India's First Cities
Harappan food, crafts and trade
Say what the Harappans grew, made and traded, read what their seals and their dockyard were for, and give the two reasons the chapter says their cities were abandoned.
The Harappans put many of their settlements on the banks of rivers, large and small — for easy access to water, and because rivers enrich the soil around them. They grew cereals like barley and wheat, some millets, sometimes rice, and in addition pulses and a variety of vegetables. Pulses are the category that includes beans, peas and lentils. They were the first in Eurasia to grow cotton, which they wove into clothes, and they made farming tools including the plough, some of which are still in use by modern-day farmers.
What the pots gave away
Scientific examinations of Harappan clay pots turned up expected remains — dairy products — and surprising ones: turmeric, ginger and banana. The Harappans also domesticated animals for meat and fished in the rivers and the sea, which is known from the large numbers of animal and fish bones found during excavations. Their diet, the chapter concludes, was quite diverse.
Have a play
A Harappan seal, about the size of a large stamp.
Tap any part of the picture.
Soft metal, hard metal
The Harappans mastered the art of working copper, which is a soft metal. Add tin to copper and the result is bronze, which is harder — and bronze is what they made tools, pots and pans, and some figurines from. Copper itself was probably one of the things they imported, since the metal was not so common back home.
Worked example
Lothal, a small settlement in Gujarat, has a basin 217 metres long and 36 metres wide. What was it?
Start with the size. The chapter compares its length to a little more than two football grounds.
Scale is the first clue. Nothing a household needs is that big, so whatever it is belongs to the whole settlement.
Try it together
Now work out why the cities emptied.
Around 1900 BCE the civilisation began to fall apart, and the cities were abandoned one by one. Long ago it was thought that warfare or invasions had destroyed them.
1.What does the chapter say the evidence shows about warfare or invasion at these sites? Answer yes or no: is there any trace of it?
Have a go
Your turn: although the cities disappeared, what does the chapter say happened to much of the Harappan culture and technology? Answer in one word — was it lost, or did it ______ and pass on to the next phase of Indian civilisation?
Hint: The chapter's own heading asks whether this was the end or a new beginning.
Ready to practise?
Eight questions on what you have just read. Nothing is timed, and you can play as many times as you like.