UPSC CORE GEOGRAPHY · NCERT · SHARMA CH 8: THE HARAPPAN CIVILIZATION (SITES, TOWN PLANNING, ECONOMY, RELIGION, DECLINE)
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When and how was the Harappan civilisation discovered?
1826 — Charles Masson described Harappa's ruins. 1856 — Burnes brothers used Harappa bricks for railway ballast. 1921 — DAYA RAM SAHNI (ASI) excavated HARAPPA. 1922 — RAKHALDAS BANERJEE excavated MOHENJO-DARO. 1924 — Sir John Marshall (DG ASI) ANNOUNCED to the world that India had a civilisation contemporary with Mesopotamia + Egypt — pushed Indian history back by 2,000 years.
How big was the Harappan zone?
About 1.5 MILLION sq km — bigger than ancient Egypt + Mesopotamia COMBINED. Stretched from SUTKAGEN-DOR (westernmost, Makran coast in Iran-Pakistan border) to ALAMGIRPUR (easternmost, Meerut, UP); from MANDA (northernmost, J&K, Chenab) to DAIMABAD (southernmost, Maharashtra). 1500+ known sites in India + Pakistan.
Three phases of Harappan culture?
(i) EARLY HARAPPAN (~3300-2600 BCE) — pre-urban village cultures (Amri, Kot Diji, Sothi-Siswal, Rehman Dheri). (ii) MATURE HARAPPAN (~2600-1900 BCE) — the great urban phase with all classic features. (iii) LATE HARAPPAN (~1900-1300 BCE) — decline; cities abandoned; population dispersed east + south.
Harappan civilization SIZE + EXTENT?
Covered ~1.5 MILLION sq km — LARGEST of all 4 ancient civilizations (Mesopotamia ~0.4M, Egypt ~0.3M, China Yellow River ~0.6M). Spread from MAKRAN coast (Sutkagen-dor in W Pakistan) to ALAMGIRPUR (UP, eastern); from MANDA (J&K, north) to DAIMABAD (Maharashtra, south).
HARAPPAN PHASES — Early, Mature, Late?
EARLY HARAPPAN (~3300-2600 BCE) — formative, regional cultures (Hakra ware, Kot Diji, Sothi-Siswal). MATURE HARAPPAN (~2600-1900 BCE) — peak urbanism + uniformity across 1.5M sq km. LATE HARAPPAN (~1900-1300 BCE) — decline, deurbanisation; sub-cultures (Cemetery H, Jhukar, Rangpur).
Geographic ANCHOR points of Harappan zone?
WESTERN: Sutkagen-dor (Makran coast). EASTERN: Alamgirpur (UP near Delhi). NORTHERN: Manda (J&K). SOUTHERN: Daimabad (Maharashtra). Heartland: INDUS basin (Mohenjo-daro, Harappa) + GHAGGAR-HAKRA basin (Kalibangan, Banawali, Rakhigarhi) + GUJARAT (Lothal, Dholavira).
What was the basic Harappan town layout?
TWO-PART layout: WESTERN MOUND (CITADEL) — higher, walled, with public buildings; EASTERN MOUND (LOWER TOWN) — bigger, residential. Streets ran in a STRICT GRID (north-south + east-west) with right-angle intersections — a degree of urban planning unmatched until Roman times.
Standardised brick — what proportion?
Harappan kiln-baked + sun-dried bricks all in the ratio 1:2:4 (height:width:length); sized in standard 7×14×28 cm or 10×20×40 cm. Same ratio used from Sutkagen-dor to Alamgirpur — testimony to standardisation across 1.5M sq km.
Drainage system — why is it unique?
EVERY HOUSE had its own bath + toilet connected to UNDERGROUND brick-lined DRAINS; main drains ran beneath the streets, with MANHOLES for cleaning; dirty water flowed to soak-pits or rivers. NO other ancient civilisation had this level of urban sanitation — Sharma calls it "the most efficient sewage system of the ancient world".
Mohenjo-daro's Great Bath — what is it?
On the Citadel; large brick-lined POOL (12 × 7 × 2.4 m); BITUMEN-waterproofed; 2 staircases; surrounding rooms; possibly used for RITUAL bathing (priestly purification?). Unique in the ancient world.
Harappa's GREAT GRANARY — why?
On Citadel; 12 large brick chambers (each 15 × 6 m) arranged in 2 rows; raised on platforms with air-channels for ventilation. Probably stored TAX-IN-KIND (grain). Mohenjo-daro had a similar (smaller) granary. Suggests a centralised state collecting + redistributing grain.
What does "Mohenjo-daro" mean and what was found there?
In Sindhi, "MOUND OF THE DEAD". Largest Harappan site (~250 hectares; pop est. 35,000-50,000); excavated by Banerjee 1922 + Marshall 1924 + Wheeler 1944; contains the GREAT BATH, GREAT GRANARY, ASSEMBLY HALL, COLLEGE OF PRIESTS (?), Lower Town with ~1500 brick houses.
This topic is part of the NCERT UPSC Core History syllabus, drawn from the chapter Sharma Ch 8: The Harappan Civilization (sites, town planning, economy, religion, decline). Content is cross-referenced against the latest NCERT textbook editions + standard reference works.
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