Trading Sistema De Indus Vale Civilização

Explorar o tópico Escavações arqueológicas nos anos 20 descobriram as ruínas de duas grandes cidades, Harappa e Mohenjo-daro, que atestam as antigas raízes da civilização indiana. Ambos os sítios, hoje parte do Paquistão, estão entre os principais assentamentos urbanos da Civilização do Vale do Indo que se desenvolveram ao longo das planícies aluviais do Rio Indo e seus afluentes e floresceram entre 3000 e 1900 aC A fertilidade dos vales dos rios, Agricultura e pastoreio um pilar da economia civilizações, que também foi complementada pelo comércio interno e externo. Entre as características-chave dos locais de civilização do Indo, que já foram encontrados em uma vasta faixa do Paquistão e noroeste da Índia, é a sua uniformidade. As cidades foram construídas com tijolos de tamanho padronizado e apresentam um plano de rua rectilíneo, celeiros, drenagem e sistemas de esgoto, e casas de vários andares. A civilização também desenvolveu um sistema uniforme de pesos e medidas, bem como uma forma de escrita, que ainda não foi decodificado. Em número e extensão, a civilização do Indo foi a maior das civilizações do mundo antigo. Embora as razões para o declínio das civilizações do Indo não sejam absolutamente conhecidas, evidências geológicas de montagem sugerem que a mudança climática pode ter sido um fator. As ruínas de Harappa atestam a antiga civilização do Vale do Indo Harappa era um antigo assentamento urbano da Idade do Bronze, localizado perto do antigo curso do rio Ravi, no nordeste do Paquistão, descoberto na década de 1920. Harappa e Mohenjo-daro, uma cidade similarmente planejada situada mais ao sul, perto das margens do rio Indus, são consideradas parte da mesma civilização vasta, a civilização do vale de Indus, que prosperou de 2600 a 1900 BCE. Os restos da parede da cidadela de Harappas, feita do tijolo da lama, são ainda visíveis, mesmo que muitos de seus tijolos foram pilhados durante a construção de uma estrada de ferro no 19o século. As escavações arqueológicas indicam que os celeiros da cidade foram situados ao norte da cidadela, enquanto um cemitério foi localizado ao sul. Semelhante às outras cidades da Civilização do Vale do Indo, as ruas foram dispostas em um padrão em forma de grade, correndo de norte a sul ou de leste a oeste. Os assentamentos casas de telhado plano, de uma ou duas histórias, apresentou encanamento indoor que conectado a um sistema altamente desenvolvido de drenagem e remoção de resíduos. Cerâmica pintada, bronze e ferramentas de cobre, figuras de terracota, e numerosos selos carimbados inscritos, decorados com motivos animais, estão entre os artefatos que foram descobertos em Harappa e Mohenjo-daro. Mesmo com essas descobertas, as identidades dos governantes das cidades permanecem em dúvida. Ciclismo nas chuvas monções O clima das Índias é particularmente afetado pelas monções, ventos fortes que mudam de direção com as estações devido a diferenças na temperatura da terra e do oceano e podem desencadear mudanças dramáticas no tempo. Derivado do árabe para a temporada (mausim), monções na Índia sopro do mar para a terra em uma direção sudoeste de junho a setembro. De outubro a dezembro, os ventos sopram sobre a terra em direção ao mar a partir de uma direção nordeste, varrendo do Himalaia para o Oceano Índico. As chuvas durante o verão ou a monção molhada descem quando o ar que absorve o calor da massa terrestre indígena sobe e é substituído por ar mais frio do Oceano Índico. Desde que as temperaturas durante o verão de Indias podem alcangar sobre 100 graus Fahrenheit, a monção molhada traz o relevo tão necessário. A indústria agrícola e a economia do país dependem da monção de verão, que fornece até 80 das chuvas da índia. No entanto, pesadas estações de monção, que podem trazer muitos pés de chuva em questão de meses, levaram a deslizamentos de terra e destruíram colheitas e aldeias. Por outro lado, a falha da monção pode causar anos de seca, e os cientistas teorizam que uma monção enfraquecida pode ter contribuído para a queda da Civilização do Vale do Indo. Os séculos 19 e 20, os arqueólogos descobriram os vestígios da civilização mais antiga da índia, que se desenvolveu no fértil vale do rio Indus entre 3000 e 1900 aC . Maior do que as civilizações egípcia ou mesopotâmia do mesmo período, a população da civilização do Vale do Indo (ou Harappan) é estimada em qualquer lugar entre dois e cinco milhões de pessoas. Entre as civilizações 2000 principais assentamentos foram as cidades planejadas de Harappa e Mohenjo-daro, comércio e centros de produção artesanal, onde artesãos e aldeias forjado cerâmica e contas intrincadas feitas de ouro, cobre e marfim. Evidências arqueológicas mostram que após 700 anos de estabilidade, a civilização declinou. A maioria dos assentamentos do Indo havia sido abandonada ou tinha encolhido em tamanho por volta de 1800 aC. Muitos fatores contribuíram para o fim da civilização do Indo, mas as mudanças climáticas estão surgindo como uma das principais razões para sua extinção gradual. A evidência geológica mostra que o clima das regiões se tornou mais frio e mais seco, em parte talvez por causa de uma monção enfraquecida. Em 1800 aC, o rio Ghaggar-Hakra, um rio na região que seguia o sistema Indus e que alguns estudiosos sugerem é o Saraswati, o rio sagrado perdido do Rig Veda. Foi severamente diminuída. Como resultado, as cidades foram abandonadas e embora parte da população permaneceu, muitos migraram para terras mais férteis no leste em torno do rio Ganges e Jumna. O que os arqueólogos encontraram em Harappa e Mohenjo-Daro, que indicam que as cidades eram parte de uma civilização avançada Enquanto os ventos de monção são uma parte essencial do comércio indiano e da história agrícola, que problemas podem causar Nos tempos antigos, a mudança climática pode Fizeram com que as cidades do Vale do Indo fossem abandonadas. O que as mudanças às civilizações e às cidades pôde a mudança de clima moderna trazer A história de India é tornada possível pelas contribuições dos visores tais como você mesmo e também por alimentos indianos de Pataks. Iniciado por Indian empresário L. G. Pathak, Pataks distribui produtos alimentares indianos nos EUA e em todo o mundo. A Civilização do Vale do Indo (IVC) foi uma civilização da Idade do Bronze (3300-1300 BCE período maduro 2600-1900 aC), estendendo-se a partir do que hoje é o nordeste do Afeganistão Ao Paquistão e noroeste da Índia. Junto com o antigo Egito e Mesopotâmia foi uma das três primeiras civilizações do Velho Mundo, e dos três os mais difundidos floresceu nas bacias do rio Indus, um dos principais rios da Ásia, eo rio Ghaggar-Hakra, Que uma vez percorreu o noroeste da Índia e Paquistão oriental. No auge, a civilização do Indo pode ter tido uma população de mais de cinco milhões. Os habitantes do antigo vale do rio Indus desenvolveram novas técnicas em artesanato (produtos de cornalina, escultura de vedação) e metalurgia (cobre, bronze, chumbo e estanho). As cidades de Indus são anotadas para seu planeamento urbano, casas de tijolo cozidas, sistemas elaborados da drenagem, sistemas de fonte de água, e conjuntos de grandes edifícios não residenciais A civilização do vale de Indus é sabida também como a civilização de Harappan, após Harappa, o primeiro de seus locais A ser escavado na década de 1920, no que era então a província de Punjab da Índia britânica, e agora é o Paquistão. A descoberta de Harappa, e logo depois, Mohenjo-Daro, era o culminar do trabalho que começa em 1861 com a fundação do exame Archaeological de India no Raj britânico. A exploração dos locais de Harappan tem-se estado em curso desde 1920, com descobertas importantes que ocorrem como Recentemente como 1999. Havia umas culturas mais adiantadas e mais atrasadas, chamadas frequentemente Harappan adiantado e Harappan atrasado, na mesma área da civilização de Harappan. A civilização de Harappan é chamada às vezes a cultura Harappan madura de distingui-la destas culturas. Até 1999, mais de 1.056 cidades e assentamentos foram encontrados, dos quais 96 foram escavados, principalmente na região geral dos rios Indus e Ghaggar-Hakra e seus afluentes. Entre os assentamentos estavam os principais centros urbanos de Harappa, Mohenjo-daro (Património Mundial da UNESCO), Dholavira, Ganeriwala no Cholistan e Rakhigarhi. A linguagem Harappan não é diretamente atestada e sua filiação é incerto desde que o script Indus ainda não foi decifrado. Um relacionamento com a família Dravidian ou Elamo-Dravidian é favorecido por uma seção de eruditos. Cronologia A fase madura da civilização Harappan durou de c. 2600 a 1900 aC. Com a inclusão das culturas predecessoras e sucessoras - Harappan Inferior e Harappan Tardio, respectivamente - toda a Civilização do Vale do Indo pode ser considerada como tendo durado do 33o ao 14o séculos aC. Dois termos são empregados para a periodização do IVC: Fases e Eras. As fases de Harappan, Harappan maduro e Harappan tardia também são chamadas de épocas de regionalização, integração e localização, respectivamente, com a era de regionalização que remonta ao período neolítico Mehrgarh II. Descobertas em Mehrgarh mudaram todo o conceito da civilização do Indo, de acordo com Ahmad Hasan Dani, professor emérito da Universidade Quaid-e-Azam, em Islamabad. Lá temos toda a seqüência, desde o início da vida da aldeia. A civilização do Vale do Indo abarcou a maior parte do Paquistão e partes do noroeste da Índia, Afeganistão e Irã, estendendo-se do Baluchistão no oeste para Uttar Pradesh no leste, no nordeste do Afeganistão ao norte e Maharashtra ao sul. A geografia do Vale do Indo colocou as civilizações que surgiram lá em uma situação muito semelhante