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[[Image:indusvalleyexcavationHenry Bessemer.jpg|thumb|310px|ExcavatedHenry ruinsBessemer of [[Mohenjo(1813-daro]].1898)]]
{{HistoryOfSouthAsia}}
'''Sir Henry Bessemer''' ([[January 19]], [[1813]] – [[March 15]], [[1898]]), [[England|English]] [[engineer]] and [[inventor]], was born at Charlton near [[Hitchin]] in [[Hertfordshire]]. Bessemer's name is chiefly known in connection with the [[Bessemer process]] for the manufacture of [[steel]].
The '''Indus Valley Civilization''' (c. 3300–1700 BC, flowered 2600–1900 BCE), abbreviated '''IVC''', was an ancient riverine [[civilization]] that flourished in the [[Indus River|Indus]] and [[Ghaggar-Hakra River|Ghaggar-Hakra]] river valleys in what is now Pakistan and north-west India. Another name for this civilization is the '''Harappan Civilization''', after the first excavated city of [[Harappa]]. Although IVC might have been known to the [[Sumer]]ians as [[Meluhha]], the modern world rediscovered it only in the [[1920s]] as a
The civilization is also referred to as the ''Indus Ghaggar-Hakra'' civilization<ref>Ching, Francis D. K, Mark Jarzombek, Vikramaditya Prakash. 2006. ''A Global History of Architecture''. Hoboken, N.J. : J. Wiley & Sons, 2006. 816 pages. ISBN 0471268925. pages 28-32.</ref> or the ''Indus-Saraswati'' civilization. The appellation, ''Indus-Saraswati'' is based on the possible identification of the Ghaggar-Hakra River with the ancient [[Sarasvati River|Saraswati]] river of the [[Rig Veda]].<ref>McIntosh 2001:24</ref>
==Bessemer process==
Throughout his life, Bessemer was a prolific [[inventor]], but his name is chiefly known in connection with the [[Bessemer process]] for the manufacture of [[steel]]. Though this process is no longer commercially used, at the time of its invention it was of enormous industrial importance because it lowered the cost of production of steel, leading to steel being widely substituted for other substances which were inferior but previously cheaper. Bessemer's attention was drawn to the problem of steel manufacture in the course of an attempt to improve the construction of [[gun]]s.
===Implementation===
==Discovery and excavation==
The ruins of [[Harappa]] were first described by Charles Masson in his ''Narrative of Various Journeys in Balochistan, Afghanistan and Punjab, 1826-1838''; however, its significance was not realized until much later.
Moreover, in [[1857]], British engineers unwittingly employed bricks from the Harappa ruins in the construction of the East Indian Railway line connecting [[Karachi]] and [[Lahore]]. More than half a century later, in [[1912]], Harappan seals—with the then unknown symbols—were discovered by J. Fleet, prompting an excavation campaign under [[John Marshall (archaeologist)|Sir John Hubert Marshall]] in 1921/22, and resulting in the discovery of the hitherto unknown civilization by Dayaram Sahni. By [[1931]], much of [[Mohenjo-Daro]] had been excavated, but minor campaigns continued, such as that led by [[Mortimer Wheeler]] in [[1950]]. Following the [[partition of India|partition of British India]] in [[1947]], the area of the IVC was divided between [[Pakistan]] and the [[India]]. More discoveries followed for next three decades and the remnants of civilization were observed as far west as [[Sutkagan Dor]] in Baluchistan, and as far east as [[Lothal]] in [[Gujarat]]. Among the influential archaeologists working on the civilization were [[B.B. Lal]], [[Ahmad Hasan Dani]], Michael Jansen, Nani Gopal Majumdar, and [[Aurel Stein]].
Five firms applied without delay for licences to work under his patents, success did not at once attend his efforts; indeed, after several ironmasters had put the process to practical trial and failed to get good results, it was in danger of being thrust aside and entirely forgotten. Its author, however, instead of being discouraged by this lack of success, continued his experiments, and in two years was able to turn out a product, the quality of which was not inferior to that yielded by the older methods. But when he now tried to induce makers to take up his improved system, he met with general rebuffs, and finally was driven to undertake the exploitation of the process himself.
==Periodisation==
To exploit the process, he erected steelworks in [[Sheffield]], on ground purchased with the help of friends, and began to manufacture steel. At first the output was insignificant, but gradually the magnitude of the operations was enlarged until the competition became effective, and steel traders generally became aware that the firm of Henry Bessemer & Co. was underselling them to the extent of $20 a ton. This argument to the pocket quickly had its effect, and licences were applied for in such numbers that, in royalties for the use of his process, Bessemer received a sum in all considerably exceeding a million pound sterling. (Sheffield's Kelham Island Industrial Heritage Museum, maintains an early example of a Bessemer Converter for public viewing).
{{main|Periodization of the Indus Valley Civilization}}
===Patent battles===
The mature phase of the Harappan civilization lasted from c. 2600 [[BCE]] to 1900 BCE. With the inclusion of the predecessor and successor cultures—Early Harappan and Late Harappan, respectively—the entire Indus Valley Civilization may be taken to have lasted from the 33rd to the 14th centuries BCE.
Of course, patents of such obvious value did not escape criticism, and invalidity was freely urged against them on various grounds. But Bessemer was fortunate enough to maintain them intact without [[litigation]], though he found it advisable to buy up the rights of one patentee, while in another case he was freed from anxiety by the patent being allowed to lapse in [[1859]] through non-payment of fees. At the outset he had found great difficulty in making steel by his process; in his first licenses to the trade iron alone was mentioned.
