Chapter – 1

Bricks, Beads and Bones

In this post, we have given the detailed notes of Class 12 History Chapter 1 (Bricks, Beads and Bones) in English. These notes are useful for the students who are going to appear in class 12 board exams.

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What is a civilization?

• Civilization is group of people whose way of life, ways of living, ideologies and beliefs are special

Major civilizations of the world

• Before 1920 it was believed that Egyptian civilization, Mesopotamia civilization and Chinese civilization are one of the oldest civilizations in the world but then the Harappan civilization was discovered and then it became one of the oldest civilizations in the world.

Discovery of Harappan Civilization

• The work of the railway] line was going on in the year 1856, in Punjab ( present-day Pakistan ) almost 160 years ago.
• Excavations were being done at those places and during this time people found some old bricks and remains.
• At that time these people could not understand its importance and The work of the railway line was continued.
• In 1861, the Archaeological Department of India was established in Kolkata.
• The Archaeological Department gives information related to a country’s history and investigates it. 
  • The first director of it was Alexander Cunningham  
  • He is called the father of Indian history.
• After him, John Marshall became director of the Archaeological Department from 1902 to 1928.
• The Harappan civilization was discovered under his leadership .
• The Harappan civilization was discovered in 1921 by Dayaram Sahni under the leadership of John Marshall.
• The Harappan civilization is known by different names.
• Harappan Civilization
  • This civilization is called Harappan civilization because the earliest remains were found at a place named Harappa.
• Indus Valley civilization ( Indus Valley Civilisation )
  • This civilization is called the Indus Valley Civilization because it was situated on the banks of the Indus River.
• Bronze Age Civilization
  • This civilization is called Bronze Age civilization because they discovered bronze by mixing tin in copper.

Geographical features of Harappan civilization

• The Area of Harappan civilization were spread approximately 12,99,600 square kilometres
• Presently, this civilization was spread from Jammu and Kashmir upwards through India to some parts of Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh through Afghanistan and Pakistan.
• This civilization is also called a triangle shaped civilization because it was spread in a triangular area.
• Mesopotamia and Egyptian civilization are contemporary civilizations of Harappan. Means while all these civilizations were at the same time in the world
• The period of Harappan civilization is believed to be from 2600 BCE to 1900 BCE.

Strategies of subsistence in Harappan civilization

Agriculture Technology 

• The people of Harappan civilization mainly crop wheat, barley, pulses, millet, white gram, etc.
• Canals and wells were used for irrigation
• The pieces of Harappan get information by Taurus joins Bullock 
• they assumed that the people of Harappa use bullock for plough the field 
• Ploughs have also been found in many places, which shows that ploughing was done in the fields for cultivation.
• In Kalibangan and Rajasthan, there is evidence of a cultivated field, which appears to have grown two different crops simultaneously.
• For harvesting crops Harappan people use wood and stone.

Animal husbandry

• Harappan sites received the bones of such animals like cattle, sheep, goat, buffalo and pigs, which suggests that people raise these animals for their personal use.

Prey

• Here bones of fish, birds and wild animals have also been found, from which it is estimated that the residents of Harappa used to eat the flesh of  these animals.

Mohenjodaro (A planed urban center)

• Mohenjodaro was one of the two main cities of the Harappan civilization, the first of which was Harappa and the second was Mohenjodaro

Features of Mohenjodaro

• It was one of the most important cities of the Harappan civilization.
• It was located in Larkana district of modern-day Pakistan.
• Its area was about 125 hectares
• The city in Mohenjodaro was mainly divided into two parts.
• Citadel 
• Lower

Citadel and Lower Town

• Citadel Fort was small in size
• It was built at a height
• The fort was surrounded by a wall
• This wall separates lower town from citadel 

Lower town

• The lower town was larger than citadel in size
• It was for the common people
• The main feature here was its drainage system

Citadel

Warehousing ( Grain Home )

• Warehouse used to be large in size and grain was kept in it.

Large bath

• The remains of a very great bath in rectangular shape have been found in the fort . Long , 7 m . Wide and approx 2 . 4 m . deep
• There were corridors around it
• The wells were arranged to fill the great bath.
• It is believed that they were used for religious rituals or for bathing on special occasions.
• Stairs were also built from the north and the south to reach the bottom in the reservoir.
• All these reservoirs were connected to the main drains.

Lower Town

The roads

• The roads in Mohenjodaro were 4 to 10 metres wide.
• The road intersects at a right angle.
• Many historians say that the roads were built in such a way that it would automatically clear through the air.

Drainage System

• Drains and lanes were constructed in the planned manner
• For the construction of drains was used ins mortar gypsum.
• Drains were covered with bricks to prevent garbage
• Special arrangements were made for rainwater drainage

Building Construction

• Special attention was given to cleanliness in Mohenjodaro
• Rooms were built around the courtyard
• There was a drain outside the wall of each house.
• Every house had large courtyards
• Every house had a bath made of concrete bricks.
• The wells were built inside the houses
• Drains in every household for water drainage was arranged was
• This courtyard was used for cooking and other works.
• The lower rooms had no windows and the doors opened towards the courtyard.
• The bath drains were attached to the drains outside the streets.
• Stairs have also been found in many houses, which makes it clear that the houses were also of two floors.
• About 700 different wells were received in Mohenjodaro alone.