àqueles no Egito e no Peru, com ricas terras agrícolas sendo cercado por montanhas, deserto e oceano. Recentemente, os locais de Indus foram descobertos também na província do noroeste de Pakistans da fronteira. Outras colônias IVC podem ser encontradas no Afeganistão, enquanto pequenas colônias isoladas podem ser encontradas tão longe como o Turcomenistão e em Gujarat. Os assentamentos litorais estenderam-se de Sutkagan Dor em Baluchistan ocidental a Lothal em Gujarat. Um local do Vale do Indo foi encontrado no rio Oxus em Shortughai no norte do Afeganistão, no vale do rio Gomal no noroeste do Paquistão, em Manda, Jammu no rio Beas, perto de Jammu, na Índia, e em Alamgirpur no rio Hindon, De Delhi. Indus Valley locais foram encontrados mais frequentemente em rios, mas também no antigo litoral, por exemplo, Balakot, e em ilhas, por exemplo, Dholavira. Há evidências de leitos de rios secos sobrepostos com o canal de Hakra no Paquistão eo rio Ghaggar sazonal na Índia. Muitos locais do Vale do Indo (ou Harappan) foram descobertos ao longo das camas Ghaggar-Hakra. Entre eles estão: Rupar, Rakhigarhi, Sothi, Kalibangan e Ganwariwala. De acordo com J. G. Shaffer e D. A. Lichtenstein, a Civilização de Harappan é uma fusão das tradições de Bagor, de Hakra, de Koti Dij ou de grupos étnicos no vale de Ghaggar-Hakra nas beiras de India e de Paquistão. De acordo com alguns arqueólogos, mais de 500 sítios de Harappan foram descobertos ao longo dos leitos secos do rio Ghaggar-Hakra e seus afluentes, em contraste com apenas cerca de 100 ao longo do Indo e seus afluentes, conseqüentemente, em sua opinião, a denominação Indus Ghaggar-Hakra civilização ou Indus-Saraswati civilização é justificada. No entanto, esses argumentos politicamente inspirados são contestados por outros arqueólogos que afirmam que a área do deserto de Ghaggar-Hakra foi deixada intocada por assentamentos e agricultura desde o fim do período do Indo e, portanto, mostra mais locais do que encontrados no aluvião do vale do Indo segundo , Que o número de locais de Harappan ao longo dos leitos do rio Ghaggar-Hakra foi exagerado e que o Ghaggar-Hakra, quando existia, era um afluente do Indo, portanto a nova nomenclatura é redundante. Harappan Civilization continua a ser a correta, de acordo com o uso arqueológico comum de nomear uma civilização após o seu primeiro findpot. Emergência da Civilização A fase inicial de Ravara de Harappan, nomeada após o rio próximo de Ravi, durou do circa 3300 BCE até 2800 BCE. Está relacionado com a Fase de Hakra, identificada no Vale do Rio Ghaggar-Hakra a oeste, e é anterior à Fase de Kot Diji (2800-2600 AEC, Harappan 2), com o nome de um sítio no norte de Sindh, no Paquistão, perto de Mohenjo Daro. Os exemplos os mais adiantados da data do certificado de Indus aproximadamente 3000 BCE. A fase madura das culturas anteriores da aldeia é representada por Rehman Dheri e Amri no Paquistão. Kot Diji (Harappan 2) representa a fase que conduz a Harappan maduro, com a cidadela que representa a autoridade centralizada e uma qualidade de vida cada vez mais urbana. Uma outra cidade desta fase foi encontrada em Kalibangan em India no rio de Hakra. As redes comerciais vincularam essa cultura com culturas regionais relacionadas e fontes distantes de matérias-primas, incluindo lapislázuli e outros materiais para confecção de contas. Os aldeões tinham, por esta época, domesticado numerosas culturas, incluindo ervilhas, sementes de gergelim, tâmaras e algodão, bem como animais, incluindo o búfalo de água. As comunidades Harappan adiantadas giraram para centros urbanos grandes por 2600 BCE, de onde a fase madura de Harappan começou. Por 2600 BCE, as comunidades Harappan adiantadas tinham sido transformadas em grandes centros urbanos. Tais centros urbanos incluem Harappa, Ganeriwala, Mohenjo-Daro no dia moderno Paquistão, e Dholavira, Kalibangan, Rakhigarhi, Rupar e Lothal na Índia moderna. No total, mais de 1.052 cidades e assentamentos foram encontrados, principalmente na região geral dos rios do Indo e seus afluentes. Uma cultura urbana sofisticada e tecnologicamente avançada é evidente na civilização do Vale do Indo. A qualidade do planejamento urbano municipal sugere o conhecimento do planejamento urbano e de governos municipais eficientes que priorizaram a higiene. As ruas das principais cidades, como Mohenjo-daro ou Harappa foram dispostas em um padrão de grade perfeita, comparável à de hoje New York. As casas foram protegidas do ruído, odores e ladrões. Como visto em Harappa, Mohenjo-daro, eo recentemente descoberto Rakhigarhi, este plano urbano incluiu os primeiros sistemas mundiais de saneamento urbano. Dentro da cidade, casas individuais ou grupos de casas obtinham água dos poços. De uma sala que parece ter sido reservada para o banho, as águas residuais foram direcionadas para esgotos cobertos, que alinharam as ruas principais. As casas abriam-se somente aos pátios internos e às pistas menores. Os antigos sistemas de esgoto e drenagem do Indo que foram desenvolvidos e utilizados em cidades em todo o Império Indus foram muito mais avançados do que qualquer encontrado em locais urbanos contemporâneos no Oriente Médio e ainda mais eficiente do que aqueles em algumas áreas do Paquistão moderno e Índia hoje. A arquitetura avançada dos Harappans é mostrada por seus impressionantes estaleiros, celeiros, armazéns, plataformas de tijolos e paredes protetoras. As cidadelas maciças das cidades Indus que protegiam os Harappans de inundações e atacantes eram maiores do que a maioria dos zigurats mesopotâmicos. O propósito da cidadela continua a ser debatido. Em nítido contraste com as civilizações contemporâneas, a Mesopotâmia e o antigo Egito, não foram construídas grandes estruturas monumentais. Não há provas conclusivas de palácios ou templos ou, de fato, de reis, exércitos ou sacerdotes. Algumas estruturas são pensadas para ter sido celeiros. Encontrado em uma cidade é um banho enorme bem-construído, que pode ter sido um banho público. Embora os Citadels são murados, é longe de desobstruído que estas estruturas eram defensivas. Eles podem ter sido construídos para desviar as águas das cheias. A maioria dos moradores da cidade parece ter sido comerciantes ou artesãos, que viveram com outros que perseguem a mesma ocupação em bairros bem definidos. Materiais de regiões distantes foram utilizados nas cidades para a construção de selos, contas e outros objetos. Entre os artefatos feitos eram contas bonitas da pedra vitrificada chamada faence. Os selos têm imagens de animais, deuses, etc. e inscrições. Alguns dos selos foram usados ​​para carimbar a argila em bens comerciais, mas eles provavelmente tinham outros usos. Embora algumas casas fossem maiores do que outras, as cidades de civilização do Indo eram notáveis ​​por seu aparente igualitarismo. Por exemplo, todas as casas tinham acesso a água e instalações de drenagem. Tem-se a impressão de uma vasta sociedade de classe média. As ruínas de Harrappa foram descritas pela primeira vez em 1842 por Charles Masson em sua Narrativa de Várias Viagens no Baluchistão, no Afeganistão e no Punjab, onde os habitantes falavam de uma cidade antiga que estendia treze cosses (cerca de 25 milhas), mas nenhum interesse arqueológico Isso por quase um século. Em 1856, o general Alexander Cunningham, mais tarde diretor-geral do levantamento arqueológico do norte da Índia, visitou Harappa, onde os engenheiros britânicos John e William Brunton estavam estabelecendo a linha da Companhia Ferroviária das Índias Orientais conectando as cidades de Karachi e Lahore. John escreveu: Eu estava muito exercitado em minha mente como estávamos para obter lastro para a linha da estrada de ferro. Eles foram informados de uma antiga cidade em ruínas perto das linhas, chamada Brahminabad. Visitando a cidade, ele a encontrou cheia de tijolos bem queimados e, convencido de que havia uma grande pedreira para o lastro que eu queria, a cidade de Brahminabad foi reduzida a lastro. Poucos meses depois, mais ao norte, Johns irmão William Bruntons seção da linha correu perto de outra cidade em ruínas, tijolos de que já tinha sido usado por aldeões na aldeia vizinha de Harappa no mesmo local. Estes tijolos agora fornecido lastro ao longo de 93 milhas (150 km) da via férrea que vai de Karachi a Lahore. Em 187275 Alexander Cunningham publicou o primeiro selo de Harappan (com uma identificação errada como letras de Brahmi). Foi meio século mais tarde, em 1912, que mais focas Harappan foram descobertos por J. Fleet, provocando uma campanha de escavação sob Sir John Hubert Marshall em 1921-22 e resultando na descoberta da civilização em Harappa por Sir John Marshall, Rai Bahadur Daya Ram Sahni e Madho Sarup Vats, e em Mohenjo-daro por Rakhal Das Banerjee, EJH MacKay e Sir John Marshall. Em 1931, grande parte de Mohenjo-Daro havia sido escavada, mas as escavações continuaram, tal como aquela conduzida por Sir Mortimer Wheeler, diretor do Archaeological Survey of India em 1944. Entre outros arqueólogos que trabalharam em sítios IVC antes da divisão do subcontinente em 1947 foram Ahmad Hasan Dani, Brij Basi Lal, Nani Gopal Majumdar e Sir Marc Aurel Stein. Após a Partição da Índia, a maior parte dos achados arqueológicos foram herdados pelo Paquistão, onde a maior parte do IVC foi baseado, e as escavações a partir desta época incluem aqueles liderados por Sir Mortimer Wheeler em 1949, consultor arqueológico do Governo do Paquistão. Os postos avançados da civilização do Vale do Indo foram escavados até o oeste como Sutkagan Dor no Baluchistão, bem ao norte como em Shortugai no Amu Darya (o nome antigo dos rios era Oxus) no atual Afeganistão, até o leste como em Alamgirpur, Uttar Pradesh, India E até