Two terms are employed for the ''periodization'' of the IVC: ''Phases'' and ''Eras''. <ref>{{cite journal | author=Kenoyer, J. Mark | title=The Indus Valley tradition of Pakistan and Western India | journal=Journal of World Prehistory | year=1991 | volume=5 | pages=1-64}}</ref> <ref>[[Jim G. Shaffer]]. 1992. "The Indus Valley, Baluchistan and Helmand Traditions: Neolithic Through Bronze Age." In Chronologies in Old World Archaeology. Second Edition. R.W. Ehrich, (Ed.). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. I:441-464, II:425-446.</ref> The Early Harappan, Mature Harappan, and Late Harappan ''phases'' are also called the "Regionalisation," "Integration," and "Localisation" ''eras'', respectively, with the Regionalization era reaching back to the Neolithic Mehrgarh II period. "Discoveries at Mehrgarh changed the entire concept of the Indus civilization," according to Ahmad Hasan Dani, professor emeritus at [[Quaid-e-Azam University]], [[Islamabad]], "There we have the whole sequence, right from the beginning of settled village life."<ref>Chandler, Graham. 1999. [http://www.saudiaramcoworld.com/issue/199905/traders.of.the.plain.htm "Traders of the Plain."] ''Saudi Aramco World''.</ref>
Experiments he made with South [[Wales]] iron were failures because the product was devoid of malleability; Mr Goransson, a Swedish [[ironmaster]], using the purer [[charcoal]] [[pig iron]] of that country, was the first to make good steel by the process, and even he was successful only after many attempts. His results prompted Bessemer to try the purer iron, obtained from [[Cumberland, England|Cumberland]] [[hematite]], but even with this he did not meet with much success, until [[Robert Mushet]] showed that the addition of a certain quantity of [[spiegeleisen]] had the effect of removing the difficulties.
{|class="wikitable"
|-
|''Date range''
|''Phase''
|''Era''
|-
|5500-3300
|Mehrgarh II-VI ([[Pottery Neolithic]])
!rowspan=4 |Regionalisation Era
|-
!3300-2600
!Early Harappan ([[Early Bronze Age]])
|-
|3300-2800
|Harappan 1 (Ravi Phase)
|-
|2800-2600
|Harappan 2 (Kot Diji Phase, Nausharo I, Mehrgarh VII)
|-
!2600-1900
!Mature Harappan ([[Middle Bronze Age]])
!rowspan=4 |Integration Era
|-
|2600-2450
|Harappan 3A (Nausharo II)
|-
|2450-2200
|Harappan 3B
|-
|2200-1900
|Harappan 3C
|-
!1900-1300
!Late Harappan ([[Cemetery H]], [[Late Bronze Age]])
!rowspan=3 |Localisation Era
|-
|1900-1700
|Harappan 4
|-
|1700-1300
|Harappan 5
|-
|}
Whether or not Mushet's patents could have been sustained, the value of his procedure was shown by its general adoption in conjunction with the Bessemer method of conversion. At the same time it is only fair to say that whatever may have been the conveniences of Mushet's plan, it was not absolutely essential; this Bessemer proved in [[1865]], by exhibiting a series of samples of steel made by his own process alone. In 1866, Bessemer provided finance for [[Zerah Colburn (locomotive designer)|Zerah Colburn]], the American locomotive engineer and journalist, to start a new weekly engineering newspaper called Engineering, and based in Bedford Street, London. It was not until many years later that the name of Colburn's benefactor was revealed. Prior to the launch of Engineering, Colburn, through the pages of The Engineer, had given support to Bessemer's work on steel and [[steelmaking]].
==Geography==
[[Image:IVC_Map.png|thumb|250px|Extent and major sites of the Indus Valley Civilization (modern state boundaries shown in red). See [http://pubweb.cc.u-tokai.ac.jp/indus/english/map.html] for a more detailed map.]]
The pecuniary rewards of Bessemer's great invention came to him with comparative quickness; but it was not till [[1879]] that the [[Royal Society]] admitted him as a fellow and the government honoured him with a [[knight]]hood. Bessemer died in March 1898 in [[Denmark Hill]], [[London]].
The Indus Valley Civilization extended from Balochistan to Gujarat, with an upward reach to Punjab from east of the river [[Jhelum]] to [[Rupar]] on the upper [[Sutlej]]. Coastal settlements extended from [[Sutkagan Dor]]<ref>Dales, G. F. 1962. "Harappan Outposts on the Makran Coast." ''Antiquity'' 36(142) p:86.</ref> in Western Baluchistan to [[Lothal]]<ref>Rao, S. R. 1973. ''Lothal and the Indus civilization''. London : Asia Publishing House. 215 pages. ISBN 0210222786.</ref> in [[Gujarat]]. The Indus Valley Civilization encompassed most of Pakistan as well as the western states of India. An Indus Valley site has been found on the [[Oxus]] river at Shortughai in northern Afghanistan,<ref>(Kenoyer 1998:96)</ref> in the [[Gomal River|Gomal]] river valley in north-west Pakistan,<ref>Dani, A. H. 1970-1971. "Excavations in the Gomal Valley". ''Ancient Pakistan'' 5:1-177</ref> at Manda on the [[Beas River]] near [[Jammu]],<ref>Joshi, J.P. and M. Bala. 1982. "Manda: A Harappan site in Jammu and Kashmir", in (ed) Possehl, Gregory L., ''Harappan Civilization: A recent perspective''. New Delhi: Oxford University Press. pp. 185-95</ref> India, and at Alamgirpur on the Hindon River, only 28 km from [[Delhi]].<ref>''Indian Archaeology, A Review.'' 1958-1959. Excavations at Alamgirpur. Delhi: Archaeol. Surv. India, pp. 51-52.</ref> Indus Valley sites have been found most often on rivers, but also on the ancient sea-coast,<ref>Ray, Himanshu Prabha 2003. [http://www.amazon.com/Archaeology-Seafaring-Ancient-South-Cambridge/dp/0521011094/ ''The Archaeology of Seafaring in Ancient South Asia'']. Cambridge University Press. 350 pages. ISBN 0521011094. page 95</ref> for example Balakot,<ref>Dales, G. F. 1979. "The Balakot Project: summary of four years excavations in Pakistan." In ''South Asian Archaeology 1977'' (ed M. Taddei). pp. 241-274. Naples: Inst. Univ. Orientale, Sem. Stud. Asiatici, Ser. Minor VI.</ref> and on islands, for example, [[Dholavira]].<ref>Bisht, R. S. 1989. "A new model of the Harappan town planning as revealed at Dholavira in Kutch: a surface study of its plan and architecture." In ''History and Archaeology'' (ed. B. Chatterjee) New Delhi: Ramanand Vidya Bhawan. pp. 379-408.</ref>
