Indus Valley art and description of the Indus Valley civilization

1. Indus Valley
Civilization

2. Content
• Introduction.
• Time periods
• Authority and governance.
• Theories
• Architecture.
• Town planning.
• Mohenjo Daro.
• Harrapa.
• Clothing.
• Religion.
• Mediums of Art.
• Art.

3. Introduction the Indus Civilization
• The Indus Valley Civilization (IVC) was a Bronze
Age civilisation in the northwestern regions of South
Asia, lasting from 3300 BCE to 1300 BCE
its sites span an area stretching
from northeast Afghanistan,
through much of Pakistan, and
into western and
northwestern India.It flourished
in the basins of the Indus River,
which flows through the length
of Pakistan, and along a system
of perennial, mostly monsoon-
fed, rivers that once coursed in
the vicinity of the
seasonal Ghaggar-Hakra river in
northwest India and eastern
Pakistan

4. Pre-
Harappan
• Early Food Producing Era
• domesticated wheat varieties, early phases of farming, pottery,
other archaeological artefacts, some domesticated plants and herd
animals
Early
Harappan
• Regionalization Era
• Trade and commerce expanded.
Mature
Harappan
• Urbanization and Integration era
• Harappan communities turned into large urban centres
TIME PERIODS

5. Authority and Governance
Archaeological records provide no immediate answers for a
centre of power or for depictions of people in power in
Harappan society. But, there are indications of complex decisions
being taken and implemented. For instance, the majority of the
cities were constructed in a highly uniform and well-planned grid
pattern, suggesting they were planned by a central authority;
extraordinary uniformity of Harappan artifacts as evident in
pottery, seals, weights and bricks; presence of public facilities
and monumental architecture; heterogeneity in the mortuary
symbolism and in grave goods
There are however two theories, that seem to be
the most likely case here

6. This is the Indus Valley artifact called the Priest
King. He is the iconic representation of Indus
civilization. He dates to 2200-1900 BC and was
found at the Mohenjo Daro archaeological
site, Sindh Province, Pakistan, this indicates that
the priests might have been the governing
authority of sorts.
The beautiful Indus seal below has an
inscription that reads from right to left,
‘eka ra-bi-ndra-na-th,’ (Prince
Rabindranath).
First Theory

7. Second theory
Although a bearded man's image has
been found who is presumably a priest
but it's not evident that he is the ruler.
Though the most possible form of
governance seems to be Oligarchy . They
were probably ruled by merchants.
Oligarchy as a theory is more widely
accepted than the theory of kings, this
is because the Indus valley civilization
was vey much involved in trading. The
well thought towns and minting of their
own coins is also another proof.
Seal/coins from the indus valley
civilizaiton.

8. Mohenjo Daro
Mohenjo-Daro , meaning ”Mound of the Dead Men”.
Mohenjo-Daro is an archaeological site in the province
of Sindh. It is located in the west of the Indus
River in Larkana District, Sindh, Pakistan, in a central
position between the Indus River and the Ghaggar-Hakra
River.
Built around 2500 BCE, it was one of the largest
settlements of the ancient Indus valley civilization and
one of the world's earliest major cities
Mohenjo-daro was abandoned in the 19th century BCE as
the Indus Valley Civilization declined, and the site was not
rediscovered until the 1920s. Significant excavation has
since been conducted at the site of the city
The ruins of the city
remained undocumented
for around 3,700 years. In
the 1930s major
excavations were conducted
at the site under the
leadership of
Marshall. After 1965
excavations were banned
due to weathering damage
to the exposed structures.