ao sul como em Malwan, Surat Dist. Índia. Em 11 de julho, inundações pesadas atingiram Haryana na Índia e danificaram o sítio arqueológico de Jognakhera, onde antiga fundição de cobre foram encontrados datando quase 5.000 anos. O local do Civilization do vale de Indus foi batido por quase 10 pés da água enquanto o canal da ligação de Sutlej Yamuna transbordou. Mohenjo Daro Mohenjo Daro - monte dos mortos - é um local archaeological na província de Sindh, Paquistão. Construído por volta de 2600 aC, foi um dos maiores assentamentos da antiga civilização do Vale do Indo, e um dos primeiros assentamentos urbanos mais antigos do mundo, contemporâneo com as civilizações do antigo Egito, Mesopotâmia e Creta. Mohenjo-daro foi abandonado no século XIX aC e não foi redescoberto até 1922. Desde então, a escavação significativa foi realizada no local da cidade, que foi declarada Património Mundial pela UNESCO em 1980. No entanto, o local está actualmente ameaçado por Erosão e restauração imprópria. A Cidade de Mohenjo, de 4500 anos de idade, está desintegrando-se Smithsonian - 18 de outubro de 2013 Mohenjo Daro provavelmente era, na época, a maior cidade do mundo. Aproximadamente 4.500 anos há, até 35.000 povos viveram e trabalharam na cidade maciça, que ocupa 250 acres ao longo do rio de Pakus Indus. Mohenjo Daro sentou-se debaixo do solo durante milhares de anos, uma relíquia preservada da antiga civilização do Vale do Indo. Mas a escavação expôs a cidade aos elementos, e agora, diz o Telegraph, as ruínas podem ter tão pouco como 20 anos à esquerda. Governo Arquivos arqueológicos não fornecem respostas imediatas para um centro de poder ou para representações de pessoas no poder na sociedade Harappan. Mas há indícios de decisões complexas tomadas e implementadas. Por exemplo, a extraordinária uniformidade dos artefatos de Harappan como é evidente na cerâmica, selos, pesos e tijolos. Estas são as principais teorias: Houve um único estado, dada a similaridade em artefatos, a evidência para assentamentos planejados, a proporção padronizada de tamanho de tijolo eo estabelecimento de assentamentos perto de fontes de matéria-prima. Não havia um único governante, mas vários: Mohenjo-daro tinha um governante separado, Harappa outro, e assim por diante. Harappan sociedade não tinha governantes, e todos gozavam de igualdade de status. Ciência e Tecnologia O povo da Civilização do Indo obteve grande precisão na medição de comprimento, massa e tempo. Eles foram os primeiros a desenvolver um sistema de pesos e medidas uniformes. Uma comparação de objetos disponíveis indica variação de grande escala nos territórios do Indo. Sua menor divisão, que é marcada em uma escala de marfim encontrada em Lothal, foi de aproximadamente 1,704 mm, a menor divisão já registrada em uma escala da Idade do Bronze. Os engenheiros de Harappan seguiram a divisão decimal da medida para todos os propósitos práticos, incluindo a medida da massa como revelado por seus pesos do hexahedron. Estes pesos de esquadro estavam numa proporção de 5: 2: 1 com pesos de 0,05, 0,1, 0,2, 0,5, 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200 e 500 unidades, com cada unidade pesando aproximadamente 28 Gramas, semelhantes à onça imperial inglesa ou uncia grega, e os objetos menores foram pesados ​​em proporções semelhantes com as unidades de 0,871. No entanto, como em outras culturas, pesos reais não eram uniformes em toda a área. Os pesos e as medidas mais tarde usadas em Kautilyas Arthashastra (4o século BCE) são os mesmos que aqueles usados ​​em Lothal. Os harappans desenvolveram algumas novas técnicas na metalurgia e produziram cobre, bronze, chumbo e estanho. A habilidade de engenharia dos Harappans foi notável, especialmente na construção de docas. Em 2001, arqueólogos estudando os restos de dois homens de Mehrgarh, no Paquistão, descobriram que os povos da Civilização do Vale do Indo, desde os primeiros períodos de Harappan, tinham conhecimento de proto-odontologia. Mais tarde, em abril de 2006, foi anunciado na revista científica Nature que a evidência mais antiga (e primeiro do Neolítico inicial) para a perfuração de dentes humanos in vivo (isto é, em uma pessoa viva) foi encontrada em Mehrgarh. Onze coroas molares perfuradas de nove adultos foram descobertas em um cemitério neolítico em Mehrgarh que data de 7.500-9.000 anos atrás. De acordo com os autores, suas descobertas apontam para uma tradição de proto-odontologia nas primeiras culturas agrícolas daquela região. Uma pedra de toque com listras de ouro foi encontrada em Banawali, que provavelmente foi usada para testar a pureza do ouro (tal técnica ainda é usada em algumas partes da Índia). Comércio e Transportes A economia das civilizações do Indus parece ter dependido significativamente do comércio, o que foi facilitado por grandes avanços na tecnologia de transporte. O IVC pode ter sido a primeira civilização a usar o transporte de rodas. Estes avanços podem ter incluído carrinhos de boi que são idênticos aos vistos em todo o Sul da Ásia hoje, bem como barcos. A maioria destas embarcações eram provavelmente pequenas embarcações de fundo plano, talvez conduzidas a vela, semelhantes às que se pode ver hoje no rio Indus, mas há provas secundárias de embarcações marítimas. Os arqueólogos descobriram um maciço canal dragado eo que consideram uma instalação de atracação na cidade costeira de Lothal, no oeste da Índia (estado de Gujarat). Uma extensa rede de canais, utilizada para irrigação, também foi descoberta por H.-P. Francfort. Durante 43003200 BCE do período chalcolithic (idade do cobre), a área da civilização do vale de Indus mostra semelhanças cerâmicas com Turkmenistan do sul e Irã do norte que sugerem a mobilidade considerável eo comércio. Durante o período Harappan adiantado (aproximadamente 32002600 BCE), as similaridades na cerâmica, nos selos, nas figurines, nos ornamento, etc. documentam o comércio intensivo da caravana com Ásia central eo platô iraniano. A partir da dispersão dos artefatos da civilização do Indo, as redes de comércio, economicamente, integraram uma enorme área, incluindo porções do Afeganistão, as regiões costeiras da Pérsia, norte e oeste da Índia e Mesopotâmia. Há alguma evidência de que os contatos comerciais se estenderam para Creta e possivelmente para o Egito. Havia uma extensa rede de comércio marítimo operando entre as civilizações de Harappan e Mesopotâmia desde a fase média de Harappan, com muito comércio sendo manuseado por intermediários comerciantes de Dilmun (moderno Bahrein e Failaka localizado no Golfo Pérsico). Esse comércio marítimo de longa distância tornou-se viável com o desenvolvimento inovador de embarcações construídas em tábuas, equipadas com um mastro central único que suporta uma vela de junco ou tecido. Vários estabelecimentos costeiros como Sotkagen-dor (montado no rio Dasht, ao norte de Jiwani), Sokhta Koh (a cavalo no rio Shadi, ao norte de Pasni) e Balakot (perto de Sonmiani) no Paquistão, juntamente com Lothal na Índia testemunham o seu papel de postos comerciais de Harappan . Os portos rasos situados nos estuários dos rios que abrem no mar permitiram o comércio marítimo vigoroso com as cidades de Mesopotâmia. Agricultura A natureza do sistema agrícola das civilizações do Indo ainda é em grande parte uma questão de conjectura devido à quantidade limitada de informação que sobrevive através dos tempos. Alguma especulação é possível, entretanto. Estudos anteriores (antes de 1980) freqüentemente pressupunham que a produção de alimentos era importada para o Vale do Indo por um único grupo lingüístico (Aryans) e ou de uma única área. Mas estudos recentes indicam que a produção de alimentos era em grande parte indígena para o Vale do Indo. Já as pessoas de Mehrgarh usavam trigo e cevada domesticados e a principal cultura de cereais cultivados era cevada nua de seis fileiras, uma cultura derivada de cevada de duas fileiras. O arqueólogo Jim G. Shaffer (1999: 245) escreve que o site de Mehrgarh demonstra que a produção de alimentos era um fenômeno indígena do sul da Ásia e que os dados suportam a interpretação da urbanização pré-histórica e organização social complexa no sul da Ásia, , Desenvolvimentos culturais. A agricultura de civilização do Indo deve ter sido altamente produtiva, afinal, foi capaz de gerar superávits suficientes para sustentar dezenas de milhares de moradores urbanos que não estavam principalmente engajados na agricultura. Ele se baseou nas consideráveis ​​conquistas tecnológicas da cultura pré-Harappan, incluindo o arado. Ainda assim, muito pouco se sabe sobre os agricultores que apoiaram as cidades ou seus métodos agrícolas. Alguns deles, sem dúvida, fizeram uso do solo aluvial fértil deixado por rios após a estação das cheias, mas este método simples de agricultura não é pensado para ser produtivo o suficiente para apoiar as cidades. Não há evidências de irrigação, mas essas evidências poderiam ter sido destruídas por enchentes catastróficas repetidas. A civilização do Indo parece contradizer a hipótese do despotismo hidráulico da origem da civilização urbana e do Estado. De acordo com essa hipótese, as cidades não poderiam ter surgido sem sistemas de irrigação capazes de gerar grandes excedentes agrícolas. Para construir esses sistemas emergiu um Estado despótico e centralizado capaz de suprimir o status social de milhares de pessoas e aproveitar seu trabalho como escravos. É muito difícil enquadrar essa hipótese com o que se sabe sobre a civilização do Indo. Não há evidências de reis, escravos ou mobilização forçada do trabalho. É freqüentemente assumido que a produção agrícola intensiva exige barragens e canais. Esta suposição é facilmente refutada. Em toda a Ásia, os