Economic Life of Indus Valley Civilization

The Indus Valley Civilization had a sophisticated and well-organized economy. It was a prosperous civilization that flourished from around 3300 BCE to 1300 BCE. Animal husbandry, trade, craft manufacturing, and agriculture were the main pillars of the economy.

Agriculture

The main feature of the urban-centered Harappan civilization was an agricultural lifestyle. The ruins of the huge granaries that can be discovered in places like Mohenjodaro and Harappa indicate that the product has surpassed consumption.

Food grains:

1. Wheat and barley were their staple food.
2. Besides rabi crops (spring) such as barley, rye, mustard, millet, mung, and lentils, kharif crops (winter) such as jowar, bajra, cotton, sesame, and ragi were cultivated.
3. The chaff found in large quantities in Lothal and Rangpur in Gujarat provides evidence of rice cultivation in that region.

Irrigation: The water was used for agriculture by damming the Indus, Ravi or Irrawaddy, Sutlej and other rivers.

Equipment used for Agriculture: It is assumed that the Harappan people knew how to use the plough from the wooden plough found in Kalibangan.

Domesticated animals:

1. Cattle, sheep, goats, buffaloes, camels, pigs, etc. were the domesticated animals of the Harappan people.
2. Even cats and dogs were kept as pets.
3. Their favorite animal was the humped bull.
4. However, Buffaloes and bullocks were mainly used for farming.
5. They most likely also domesticated asses and camels.

Info: Although camel bones have been discovered in great quantities across numerous locations, no seal has been found of camel.

Info: It is not sure whether Harappan use horse or not.

Crafts and Industries

One of the main features of the economy of Harappan civilization was the manufacture, use and trade of technical products. Various archaeological artifacts made of both stone and metal have been found from Harappan civilization.

Archaeological artifacts: Along with stone knives and other tools, metal materials such as copper and bronze knives, axes, sickles, axes, saws have been found.

Textile industry:

1. Due to the production of high-quality cotton, the weaving industry flourished during this time.
2. The cotton cloth made here was exported to various parts of West Asia.
3. The oldest examples of textile manufacturing are found at Mohenjo-daro.
4. The earliest examples of woven fabrics in the world are found at Mohenjo-daro.
5. The shawl-like upper part of a male statue found at Mohenjo-daro shows a triangular design sculpture, which is an example of advanced needlework.

Metallurgy: The people here were skilled in making beautiful ornaments of gold and silver, sickles, axes, knives, utensils, pitchers, lamps, statues, etc. from copper and bronze.

Stone Art:

1. Excavations have yielded stone objects like carnelian, lapis lazuli, agate, various stone tools and statues.
2. The beads used by people during this period were made of precious and semi-precious stones, steatite (soft) stone, copper, lapis lazuli, etc.

Technical Industry:

1. The excellence of the technical industry of the Harappan civilization can be seen.
2. Copper and bronze were used in metallurgical products.
3. Copper hoofs, knives, chisels, fishing rods, sickles, axes, saws have been found.
4. Bronze knives, axes, chisels have been found.
5. Workshop for making flint knives made of stone at Sukure.
6. Flint stone pebbles have been found at Mohenjo-daro in Harappa. These were made at Sukure.
7. One of the ornaments was garlands (beads).
8. Gold, copper, conch semi-precious stones, steatite stone, ivory were used in making beads.
9. A large building at Banwali contained a large number of semi-finished/finished beads, mostly made of cornelian stone and in some cases gold and lapis lazuli.
10. A furnace and many small jars suitable for fine weighing have also been recovered at Banwali.
11. This building at Banwali was the bead making workshop.

Info: A unique feature of the Harappan civilization is the scratched design on cornelian stone.

Pottery:

• With the help of the potter’s wheel, artists used to make various types of clay statues, clay nets, children’s toy chariots, dolls, etc.
• Common people used pottery for daily needs.
• Evidence of terracotta pottery is found in Harappa.
• Female statues, birds and other animal statues have been found in Harappa.
• Number of ornaments was high in female statues.
• The structure of the terracotta statues of bulls and elephants is extraordinary.
• The terracotta statues of Harappa are generally rough and bright or black in color.
• Both bright and dull types of pottery were made by the Harappans.
• Pottery painted like the Ashwattha tree has been found from Naushera.
• A terracotta tablet depicting a procession with Totemic symbols has been found at Mohenjo-daro.
• Another three-sided terracotta tablet depicting a boat, a gharial, and the Indus script has been found at Mohenjo-daro.
• The pottery was burnt red and had intricate designs.
• The light and thin Kaolin clay, which was polished with a bright red glaze and had bright black designs on them, were probably decorative items.
• A terracotta female figure has been found at Harappa, with a flowered headdress and rich ornaments.
• A terracotta block has been found at Kalibangan, with a carved image of a horned deity on one side and an animal with a rope around its neck on the other.
• A pottery found at Kotdiji has a coloured image of a buffalo horned deity on its surface.
• The pottery included net-like containers, cooking utensils, plates, bowls, long pots with holes, etc.

Info: Much more terracotta sculptures have been found in Harappa than stone and metal statues.

Info: A seal found at Mohenjo-daro shows a male figure engaged in embroidery.

Info: Among other arts, brickwork, woodwork, porcelain art, limestone art, ivory art, etc. are particularly notable.

Trade and Commerce

Info: Merchants during this period were called ‘Pani’. They were involved in both domestic and foreign trade by land and water.

Info: Harappan seals, which were mainly used for commercial purposes, have been discovered in the Mesopotamian cities of ‘Susa’. Cloth bales with Indus seals have been found in ‘Umma’ in Mesopotamia.

• Trading Countries: In addition to trade with nearby regions, there were foreign trade relations with distant places such as Egypt, Sumer, Babylon, Mesopotamia, etc.
• Medium of Trade: Since there was no monetary system, import and export were conducted through the ‘barter system’.
• Maritime Trade: Some seals found in the Harappan civilization show images of boats, ships, masts, anchors, sailors, etc., which indicate trade on sea routes at that time.
• Use of Animals: Animals such as oxen, bulls, donkeys, camels, elephants, etc. were also used to transport goods.
• Weights/Measures: Cube-shaped jars made of limestone and steatite stone were used to measure goods.

Imports:

1. Deodar wood from the Himalayas
2. Gold from Mysore
3. Copper, lead and limestone from Khetri in Rajasthan
4. Silver from Sumer
5. Jade from Central Asia, conch shells from the Rann of Kutch, etc. were imported to the Indus Valley Civilization.
6. The precious lapis lazuli came from the Badakhshan region of Afghanistan.
7. Precious stones like carnelian were imported from Saurashtra and western India.

Exports: The Harappan civilization exported cotton cloth, food grains, peacocks, ivory goods, sapphires, gems and pearls.

Evidence of foreign trade:

1. Several cuneiform tablets found in West Asia indicate that the Akkadian rulers had regular commercial contacts with Meluha (lower Indus Valley region) and Magan (Makran coast).
2. Inscriptions of the Harappan civilization have been found in Bactria.
3. The word ‘Meluha’ (inhabitant of Indus) is mentioned in Sumerian literature.
4. In Babylon, cotton was called ‘Siddham’ which was originally brought from the Indus region.
5. Egyptian tools, lampstands and samples of Harappan boats have been found in Harappa.

Info: The Indus script also has morphological similarities with hieroglyphic script.