alson was
There is evidence of dry river beds overlapping with the [[Hakra]] channel in [[Pakistan]] and the seasonal [[Ghaggar River]] in [[India]]. Many Indus Valley (or ''Harappan'') sites have been discovered along the Ghaggar-Hakra beds.<ref name=possehl>Possehl, G. L. 1990. [http://arjournals.annualreviews.org/toc/anthro/19/1 "Revolution in the Urban Revolution: The Emergence of Indus Urbanization."] ''Annual Reviews of Anthropology'', 19:261-282. See map on page 263</ref> Among them are: Rupar, [[Rakhigarhi]], Sothi, [[Kalibangan]], and Ganwariwala.<ref>Mughal, M. R. 1982. "Recent archaeological research in the Cholistan desert." In ''Harappan Civilization'', ed. G. L. Possehl, pp. 85-95. Delhi: Oxford & IBH &
A.I.1.S. 440 pp.</ref> According to J. G. Shaffer and D. A. Lichtenstein<ref>Shaffer, J. G. and D. A. Lichtenstein. 1989. "Ethnicity and Change in the Indus Valley Cultural Tradition." ''Wis. Archaeol. Rep.'' 2: 117-126.</ref> the Harappan Civilization "is a fusion of the Bagor, Hakra, and Koti Dij traditions or 'ethnic groups' in the Ghaggar-Hakra valley on the borders of India and Pakistan."<ref name=possehl/>
==Other inventions==
According to some archaeologists over 500 Harappan sites have been discovered along the dried up river beds of the Ghaggar-Hakra River and its tributaries,<ref> S.P. Gupta 1995: 183</ref> in contrast to only about 100 along the [[Indus River|Indus]] and its tributaries,<ref>e.g. V.N. Misra 1992, in Eastern Anthropologist vol 45, pp 1-19. </ref> consequently, in their opinion, the appellation ''Indus Ghaggar-Hakra civilisation'' or ''Indus-Saraswati civilisation'' is justified. However, these arguments are disputed by other archaeologists who state that the number of Harappan sites along the Ghaggar-Hakra river beds have been exaggerated and that the Ghaggar-Hakra, when it existed, was a tributary of the Indus, so the new nomenclature is redundant.<ref>Ratnagar, Shereen. 2006. ''Understanding Harappa: Civilization in the Greater Indus Valley''. New Delhi, Tulika Books, 2006. 166 pages. ISBN 8189487027.</ref>
The invention from which he made his fortune was a machine for making fine brass powder which was used as a 'gold' paint. It was treated highly secretly, with only a few trusted employees and members of his immediate family allowed to operate it. This money allowed him to pursue his other inventions.
Among Bessemer's numerous other inventions, not one of which attained a tenth of the success or importance of the steel process, were movable dies for embossed [[stamp]]s, and a screw extruder for more efficiently extracting sugar from sugar cane.
==Early Harappan==
The Early Harappan Ravi Phase, named after the nearby [[Ravi River]], lasted from circa 3300 [[BCE]] until 2800 [[BCE]]. It is related to the Hakra Phase, identified in the Ghaggar-Hakra River Valley to the west, and predates the [[Kot Diji]] Phase (2800-2600 BCE, Harappan 2), named after a site in northern [[Sindh]], Pakistan, near [[Mohenjo Daro]]. The earliest examples of the "[[Indus script]]" date from around 3000 BCE.<ref name=parpola/>
Another promising invention was a mechanism added to a ship which was to save her passengers from the miseries of ''[[mal de mer]].'' This last had her saloon mounted in such a way as to be free to swing relatively to the boat herself, and the idea was that this saloon should always be maintained steady and level, no matter how rough the sea. For this purpose hydraulic mechanism of Bessemer's design was arranged under the control of an attendant, whose duty it was to keep watch on a spirit-level, and counteract by proper manipulation of the apparatus any deviation from the horizontal that might manifest itself on the floor of the saloon owing to the rolling of the vessel. A boat, called the ''Bessemer,'' was built on this plan in [[1875]] and put on the cross-Channel service to [[Calais]], but the mechanism of the swinging saloon was not found effective in practice and was ultimately removed.
The mature phase of earlier village cultures is represented by [[Rehman Dheri]] and [[Amri]] in Pakistan.<ref> Durrani, F. A. 1984. "Some Early Harappan sites in Gomal and Bannu Valleys" In ''Frontiers of Indus Civilisation'' eds. B. B. Lal and S. P. Gupta, pp. 505-510. Delhi: Books & Books. 545 pages.</ref> [[Kot Diji]] (Harappan 2) represents the phase leading up to Mature Harappan, with the citadel representing centralised authority and an increasingly urban quality of life. Another town of this stage was found at [[Kalibangan]] in India on the Hakra River.<ref>Thapar, B. K. 1975. "Kalibangan: A Harappan Metropolis Beyond the Indus Valley." ''Expedition''. 17(2):19-32.</ref>
Bessemer also obtained a patent in 1857 for the casting of metal between contrarotating rollers - a forerunner of today's [[continuous casting]] processes and remarkably, Bessemer's original idea has been implemented in the direct continuous casting of steel strip.
Trade networks linked this culture with related regional cultures and distant sources of raw materials, including [[lapis lazuli]] and other materials for bead-making. Villagers had, by this time, domesticated numerous crops, including [[pea]]s, [[sesame seed]]s, [[date (fruit)|dates]] and [[cotton]], as well as various animals, including the [[water buffalo]].