produtores de arroz produzem excedentes agrícolas significativos a partir de arrozais em colinas, que resultam não da escravidão, mas sim do trabalho acumulado de muitas gerações de pessoas. Em vez de construir canais, as pessoas da civilização do Indo podem ter construído esquemas de desvio de água, que - como agricultura de terraço - pode ser elaborado por gerações de investimentos de mão-de-obra em pequena escala. Além disso, sabe-se que as pessoas da civilização do Indo praticavam a colheita de chuvas, uma poderosa tecnologia que foi trazida à fruição pela civilização indiana clássica, mas quase esquecida no século XX. Deve-se lembrar que as pessoas da civilização do Indo, como todos os povos do sul da Ásia, construíram suas vidas em torno da monção, um padrão climático em que a maioria das chuvas de um ano ocorre em um período de quatro meses. Em uma cidade de civilização do Indo recentemente descoberta no oeste da Índia, os arqueólogos descobriram uma série de reservatórios maciços, feitos de rocha sólida e projetados para coletar chuvas, que teriam sido capazes de atender às necessidades da cidade durante a estação seca. Alguns estudos pós-1980 indicam que a produção de alimentos era em grande parte indígena para o Vale do Indo. Sabe-se que os povos de Mehrgarh usavam trigo domesticado e cevada 53, e a principal cultura de cereais era a cevada de seis fileiras, uma colheita derivada de cevada de duas filas (ver Shaffer e Liechtenstein 1995, 1999). O arqueólogo Jim G. Shaffer (1999: 245) escreve que o site de Mehrgarh demonstra que a produção de alimentos era um fenômeno indígena do sul da Ásia e que os dados suportam a interpretação da urbanização pré-histórica e organização social complexa no sul da Ásia, , Desenvolvimentos culturais. Outros, como Dorian Fuller, no entanto, indicam que levou cerca de 2000 anos antes do trigo do Oriente Médio foi aclimatado às condições do sul da Ásia. Indus Script Tem sido afirmado há muito tempo que o Vale do Indo foi o lar de uma civilização alfabetizada, mas isso tem sido recentemente desafiado por motivos linguísticos e arqueológicos. Bem mais de 400 símbolos do Indo foram encontrados em focas ou potes de cerâmica e mais de uma dúzia de outros materiais, incluindo um letreiro que aparentemente pendurava sobre o portão da cidadela interior da cidade Indus de Dholavira. As inscrições típicas do Indo não têm mais de quatro ou cinco caracteres de comprimento, a maior parte dos quais (além do letreiro de Dholavira) são exquisitamente minúsculos, o mais longo em uma única superfície, com menos de 2,54 cm de quadrado, tem 17 sinais de comprimento O mais longo em qualquer objeto (encontrado em três faces diferentes de um objeto produzido em massa) carrega apenas 26 símbolos. It has been recently pointed out that the brevity of the inscriptions is unparalleled in any known premodern literate society, including those that wrote extensively on leaves, bark, wood, cloth, wax, animal skins, and other perishable materials. Based partly on this evidence, a controversial recent paper by Farmer, Sproat, and Witzel (2004), 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. 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 20s and 30s 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. The term Indus Script refers to short strings of symbols associated with the Harappan civilization of ancient India (most of the Indus sites are distributed in present day North West India and Pakistan) used between 26001900 BC, which evolved from an earlier form of the Indus script attested from around 3300 BC. They are most commonly associated with flat, rectangular stone tablets called seals, but they are also found on at least a dozen other materials. The first publication of a Harappan seal dates to 1875, in the form of a drawing by Alexander Cunningham. Since then, well over 4000 symbol-bearing objects have been discovered, some as far afield as Mesopotamia. After 1900 BC, use of the symbols ends, together with the final stage of Harappan civilization. Some early scholars, starting with Cunningham in 1877, thought that the script was the archetype of the Brahmi script used by Ashoka. Today Cunninghams claims are rejected by nearly all researchers, but a minority of mostly Indian scholars continues to argue for the Indus script as the predecessor of the Brahmic family. There are over 400 different signs, but many are thought to be slight modifications or combinations of perhaps 200 basic signs. Houses were one or two stories high, made of baked brick, with flat roofs, and were just about identical. Each was built around a courtyard, with windows overlooking the courtyard. The outside walls had no windows. Each home had its own private drinking well and its own private bathroom. Clay pipes led from the bathrooms to sewers located under the streets. These sewers drained into nearly rivers and streams. Harappan cities did not develop slowly, which suggests that whoever built these cities learned to do so in another place. As the Indus flooded, cities were rebuilt on top of each other. Archaeologists have discovered several different cities, one built over the other, each built a little less skillfully. The most skillful was on bottom. It would appear that builders grew less able or less interested in perfection over time. Still, each city is a marvel, and each greatly advanced for its time. Their towns were laid out in grids everywhere (straight streets, well built homes) These people were incredible builders. Scientists have found what they think are giant reservoirs for fresh water. They have also found that even the smallest house at the edge of each town was linked to that towns central drainage system. (Is it possible that they not only drained waste water out, but also had a system to pump fresh water into their homes, similar to modern plumbing. Men and women dressed in colorful robes. Women wore jewelry of gold and precious stone, and even wore lipstick Among the treasures found was a statue of a women wearing a bracelet. (Bracelets with similar designs are worn today in India.) Clothing was for the most part, similar for both men and women. The basic costume of ancient society was a length of cloth wrapped around the lower part of the body, and a loose fitting garment for the upper body, which was usually another length of fabric. A headdress was also worn, mainly by the men. Women in Vedic society wore a variety of garments. The first being a skirt type garment (dhoti), with a blouse (choli) and scarf. Second is a sari, which is a length of fabric wound around the body with the loose end (pallu) thrown over the shoulder. Sometimes a choli would be worn with this. The last garmen t was worn mainly by tribal women. The Adivasi is a length of fabric tied around the waist with no upper garment worn. Men also had a choice in their clothing though not as varied as the women. Men usually wore a Dhoti, which is a length of fabric wrapped around the waist. This could be left as a skirt or brought through the legs and made into a pants type garment. Men of the south rarely wore shirts, but men of the north wore a fitted upper garment. Male headdress was also a length of fabric, wrapped around the head, called a Turban. Women sometimes wore the turban also. Due to the large area of India many differences in clothing emerged, mainly due to climate differences. The southern Indians wore much less than in the colder north. Women in the south rarely wore a upper garment. Northern women adopted a fitted upper garment to be worn under the loose fitting one. Clothing was made from resources found in each region. Cotton and wool were the most abundant, since silk was not introduced from China until around the 1st century B. C.E. People also enjoyed lavish embroidery and embellishments. Gold being the preferred, though there was also an abundance of silver and precious gems. Entertainment A beautiful small bronze statue of a dancer was found, which tells us that they enjoyed dance and had great skill working with metals. In the ancient city of Mohenjo-daro, scientists have found the remains of a large central pool, with steps leading down at both ends. This could have been a public swimming pool, or perhaps have been used for religious ceremonies. Around this large central pool were smaller rooms, that might have dressing rooms, and smaller pools that might have been private baths. Some of the toys found were small carts, whistles shaped like birds, and toy monkeys which could slide down a string. Musical instruments include the Sarangi, Sitar, Tabla, Tambora, and Tanpura. Since Vedic times, Indians had been required to correctly recite, the Vedas. The correctness in recitation was very important as the Vedas were, in those days, transmitted through memory (Smriti) and were learned through hearing (Shruti). This kind of an emphasis on recitation the correct pronunciation lead to studies in phonetics and sound manipulation. This was the birthplace of Indian Musical Raga (metre) and Swaras (rhymes). That Music in ancient India was given considerable recognition is illustrated by the fact that Saraswati, the Indian goddess of learning is shown to be holding a musical instrument (Veena) in her hand. Traditionally, vocal music in India has tended to be devotional music (Bhakti-geet), and temples have been places where musicians used to practice music to please the deity and the devotees. Indian vocal music is broadly divided into two schools - the Hindustani or north Indian school and the Carnatic or South Indian school. As far as instrumental music goes there is a general identity of instruments that have been used. The main Indian musical instruments are