Class 6 ยท Social Science ยท Exploring Society
Chapter 6 ๐บ
Chapter 6 ๐บ
The Beginnings of Indian Civilisation
Detailed, colourful revision notes โ everything you need before your test!
Chapter Contents
1. What is a Civilisation?
A civilisation is an advanced stage of human society. Historians generally look for these 7 characteristics:
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Fig 1: The 7 characteristics of a civilisation
2. Where and When
Civilisation began at different times in different parts of the world.
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Fig 2: The Indus-Sarasvatฤซ Civilisation compared with Mesopotamia and Egypt
Mesopotamia (~6,000 years ago) was the earliest, followed a few centuries later by Egypt. The Indus-Sarasvatฤซ Civilisation flourished from about 2600 to 1900 BCE.
3. From Village to City
This civilisation grew along the Indus (Sindhu) River and the now-dried-up Sarasvatฤซ River (mentioned in the Rig Veda). It has several names: Indus, Harappan, or Indus-Sarasvatฤซ Civilisation โ its people are called Harappans, after Harappa, the first city excavated (1921).
This is called India's "First Urbanisation". The old term "Indus Valley Civilisation" is now considered outdated, since the civilisation extended far beyond just the Indus valley.
| Harappan City | Modern State/Region |
|---|---|
| Dholavira | Gujarat |
| Harappa | Punjab (Pakistan) |
| Kalibangan | Rajasthan |
| Mohenjo-daro | Sindh (Pakistan) |
| Rakhigarhi | Haryana |
4. Town Planning
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Fig 3: A typical Harappan city plan
Harappan cities were built to precise plans with wide streets, often aligned to cardinal directions. Most were surrounded by fortifications and had two parts: the Upper Town (local elite) and the Lower Town (common people).
The Great Bath at Mohenjo-daro was a waterproofed tank (~12m ร 7m) โ its exact purpose is still debated, but it wasn't a "public bath" since most houses already had individual bathrooms!
All Harappan houses โ big or small โ were built with the same quality of construction. What might that tell us about their society?
5. Water Management
Harappans gave great importance to water management and cleanliness โ homes had bathing areas connected to a network of covered drains running below the streets. Mohenjo-daro alone had hundreds of brick-built wells.
6. Trade, Seals & Writing
Exports: ornaments (especially carnelian beads), timber, cotton, possibly gold.
Imports: likely copper (not locally common).
Lothal (Gujarat) had a huge dockyard โ evidence of India's first intensive maritime trade!
Imports: likely copper (not locally common).
Lothal (Gujarat) had a huge dockyard โ evidence of India's first intensive maritime trade!
Thousands of small seals (made of steatite) have been found, showing animal figures with symbols from a writing system that is still undeciphered today!
Famous Harappan objects include the "Priest King" statuette, a seal with a swastika symbol, and the Pashupati Seal (a three-faced figure surrounded by animals).
7. The Decline
There's no evidence of war or invasion causing the decline. Two agreed factors:
1. Climatic change (~2000 BCE onward) brought reduced rainfall, hurting agriculture.
2. The Sarasvatฤซ River dried up, forcing abandonment of cities like Kalibangan.
People gradually returned to rural life, but Harappan culture and technology lived on into later Indian civilisation.
1. Climatic change (~2000 BCE onward) brought reduced rainfall, hurting agriculture.
2. The Sarasvatฤซ River dried up, forcing abandonment of cities like Kalibangan.
People gradually returned to rural life, but Harappan culture and technology lived on into later Indian civilisation.
๐ฏ Quick Summary
- A civilisation needs: government, urbanism, crafts, trade, writing, culture, and productive agriculture.
- The Indus-Sarasvatฤซ (Harappan) Civilisation flourished ~2600โ1900 BCE โ one of the world's oldest.
- Cities had planned layouts: Upper Town (elite) + Lower Town (common people), fortified walls, grid streets.
- Harappans excelled at water management (drains, wells) and trade (Lothal's dockyard, carnelian beads).
- Their script (seen on seals) remains undeciphered to this day.
- The civilisation declined due to climate change and the drying up of the Sarasvatฤซ River โ not war.
โ๏ธ Notes by @edugrown โ happy revising! ๐