Bessemer patented a method for making a continuous ribbon of [[sheet glass]], in [[1848]], but it was not commercially successful.(see his Autobiography Chapter 8).
==Mature Harappan==
By BC 2500, the Early Harappan communities had been turned into urban centers. Such urban centers include [[Harappa]] and [[Mohenjo Daro]] in Pakistan and [[Lothal]] in India. In total, over 1,052 cities and settlements have been found, mainly in the general region of the Ghaggar and Indus Rivers and their tributaries.
By [[2500 BCE]], irrigation had transformed the region.
===Cities===
A sophisticated and technologically advanced urban culture is evident in the Indus Valley Civilization. The quality of [[municipal]] town planning suggests knowledge of [[urban planning]] and efficient [[municipal government]]s which placed a high priority on [[hygiene]]. The streets of major cities such as [[Mohenjo-daro]] or [[Harappa]] were laid out in perfect [[grid plan|grid patterns]]. The houses were protected from noise, odors, and thieves.
As seen in Harappa, Mohenjo-daro and the recently discovered [[Rakhigarhi]], this urban plan included the world's first urban [[sanitation]] systems. Within the city, individual homes or groups of homes obtained water from [[water well|well]]s. From a room that appears to have been set aside for bathing, [[wastewater|waste water]] was directed to covered drains, which lined the major streets. Houses opened only to inner [[courtyard]]s and smaller lanes. The house-building in some villages in the region still resembles in some respects the house-building of the Harappans. <ref>It has been noted that the courtyard-pattern and techniques of flooring of Harappan houses has similarities to the way house-building is still done in some villages of the region.(Lal 2002:93-95)</ref>
The ancient Indus systems of [[sewerage]] and [[drainage]] that were developed and used in cities throughout the Indus Empire, were far more advanced than any found in contemporary urban sites in the [[Middle East]] and even more efficient than those in some areas of [[Pakistan]] and [[India]] today. The advanced architecture of the Harappans is shown by their impressive [[dockyard]]s, [[granary|granaries]], [[warehouse]]s, brick platforms and protective walls. The massive [[citadel]]s of Indus cities, that protected the Harappans from floods and attackers, were larger than most [[Mesopotamian]] [[ziggurat]]s.
The purpose of the citadel remains debated. In sharp contrast to this civilization's contemporaries, [[Mesopotamia]] and [[Ancient Egypt]], no large monumental structures were built. There is no conclusive evidence of palaces or temples - or of kings, armies, or priests. Some structures are thought to have been granaries. Found at one city is an enormous well-built bath, which may have been a public bath. Although the citadels were walled, it is far from clear that these structures were defensive. They may have been built to divert flood waters.
Most city dwellers appear to have been [[traders]] or [[artisans]], who lived with others pursuing the same occupation in well-defined neighborhoods. Materials from distant regions were used in the cities for constructing seals, [[beads]] and other objects. Among the [[artifact (archaeology)|artifact]]s discovered were beautiful beads of glazed stone called [[faïence]]. The seals have images of animals, gods and other types of inscriptions. Some of the seals were used to stamp clay on trade goods and most probably had other uses.
Although some houses were larger than others, Indus Civilization cities were remarkable for their apparent [[egalitarianism]]. All the houses had access to [[water]] and [[drainage]] facilities. This gives the impression of a society with low wealth concentration.
===Science===
{{further|[[Indian mathematics#Harappan Mathematics (3300 BCE - 1500 BCE)|Harappan mathematics]]}}
The people of the Indus Civilization achieved great accuracy in measuring length, mass and time. They were among the first to develop a system of uniform weights and measures. Their measurements were extremely precise. Their smallest division, which is marked on an ivory scale found in [[Lothal]], was approximately 1.704[[millimeter|mm]], the smallest division ever recorded on a scale of the [[Bronze Age]]. Harappan engineers followed the decimal division of measurement for all practical purposes, including the measurement of mass as revealed by their [[hexahedron]] weights.
These brick weights were in a perfect ratio of 4:2:1 with weights of 0.05, 0.1, 0.2, 0.5, 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200, and 500 units, with each unit weighing approximately 28 grams, similar to the English [[Imperial units#Measures of weight and mass|Imperial ounce]] or Greek uncia, and smaller objects were weighed in similar ratios with the units of 0.871. The weights and measures later used in [[Kautilya]]'s ''[[Arthashastra]]'' (4th century BC) are the same as those used in [[Lothal]].<ref>Sergent, Bernard. Genèse de l'Inde, 1997, p.113.</ref>
Unique Harappan inventions include an instrument which was used to measure whole sections of the horizon and the tidal [[Dock (maritime)|dock]]. In addition, Harappans evolved new techniques in [[metallurgy]] and produced [[copper]], [[bronze]], [[lead]] and [[tin]]. The engineering skill of the Harappans was remarkable, especially in building docks after a careful study of tides, waves and currents.
In [[2001]], archaeologists studying the remains of two men from [[Mehrgarh]], [[Pakistan]] made the discovery that the people of the Indus Valley Civilisation, from the early Harappan periods, had knowledge of proto-[[dentistry]]. Later, in April 2006, it was announced in the scientific journal ''[[Nature (journal)|Nature]]'' that the oldest (and first ''early Neolithic'') evidence for the drilling of human teeth ''in vivo'' (''i.e.'' in a living person) was found in Mehrgarh. Eleven drilled molar crowns from nine adults were discovered in a Neolithic graveyard in Mehrgarh that dates from 7,500-9,000 years ago. According to the authors, their discoveries point to a tradition of proto-dentistry in the early farming cultures of that region."<ref>Coppa, A. et al. 2006. [http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v440/n7085/pdf/440755a.pdf "Early Neolithic tradition of dentistry: Flint tips were surprisingly effective for drilling tooth enamel in a prehistoric population."] ''Nature''. Volume 440. 6 April, 2006.</ref>
A [[touchstone]] bearing gold streaks was found in [[Banawali]], which was probably used for testing the purity of gold (such a technique is still used in some parts of India ).<ref>Bisht, R.S. 1982. "Excavations at Banawali: 1974-77". In G.L. Possehl (ed.) ''Harappan Civilization: A Contemporary Perspective'', p. 113-24. New Delhi: Oxford and IBH Publishing Co.</ref>
===Arts and culture===
[[Image:Goddess (Small).png|thumb|left|150px|A statuette of a female figure.]]