the Sarod, the Veena, the Sarangi, the Tambora, the Harmonium, the Ghata, the Tabla, the Tanpura, the Satar, etc. As compared to art and architecture Indian music has had less impact on the outside world. This was so as most of Indian musical instruments require specialized material and craftsmanship for their manufacture. And in the absence of transmission of these skills and the absence of trade in musical instruments, Along with the necessity of long and arduous practice which was required to master these instruments, made the transmission of music a difficult task. However, as far as, devotional vocal music goes, Indian musical traditions did travel to the countries of South east Asia. The instrumental and vocal music of Korea has many elements of Indian music, which it received along with the Buddhist invocative and devotional songs and slokas (religious couplets). Along with Buddhism, some Indian musical instruments like the flute (bansi), temples bell (Ghanta), etc. went to the countries of south-east Asia. Even Europe owes certain instruments to India. Two popular European musical instruments namely the flute and violin are believed to be of Indian origin. Though we do not know about the process of transmission of these instruments, however in India the flute (bansi) and the violin (a variant of the Veena) are definitely indigenously Indian. A pointer to the fact that these instruments have been in usage in India since a very long time is that the bansi is associated with Sri Krishna and the Veena with the goddess Saraswati. This apart, in modern times the western musical instruments like the Tambourin and the Tambour are adaptations of the Indian Tambora and Tanpura. The names Tambourin and Tambour are also derived from the word Tambora. The Saralngi, another Indian musical instrument has also found its place in western music. The acceptance of these musical instruments in the west is also evident from the fact that the words Tambora, Sarangi and Tabla are mentioned in the Oxford Dictionary. Art and Culture Ancient Indias fine art and performing arts attest to this fact. This find expression in music, musical instruments, dancing, paintings and several other art forms. Music had a divine character in India and in recognition of that the Indian Goddess of learning, Saraswati is always shown holding a musical instrument, namely, the veena. Likewise, Krishna is associated with banshi, that is, the flute - a musical instrument, which traveled throughout the world from India. Indian devotional songs and reciting influenced religious recitations in several eastern countries, where the style was adopted by Buddhists monks. The India developed several types of musical instruments and forms of dancing, with delicate body movements and grace. Paintings have remained the oldest art form as found in several cave paintings across the globe. In India also, in places like Bhimbetka, a UNESCO declared world heritage site, pre-historic cave paintings have been discovered. In relatively recent times, paintings and carvings on rock had significantly developed, and many such rock carvings have been found dating to the period of the emperor Ashoka. Indian influences may be seen in paintings at Bamiyan, Afghanistan, and in Miran and Domko in Central Asia. Sometimes, such paintings depict not only Buddha but Hindu deities such as Shiva, Ganesha and Surya. Ancient India had marvelous craftsmen, skilled in pottery, weaving, and metal working. Various sculptures, seals, pottery, gold jewelry, and anatomically detailed figurines in terracotta, bronze, steatite have been found at the excavation sites. The pottery that has been found is of very high quality, with unusually beautiful designs. Several small figures of animals, such as monkeys, have been found. These small figures could be objects of art or toys. There are also small statues of what they think are female gods. They found bowls made of bronze and silver, and many beads and ornaments. The metals used to make these things are not found in the Indus Valley. So, either the people who lived in this ancient civilization had to import all of these items from some other place, or more probably, had to import the metals they used to make these beautiful things from somewhere else. A harp-like instrument depicted on an Indus seal and two shell objects found at Lothal indicate the use of stringed musical instruments. 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 yoga. A horned figure in a meditation pose has been interpreted as one of the earliest depictions of the god Shiva. The very first works of visual art created in the Indian sub-continent were primitive cave or rock paintings. Many are assumed to exist, but the largest number of discoveries are in Central India, on sandstone rock shelters within a hundred mile radius around Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh. these paintings are dated at around 5500 B. C. i. e. they are 1500 years old. Some of these paintings have been overlaid with later paintings and graffiti. The paintings generally depict animals, in scenes such as hunting. Human figures are also shown with bows and arrows, and swords and shields. The colors used An intricately carved pillar at Ellora in Maharashtra dating back to the 7th century. are made up of natural minerals and are in various shades of red and orange. These paintings are the forerunners of the frescos of a later age which are seen at Ajanta, Ellora and elsewhere in India. But unfortunately no well preserved art remains, to document the period between the coming of the Aryans i. e. 1500 B. C. to about the time of Buddha i. e. 550 B. C. We are told by the literary sources that the art of painting was practiced. In the Buddhist texts, elaborate palaces of kings and houses of the wealthy are described as being embellished with wall paintings. But actual evidence about this art is lost. How this art could have been, can be guessed from the paintings on stone surfaces found at Ajanta and Ellora which are said to have been done in around 400 A. D. These paintings at Ajanta and Ellora depict Buddhist tales from the Jatakas. Though the paintings are today 1500 years old, the paint has not only retained its color but also much of its luster. The technique of painting has been thus described by a student of Indian Art. The surface of the stone was first prepared by a coating of potters clay, mixed variously with cow dung, straw, and animal hair. Once this was leveled to a thickness of half an inch to two inches, it was coated with a smooth fine white lime plaster which became the actual painting surface. On the still-damp wall, the artist first laid out his composition with a red cinnabar line and then defined the subjects with an undercoat of grey or terre verte. This was followed by the addition of local colors, and once the whole wall was completely colored, a brown or black line restated the drawing to finish the composition. A last burnishing with a smooth stone gave it a rich lustrous surface. The colors which were natural and water soluble, consisted of purple, browns, yellow, blue, white, green, reds and black. Thus it is evident that the technique of painting had developed to an advanced level This monumental bull was carved in marble in the 3rd century B. C. It stood on a column built by Emperor Ashoka, which was inscribed with Buddhist edicts. of sophistication due which the paintings could survive for 1500 years. Though the colors used are supposed to have been derived from minerals and vegetables they had been treated to last long. The above description also illustrates how, complicated procedures of preparing the surface to be painted had evolved in India. This technique of painting had also spread to central Asia and South-east Asia. Some strains of Indian painting can even be identified in western church paintings and mosaics. Indian influence is clearly evident in the paintings at Bamiyan in Afghanistan and in Miran and Domko in Central Asia. Not only do these paintings depict the Buddha but also Hindu deities such as Shiva, Ganesha and Surya. The mention of the word dance conjures up images of Nataraja - Lord of Dance - as the Indian God Shiva is portrayed. Apart from Shiva even Ganesha and Srikrishna are associated with dance and music. India has many classical dance styles. The oldest text dealing with aesthetics covering various art forms including dance is the Natyashastra which is authored by Bharatamuni. All the Indian classical dance styles viz. Bharata Natyam, Kuchipudi, Kathak, Odissi, Mohiniattam, Kathakali, Manipuri, etc. are derived from the Natyashastra. Some of these dance styles have evolved from folk dances and are intimately connected with the art of story telling. Most of these stories are drawn from our epics like the Ramayana and Mahabharata, tales from collections like the Panchatantra, Hitopadesha, Katha Sarit Sagara, etc. also from the subject matter of these dance styles. In fact the Kathak and Kathakali from U. P. and Kerala respectively, derive their names from the term Katha which in Sanskrit means a story. As the story is told in the form of dance, these dance styles can actually be called dance-dramas, the only difference is the absence of dialogues. The Charkul dance-drama of Central India revolves around a story generally from the Indian epics like the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. Similar traditions of dance-dramas are prevalent in other parts of India too. In Maharashtra, you have the Dashavatara, in Karnataka you have the Yakshagana The Kathak dance of North India and the kthaali dance of Kerala also originated as dance dramas and derive their names from