9. Harappa
• The archaeological site of Harappa is located in Sahiwal District,
Punjab Province, Pakistan.
• With the rise of the Indus cities, technology and craft production
increased in importance as mechanisms for creating unique
objects that were probably used to identify socio-economic
groups and to reinforce the relationships between such groups in
an urban context. The use of inscribed seals, along with various
forms of writing on a wide range of artifacts, appears associated
with the need both to communicate social or ritual relationships
and to facilitate economic ties
• these small areas have provided valuable information on the
nature of early second millennium BC subsistence, architecture,
and everyday life

10. Architecture
Excavations at Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro and several other sites of the Indus Valley
Civilization revealed the existence of a very modern urban civilization with expert
town planning and engineering skills
Very advanced drainage system along with well-planned roads and houses show that
a sophisticated and highly evolved culture.
The Harappan people had constructed mainly three types of buildings-dwelling
houses, pillared halls and public baths.

11. Main features of Harappan remains are:
The settlements could be traced as far back as third millennium BC
Some important settlements were excavated on the banks of the
river Indus particularly at the bends that provided water, easy
means of transportation of produce and other goods and also
some protection by way of natural barriers of the river.
All the sites consisted of walled cities which provided security to
the people.
The cities had a rectangular grid pattern of layout with roads that
cut each other at right angles.
The Indus Valley people used standardised burnt mud-bricks as
building material.
There is evidence of building of big dimensions which perhaps
were public buildings, administrative or business centres, pillared
halls and courtyards, There is no evidence of temples.
Public buildings include granaries which were used to store grains
which give an idea of an organised collection and distribution
system.
Along with large public buildings, there is evidence of small one
roomed constructions that appear to be working peoples quarters.
The ‘Great
Bath’ as it is
called, is still
functional
and there is
no leakage or
cracks in the
construction.

12. The planning of the residential houses
were also meticulous.
1. Evidence of stairs shows houses
were often double storied.
2. Doors were in the side lanes to
prevent dust from entering the
houses.
3. Individual homes or groups of
homes obtained water from wells.
4. Houses opened only to inner
courtyards and smaller lanes.
Town Planning
1. The most important features of
Harrapan architecture are their
superior town planning skills and cities
that have been built on a clear
geometric pattern or grid layout.
2. Roads cut each other at right angles
and were very well laid out.
3. As the Indus Valley settlements were
located on the banks of the river, they
were often destroyed by major floods.
In spite of this calamity, the Indus
Valley people built fresh settlements on
the same sites. Thus, layers upon layers
of settlements and buildings were
found during the excavations

13. Clothing
Textiles are rarely preserved and
Harappan figurines are usually
unclothed, so there is not much evidence
of Harappan clothing. Small fragments of
cloth preserved in the corrosion products
of metal objects show that the
Harappans wove a range of grades of
cotton cloth. Flax was grown and may
have been used for fibres (alternatively it
was grown for its oilseed). Native Indian
species of silkworm may have been
utilised for silk (inferior to Chinese silk),
as they were a little later in South Asia. It
is not known whether the Harappans
raised woolly sheep, but their trade with
Mesopotamia probably brought them
abundant supplies of Mesopotamian
woolen textiles.
Priest in wearing floral
patterned clothes.

14. Dyeing facilities indicate that cotton cloth was probably dyed
a range of colours, although there is only one surviving
fragment of coloured cloth, dyed red with madder; it is likely
that indigo and turmeric were also used as dyes.
Yields a deep red to purple dye

15. seal shows a horned figure surrounded by
animals such as the deer, antelope, rhinoceros,
elephant, tiger and buffalo. The horned figure is
called Pashupati which means the lord of the
cattle. Pashupati is similar to the gods, Rudra and
Shiva.
Religion
There are many seals to support the
evidence of the Indus Valley Gods. Some
seals show animals which resemble the two
gods, Shiva and Rudra. Other seals depict a
tree which the Indus Valley believed to be
the tree of life. The tree was guarded by a
spirit to keep the evil forces away from the
tree. The guardian was potrayed by many
animals such as bull, snake, goat, or any
other mythical creature or animal. The evil
force is represented by a tiger. One seal
shows a figure sitting in a position that may
be similar to a yoga pose and is thought to
be an early representation of a Hindu God.

