaped in September/October, as kharif (summer) crops.
• Crops such as wheat and barley would have been sown in November and reaped in March/April as rabi (winter) crops. In Gujarat, rice is a kharif crop, and it must have been so in Harappan times as well.
• Reference has already been made to the discovery of a ploughed field at early Harappan levels at Kalibangan. The continuing use of the plough into the mature Harappan phase can be inferred. Terracotta models of ploughs at Bahawalpur and Banawali give further evidence of the use of this implement. The fact that no actual ploughs have survived is no doubt because they were made of wood.
• Farmers must have built bunds (embankments) of mud or stone to divert river water, as they do today in areas like Baluchistan. Irrigation canals have been found at Shortughai. Fairservissuggested that a well and associated drains at Allahdino may represent an irrigation system, but the evidence is far from conclusive.
• Similarly, Leshnik’shypothesis that the dockyard at Lothal is actually an irrigation reservoir is not convincing. Even if the Harappans did dig canals in the alluvial plains, it would be very difficult to identify them.
• However, H. P. Francfort has identified remains of a small-scale canal network in the Haryana area, and some of the ancient canals traced in the GhaggarHakra plain may belong to the Harappan phase.
• Bones of wild animals have been found at Harappan sites. These include many varieties of deer, pig, boar, sheep, goat, ass, and pig. Bones of tortoise and fish have also been found. Rhinoceros bones occur only at Amri, although this animal is depicted on numerous seals and in terracotta figurines. Elephant and camel bones occur in very small quantities, although the elephant appears on seals. Tigers are represented often in figurines, leopards more rarely.
• Rabbits, peacocks, pigeons, ducks, monkeys, and wild fowl are represented in figurines and paintings on pottery. The Harappans exploited riverine and marine resources where these were available. At coastal sites in Gujarat, molluscs provided an important protein-rich element in people’s diet. The discovery of marine catfish bones at Harappa suggests that coastal communities may have traded in dried fish in inland cities.
• Harappan sites have also yielded remains of domesticated animals such as humped and humpless cattle, buffalo, sheep, and goat. Cattle and buffaloes were the most important domesticated animals. They would have been used for meat, milk, and also as draught animals.
• Goats and sheep could have been used for meat, wool, milk, and as pack animals (they are still used to carry loads of salt and grain in some of the Himalayan stretches).
• Earlier writings tended to contrast the plainness of Harappan artefacts with the opulence of their Egyptian and Mesopotamian counterparts. Nowadays, the technological sophistication and beauty of some of the Harappan artefacts are recognized.
• There is a great variety of standardized, mass produced craft items at Harappan sites. The artefacts are far greater in quantity and range, and show greater technical finesse than those found in earlier cultural phases. While some sites specializedinthe production of a single or a few items, others such as Harappa manufactured a wide range of goods. Craft activity was often localized in a certain part of the settlement.
• Ceramics include all items involving the heating of clay such as bricks, terracotta, and faience. The Harappan pottery reflects efficient mass-production. Pottery kilns were found at Mohenjodaro, Harappa, Nausharo, and Chanhudaro.
• The pots were fired in funnel-shaped up-draft closed kilns, although open-firing kilns may also have been used. There is a great variety of pottery, including black-on-red, grey, buff, and black-and-red wares. Most pots were wheel turned. Both fine and coarse fabrics occur and their thickness varies. The typical Harappan pottery is a fine, sturdy, wheel-made ware with a bright red slip, decorated with painted black designs. Polychrome painting is rare.
• The decorative patterns range from simple horizontal lines to geometric patterns and pictorial motifs. Some of the designs such as fish scales, pipal leaves, and intersecting circles have their roots in the early Harappan phase. Human figures are rare and crude. Although there is a certain level of uniformity in pottery styles and techniques across the Harappan culture zone, there are also differences between regions.
• Inferences can be made about the functions of some of the Harappan pots. The large jars may have been used to store grain or water. The more elaborately painted pots may have had a ceremonial use or may have belonged to rich people. Small vessels may have been used as glasses to drink water or other beverages.
• Harappan sites have yielded a profusion of terracottas. There are figurines of animals such as bulls, buffaloes, monkeys, and dogs. There are toy carts with solid wheels. Human figurines include male figurines and more numerous female figurines of various types.
• The Harappan crafts persons also made terracotta bangles. Terracotta masks have been found at Mohenjodaro and Harappa. Faience is a paste made out of crushed quartz and coloured with various minerals. The Harappans made faience bangles, rings, pendants, miniature vessels, and figurines (including those of monkeys and squirrels.
• Stone work was another important craft. Reference was made earlier to the stone masonry and fine polished pillars at Dholavira. More visible at all Harappan sites were the mass-produced chert blades made by the crested guided ridge technique. Some of these may have been used as knives for domestic use, others as sickles. Harappan stone quarries have been identified in the Rohri hills of Sindh.
• The Harappan civilization is marked by a large number of copper objects. Apart from making artefacts out of pure copper, Harappancraftspersons alloyed copper with arsenic, tin, or nickel. Copper and bronze artefacts included vessels, spears, knives, short swords, arrowheads, axes, fishhooks, needles, mirrors, rings, and bangles.