the Sanskrit work Katha which means a story. The story has to be told solely through actions and hence an elaborate pattern of facial expressions (Mudra), movement of hands (Hasta) and the simulation of various moods like anger (Krodha), envy (Matsara), greed (Lobha), lust (Kama), ego (Mada), etc. have been evolved. The mastery of perfect expression of these feelings by subtle movement of the lips and eyes forms the root of all the classical Indian dance styles. In fact the combination of the three qualities viz. expression, rhyme and rhythm i. e. Bhava, Raga, and Tala go into the determination of the term Bha-Ra-Ta, which is used as the name of one dance style viz. Bharata Natyam. The integration of Indian classical dance with the physical exercises of Yoga and the breath control of Pranayam has perfected the dance styles. Yoga especially had given the dance styles an excellent footwork which is called Padanyasa and Padalalitya. Another feature of these dance styles is that they are integrated with theology and worship. Traditionally these dances were patronized by the temples. During festivals and other religious occasions, these dances were performed in the temple premises to propitiate the deity. Thus the dance came to combine both art and worship. Even today every recital of any Indian classical dance begins with an invocation to Nataraja or Nateshwara the god of dance. In Indian folklore and legend, the God of Dance is himself shown to be dancing in a form called the Tandava. This has also been depicted in the statues and carvings in temples like, Khajuraho and Konark in Northern India, and at Chidambaram, Madurai, Rameshwaram, etc. in the South. Indian dances have also evolved styles based on the Tandava like the Urdhra Tandava, Sandhya Tandava, etc. Indian classical dance found its way outside India, especially to the countries of Southeast Asia. The dance styles of Thailand, Indonesia, Burma, etc. have so heavily borrowed from the Indian classical dance traditions that to a casual observer there would seem to be hardly any difference between the two. While Western dance has not directly borrowed anything from Indian classical dance, it has borrowed from Indian folk dance through the medium of the Gypsies. The Gypsies as has been established today, migrated from India to the west many centuries ago. The Gypsies speak a language called Romany which has many common words with Indian languages. The religion of the Gypsies is a modified form of early Hinduism. The Gypsies seem to have been the Banjar nomads who are still found in India. Being a very carefree nomadic community the Gypsies earned their living by giving performance of folk dances, along with the pursuing of other nomadic activities. Gypsy dance has influenced western dance styles like the Waltz and the foxtrot. Even the American Break dance and other dances associated with jazz music have borrowed elements from the gypsy folk dance. The Gypsy folk dance, is itself a free flowing and care free dance, a modified version of which is found in the folk dances of many Adivasi and nomadic tribal communities in India. The origin of the Indian theatre or rather folk theatre and dramatics can be traced to religious ritualism of the Vedic Aryans. This folk theatre of the misty past was mixed with dance, ritualism, plus a depiction of events from daily life. It was the last element which made it the origin of the classical theatre of later times. Many historians, notably D. D. Kosambi, Debiprasad Chattopadhyaya, Adya Rangacharaya, etc. have referred to the prevalence of ritualism amongst Aryan tribes in which some members of the tribe acted as if they were wild animals and some others were the hunters. Those who acted as animals like goats, buffaloes, reindeer, monkeys, etc. were chased by those playing the role of hunters and a mock hunt was enacted. In such a simple and crude manner did the theatre originate in India nearly 4000 years back in the tribal Aryans of Rig Vedic times. There also must have existed a theatrical tradition in the Indus valley cities, but of this we have no literary numismatic or any other material proof. The origin of drama and the theatre has been told to us in an aptly dramatic manner by Bharatamui, the author of Natyashastra an ancient Indian text on dance and drama. Bharatamuni is said to have lived around the 4th century but even he is not aware of the actual origin of the theatre in India. He has cleverly stated in a dramatic manner that it was the lord of creation Brahma who also created the original Natyashastra (Drama). According to Bharatamuni, since the lord Brahma created the entire universe we need not question his ability in creating dramas. But Bharatamuni goes on to tell us that the original Natyashastra of Brahma was too unwieldy and obscure to be of any practical use. Hence, Bharatamuni, himself took up the task of making Natyashastra simple, intelligible and interesting. Thus the Natyashastra of Bharatamuni was supported to be understood by lay people. So the Natyashastra of Bharatamunii is not the oldest text on dance and drama, as Bharata himself says that he has only simplified the original work of lord Brahma. The Natyashastra assumes the existence of many plays before it was composed, and says that most of the early plays did not follow the rules set down in the Natyashastra. But the Natyashastra itself seems to be the first attempt to develop the technique or rather art, of drama in a systematic manner. The Natya Shastra a tells us not only what is to be portrayed in a drama, but how the portrayal is to be done. Drama, as Bharatamuni says, is the imitation of men and their doings (loka-vritti). As men and their doings have to be respected on the stage, so drama in Sanskrit is also known by the term roopaka which means portrayal. According to the Natyashastra all the modes of expression employed by an individual viz. speech, gestures, movements and intonation must be used. The representation of these expressions can have different modes (vritti) according to the predominance and emphasis on one mode or another. Bharatamuni recognizes four main modes viz. Speech and Poetry (Bharati Vritti), Dance and Music (Kaishiki Vritti), Action (Arabhatti Vritti) and Emotions (Sattvatti Vritti). Bharatamuni also specifies where and how a play is to be performed. In ancient India plays were generally performed either in temple-yard or within palace precincts. During public performances, plays were generally performed in the open. For such public performances, Bharatamuni has advocated the construction of a mandapa. According to the Natyashastra in the construction of a mandapa, pillars must be set up in four corners. With the help of these pillars a platform is built of wooden planks. The area of the mandapa is divided into two parts. The front part, which is the back stage is called the r angashrishu. Behind the ranga-shirsha is what was called the nepathya-griha, where the characters dress up before entering the stage. Bharatamuni has also specified that every play should have a Sutradhara which literally means holder of a string. The Sutradhara was like the producer-director of today. Every play had to begin with an innovation of God. This invocation was called the poorvaranga. Even today, plays in Indian languages begin with a devotional song called Naandi. The Ramayana and the Mahabharata can be called the first recognized plays that originated in India. These epics also provided the inspiration to the earliest Indian dramatists and they do even today. One of the earliest Indian dramatists was Bhasa whose plays have been inspired by the Ramayana and Mahabharata. Bhasas date cannot be definitely ascertained, but that he lived before Kalidasa is proved by the latters reference to Bhasa as one of the early leading playwrights. As Kalidasa lived in the 4th century, Bhasa should have lived in the early centuries of our era. Bhasa was a natural dramatist who drew heavily from the epics, but Kalidasa can be called an original playwright. Kalidasa has written many plays, some of which are AbhijananShakuntalam, Kumarsambhavam, Meghadutam and Malavikagnimitram. Kalidasa was the court playwright at the Gupta court. He lived at Ujjaini, the capital of the Guptas and was for some days the Gupta ambassador at the court of the Vakatakas at Amaravati where he wrote the play Meghadutam. The next great Indian dramatist was Bhavabhuti. He is said to have written the following three plays viz. Malati-Madhava, Mahaviracharita and Uttar Ramacharita. Among these three, the last two cover between them the entire epic, Ramayana. Bhavabhuti lived around the 7th century A. D. when Sanskrit drama was on its decline, mainly due to the lack of royal patronage. The last royal patron of Sanskrit drama seems to be king Harshavardhana of the 7th century. Harshavardhana is himself credited with having written three plays viz. Ratnavali, Priyadarshika and Nagananda. But nevertheless despite lack of patronage two more leading playwrights came after Bhavabhuti, they were Shudraka whose main play was the Mricchakatikam, and the second dramatist was Rajashekhara whose play was titled Karpuramanjari. But the decline of Sanskrit theatre is evident from the fact that while Mricchakatikam was in Sanskrit, the Karpuramanjari was in Prakrit which was a colloquial form of Sanskrit. Rajashekhara has himself said that he chose to write in Prakrit as the language was soft while Sanskrit was harsh. Sanskrit plays continued to be written up to the 17th century in distant pockets of the country, mainly in the Vijayanagara empire of the South. But they had passed their prime, the later Sanskrit dramas are mostly