I.Indus Valley Civilization
A. Culture area
covers over half a million square miles
1. foothills of
2.
3. largest cultural domain of its era
B. Formation of
early culture
1. nomadic herders from hills of
2. middle of 4th millennium B.C. patterns began to change
towards incipient agriculture
a. crops of barley and wheat
3. annual floods from summer monsoons and melted
4. Amri
a. forms c. 3500 B.C.
b. single tribal group of approximately 20 villages covers 20
acres
c. architecture of mud brick
d. potters wheel
e. ceramic of black geometric designs
f. by 2500 B.C. alluvial plain under cultivation with surplus
crops
C. c. 2500 - 1500 B.C.E.
1. Major cities
a.
(1) on banks of
(2) 350 miles
south of
(3) layout identical to
b.
(1) earliest
(2) on banks of
c. Chanhu-Daro
2. Architecture
a. City
Planning
(1) cities erected on immense mounds of earth and rubble
(a) levies
(b) irrigation systems
(2) each city follows same plan
(3)
(a) circumference
of 3+ miles
(b) approximately 35000 population c. 2300 B.C.
(4) broad straight avenues run north/south
(5) meandering alleyways east/west
b. Architecture
and media
(1) each level of buildings very similar
(2) Corbelled
arch system
(3) Baked brick
construction
(a) bricks uniform throughout culture area
(b) fired for foundations and large buildings
(c) sun-dried for
landfill and upper walls of private housesa)
c. Citadels rising above
cities and municipal buildings
(1) indication of a theocratic and authoritarian society?
(2) citadels always face west
(3) citadel at
(a) 1400 ft. x
600 ft. on mound 40 ft. high
i) faced foundation with brick embankment 45 ft. thick
(4) The Great
(a)
i) 8 feet
deep, 23 feet wide, 39 feet long
ii) waterproofed with bitumen
iii) cloister running around bath
iv) 8
smaller baths attached
(5) Granaries and mills
(a) municipal granaries of thousands of square feet
(b) raised brick floor for air circulation
(c) threshing areas next to granaries
(d) two room house rows running off granaries
(6) Municipal
sewage system
(a) each residential house has sewage pipe with covered cesspit
(b) avenues have underground sewage pipes with sumps with
removable covers at each intersection
(c) must have municipal sewage and trash system
d. Domestic Buildings
(1) built for durability and privacy
(a) arranged around interior square courtyard
(b) exterior walls without windows
(c) main entrance from alley
(2) indoor plumbing
(a) all houses have bathroom
i) paved, sloping floor
ii) brick drain pipe
iii) toilets with brick seats
(b) outflows to large municipal sewage system
(c) brick drain pipes
(3) trash chutes from residence to a street bin
(4) no grand entrances or exterior displays
(5) Water
(a) cisterns for each house
(b) bricks that line cisterns uniform
(c) wedge-shaped
bricks
3. Units of Measurement
a. systemized standard of weights and measures
b. weights
(1) unit based on 16
(2) cubical stones weighing exactly the same found throughout
area
(3) heaviest weights 25 pounds
c. measures
(1) two systems
(a) 13.2 inches
(b) 20.62 inches
(2) everything, everywhere based on one of these two modules
4. Seals
a. intaglio carving into steatite
(1) interiors subject to intense heat
(2) heat to harden steatite?
b. more than 2000 found
(1) some found in
(2) no relief stamps found
c. pictographic inscriptions
(1) 250 different
signs
(2) none corresponds to Egyptian or Sumerian alphabets
5. Ceramics
a. Figurines
(1) phallic figures
(2) female "goddesses"
b. utilitarian objects
c. "play toys"
(1) figures
(2) animals
(3) carts
6. Sculpture
a. bronze dancing girl
b. male busts
(1) dancing Siva
(2) priest
(3) male torso
D. C. 1800 B.C.
1. after 500 years of sameness, change
a. climate
(1) monsoons shift toward east
b. environmental abuse
(1) centuries of intense cultivation
(2) soil depletion
(3) overly ambitious irrigation systems
(4) overgrazing
(5) deforestation
2. after
1800 B.C. no mention in
3. by end 1700 B.C. major cities abandoned
a. squatters take over buildings
b. probably came from "primitive" villages
c. divide large public buildings into smaller living areas
d. slums