• Sixteen copper furnaces were found at Harappa, and copper workshops were found at Lothal. A large amount of copper oxide was discovered in a brick-lined pit at Mohenjodaro. That metal objects were considered precious is clear from the fact that they were buried in hoards for safekeeping by their owners.
• Beautifully worked gold and silver jewellery including necklaces, bracelets, brooches, pendants, and earrings have been found at Harappan sites. A hoard of jewellery made of gold, silver, and semi-precious stones was found at the small village site of Allahdino. The Harappans used silver to emboss conch shells and to make vessels. Lead was used to make plumb bobs and in copper casting.
• It may be noted that two metal objects found at Lothal contain iron. The latter can be called an iron object. What this suggests is that the Harappans (at least those of Gujarat) may have had some familiarity with iron smelting.
• Seal making was another important Harappan craft. Most of the seals are square or rectangular. Some have a perforated boss at the back for handling and suspension. A few cylindrical and round seals have also been found. Most of the seals are made of steatite, but there are a few silver, faience, and calcite ones as well. Two fine silver seals with the unicorn motif were discovered at Mohenjodaro, and some copper and soapstone ones were found at Lothal. To make the stone seals, the stone was sawed and shaped with knives, and then carved, using fine chisels and drills.
• The seal was coated with an alkali and heated, giving it a white lustrous surface. The carving is in intaglio— i.e., it is a sunken engraving, with the impression appearing in relief. Motifs include the elephant, tiger, antelope, crocodile, hare, humped bull, buffalo, rhinoceros, and the one-horned mythical animal referred to as a unicorn.
• There is often a small feeding trough or stand in front of the animal. There are also composite animals, human figures, and plants. Most of the seals have a short inscription. Some rectangular seals have writing, but no motif.
• Bead making was a craft known in earlier cultures, but in the Harappan civilization new materials, styles, and techniques came into vogue. A new type of cylindrical stone drill was devised and used to perforate beads of semi-precious stones.
• Such drills have been found at sites such as Mohenjodaro, Harappa, Chanhudaro, and Dholavira. The Harappan craftspeople made beads out of steatite, agate, carnelian, lapis lazuli, shell, terracotta, gold, silver, and copper. The Harappan long barrel cylinder beads made out of carnelian were so beautiful and valued that they found their way into royal burials in Mesopotamia. Tiny micro-beads were made of steatite paste and hardened by heating. Beads were also made of faience.
• Bead making factories with tools, furnaces, and beads in various stages of preparation have been found at Chanhudaro and Lothal. At Bagasra in Gujarat, there is evidence of the production of artefacts of shell, faience, and beads of semi-precious stones (agate, carnelian, amazonite, lapis lazuli, and steatite). Clay-lined silos, were used to store semi-precious stones. The bead-making tradition in Gujarat today gives us clues on how the Harappan craftspeople may have made their beads.
• It can be inferred from the available evidence that the Harappans made cotton and woollen textiles. The terracotta figurines wearing clothes (shawls, skirts, etc.) reflect the kinds of clothes people wore. Mesopotamian texts mention cotton as one of the imports from Meluhha (an area which included the Indus valley).
• Traces of cotton cloth were found at Mohenjodaro, preserved over the centuries due to their being in contact with a corroding silver jar. Several examples of cotton thread and cloth were identified on copper tools. At Harappa, cotton threads were found wrapped around the handle of a small copper mirror in a burial and also around the handle of a curved copper razor. Recent excavations at Harappa have given evidence of woven textile impressions on the inside of faience vessels.
• The uniform thickness and uniformity of the weave suggest the use of spinning wheels. Various kinds of spindle whorls for spinning thread have been found at Harappan sites. Weaving may have been a cottage industrypractised in villages, and also to some extent in the cities. Impressions on clay floors and fired clay lumps suggest traditions of making baskets and mats out of reeds and grasses.
• The Harappan crafts display an impressive level of standardization. Kenoyerhas suggested that state control may have been responsible for the high level of standardization in crafts that were considered to have a value in maintaining the socioeconomic or ritual order and which used non-local raw materials and highly complex technologies (e.g., the making of seals, stoneware bangles, and stone weights). Leaving aside pottery and bricks, crafts using local materials and simple technologies tend to show greater variation.
• Standardization extended to units of weights and measure. Cubical weights made of chert, chalcedony, black stone, etc. have been found at all excavated sites, and their accuracy all over the Harappan culture zone is remarkable. The system is binary in the smaller weights (1:2:8:16:32:64) and decimal in the higher weights (with a ratio of 160, 200, 320, and 640). The largest weight found at Mohenjodaro weighs 10.865 g. A shell scale was found at Mohenjodaro and an ivory scale at Lothal; a shell object found in Saurashtra was probably used to measure angles.

What is the explanation of the high level of standardization in crafts such as pottery-making and brick making? Does it imply centralized control by merchants or rulers?

Some element of central direction is suggested, but its nature and degree are far from certain. If not direct, it may have taken the indirect form of facilitating or controlling the flow of at least some of the raw materials and finished goods. On the other hand, the level of standardization could also indicate the fanning out of hereditary craft specialists over large areas, or a well-developed network of internal trade. It is possible that craftsmen and traders may have been organized in corporate groups similar to guilds, but there is no proof of this.