imitations of Kalidasa or Bhavabhuti. As in the case of the other fine arts, the Indian theatre has left its mark on the countries of South-east Asia. In Thailand, especially it has been a tradition from the middle ages to stage plays based on plots drawn from Indian epics. This had been so even in Cambodia where, at the ancient capital Angkor Wat, stories from the Ramayana and Mahabharata have been carved on the walls of temples and palaces. Similar, bas reliefs are found at Borobudur in Indonesia. Thus, the Indian theatre has been one of the vehicles of enriching the culture of our neighboring countries since ancient times. Epic Poetry Indian epic poetry is the epic poetry written on the Indian sub-continent. Written in Sanskrit, Tamil and Hindi, it includes some of the oldest epic poetry ever created and some works form the basis of Hindu scripture. The ancient Sanskrit epics, the Ramayana and Mahabharata, occasionally termed Mahakavya (Great Compositions), refer to epic poems that form a canon of Hindu scripture. Indeed, the epic form prevailed and verse was and remained until very recently the preferred form of Hindu literary works. Hero-worship was and is a central aspect of Indian culture, and thus readily lent itself to a literary tradition that abounded in epic poetry and literature. The Puranas, a massive collection of verse-form histories of Indias many Hindu gods and goddesses, followed in this tradition. The post-sangam period (2nd century-6th century) saw many great Tamil epics being written, including Cilappatikaram (or Silappadhikaram), Manimegalai, Jeevaga-chintamani, Valayapati and Kundalakesi. Later, during the Chola period, Kamban (12th century) wrote what is considered one of the greatest Tamil epics - the Kamba ramayanam of Kamban, based on the Ramayana. The post-sangam period (2nd century-6th century) saw many great Tamil epics being written, including Cilappatikaram (or Silappadhikaram), Manimegalai, Jeevaga-chintamani, Valayapati and Kundalakesi. Later, during the Chola period, Kamban (12th century) wrote what is considered one of the greatest Tamil epics - the Kamba ramayanam of Kamban, based on the Ramayana. The first epic to appear in Hindi was Tulsidas (1543-1623) Ramacharitamanasa, also based on the Ramayana. It is considered a great classic of Hindi epic poetry and literature, and shows the author Tulsidas in complete command over all the important styles of composition - narrative, epic, lyrical and dialectic. He has given a human character to Rama, the Hindu avatar of Vishnu, potraying him as an ideal son, husband, brother and king. Sports and Games Decline, Collapse and Legacy Around 1900 BCE, signs of a gradual decline begin to emerge. People started to leave the cities. Those who remained were poorly nourished. By around 1800 BC, most of the cities were abandoned. By around 1700 BCE, most of the cities were abandoned. In 1953, Sir Mortimer Wheeler proposed that the decline of the Indus Civilization was caused by the invasion of an Indo-European tribe from Central Asia called the Aryans. As evidence, he cited a group of 37 skeletons found in various parts of Mohenjo-Daro, and passages in the Vedas referring to battles and forts. However, scholars soon started to reject Wheelers theory, since the skeletons belonged to a period after the citys abandonment and none were found near the citadel. Subsequent examinations of the skeletons by Kenneth Kennedy in 1994 showed that the marks on the skulls were caused by erosion, and not violent aggression. Today, many scholars believe that the collapse of the Indus Civilization was caused by drought and a decline in trade with Egypt and Mesopotamia. It has also been suggested that immigration by new peoples, deforestation, floods, or changes in the course of the river may have contributed to the collapse of the IVC. Previously, it was also believed that the decline of the Harappan civilization led to an interruption of urban life in the Indian subcontinent. However, the Indus Valley Civilization did not disappear suddenly, and many elements of the Indus Civilization can be found in later cultures. Current archaeological data suggest 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 culture. Harvard archaeologist Richard Meadow points to the late Harappan settlement of Pirak, which thrived continuously from 1800 BCE to the time of the invasion of Alexander the Great in 325 BCE. Recent archaeological excavations indicate that the decline of Harappa drove people eastward. After 1900 BCE, the number of sites in India increased from 218 to 853. Excavations in the Gangetic plain show that urban settlement began around 1200 BCE, only a few centuries after the decline of Harappa and much earlier than previously expected. Archaeologists have emphasized that, just as in most areas of the world, there was a continuous series of cultural developments. These link the so-called two major phases of urbanization in South Asia. A possible natural reason for the IVCs decline is connected with climate change that is also signaled for the neighboring areas of the Middle East: The Indus valley climate grew significantly cooler and drier from about 1800 BCE, linked to a general weakening of the monsoon at that time. Alternatively, a crucial factor may have been the disappearance of substantial portions of the Ghaggar Hakra river system. A tectonic event may have diverted the systems sources toward the Ganges Plain, though there is complete uncertainty about the date of this event, as most settlements inside Ghaggar-Hakra river beds have not yet been dated. The actual reason for decline might be any combination of these factors. New geological research is now being conducted by a group led by Peter Clift, from the University of Aberdeen, to investigate how the courses of rivers have changed in this region since 8000 years ago, to test whether climate or river reorganizations are responsible for the decline of the Harappan. A 2004 paper indicated that the isotopes of the Ghaggar-Hakra system do not come from the Himalayan glaciers, and were rain-fed instead, contradicting a Harappan time mighty Sarasvati river. A research team led by the geologist Liviu Giosan of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution also concluded that climate change in form of the easterward migration of the monsoons led to the decline of the IVC.77 The teams findings were published in PNAS in May 2012. According to their theory, the slow eastward migration of the monsoons across Asia initially allowed the civilization to develop. The monsoon-supported farming led to large agricultural surpluses, which in turn supported the development of cities. The IVC residents did not develop irrigation capabilities, relying mainly on the seasonal monsoons. As the monsoons kept shifting eastward, the water supply for the agricultural activities dried up. The residents then migrated towards the Ganges basin in the east, where they established smaller villages and isolated farms. The small surplus produced in these small communities did not allow development of trade, and the cities died out. In the aftermath of the Indus Civilizations collapse, 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 Colored Pottery culture expanded from Rajasthan into the Gangetic Plain. The Cemetery H culture has the earliest evidence for cremation a practice dominant in Hinduism today. Historical Context and Linguistic Affiliation The Indus Vally Civilization has been tentatively identified with the toponym Meluhha known from Sumerian records. It has been compared in particular with the civilizations of Elam (also in the context of the Elamo-Dravidian hypothesis) and with Minoan Crete (because of isolated cultural parallels such as the ubiquitous goddess worship and depictions of bull-leaping). The mature (Harappan) phase of the IVC is contemporary to the Early to Middle Bronze Age in the Ancient Near East, in particular the Old Elamite period, Early Dynastic to Ur III Mesopotamia, Prepalatial Minoan Crete and Old Kingdom to First Intermediate Period Egypt. After the discovery of the IVC in the 1920s, it was immediately associated with the indigenous Dasyu inimical to the Rigvedic tribes in numerous hymns of the Rigveda. Mortimer Wheeler interpreted the presence of many unburied corpses found in the top levels of Mohenjo-Daro as the victims of a warlike conquest, and famously stated that Indra stands accused of the destruction of the IVC. The association of the IVC with the city-dwelling Dasyus remains alluring because the assumed timeframe of the first Indo-Aryan migration into India corresponds neatly with the period of decline of the IVC seen in the archaeological record. The discovery of the advanced, urban IVC however changed the 19th-century view of early Indo-Aryan migration as an invasion of an advanced culture at the expense of a primitive aboriginal population to a gradual acculturation of nomadic barbarians on an advanced urban civilization, comparable to the Germanic migrations after the Fall of Rome, or the Kassite invasion of Babylonia. This move away from simplistic invasionist scenarios parallels similar developments in thinking about language transfer and population movement in general, such as in the case of the migration of the proto-Greek speakers into Greece, or the Indo-Europeanization of Western Europe. It was often suggested that the bearers of the IVC corresponded to proto-Dravidians linguistically, the breakup of proto-Dravidian corresponding to the breakup of the Late Harappan culture. Today, the Dravidian language family is concentrated mostly in southern India and northern and eastern Sri Lanka, but pockets of it still remain