Various sculptures, seals, [[Indian Pottery|pottery]], gold jewelry and anatomically detailed figurines in [[terracotta]], bronze and steatite have been found at the excavation sites.
A number of gold, terracotta and stone figurines of girls in dancing poses reveal the presence of some [[dance]] form. [[John Marshall (archaeologist)|Sir John Marshall]] is known to have reacted with surprise when he saw the famous Indus bronze statuette of a slender-limbed "dancing girl" in Mohenjo-daro:
:"… When I first saw them I found it difficult to believe that they were prehistoric; they seemed to completely upset all established ideas about early art, and culture.. Modeling such as this was unknown in the ancient world up to the Hellenistic age of Greece, and I thought, therefore, that some mistake must surely have been made; that these figures had found their way into levels some 3000 years older than those to which they properly belonged. … Now, in these statuettes, it is just this anatomical truth which is so startling; that makes us wonder whether, in this all-important matter, Greek artistry could possibly have been anticipated by the sculptors of a far-off age on the banks of the Indus."
Many crafts "such as shell working, ceramics, and agate and glazed steatite bead making" were used in the making of necklaces, bangles, and other ornaments from all phases of Harappan sites and some of these crafts are still practiced in the subcontinent today.<ref>Kenoyer, J. M. 1997. "Trade and Technology of the Indus Valley: New Insights from Harappa, Pakistan." ''World Archaeology''. (High-Definition Archaeology: Threads Through the Past). 29(2):262-280.</ref> Some make-up and toiletry items (a special kind of combs (kakai), the use of [[Collyrium]] and a special three-in-one toiletry gadget) that were found in Harappan contexts have similar counterparts in modern India.<ref>Lal 2002:82ff</ref> Terracotta female figurines were found (ca. 2800-2600 BCE) which had red color applied to the "manga" (line of partition of the hair), a tradition which is still seen in India.<ref>Lal 2002:82ff</ref>
Seals have been found at [[Mohenjo-daro]] depicting a figure standing on its head, and one sitting cross-legged; perhaps the earliest indication, at least illustration, of the practice of [[history of yoga|yoga]]. A horned figure in an advanced yogic pose (see image, ''Pashupati'', below right) has been interpreted as one of the earliest depictions of the Lord [[Shiva]].
A harp-like instrument depicted on an Indus seal and two shell objects found at Lothal indicate the use of stringed musical instruments. The Harappans also made various toys and games, among them cubical dices (with one to six holes on the faces) which were found in sites like Mohenjo-Daro.<ref>Lal 2002:89ff</ref>
===Trade and transportation===
[[image:Lothal_conception.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Ancient [[Lothal]] as envisaged by the [[Archaeological Survey of India]]. [http://www.harappa.com/lothal/index.html] ]]
[[Image:Sokhta_Koh.jpg|thumb|right|300px| Computer-aided reconstruction of Harappan coastal settlement at [[Sokhta Koh]] near Pasni on the western-most outreaches of the civilization]]
{{Further|[[Lothal]] and [[Meluhha]]}}
The Indus civilization's economy appears to have depended significantly on [[trade]], which was facilitated by major advances in transport technology. These advances included [[bullock]]-driven carts that are identical to those seen throughout South Asia today, as well as boats. Most of these boats were probably small, flat-bottomed craft, perhaps driven by sail, similar to those one can see on the Indus River today; however, there is secondary evidence of sea-going craft. Archaeologists have discovered a massive, dredged canal and docking facility at the coastal city of [[Lothal]].
During 4300 - 3200 BC of [[chalcolithic]] period ( copper age ), Indus Valley Civilization area shows ceramic similarities with southern [[Turkmenistan]] and northern [[Iran]] which suggest considerable mobility and trade. During Early Harappan period about 3200–2600 BCE, similarities in pottery, seals, figurines,ornaments etc. document intensive caravan trade with [[Central Asia]] and the Iranian plateau.<ref> `Study of the Indus Script' by Asko Parpola, May 2005 Page 2,3 </ref>
Judging from the dispersal of Indus civilisation artifacts, the trade networks, economically, integrated a huge area, including portions of [[Afghanistan]], the coastal regions of [[Iran|Persia]], northern and central India, and [[Mesopotamia]].
There was an extensive maritime trade network operating between the Harappan and Mesopotamian civilisations as early as the middle Harappan Phase, with much commerce being handled by "middlemen merchants from Dilmun" (modern [[Bahrain]] and [[Failaka]] located in the [[Persian Gulf]]). <ref>Neyland, R.S. (1992) “The seagoing vessels on Dilmun seals”, in D.H. Keith & T.L. Carrell (ed.), ''Underwater archaeology proceedings of the Society for Historical Archaeology Conference at Kingston, Jamaica 1992'' pp. 68-74. Tucson (AZ): Society for Historical Archaeology.</ref> Such long-distance sea-trade became feasible with the innovative development of plank-built watercraft, equipped with a single central mast supporting a sail of woven rushes or cloth.
Several coastal settlements like Sotkagen-dor (Dasht River, north of Jiwani), [[Sokhta Koh]] (Shadi River, north of Pasni) and Balakot (near Sonmiani) in Pakistan alongwith Lothal in India testify to their role as Harappan trading outposts. Shallow harbours located at the estuary of rivers opening into the sea, allowed brisk maritime trade with Mesopotamian cities.
