It provided fertile soil and clay. Before sharing your knowledge on this site, please read the following pages: 1. Patches of deeper sediment reflected the unpredictable distribution of channels cut by the river’s floodwaters. Often individual workshops concentrated on producing a particular type of shell artifact or on working a particular variety of shell. It was among the cultivated plants at the Late Harappan site of Hulas where both wild and cultivated indica rice were identified. These hills also yielded steatite, used for the majority of Indus seals. Today this is around 8,000 hectares in extent. The most distant (and surprising) outpost was at Shortugai in Afghanistan. The surrounding waters yielded not only fish but also oysters from which “fish-eyes” (pearls) and mother-of-pearl could be obtained. lack of resources devaluation of money falling behind technologically decline in trade. With advances in sailing technology, the Harappans were able to trade up and down the Indus River and across the sea to Persia and Mesopotamia. The political changes that accompanied the emergence of the Harappan civilization, however, seem to have closed this route beyond the Quetta Valley. The seals had a semicircular perforated boss on the back so that they could be carried on a cord or fastened to a belt or wrist strap. The cultures who bordered the (Arabian/Persian) Gulf had a long history of intercommunity contacts, mainly be sea, going back to the fifth millennium when pottery in the style of Mesopotamian Ubaid wares was distributed as far south as Oman. The Mesopotamians called the Indus Region ‘Meluhha’. Questions about trade networks, economics, and market practices among the ancient Indus Valley peoples. This link enabled the Harappans to conduct direct commercial relations with Mesopotamia, giving them direct control over the management of their trade rather than depending on intermediaries (as the land traffic had) and thereby improving both their returns on their exports and their ability to control the supply of imports. The Indus people probably used lifting gear such as the shadoof to raise irrigation water from these and from streams and channels. Kalibangan was therefore probably engaged in the importation of copper and copper artifacts from the Aravallis from the Early Indus period onward. The number of settlements in the region expanded at least fourfold in this period. Melons were cultivated at Shahr-i Sokhta in adjacent Seistan and probably by the Harappans. The Indus valley civilization was the first to use wheeled transport, such as the bullock carts used in South Asia today. Locally available plants, such as indigo and turmeric, were probably used as dyes; indigo is among the plants recovered from Rojdi, and the use of madder root is attested to by the presence at Mohenjo­daro of cloth dyed red with madder. A clay model from Lothal represents a boat with a mast, attachments for a sail, and a steering oar. This fits with their sporadic appearance in South Asian botanical samples. Ebony was available in the forests of the Western Ghats but has not been found in Harappan sites, though it may be referred to in Mesopotamian texts as an import from the Indus (sulum meluhhi, “black wood of Meluhha,” alternatively identified as rosewood). Distinctive Kulli material included many figurines of bulls and women, as well as certain forms and decorative motifs in the pottery, such as straight-sided canisters and zoomorphic designs. The Indus civilization had a broad trade network, but their currency was traded goods. However, in some other regions, such as the adjacent north Gujarat plain, farming settlements did not become established and here hunter-gatherers continued their established way of life, often moving with the seasons to exploit the resources of different economies. Pretty much every part of their general public, from the urban areas they worked to the innovation they created, was to guarantee that they could make high-caliber and gainful exchange items for the civic establishments. Modern communities also live on houseboats on the Indus in Sindh. Useful species included sissoo, acacia and tamarisk, which were widely available. If comparable documents were created by the Harappans, they were made of perishable materials of which no trace remains. Rakhigarhi, Mitathal, and Banawali to the northwest of Ganeshwar may also have been involved in the importing of copper in the Mature Harappan period. The Indus Valley economy was heavily based on trading, it was one of the most important characteristics of this civilization. Create your own unique website with customizable templates. A town was established on the coast at Qala’at al-Bahrain, where there was a good natural harbour. Economy of Indus Valley Civilization. The raw materials of different regions were also transported to other parts of the Indus realms. Elam, a state comprising Susiana and Anshan in southwest Iran, played a major role in this trade in the early third millennium, establishing trading stations in a number of Iranian towns, including Shahr-i Sokhta in Seistan. Overland Trade across the Iranian Plateau: From the earliest period of settlement at Mehrgarh in the seventh millennium, far-reaching trade networks had given the village’s inhabitants access to the products of other regions, such as seashells from the Makran coast, turquoise from Kyzyl Kum in Central Asia, and lapis lazuli probably from Badakshan in Afghanistan. was cultivated at Surkotada and Rojdi- This may