Pre Harappan, Harappan, Post Harappan Age/Calco-Lithic Age (3,500 BC - 1,000 BC)

Pre Harappan, Harappan, Post Harappan Age/Calco-Lithic Age (3,500 BC - 1,000 BC)

• The term 'Chalcolithic' is the combination of two Greek words Chaleo (Copper) & Lithic (Stone). Thus the meaning of Chalcolithic Age is Copper-Stone Age.
• In that age men used copper implements alongwith stone implements, the age is known as 'Chalco-Lithic Age'. It is also called 'Neolithic-Chalcolithic Age'
• At first men used the metal to make implements was copper. It is believed that copper was used first of all in 5,000 BC.
• In the beginning copper was discovered. Later copper was mixed with other metals such as tin or zinc and lead to make a new metal or alloy, called bronze. In course of time, men became familiar with the use of gold, silver and at last with the use of iron.
• In North India, after Lithic Age the Chalcolithic Age appeared and after Chalco-lithic Age the Iron age appeared, whereas in South India, the place of Lithic Age was directly occupied by the Iron Age. In other words, in North India after lithic (stone) copper was used and after copper iron was used, but in South India after stone the iron was directly used. Since Copper is not indigenous in South India, therefore, they missed Copper Age and Lithic Age was succeeded directly by the Iron Age. It means the extension of Chalco-lithic age existed only in North India, not in South India.

The Chalco-lithic age is divided into three stages-

Pre-Harappan Age: 3,500 BC-2,500 BC
Harappan Age: 2,500 BC -1,750 BC
Post Harappan Age: 2,000 BC -1,000 BC

I. Pre-Harappan Age : 3,500 BC - 2,500 BC

• Pre-Harappan sites represent the transitional phase between Neolithic Age and Harappan Age.
• Its importance lies in the fact that on the basis of it the background of Harappan Civilization is clarified and this is the base on which the gradual evolution of Harappan Civilization from local/indigenous cultures can be explained.

Regional Extension of Pre-Harappan Culture

II. Harappan Age/Indus Civilization : 2,500 BC - 17,50 BC

• Three names are proposed for the civilization of Harappan Age-Harappan Civilization, Indus Civilization & Indus-Saraswati Civilization. 
  According to the archaeological point of view, the most appropriate name is Harappan Civilization, because Harappa was the first site discovered. There is a tradition in Archaeology, when we have to do nomenclature of any ancient culture then the site from where the existence of the culture was firstly known is opted for nomenclature. It is notable that the first site discovered of this culture was Harappa.
• Harappan civilization was the civilization of copper age.

Regional Extension of Harappan Civilization

Regional Cultures

III. Post Harappan Age : 2,000 BC - 1,000 BC

• After 2,000 BC in the different region of Indian subcontinent the various regional cultures came into existence. These were Chalcolithic Cultures.
• These cultures were not an urban culture like Indus Civilization but rural cultures.
• The nomenclature of these cultures is based on their type sites.

The names of the cultures associated with the Iron Age are—Painted Grey Ware—PGW Culture, Northern Black Polished Ware—NBPW Culture and Megalith Culture (South India). These cultures are called 'Iron-using Cultures'.

1. Painted Grey Ware-PGW Culture: 1,000 BC-600 BC.

The specific identity of this culture is—painted pottery of grey colour. The potteries of this culture are made from potter's wheel. The time period of this culture is accepted as 1,000 BC-600 BC. The extension of this culture is found in Upper Gangetic Valley with doab (Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh & Northern Rajasthan).

2. Northern Black Polished Ware-NBPW Culture: 600 BC- 300 BC

The specific identity of this culture is—polished pottery of black colour. Since in the beginning such type of potteries was found in Northern India, therefore this name was given to this culture and this name has remained in practice. The time period of this culture is accepted as 600 BC-300 BC. This culture is extended from Northern plains to Mid India (Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar& West Bengal) and in Deccan (Andhra Pradesh etc).

Note:   Mohenjodaro-the largest site of Indus Civilization,Rakhigarhi-The largest Indian site of Indus Civilization.

