Section 1: Prehistoric India & the Indus Valley Civilisation

1.1 Prehistoric India: The Stone Age

Prehistory refers to the period before written records. Indian prehistory is divided into the Stone Age and the Metal Age. The Stone Age is itself divided into three phases based on the type and sophistication of stone tools used.

Palaeolithic Age (Old Stone Age) — c. 500,000 to 10,000 BC

The Palaeolithic is the earliest and longest phase of human prehistory. Palaeolithic people were hunter-gatherers who used unpolished, rough stone tools (primarily quartzite). They had no knowledge of agriculture or the domestication of animals. Key features:

• Tools — hand axes, cleavers, choppers; made by chipping and flaking quartzite stone
• Three sub-phases: Lower Palaeolithic (Soan/Sohan culture, Acheulian tools), Middle Palaeolithic (flake tools), Upper Palaeolithic (blade and burin tools)
• Key sites — Bhimbetka (Madhya Pradesh) — rock shelters with cave paintings; Hunsgi (Karnataka); Belan Valley (UP); Soan Valley (now Pakistan)
• Bhimbetka rock shelters show evidence of human habitation from Lower Palaeolithic through medieval times; declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2003
• No knowledge of fire in Lower Palaeolithic; fire known by Middle Palaeolithic period

Mesolithic Age (Middle Stone Age) — c. 10,000 to 8,000 BC

A transitional phase characterised by microliths — tiny, geometrically shaped stone blades. Climate became warmer after the last Ice Age. People still primarily hunter-gatherers but beginning to domesticate animals.

• Microliths — small blades, points, and scrapers; used as composite tools (fixed in bone or wood handles)
• Key sites — Bagor (Rajasthan) — largest Mesolithic site in India; Adamgarh (MP); Langhnaj (Gujarat)
• Evidence of dog domestication at Bagor and Adamgarh — earliest domesticated animal in India
• Rock art at Bhimbetka continues — paintings of hunting scenes, animals, dancing

Neolithic Age (New Stone Age) — c. 8,000 to 4,000 BC

The Neolithic Revolution — the shift from food-gathering to food-production — is one of the most significant transitions in human history. Characterised by polished stone tools, the beginning of agriculture, settled life, and pottery.

• Polished stone tools — celts (axes), adzes, chisels
• Agriculture — wheat, barley, rice; cattle domestication
• Pottery — handmade and wheel-made; used for storage and cooking
• Key sites — Mehrgarh (Balochistan, Pakistan) — oldest Neolithic site in the subcontinent (c. 7000 BC); evidence of wheat, barley cultivation and cattle rearing; precursor to Indus Valley Civilisation
• Burzahom (Kashmir) — pit dwellings; Gufkral (Kashmir); Chirand (Bihar); Piklihal and Brahmagiri (Karnataka)
• Inamgaon (Maharashtra) — well-planned Neolithic-Chalcolithic settlement

Chalcolithic Age (Copper-Stone Age) — c. 3,000 to 1,500 BC

The Chalcolithic (Greek: chalkos = copper) marks the first use of metal — copper — alongside stone tools. This is a transitional phase between the Stone Age and the Bronze Age.

• First metal used — copper (and occasionally bronze)
• Agriculture well established; wheat, rice, lentils, cotton cultivated
• Painted pottery — black-on-red ware characteristic of Chalcolithic cultures
• Key cultures — Ahar culture (Rajasthan); Kayatha culture (MP); Malwa culture (MP); Jorwe culture (Maharashtra — largest Chalcolithic settlement at Inamgaon)
• Chalcolithic cultures were largely non-urban — villages, not cities; preceded and coexisted with the Harappan Civilisation

1.2 The Indus Valley Civilisation (c. 3300–1300 BC)

The Indus Valley Civilisation (IVC) — also called the Harappan Civilisation (after its first excavated site, Harappa) — was one of the world's earliest urban civilisations, contemporary with ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt. At its peak (Mature Harappan phase, c. 2600–1900 BC) it was the most extensive of the three, covering an area of over 1.5 million sq km across present-day Pakistan, northwest India, and Afghanistan.

