ARTS REVIEW: HARAPPA AT UNIVERSITY OF HAWAI'I

Through the recent excavations at locations such as Harappa, Dholavira, Lakhanjodaro, Farmana, Shikarpur, Gola Dhoro, and other sites, archeologists “have provided new evidence on the origins of writing and urbanism in the Indus Valley.”

 

Below is part of the ongoing discussion experts have had regarding the excavations and discoveries of the roots of Indus civilizations as interpreted through the tangible materials and artistic artifacts collected from the find.

 

On the ORIGINS OF INDUS CIVILIZATIONS

 

Richard Meadow observed: “The city grew from being a small village through becoming a town and into a city. The cultural materials recovered from the site show change and elaboration through time, but, in some cases, cultural expressions like pottery decorations found in the Harappan period can be traced back to the earliest period at the site.

 

“This is not to say that there was not more rapid change at some points and slower change at others, but one does not see any revolutionary change until perhaps the end of the Harappan period, when seals and weights disappeared and pottery decoration changed markedly. But even here, because the transition is so badly known, we cannot be sure how quick the change was, nor what its cause may have been.”

 

Jane McIntosh commented: “The recent excavations at Harappa have made a considerable contribution to our understanding of the emergence of the Indus civilization. There is evidence of the unbroken occupation and growth of the settlement from its initial foundation around or before 3500 BC through the Kot Diji period town (circa) 2800-2600 BC to the emergence of the Mature Harappan city around 2600 BC. 

 

“As Harappa did not suffer the upheaval that was so widespread, it is possible that it was at Harappa that the impetus for change took place and from there that it spread. Currently, the earliest examples of writing (sequences of signs rather than graffiti) come from Harappa.“

 

MOST INTERESTING FINDS?

 

Jane McIntosh stated: “The excavations at Dholavira have revealed a city in some ways unlike those previously known but following the same overall patterns, so they have both confirmed much that had been surmised on the basis of the early excavations at Harappa and Mohenjo-daro and broadened what we know about Harappan cities.

 

“The recent excavations at Harappa have both clarified and expanded much that known from earlier excavations here and has revealed a great deal about the development of the Indus civilization from its antecedents to its decline. In particular, the excavations have provided a sequence of development in the Mature Harappan period that begins to allow the establishment of an internal chronology of development in what was previously seen as a uniform, undifferentiated period of considerable length.”

 

Asko Parpola added: “These cultures have filled voids on the archaeological map and opened up new possibilities to explore such complex phenomena as the prehistory of Indo-Iranian languages and their coming to Iran and South Asia. As our earliest literary sources from South Asia are in Indo-Aryan, we need to understand this background also for our interpretation of the Harappan heritage.”

 

Richard Meadow said: “The most significant insight is that the Indus Civilization was a dynamic and complicated phenomenon, regionally differentiated yet sharing some common material cultural attributes. To what degree this sharing was because local populations 'bought into' aspects of the Harappan culture (e.g., India and China have 'bought into' aspects of 'Western culture' today) or because some sites were Harappan colonies or had Harappan elites ruling over local populations remains to be determined on a site by site basis."

 

Were Indus people a PEACEFUL CIVILIZATION?

 

Jane McIntosh pointed out: “The Indus Civilization probably had no natural enemies. However, no society can operate without a means of controlling violence by individuals and, in a region where wild animals abound, defense against animals is necessary. So it is entirely to be expected that Harappan villagers had weapons to protect themselves against wild animals (and to hunt them for food and materials such as leather), and highly likely that the Harappans had some form of armed police to protect the public and deal with criminals.”

 

Iravatham Mahadevan added: “It is true that Harappan art does not portrait warfare. It is also true that no good weapons, like spears or swords, have been found. There is also no evidence of sacking or burning of Indus cities. The inescapable conclusion is that the Harappan were a peace-loving people not given to war or aggression. The civilization seems to have declined and collapsed due to natural causes, and also probably due to the failure of the ideology which bound the Harappan people together."

 

What was the INDUS DIET like?

 

Jane McIntosh observed: “The Harappans grew lentils and other pulses (peas, chickpeas, green gram, black gram). Their main staples were wheat and barley, which were presumably made into bread and perhaps also cooked with water as a gruel or porridge.”

 

What kind of CLOTHES did the INDUS PEOPLE WEAR?

 

Jane McIntosh commented: “The limited depictions of clothing show that men wore a cloth around the waist resembling a modern dhoti, and like it, often passed between the legs and tucked up behind. The so-called “Priest-king” and other stone figures also wore a long robe over the left shoulder, leaving bare the right shoulder and chest. Some male figurines are shown wearing a turban. Woman’s clothing seems to have been a knee-length skirt. Figurines and finds in graves show that Harappans of both sexes wore jewelry: hair fillets, bead necklaces, and bangles for men; bangles, earrings, rings, anklets, belts made of strings of beads, pendants, chokers, and numerous necklaces for women, as well as elaborate hairstyles and headdresses.”

 

The illustrative lecture was sponsored by the Archaelogical Institute of America and the University of Hawai'i.

 

For complete discussion, visit www.harappa.com.