Common Features of Major Cities

1. Systematic town-planning on the lines of 'grid system'
2. Use of burnt bricks in constructions
3. Underground drainage system (giant water reservoirs in Dholavira)
4. Fortified citadel (exception-Chanhudaro).

• Surkotada (Kutchh district, GujaratJ- the only Indus sitewhere the remains of a horse have actually been found.
• Main Crops: Wheat and Barely; Evidence of cultivationof rice in Lothal and Rangpur (Gujarat) only.
• Other Crops: Dates, mustard, sesamum, cotton etc.Indus people were the first to produce cotton in theworld.
• Animals: Sheep, goat, oxen (ox & cow), humped andhumpless bull, buffalo, boar, dog, cat, pig, fowl, deer,tortoise, elephant, camel, rhinoceros, tiger etc.
• Lion was not known to Indus people. From Amari,a single instance of the Indian rhinoceros has beenreported.
• Frade and commerce, inland and foreign, overland,riverine and oceamic was the mainsfay of the economy of harappa civilization.
• There was extensive inland and foreign trade. Foreigntrade with Mesopotamia or Sumeria (Modem Iraq),Bahrain etc. flourished.

• Exports: Agricultural products,cotton goods, terracotta figurines, pottery, certain beads (from Chanhudaro), conch-shell (from Lothal), ivory products, copper etc.
• A very interesting feature of this civilization was that Iron was not known to the people.
• The Sumerian texts refer to trade relations with 'Meluha which was the name given to the Indus region.
• Shatughai and Mundigaq were the Indus sites found in Afghanistan.
• The Sumerian texts also refer to two intermediate stations-Dilmun (Bahrain) and Makan (Makran coast)- Susa and Ur are Mesopotamian places where Harappa seals were found.
• The Harappans were the earliest people to product cotton (It was called Sindon / by the Greeks)-
• As there is no evidence of coins, barter is assumed to have been the normal method of exchange of goods.
• Lothal was an ancient port of Indus civilization.
• The Indus Civilization was primarily urban.
• There is no clear-cut evidence of the nature of polity, but it seems that the ruling authority of Indus Civilization was a class of merchants.
• The Harappan people didn't worship their gods in temple. No temple in fact has been unearthed. An idea of their religion is formed from the statues and figurines found.
• The most commonly found figurine is that of Mother- Goddess (Matndevi or Shakti), There is evidence of prevalence of ion; (female sex organ,) worship.
• The chief male deity was the 'Pasupati Mahadeva' i.e. the lord of Animals (Proto-Shiva) represented in seals as sitting in yogic posture; he is surrounded by four animals (elephant, tiger, rhino and buffalo) and two deer appear at his feet. There was the prevalence of Phallic (lingam) worship.
• Thus Shiva-Shakti worship, the oldest form of worship in India, appears to have been part of the religious belief of Haippan people (esp. humped bull which is comparable to Nandi bull, the ride of Lord Shiva, Trident/Trishul which is inscribed on pottery shreds found from Chandigarh).
• The remains and relics also reveal that zoolatry i.e. animal worship and tree worship (esp. peepal) were in vogue in those days.
• There is the evidence of pictographic script, found mainly on seals. The script has not been deciphered so far, but overlap of letters on some of the potsherds from Kalibanga show that writing was boustrophedon or from right to left and from left to right in alternate lines. It has been referred to as Proto-Dravidian.

Note: The oldest script in Indian subcontinent is the Harappan script, but the oldest deciphered script is Brahmi script known from about 5th century BC. Most of the later Indian scripts derived from Brahmi.Steatite was mainly used in the manufacture of seals.

• Humpless bull is represented in most of the Indus seals.
• Inhumation or complete burial was the most common method of disposal of the dead.
• The origin of the 'Bwmtlka1 symbol can be traced to the Indus Civilization.
• 'Indra is accused of causing the decline of Indus Civilisation' - M Wheeler.
• The Rigveda speaks of a battle at a place named ‘Hatiyumpia 'which has been identified with Harappa.
• The majority of scholars believe that the makers of this civilization were Dravidian.
• Contemporary civilizations of Indus Civilization Mesopotamia, Egypt and China,