have been S. verticillata, bristley foxtail millet, also domesticated in South India during the third millennium, or S. pumila, yellow foxtail millet, both native species. Oil could also be obtained from linseed (Linum usitatissimum), which was found at Miri Qalat and a number of Harappan sites, including Nausharo and Rojdi. Agate and other gemstones for making beads may also have been obtained by hunter- gatherers. Here’s an item that might have been traded. From Sutkagendor westward, the South Asian coast benefited, from the sheltered sailing conditions of the Gulf. The cultures growing rice in Southeast Asia had close cultural connections with the inhabitants of eastern India, Bangladesh, and intervening regions, indicated by shared artifact types such as cord- marked pottery and distinctive shouldered axes. Gold from Karnataka in south India has a natural admixture of silver, and so the electrum objects known from the Indus civilization may indicate that gold from there was being imported and worked by the Harappans. TRADE AND TRANSPORTATION - economy appears to have depended significantly on trade. While the course of the Indus and its branches and tributaries have changed since Harappan times, there is no reason to suppose that it was any less navigable then than now. Metal tools played an important part in Harappan Industry, such as stone carving and carpentry, and were also used in preference to traditional stone tools for some purposes. The coastal Harappans came to play a major role in seafaring in the Gulf and the Arabian Sea. Direct seaborne communications through the Gulf were now established between the Indus civilization and Mesopotamia, the main Near Eastern consumer of imported raw materials. This is an inhospitable land. Other country craft include boats made of hollowed logs, and such vessels may also have been used by the Harappans for coastal or river travel and fishing, though only plank-built vessels would have been suitable for carrying any volume of cargo. The development of watercraft was stimulated by the needs of fishers and the colonization of areas where water transport was required, such as the islands of Gujarat and the shores of Lake Manchar. Food surpluses supported the large population and prompted the growth of trade. A number of Harappan seals, beads, and ivory inlays and a Harappan weight were found at Susa, the Elamite capital, and gaming boards of similar design are known from Susa and Lothal. The people of the Kulli culture, presumably the descendants of Amri-Nal farmers and pastoralists of the region, seem to have combined pastoralism with sophisticated irrigation agriculture. These crops were to set the pattern for agriculture over much of the subcontinent in later times; although rabi crops have continued to dominate in the northwest, and in many regions both rabi and kharif crops are grown. Most of the major settlements were linked by a network of waterways that were navigable for at least part of the year. Another insight into the organized nature of the internal distribution network is provided by the existence of a standardized system of weights and measures, used throughout the Indus realms, weights, made of stone such as chert, were generally cubical in shape, but fine jasper or agate weights in the form of truncated spheres also occurred, as well as a few pierced conical weights and knobbed conical weights resembling the pawn in a chess set. Almost every aspect of their society, from the cities they built to the technology they developed, was to ensure that they could create high-quality and profitable trade products for the civilizations the Indus people traded with. It took over Shortugai and its region and ended the Indus lapis trade. Another Harappan settlement in the north was located near Mianwali bordering the Late Kot Diji territory south of the Salt Range and may have been concerned with salt procurement. One such place was Bushehr where a pass cut through the mountains by the Shapur River allowed a route to be established linking Anshan to the coast via Shiraz, but this was probably little used in the third millennium. While the productivity of the Indus in Sindh is very high, it is not reliable. These included three kinds of millet- jowar (Sorghum or Guinea corn or Sorghum Bicolor), bajra (pearl millet, Pennisetum typhoides), and ragi (finger millet, Eleusine coracana). Wild plants were also important- as well as providing grazing for domestic animals, some, such as Chenopodium, were undoubtedly exploited as human food. They are known to have been made at Harappa and Chanhudaro. By around 2500 BC. Hunter-gatherers were probably involved in the chain of communications. The first certain occurrence of this millet in South Asia is at Pirak, in the early second millennium. Others may have been made for export overseas. The presence of traded Indus material, such as the cache of nine hundred agate and carnelian beads at Burzahom, reflects the importance to the Harappans of Himalayan timber, exploited over a broad front. The end of the Mohenjo-Daro civilization was probably because of the deteriorating economy … At the head of the Gulf lay Mesopotamia. One of the most characteristic finds from Indus settlements is the square stamp seal. Several varieties of turtle, crocodiles, and dolphins, as well as molluscs and fish, could be taken from rivers and lakes. Content Guidelines 2. Many types of game animal such as chinkara and other gazelles, onager, wild sheep (urial), wild goats (Persian wild