===Agriculture===
Post 1980 studies indicate that food production was largely indigenous to the Indus Valley. It is known that the people of [[Mehrgarh]] used domesticated [[wheat]]s and [[barley]]<ref>Jarrige, J.-F. 1986. Excavations at Mehrgarh-Nausharo. ''Pakistan Archaeol.'' 10(22):63-131.</ref> and the major cultivated cereal crop was naked six-row barley, a crop derived from two-row barley (see Shaffer and Liechtenstein 1995, 1999). Archaeologist [[Jim G. Shaffer]] (1999: 245) writes that the Mehrgarh site "demonstrates that food production was an indigenous South Asian phenomenon" and that the data support interpretation of "the prehistoric urbanization and complex social organization in South Asia as based on indigenous, but not isolated, cultural developments."
Indus civilization agriculture must have been highly productive; after all, it was capable of generating surpluses sufficient to support tens of thousands of urban residents who were not primarily engaged in agriculture. It relied on the considerable technological achievements of the pre-Harappan culture, including the [[plough]]. Still, very little is known about the farmers who supported the cities or their agricultural methods. Some of them undoubtedly made use of the fertile [[alluvial]] soil left by rivers after the flood season, but this simple method of agriculture is not thought to be productive enough to support cities. There is no evidence of irrigation, but such evidence could have been obliterated by repeated, catastrophic floods.
The Indus civilisation appears to contradict the [[hydraulic despotism]] hypothesis of the origin of urban civilization and the [[state]]. According to this hypothesis, all early, large-scale civilizations arose as a by-product of irrigation systems capable of generating massive [[agriculture|agricultural]] surpluses.
It is often assumed that intensive agricultural production requires [[dam]]s and [[canal]]s. This assumption is easily refuted. Throughout Asia, rice farmers produce significant agricultural surpluses from terraced, hillside [[rice paddy|rice paddies]], which result not from slavery but rather the accumulated labor of many generations of people. Instead of building canals, Indus civilization people may have built water diversion schemes, which—like [[terrace agriculture]]—can be elaborated by generations of small-scale labour investments. It should be noted that Indus Civilisation people built their lives around the [[monsoon]], a weather pattern in which the bulk of a year's rainfall occurs in a four-month.
===Writing or symbol system===
{{main|Indus script}}
[[Image:Pashupati.gif|thumb|200px|left|An Indus Valley seal with the seated figure termed ''[[pashupati]]'' in a yoga-like posture.]]
Well over 400 distinct Indus symbols have been found on [[seal (device)|seals]] or ceramic pots and over a dozen other materials, including a "signboard" that apparently once hung over the gate of the inner citadel of the Indus city of Dholavira. Typical [[Indus inscriptions]] are no more than four or five characters in length, most of which (aside from the Dholavira "signboard") are exquisitely tiny; the longest on a single surface, which is less than 1 inch (2.54 cm) square, is 17 signs long; the longest on any object (found on three different faces of a mass-produced object) has a length of 26 symbols.
While the Indus Valley Civilization is often characterized as a "literate society" on the evidence of these inscriptions, this description has been challenged on linguistic and archaeological grounds: it has been pointed out that the brevity of the inscriptions is unparalleled in any known premodern literate society. Based partly on this evidence, a controversial paper by Farmer, Sproat, and Witzel (2004), [http://www.safarmer.com/fsw2.pdf] argues that the Indus system did not encode language, but was related instead to a variety of non-linguistic sign systems used extensively in the Near East. It has also been claimed on occasion that the symbols were exclusively used for economic transactions, but this claim leaves unexplained the appearance of Indus symbols on many ritual objects, many of which were mass produced in molds. No parallels to these mass-produced inscriptions are known in any other early ancient civilizations.<ref>These and other issues are addressed in Parpola, ''[http://www.harappa.com/script/indusscript.pdf] Study of the Indus Script]'' (2005)</ref>
Photos of many of the thousands of extant inscriptions are published in the ''Corpus of Indus Seals and Inscriptions'' (1987, 1991), edited by A. Parpola and his colleagues. Publication of a final third volume, which will reportedly republish photos taken in the 1920s and 1930s of hundreds of lost or stolen inscriptions, along with many discovered in the last few decades, has been announced for several years, but has not yet found its way into print. For now, researchers must supplement the materials in the ''Corpus'' by study of the tiny photos in the excavation reports of Marshall (1931), Mackay (1938, 1943), Wheeler (1947), or reproductions in more recent scattered sources.
===Religion===
{{see|Prehistoric religion}}
[[Image:Mohenjo-daro Priesterkönig.jpeg|thumb|200px|right|[[Mature Harappan]] "Priest King" statue, [[Mohenjo-daro]], ca. 2500 BC., National Museum, Karachi, Pakistan]]
Judging from the abundant figurines, which may depict female fertility, that they left behind, IVC people worshipped a [[Mother goddess]] (compare [[Shakti]] and [[Kali]]). However, there is no firm agreement among experts as to whether or not these figurines actually depict female fertility, or if they depict something else. Many seals depicting swastikas which are important symbols in later religions of the region including Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism have also been found. Earlier phases feature burials but the cemetery H culture in the late Harrapan period also features cremations with ashes preserved in cremation burial urns. IVC seals depict animals, perhaps as the objects of veneration, comparable to the zoomorphic aspects of some Hindu gods. Seals resembling [[Pashupati]] in a [[yoga|yogic]] posture have also been discovered. Professor Egbert Richter Ushanas, has taken parts in excavations in other ancient civilizations scuh as that of Crete and Easter Island and he has has said, "''All the seals are based on Vedas -- Rig Veda and Atharva Veda.''"<ref> [http://www.sundeepbooks.com/servlet/sugetbiblio?bno=001148 The Indus Script and the Rgveda] by Egbert Richter Ushanas </ref>
==Late Harappan==
{{main|Late Harappan}}
Around [[19th century BC|1800 BCE]], signs of a gradual decline began to emerge, and by around [[18th century BC|1700 BCE]], most of the cities were abandoned. However, the Indus Valley Civilisation did not disappear suddenly, and many elements of the Indus Civilization can be found in later cultures. Current archaeological data suggests that material culture classified as Late Harappan may have persisted until at least c. 1000-900 BCE, and was partially contemporaneous with the [[Painted Grey Ware]] and perhaps early NBP cultures. <ref>Shaffer, Jim. 1993:58, Reurbanization: The eastern Punjab and beyond. In Urban Form and Meaning in South Asia: The Shaping of Cities from Prehistoric to Precolonial Times, ed. H. Spodek and D.M. Srinivasan.</ref> Archaeologists have emphasised that there was a continuous series of cultural developments that link "the so-called two major phases of urbanisation in South Asia". <ref>Shaffer, Jim. 1993:58, Reurbanisation: The eastern Punjab and beyond. In Urban Form and Meaning in South Asia: The Shaping of Cities from Prehistoric to Precolonial Times, ed. H. Spodek and D.M. Srinivasan.</ref>
[[Image: Triseal.jpg|thumb|260px|left|Indus Valley Seals. The first one shows a [[Swastika]]]]
A possible natural reason for the IVC's decline is connected with [[climate change]]: The Indus valley climate grew significantly cooler and drier from about 1800 BCE. A crucial factor may have been the disappearance of substantial portions of the [[Ghaggar Hakra river]] system. A [[tectonic]] event may have diverted the system's sources toward the [[Ganges Plain]], though there is some uncertainty about the date of this event. Although this particular factor is speculative, and not generally accepted, the decline of the IVC, as with any other civilisation, will have been due to a combination of various reasons.
