Chapter 4: In the Earliest Cities | 07 Nov 2025

The Story of Harappa 

• The first city discovered was Harappa, located in present-day Pakistan’s Punjab province. 
• The civilization is named the Harappan Civilization after this site. 
• Flourished around 4700 years ago (c. 2600 BCE – 1900 BCE). 
• Along with Harappa, several other cities like Mohenjodaro, Dholavira, Kalibangan, Lothal, Banawali, and Rakhigarhi were discovered. 
• Together they form part of the Indus Valley Civilization (IVC) - one of the world’s earliest urban civilizations. 

Planned Cities 

• Harappan cities were carefully planned and showed advanced urban design. 
• Divided into two main parts: 
  • Citadel: Raised area containing important buildings, possibly for rulers or priests. 
  • Lower Town: Residential area where the common people lived. 
• Street layout: 
  • Streets cut each other at right angles, forming a grid pattern. 
  • Houses and drains built along these streets. 
• Building material: Uniform baked bricks were used in all cities. 
• Drainage system: 
  • Every house had drains connected to the main street drains. 
  • Drains were covered with slabs; inspection holes at intervals for cleaning. 
• Houses: 
  • One or two storeys high, with courtyards, bathrooms, wells, and toilets. 
  • Private wells supplied water. 

Life in the City 

• Occupations: People worked as craftspersons, traders, farmers, and herders. 
• Crafts and Industries: 
  • Bead-making: Chanhudaro and Lothal. 
  • Pottery: Red or brown pottery with black painted designs. 
  • Metalwork: Tools and ornaments made from copper, bronze, gold, and silver. 
  • Stone cutting, shell carving, and weaving were practiced. 
• Tools and technology: 
  • Bronze (copper + tin) was widely used. 
  • Stone weights and measures (uniform system) used in trade. 
• Trade: 
  • Internal and overseas trade (evidence of trade with Mesopotamia). 
  • Exported beads, cotton textiles, metals, and ivory; imported copper, tin, and precious stones. 
  • Seals used to stamp goods — carried animal motifs and short inscriptions. 
• Food: 
  • Main crops: Wheat, barley, rice, pulses, sesame, and mustard. 
  • Evidence of rice from Lothal and Rangpur. 
  • Cattle, buffalo, sheep, goat, and pig domesticated. 
  • Fish and wild animal hunting were also common. 

New Crafts in the City 

• Specialization of labour emerged — people became experts in particular crafts. 
• Bead-making centres: Found at Lothal and Chanhudaro. 
• Ornaments: Made of gold, silver, copper, and semi-precious stones (lapis lazuli, carnelian). 
• Toys and figurines: 
  • Clay toy carts, whistles, animal figurines, and terracotta dolls found. 
  • Indicates creativity and leisure in Harappan life. 
• Seals and sealings: 
  • Made of steatite; engraved with pictographic script and animal motifs. 
  • Used for trade and identification. 
• Pottery: 
  • Wheel-made and fired pottery with red base and black motifs. 
  • Used for cooking, storage, and rituals. 
• Archaeologists have also found spindle whorls made of terracotta and faience 
  • Faience was an artificially made glazed material of shaped and heated powdered quartz, usually blue or sea green, used to craft beads, bangles, earrings, and small vessels. 

Raw Materials for Craft 

• Raw materials are naturally available or agriculturally produced substances that are processed into finished goods (e.g., cotton → cloth). 
• The Harappans used both local and imported raw materials. 
• They imported metals and precious stones like copper, tin, gold, silver, and gemstones from various distant regions for crafting tools, ornaments, and other goods. 

Food for People in the Cities 

• Agriculture: 
  • Main source of livelihood; fields located outside the walled cities. 
  • Crops: Wheat, barley, rice, pulses, sesame, mustard. 
  • Use of ploughs (evidence from Kalibangan). 
• Irrigation: 
  • Depended on floodwater and man-made irrigation channels. 
• Animal domestication: 
  • Cows, buffaloes, sheep, goats, pigs, and camels domesticated. 
  • Elephants used for transport and labor. 
• Fishing and hunting: Supplemented diet. 
• Food storage: Grains stored in granaries (Harappa, Mohenjodaro). 

The End of the Harappan Civilization 

• Around 1900 BCE, the Harappan cities began to decline. 
• Probable causes: 
  • Climate change and repeated floods. 
  • Deforestation and soil exhaustion. 
  • Decline of trade with Mesopotamia. 
  • River course shifts (e.g., drying of Ghaggar-Hakra). 
  • Invasions or internal conflicts. 
• People migrated eastward to smaller rural settlements. 
• Urban life disintegrated, but agricultural practices and crafts continued in later cultures.