goat, markhor, and ibex), blackbuck, and other antelopes lived in the hills and grazed in the scrub and grasslands of the plains, while the well- watered areas along the rivers and lakeshores were home to nilgai, wild boar, water buffalo, wild cattle, elephant, chital, barasingha, and other deer. Rare and special foods, materials and other agricultural goods could be traded thus being the major and only booster in the Indus valley economy, meaning dependence on soil, technology and good produce was high. Seeds of another indigenous millet, Job’s tears (Coix lacrima-jobi), have been found at Harappa and at the contemporary Ahar-Banas settlement of Balathal, in both cases as beads, a common use for these seeds. The economy depended greatly on trade. In western Sindh, Lake Manchar flooded an enormous area during the inundation, and the retreating floodwaters left fertile ground highly suitable for cultivation. Finds of Harappan material in the settlements of adjacent foraging, fishing, or farming cultures reveal the extent of their trading links. The mountains of southern Irana run parallel with and chose to the coast, leaving only a narrow strip of coastal land, accessible from the interior of the Iranian plateau only through a few passes, and offering few resources to support human habitation. Hunting and Gathering of Forest Resources: The fanning communities of the Indus and neighboring regions had always continued to exploit some wild resources alongside those derived from arable agriculture and pastoralism, and it seems that this practice increased and broadened in the Mature Harappan period. The preservation of plant remains is often poor, depending on local conditions, the type of plant, and chance. This was not the case in the Indian subcontinent, where hunter-gatherer groups have continued to exist up to the present day. Some consisted simply of a solid wooden platform above the axle, others had an open framework. Personal seals could also have been used by individuals to establish their identity in private transactions. In Baluchistan the sparse winter rainfall, though important, could not be relied on to water the crops raised in the generally limited areas of suitable soil. This is jewelry from Mesopotamia at the time, though the Indus Valley would have had its own gold jewelry. There is evidence of cotton doth at Mohenjodaro and probably Harappa. Later trade between them is demonstrated by the presence of a few imported objects in Kulli sites and Kulli material in burial cairns on Umman-Nar in Magan. Rice, probably wild, is known from Early Harappan Balu in Haryana and Kunal. Why do some people call Harappan civilization the "steatite civilization"? Seals may have had a number of uses. Mesopotamia, a major consumer of raw materials from the Iranian plateau and beyond, shifted most of its interest to new sources and suppliers in the Gulf, and communications between the Indus region and Seistan ceased. East and south of this area however ships were exposed to the perilous currents and storms of the Arabian Sea and to the strongly seasoned pattern of the winds. This website includes study notes, research papers, essays, articles and other allied information submitted by visitors like YOU. were present at Mehrgarh in the fourth millennium and have also been recovered from Pirak and Late Harappan Hulas. The Sumerian and Harappan civilizations were comparable in their organizational and economic complexity. Know about Indus Valley Civilization or Harappa Civilization. Sumer had developed writing during the late fourth millennium and by 2500 BC was creating copious records of economic transactions, legal documents, political statements, letters, and literature, so a considerable amount of information survives on Mesopotamian involvement in Gulf trade. These settlements were well placed to control the exploitation and distribution of timber such as pine, ebony, sissoo, and sal from the Himalayan foothills and deodar from higher in the mountains. The trees at higher altitudes in the mountains included deodar and pine, known from Harappa and Mohenjodaro and used in buildings and for other purposes; both are fragrant woods, as is sissoo. This problem is compounded by variations in the standards of recovery in archaeological excavations and by problems of identification. In some cases, for example at Early Indus Diwana on the upper Hab River, a dam was designed to impound water, which could be released or channeled onto fields as required. In the early third millennium, these sites had been in contact with settlements in the northern borderlands and the Indus plains, and these contacts continued. Indus valley people had a good trade relations with Mesopotamian and Persian civilizations. Decline in trade is the economic theory given for the fall of the Indus Valley civilization. At the time of the Indus civilization, this relationship was in its infancy but was nevertheless becoming an established pattern. The Indus Valley did not have access to a lot of raw materials. Fruits such as jujube, almond, and pistachio were gathered. Trade routes through the major valleys of the borderlands linked the Indus Basin to Seistan and Afghanistan and beyond them to the Iranian plateau and Central Asia. The Indo-Iranian borderlands had been culturally integrated with the Indus Basin during the Early Harappan and preceding periods, but major changes had occurred with the cultural unification of the Indus civilization. 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