The region lies on the ancient route used by successive waves of migrations from Aryans to Huns, and later by Turks and Mughals to South Asia over the passes in the [[Hindu Kush]]. The [[Swat culture]] of northern Pakistan is a likely candidate for the first settlements of [[Indo-Aryans]] in the subcontinent. It is in this context of the aftermath of a civilisation's collapse that the hypothesis of an [[Indo-Aryan migration]] into northern India is discussed. In the early twentieth century, this migration was forwarded in the guise of an "[[Aryan invasion theory|Aryan invasion]]", and when the civilization was discovered in the 1920s, its collapse at precisely the time of the conjectured invasion was seen as an independent confirmation. In the words of the archaeologist [[Mortimer Wheeler]], the Indo-Aryan war god [[Indra]] "stands accused" of the destruction.
It is however far from certain whether the collapse of the IVC is the result of an Indo-Aryan invasion; it seems rather likely that, on the contrary, a gradual Indo-Aryan migration, as opposed to a sudden "invasion" was as a result of the collapse, comparable with the decline of the [[Roman Empire]] and the incursions of relatively primitive peoples during the [[Migrations Period]]. This makes it seem more likely that the adoption of [[Indo-Aryan languages]] was the result of cultural mixing and integration of the Cemetery H people (likely [[Dravidians]]) and Indo-Aryans rather than invasion.
===Legacy===
In the aftermath of the Indus Civilization's decline, regional cultures emerged, to varying degrees showing the influence of the Indus Civilization. In the formerly great city of Harappa, burials have been found that correspond to a regional culture called the [[Cemetery H culture]]. At the same time, the [[Ochre Coloured Pottery culture]] expanded from [[Rajasthan]] into the [[Gangetic Plain]]. The Cemetery H culture has the earliest evidence for [[cremation]], a practice dominant in Hinduism until today.
The curve of the Harappa Culture, which began to shoot up around 2600 BC and reached its peak, in the centuries that followed, began its downward journey around 2000 BC. Several factors seem to have contributed to it. Over‑exploitation and consequent wearing out of the landscape must have led to a fall in agricultural production. Added to it was probably a change in the climate towards aridity. And no less significant was a marked fall in trade, both internal as well as external. As a result of all this, there was no longer the affluence that used to characterise this civilization. The cities began to disappear and there was a reversion to a rural scenario. Thus, there was no doubt a set‑back in the standards of living but no extinction of the culture itself. Same IVC practices of agriculture, cooking habits, personal make‑up, ornaments, objects of toiletry, games played by children or adults, transport by road or river, folk tales, religious practices and so on were continued later on by people.<ref> [[B.B. Lal]] 's paper http://www.geocities.com/ifihhome/articles/bbl002.html </ref>
Incidentally, the demise of the [[Bactria-Margiana Archaeological Complex]] (BMAC; 2200 BC -1700 BC ) coincides with that of the IVC, both having trading relations. BMAC settlements were burnt where as IVC towns do not show any signs of burning or invasion.
==See also==
* [[William Kelly (inventor)|William Kelly]]
*[[Sokhta Koh]] - A Coastal Harappan Settlement
*[[Bessemer process]]
*[[Meluhha]] - the name used in [[Mesopotamia]] to refer to the Indus Civilisation
==External articles and references==
*[[Synoptic table of the principal old world prehistoric cultures]]
;Websites
* [http://www.history.rochester.edu/ehp-book/shb/start.htm Bessemer's autobiography]
== Notes ==
;General citations
{{reflist}}
* {{1911}}
* Sir Henry Bessemer F.R.S An Autobiography (1989) ISBN 0901462497
== Bibliography==
* [http://www.fweb.org.uk/Dean/towns/colefordproject/people/mushet.html Robert Mushet]
*Allchin, Bridget. 1997. ''Origins of a Civilization: The Prehistory and Early Archaeology of South Asia''. New York: Viking.
*Allchin, Raymond (ed.). 1995. ''The Archaeology of Early Historic South Asia: The Emergence of Cities and States''. New York: Cambridge University Press.
*Aronovsky, Ilona and Sujata Gopinath. 2005. ''The Indus Valley''. Chicago: Heinemann.
*Basham, A.L., ''The Wonder That Was India'', Sidgwick & Jackson, London, 1967, p 11-14.