Other features

• The inn was built for travellers
• The cooking furnace was made out of the city so that there is no pollution in the city.
• The lanes were constructed in such a way so that the sunlight could go to every corner.
• The guards were deployed for protection at night
• Litter was pressed into pits outside the cities

Social diversity

We get information about differences in Harappan society through burial and luxury items.

Burial

• Here the funeral was done by burying the person.
• The structure of the found tombs is different from each other.
• Many of the tombs have brick masonry while many graves are common.
• Earthen vessels and jewellery were also buried along with individuals in the tombs as the Harappans probably believed in reincarnation.
• Copper mirrors beaded and ornaments have also been found from the tombs.

Luxury items

• Luxury items are another way of identifying social differences.
• There are mainly two types of objects
• Everyday use
  • Items such as chakis , pottery , needles , general tools etc.
  • They were made from common materials such as stone or clay and were readily available.
• Luxury items
  • It is an item that was not readily available, i.e. found in small quantities.
  • Items that are expensive or scarce are considered precious, such as the characters of fiona , gold jewellery

Major sites of the Harappan civilization

• • Lothal (Gujarat)
  • Kalibanga (Rajasthan)
  • Nageshwar (Gujarat)
  • Dholavira (Gujarat)

The Art of the Craft

• Craftsmanship includes jewellery , sculptures , tools making, etc.
• In Harappa mainly bead , seal , weights were made , conches were cut and metal works were done.
• The main craft production centre of Harappan civilization Cnhuddo , Lothal was more recently as in the hole in Dholavira tools found

Mohar and Mundrakan

• Mohr and Mundrakan are used to protect the consignments .
• For example, if the goods are sent away and put in a bag is was was was then tied the rope to his mouth and sealed with wet clay stamped on the rope
• If there is any change in the mark of the stamp, it shows was the stuff of with tampering of went the
• At the same time it was also revealed the identity of the sending

Weights

• Weights were made from a stone called churt
• They were used to weigh jewellery and beads.

Beaded

• The beads were made of carnelian ( beautiful red stone ) , jasper, cellar, rhinestone, etc.
• Some beads were also made by mixing two or more substances together.
• The shape of the beads was circular , circular , cylindrical , segmented, etc.
• The top was decorated by painting
• There was a change in the method of making beads according to the type of stone.
• Salkhari was a soft stone that was easily used. In many places , the powder of Salkhari has been made by pouring it into the mould.
• Processes were made of grinding , polishing and piercing to make the bead.

How were the production centres identified?

• The remaining raw materials , abandoned objects , straw etc. of the identification of the production centres
• The place where tools are found in large quantities is considered to be the production centre.
• At the same time, the remaining raw material is also left in an area or the production centres are also known from the residue left after production.

Raw material procurement

• Local raw material
• Clay , stone , wood , metal etc.

Other areas imported raw materials

• Conch from Nageshwar and Balakot
• Lothal to Carnelian stone
• Salkhari from Rajasthan and North Gujarat
• Copper from Kheti in Rajasthan

Harappan Script

• Harappan script was a pictorial script
• It had around 375 to 400 signs.
• It was written from right to left
• This script has not been read till date, which is why it is called mystical script.

Governance in Harappan culture

There are three different opinions about governance in Harappan culture.

• First vote
  • Some archaeologists believe that the situation of everyone was not normal in Harappan society.
• Second vote
  • There was no one ruler in the Harappan civilization but more than one ruler.
• Third vote
  • Harappa was a state because despite being spread over such a large size, the entire region had many similarities such as
• The things
  • Planned settlement
  • Brick size
  • Structure of society
  • Ways of living
• Religious beliefs
  • It is believed that the people of Harappa worshipped nature.
  • Ritual scenes have been found in some pieces.
  • Tree plants have also been found on the moharo
  • A statue of a woman laden with jewellery has been found which was simply called Devi.
  • Huge bathrooms have been found in areas such as Kalibanga and Lothal which were used for mass baths.
  • Some pieces show a person sitting in a yoga pose.
  • The stone is classified as Shivalinga.
  • It is believed that they worshipped Shiva, the main deity of Hinduism.

Fall of Harappan Civilization

• It is believed that the end of the Harappan civilization was due to a natural disaster such as
• Earthquake
• Changing the way of the Indus River
• Climate change
• Deforestation
• Aryan invasion

Cunningham’s Illusion

Cunningham was the first Director General of the Archaeological Department of India.

What did Cunningham make a mistake?

• They felt that the Harappan civilization is not a big civilization but a small civilization.
• Failed to understand Harappan’s seal
• Failing to determine the period of Harappa , he linked the Harappan relics to the Vedic period even though he was older than that.
• He only relied on written evidence that led to his mistake.

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