throughout the rest of India and Pakistan (the Brahui language), which lends credence to the theory. Finnish Indologist Asko Parpola concludes that the uniformity of the Indus inscriptions precludes any possibility of widely different languages being used, and that an early form of Dravidian language must have been the language of the Indus people. However, in an interview with the Deccan Herald on 12 August 2012, Asko Parpola clarified his position by admitting that Sanskrit-speakers had contributed to the Indus Valley Civilization. Proto-Munda (or Para-Munda) and a lost phylum (perhaps related or ancestral to the Nihali language) have been proposed as other candidates. The civilization is sometimes referred to as the Indus Ghaggar-Hakra civilization or Indus-Sarasvati civilization by Hindutva groups. or the Indus-Sarasvati civilization.8a. Early Civilization in the Indus Valley Aryans probably used the Khyber Pass to cross the mountains during their Indian invasion. Located in present day Pakistan, the pass is about 16 yards wide at its narrowest point. The phrase early civilizations usually conjures up images of Egypt and Mesopotamia, and their pyramids, mummies, and golden tombs. But in the 1920s, a huge discovery in South Asia proved that Egypt and Mesopotamia were not the only early civilizations. In the vast Indus River plains (located in what is today Pakistan and western India), under layers of land and mounds of dirt, archaeologists discovered the remains of a 4,600 year-old city. A thriving, urban civilization had existed at the same time as Egyptian and Mesopotamian states mdash in an area twice each of their sizes. The people of this Indus Valley civilization did not build massive monuments like their contemporaries, nor did they bury riches among their dead in golden tombs. There were no mummies, no emperors, and no violent wars or bloody battles in their territory. Remarkably, the lack of all these is what makes the Indus Valley civilization so exciting and unique. While others civilizations were devoting huge amounts of time and resources to the rich, the supernatural, and the dead, Indus Valley inhabitants were taking a practical approach to supporting the common, secular, living people. Sure, they believed in an afterlife and employed a system of social divisions. But they also believed resources were more valuable in circulation among the living than on display or buried underground. Copyright J. M. Kenoyerharappa The Great Bath of Mohenjo-Daro is the earliest known public water tank of the ancient world. Most scholars believe that this tank would have been used in conjunction with religious ceremonies. Amazingly, the Indus Valley civilization appears to have been a peaceful one. Very few weapons have been found and no evidence of an army has been discovered. Excavated human bones reveal no signs of violence, and building remains show no indication of battle. All evidence points to a preference for peace and success in achieving it. So how did such a practical and peaceful civilization become so successful The Twin Cities Photo courtesy of Carolyn Brown Heinz Seals such as these were used by merchants in the Harappan civilization. Many experts believe that they signified names. The ruins of two ancient cities, Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro (both in modern-day Pakistan), and the remnants of many other settlements, have revealed great clues to this mystery. Harappa was, in fact, such a rich discovery that the Indus Valley Civilization is also called the Harappan civilization. The first artifact uncovered in Harappa was a unique stone seal carved with a unicorn and an inscription. Similar seals with different animal symbols and writings have since been found throughout the region. Although the writing has not yet been deciphered, the evidence suggests they belonged to the same language system. Apparently, Mesopotamias cuneiform system had some competition in the race for the worlds first script. The discovery of the seals prompted archaeologists to dig further. Amazing urban architecture was soon uncovered across the valley and into the western plains. The findings clearly show that Harappan societies were well organized and very sanitary. This copy of the Rig Veda was written after the Vedic Age. The Aryans had no form of writing at the time they invaded India. Instead, these religious scripts would have been memorized and passed down orally by Brahman priests. For protection from seasonal floods and polluted waters, the settlements were built on giant platforms and elevated grounds. Upon these foundations, networks of streets were laid out in neat patterns of straight lines and right angles. The buildings along the roads were all constructed of bricks that were uniform in size. The brick houses of all city dwellers were equipped with bathing areas supplied with water from neighborhood wells. Sophisticated drainage systems throughout the city carried dirty water and sewage outside of living spaces. Even the smallest houses on the edges of the towns were connected to the systems mdash cleanliness was obviously of utmost importance. The Fall of Harappan Culture No doubt, these cities were engineering masterpieces of their time. The remains of their walls yield clues about the culture that thrived in the Indus Valley. Clay figurines of goddesses, for example, are proof that religion was important. Toys and games show that even in 3000 B. C.E. kids mdash and maybe even adults mdash liked to play. Pottery, textiles, and beads are evidence of skilled craftsmanship and thriving trade. The swastika was a sacred symbol for the Aryans signifying prosperity. The word comes from the Sanskrit for good fortune. Hitler borrowed the symbol, changed the angle and direction of the arms, and used it to represent the Nazis. It was this intensive devotion to craftsmanship and trade that allowed the Harappan culture to spread widely and prosper greatly. Each time goods were traded or neighbors entered the gates of the cities to barter, Indus culture was spread. Eventually, though, around 1900 B. C.E, this prosperity came to an end. The integrated cultural network collapsed, and the civilization became fragmented into smaller regional cultures. Trade, writing, and seals all but disappeared from the area. Many believe that the decline of the Harappan civilization was a result of Aryan invasions from the north. This theory seems logical because the Aryans came to power in the Ganges Valley shortly after the Indus demise of the Indus Valley Civilization. Because there is little evidence of any type of invasion though, numerous historians claim that it was an environmental disaster that led to the civilizations demise. They argue that changing river patterns disrupted the farming and trading systems and eventually led to irreparable flooding. Although the intricate details of the early Indus Valley culture might never be fully known, many pieces of the ancient puzzle have been discovered. The remains of the Indus Valley cities continue to be unearthed and interpreted today. With each new artifact, the history of early Indian civilization is strengthened and the legacy of this ingenious and diverse metropolis is made richer. The Ancient Indus Valley Everything you could want to know about the largest and least known area of the ancient world. Compiled by their Assistant Field Director, the Harappa Archaeological Research Project (HARP) is full of graphics and guided tours around the ruins of Indus Valley civilization. Slide shows, biographies of the first explorers, and interviews with top scholars round out this easily navigable website. Some features require Quicktime and RealAudio plugins. A Unicorn Seal Tommy Hilfigers tags are red, white, and blue. Nike shoes are emblazoned with the trademark swoosh. See here how the manufacturers of the early Indus Valley made their products known. The Ancient Indus Valley Civilization Architecture, engineering, the arts, and sciences: these were only a few of the areas in which the Harappan civilization was accomplished. This intense paper from the Ancient Civilizations website gives us an in-depth look at what life entailed for ancient Harappans, from sewers to music. Women and the Vedic Chant Lopamudra was a great sage who inspired fear among peers and awe among elders. She also happened to be a woman. Read about the state of women in the Vedic Age before they fell from power as men took control. Learn from this Suite 101 article how these ancient women influence Indian women today. The Indus Valley Civilization The Aryans It could be possible that the Aryans never actually invaded India. Instead, Europeans may have made up the whole theory to divide the Indian people. Is the Aryan Invasion Theory the only explanation for the historical evidence Take a look at this table provided by Greenhead College, which gives the basics and the historical evidence for each theory that explains the relationship between the Dravidians and the Aryans. The Aryans and the Vedic Age When the Aryans arrived in India, they brought with them the horse, Sanskrit (the basis of the Hindi language) and the basis of Hinduism. They also brought war as well as the caste system, and erased all traces of the writing system of the Harappan civilization. The dedicated students at Thinkquest argue the pros and cons of the Aryan invasion into India. The Vedic Age They came through the Khyber Pass with their cattle and culture, transplanting a civilization in the process. Read at this India Visit website about the Aryans and the Vedic Age. Learn about the grand epics they wrote and the contributions that they made to the India of today.