*{{cite book | first=D.K. | last=Chakrabarti | authorlink= | coauthors= | year=2004 | title=Indus Civilization Sites in India: New Discoveries | edition= | publisher=Marg Publications | ___location=Mumbai | id=ISBN 81-85026-63-7}}
*[[Ahmad Hasan Dani|Dani, Ahmad Hassan]], ''Short History of Pakistan'', Book 1, 1984, University of Karachi.
*Dani, Ahmad Hassan and J-P. Mohen (eds.) 1996. ''History of Humanity, Volume III, From the Third Millennium to the Seventh Century BC''. New York: Routledge/Paris: UNESCO. 566 pages. ISBN 0415093066.
*{{cite book | first=S.P. | last=Gupta | authorlink=S.P. Gupta | coauthors= | year=1996 | title=The Indus-Saraswati Civilization : Origins, Problems and Issues | edition= | publisher= | ___location= | id=ISBN 81-85268-46-0}}
*Gupta, S.P. (ed.). 1995. The lost Sarasvati and the Indus Civilisation. Kusumanjali Prakashan, Jodhpur.
* Kathiroli et al. 2004. "Recent Marine Archaeological Finds in Khambhat, Gujarat". Journal of Indian Ocean Archaeology No 1, p. 141-149.
*[[Jonathan Mark Kenoyer|Kenoyer, J. Mark]]. 1998. Ancient cities of the Indus Valley Civilisation. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-577940-1.
*{{cite journal | author=Kenoyer, J. Mark | title=The Indus Valley tradition of Pakistan and Western India | journal=Journal of World Prehistory | year=1991 | volume=5 | pages=1-64}}
*Kenoyer, J. Mark and Kimberly Heuston. 2005. ''The Ancient South Asian World''. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press. 176 pages. ISBN 0195174224.
*Kirkpatrick, Naida. 2002. ''The Indus Valley''. Chicago: Heinemann.
*{{cite book | first=Nayanjot (editor) | last=Lahiri | authorlink= | coauthors= | year=2000 | title=The Decline and Fall of the Indus Civilisation | edition= | publisher= | ___location= | id=ISBN 81-7530-034-5 }}
*{{cite book | first=B.B. | last=Lal | authorlink=B.B. Lal | coauthors= | year=1998 | title=India 1947-1997 : New Light on the Indus Civilization | edition= | publisher= | ___location= | id=ISBN 81-7305-129-1 }}
*{{cite book | first=B.B. | last=Lal | authorlink=B.B. Lal | coauthors= | year=1997 | title=The Earliest Civilisation of South Asia (Rise, Maturity and Decline) | edition= | publisher= | ___location= | id= }}
*Lal, B.B. (2002) The Sarasvati flows on.
*McIntosh, Jane, A Peaceful Realm: The Rise And Fall of the Indus Civilization, Boulder: Westview Press (2001), ISBN 0813335329.
*[[Mohammed Rafique Mughal|Mughal, Mohammad Rafique]]. 1997. ''Ancient Cholistan, Archaeology and Architecture''. Ferozesons. 172 pages. ISBN 9690013505.
* [[Asko Parpola|Parpola, Asko]] (2005) [http://www.harappa.com/script/indusscript.pdf "Study of the Indus Script"], 50th ICES Tokyo Session, Tokyo, May 19, 2005
*Possehl, Gregory. 2002. The Indus Civilisation. Walnut Creek: Alta Mira Press.
*{{cite book | first=S.R. | last=Rao | authorlink=Shikaripura Ranganatha Rao | coauthors= | year=1991 | title=Dawn and Devolution of the Indus Civilisation | edition= | publisher= | ___location= | id=ISBN 81-85179-74-3 }}
*{{cite book | author=Shaffer, Jim G. | title=Cultural tradition and Palaeoethnicity in South Asian Archaeology | publisher=In: Indo-Aryans of Ancient South Asia. Ed. George Erdosy. | year=1995 | isbn=3-11-014447-6}}
*{{cite book | author=Shaffer, Jim G. | title=Migration, Philology and South Asian Archaeology | | publisher=In: Aryan and Non-Aryan in South Asia. Ed. Bronkhorst and Deshpande. | year=1999 | id=ISBN 1-888789-04-2}}
*[[Jim G. Shaffer]]. 1992. "The Indus Valley, Baluchistan and Helmand Traditions: Neolithic Through Bronze Age." In Chronologies in Old World Archaeology. Second Edition. R.W. Ehrich, (Ed.). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. I:441-464, II:425-446.
*[[Michael Witzel|Witzel, M.]], ''The Languages of Harappa'', EJVS Feb. 2000 [http://www.people.fas.harvard.edu/~witzel/IndusLang.pdf].
==External links==
* [http://www.harappa.com Harrapa and Indus Valley Civilisation at harrapa.com]
* [http://pubweb.cc.u-tokai.ac.jp/indus/english/index.html An invitation to the Indus Civilisation (Tokyo Metropolitan Museum)]
* [http://www.archaeologyonline.net/artifacts/harappa-mohenjodaro.html The Harappan Civilisation]
* [http://www.geocities.com/ifihhome/articles/bbl002.html Why Perpetuate Myths ? - A Fresh Look at Ancient Indian History] - By [[B. B. Lal]] - Director General (Retd.) - Archaeological Survey of India
*[http://www.geocities.com/ifihhome/articles/bbl001.html The Homeland of Indo-European Languages and Culture: Some Thoughts] By [[B.B. Lal]]
*[http://micheldanino.voiceofdharma.com/indus.html The Indus-Sarasvati Civilization] Essay by [[Michel Danino]]
* [http://www.hindunet.org/hindu_history/sarasvati/html/artefacts.htm Indus Artifacts]
* [http://www.mountainman.com.au/Indus_Sarasvati.htm Indus-Sarasvati Resources Index]
* [http://www.ucl.ac.uk/~ucgadkw/members/indus.html Sarasvati-Sindhu Civilisation]
* [http://www.upenn.edu/researchatpenn/article.php?674&soc Cache of Seal Impressions Discovered in Western India]
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