Discovery and Excavation

• Harappa (Punjab, Pakistan) — discovered in 1921 by Daya Ram Sahni under the direction of Sir John Marshall, Director-General of the Archaeological Survey of India
• Mohenjo-daro (Sindh, Pakistan) — discovered in 1922 by R. D. Banerji
• Sir John Marshall first used the term "Indus Valley Civilisation" and published its discovery to the world in 1924
• Alexander Cunningham — founder of the Archaeological Survey of India (1861); known as the "Father of Indian Archaeology" — visited Harappa as early as 1853 but did not recognise it as part of a civilisation
• Later excavations: Ernest Mackay at Mohenjo-daro; M. S. Vats at Harappa; S. R. Rao at Lothal

Chronological Phases

Major Sites

1.3 Urban Planning and Architecture

The most remarkable feature of the Harappan Civilisation was its sophisticated urban planning — a grid-pattern street layout, standardised bricks, and an advanced drainage system unparalleled in the ancient world.

City Layout

• Two-part layout — most cities had a raised Citadel (west) for public/administrative buildings, and a larger Lower Town (east) for residential and commercial use
• Dholavira had a unique three-part division (citadel + middle town + lower town)
• Streets ran in a grid pattern — at right angles to each other (north-south and east-west)
• Standardised burnt brick ratio — 1:2:4 (thickness : width : length) used consistently across all sites

The Great Bath (Mohenjo-daro)

The Great Bath is the most celebrated structure of the Harappan Civilisation. It measures 11.8 m × 7 m × 2.4 m deep, with steps at either end, a layer of natural tar (bitumen) for waterproofing, and colonnaded galleries on all sides. Its purpose was most likely ritual bathing — suggesting a priestly or religious function.

Granaries

Large granaries have been found at Harappa, Mohenjo-daro, and Lothal — indicating centralised storage of grain, possibly by a state or priestly authority. The granaries at Harappa were situated near the river to facilitate unloading of grain by boat.

Drainage System

The IVC had the most advanced drainage system of any ancient civilisation. Every house had drains connected to covered street drains (brick-lined, with inspection holes), which led to larger city drains. This suggests a high degree of civic organisation and sanitation awareness.

1.4 Economy, Trade, and Society

Economy

• Agriculture — wheat, barley, sesamum, mustard, peas, cotton (first known cultivation of cotton in the world)
• Animal husbandry — cattle, buffalo, sheep, goat, pig, elephant; horse remains debated
• Craft production — pottery, bead-making (carnelian, lapis lazuli, gold), bronze casting, shell-working, textile weaving
• Standardised weights and measures — cubical chert weights in a binary system (1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64...); evidence of a centralised economic system

Trade

• Extensive trade network — internal (between Harappan cities) and external (Mesopotamia, Central Asia, Persian Gulf)
• Traded goods — cotton textiles, beads, carnelian, lapis lazuli, ivory combs, copper
• Trade with Mesopotamia documented — Harappan seals found in Mesopotamian sites; Mesopotamian texts refer to trade with "Meluhha" (believed to be the Harappan region)
• Lothal dockyard — evidence of maritime trade with the Persian Gulf
• No evidence of temples or palaces — ruling class may have been merchant-priests

Society

• Apparently relatively egalitarian — no monumental royal tombs or palaces; no clear evidence of a warrior class or large armies
• Evidence of social differentiation — size of houses, ornaments, burial goods vary
• Mother Goddess figurines (terracotta) — suggest worship of a female deity; also the Pashupati Seal from Mohenjo-daro (proto-Shiva?)
• Tree and animal worship evidenced by seals — pipal tree, unicorn (most common seal motif), humped bull, elephant, tiger

1.5 The Harappan Script, Seals, and Decline

Script

• Harappan script — found on over 4,000 seals and inscribed objects; approximately 400–600 signs identified
• Written right to left (boustrophedon style in some cases)
• Not yet deciphered — the greatest unsolved puzzle of ancient history; no bilingual inscription (like the Rosetta Stone) has been found
• Most inscriptions are short (average 5 signs) — likely names or titles of merchants/officials

Seals

• Over 4,000 seals found — made of steatite (soapstone); square or rectangular; used for trade and identification
• Most common motif — the unicorn (single-horned bull) in front of a ritual offering stand
• Pashupati Seal (Mohenjo-daro) — depicts a seated, possibly three-faced figure surrounded by animals (elephant, tiger, rhinoceros, buffalo); interpreted as proto-Shiva or a proto-Yogic figure

Decline (c. 1900 BC onwards)

The causes of the decline of the IVC remain debated. Proposed theories include:

• Climate change / drought — drying up of the Ghaggar-Hakra River (possibly the Vedic Saraswati); current most accepted theory
• Aryan invasion / migration — once dominant but now largely discredited as the primary cause
• Tectonic activity — possible flooding or shifting of river courses
• Epidemic / disease — skeletal evidence of unburied bodies at Mohenjo-daro
• Most likely a combination of factors; decline was gradual, not sudden; population dispersed eastward and southward