16. Figurines found led the scholars to believe that the
Indus people worshipped a Mother Goddess
symbolising fertility.
They worshipped fertility symbols which were
round or pierced stones, a practice that was
performed before the worship of Shiva and Parvati
in the form of Sivalinga. They may have believed in
magical rituals, charms and amulets and also
demons and spirits.
Miniature mask from Mohenjo-daro of
bearded horned deity. The face is made from
a mold and thumb impressions from pressing
the clay are visible on the back.

17. Art
The arts of Indus Valley civilization, one of the earliest civilizations of the world, emerged
during the second half of the third millennium (Bronze Age).
The forms of art found from various sites of civilization include sculptures, seals,
pottery, gold ornaments, terracotta figures, etc.
Their delineation of
human and animal
figures was highly
realistic in nature.
Modeling of figures was
done in an extremely
careful manner.
Two major sites of
Indus Valley civilization,
along the river Indus
are: North – cities
of Harappa; South –
Mohenjo-Daro.

18. A number of gold, terracotta and stone
figurines of girls in dancing poses reveal the
presence of some dance form. These
terracotta figurines included cows, bears,
monkeys, and dogs. The animal depicted on a
majority of seals at sites of the mature period
has not been clearly identified. Part bull, part
zebra, with a majestic horn, it has been a
source of speculation. As yet, there is
insufficient evidence to substantiate claims
that the image had religious or cultic
significance, but the prevalence of the image
raises the question of whether or not the
animals in images of the IVC are religious
symbols
Ceremonial vessel;
2600-2450 BCE;
terracotta with
black paint; 49.53
× 25.4 cm;

19. Many crafts including, "shell working, ceramics,
and agate and glazed steatite bead making" were
practised and the pieces were used in the making
of necklaces, bangles, and other ornaments from
all phases of Harappan culture. Some of these
crafts are still practised in the subcontinent
today.[142] Some make-up and toiletry items (a
special kind of combs (kakai), the use
of collyrium and a special three-in-one toiletry
gadget) that were found in Harappan contexts
still have similar counterparts in modern
India.[143] Terracotta female figurines were found
(c. 2800–2600 BCE) which had red colour applied
to the "manga" (line of partition of the hair)
Harappan burnished and
painted clay ovoid Vase,
with round carnelian
beads. (3rd Millennium-
2nd Millennium BCE)

20. Artworks
Dancing Girl
Found from Mohenjo-Daro.
Made up of Bronze.
One of the best-known artifacts from Indus
valley.
Approximately 4-inch high figure of a dancing
girl.
This exquisite casting depicts a girl whose long
hair is tied in the bun and bangles cover her left
arm.
Cowry shell necklace is seen around her neck.
Her right hand is on her hip and her left hand is
clasped in a traditional Indian dance gesture.
She has large eyes and flat nose.

21. Bull from Mohenjo-Daro
Bronze figure of the bull
found in Mohenjo-Daro.
The massiveness of the bull
and the fury of the charge
are eloquently expressed.
The animal is shown
standing with his head
turned to the right.
There is a cord around the
neck.
Seals of Pashupati Mahadeva
Found in Mohenjo-Daro.
The seal depicts a human figure seated cross legged.
An elephant and a tiger are depicted to the right side
of the figure, while on the left a rhinoceros and a
buffalo are seen.
Two antelopes (deer) are shown below the seat
(nearby his feet).
The figure has a three horned head.

22. Mother Goddess
Mainly found in Mohenjo-Daro.
These figures are usually crude standing
figures.
Adorned with necklaces hanging over the
prominent breast and wearing a loin cloth
and a grid.
The fan-shaped headdress with a cup like
projection on each side is a distinct
decorative feature of the mother goddess.
The pellet eyes and beaked nose of the
figure are very crude (constructed in a
rudimentary way).
Mouth is indicated by a narrow opening.

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