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Home/Anthropology/Mains PYQ/2021/Paper II/Prehistoric Archaeology
UPSC MainsAnthropology Optional Paper II 2021 20 Marks Model Answer Available

Origin of the Indus Valley Civilization — 2021 Paper II

Question · 2021 · Paper II · 20 Marks

Critically discuss the origin of Indus Valley Civilization. Mention the evidences of its endogenous origin from the pre-Harappan sites.

Model Answer

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Approach

  • Demand of Question: Critically examine competing explanations regarding the origin of the Indus Valley Civilization and specifically establish, through archaeological evidence, its endogenous development from pre-Harappan cultures.
  • Structuring the Response: Briefly introduce the origin debate, contrast diffusionist and indigenous-development views, present site-wise evidence of cultural continuity, and conclude with a balanced interpretation incorporating both local evolution and external contacts.
  • Key Dimensions to Cover: Mehrgarh, Amri, Kot Diji, Kalibangan, Banawali, Rehman Dheri; agriculture, ceramics, fortification, settlement planning, craft specialization, cultural continuity, regional integration and West Asian contacts.

Model Answer

Introduction

The Indus or Harappan Civilization, whose Mature phase flourished approximately between 2600–1900 BCE, represents the first major urban civilization of the Indian subcontinent. Early scholars sometimes explained its development through diffusion from Mesopotamia, but discoveries of numerous pre-Harappan settlements demonstrate a long process of local cultural evolution and regional integration.

Debate regarding origin

Two broad explanations have been offered:

  1. Diffusionist View: Similarities with Mesopotamia in seals, metallurgy, urbanism and long-distance trade led some early scholars to suggest external inspiration.
  2. Endogenous Development: Subsequent excavations showed that agriculture, craft production, settlement planning and regional exchange had developed in north-western South Asia much before Mature Harappan urbanization.

The developmental sequence can broadly be represented as:

Neolithic Villages → Regional Chalcolithic Cultures → Early Harappan Phase → Mature Harappan Urbanism

Evidences of endogenous origin

  1. Mehrgarh: Mehrgarh in Baluchistan provides the deepest background to Harappan development. From the seventh millennium BCE it shows:
  • settled agriculture;
  • wheat and barley cultivation;
  • domestication of cattle, sheep and goats;
  • mud-brick houses;
  • pottery in later phases;
  • bead-making and craft specialization.

Thus, the basic agro-pastoral and technological foundation of Harappan society developed locally.

  1. Amri: Pre-Harappan levels at Amri reveal settled habitation and distinctive painted pottery. Later phases indicate increasing interaction with emerging Harappan traditions.
  2. Kot Diji: Kot Diji represents an advanced Early Harappan settlement characterized by:
  • fortification;
  • planned habitation;
  • characteristic ceramics;
  • increasing craft specialization.

Continuities between Early and Mature Harappan levels suggest transformation rather than population replacement.

  1. Kalibangan: The pre-Harappan phase at Kalibangan provides evidence of:
  • fortified settlement;
  • mud-brick architecture;
  • distinctive ceramics;
  • an agricultural field showing intersecting furrows.

The later Mature Harappan settlement developed over an already established cultural base.

  1. Rehman Dheri: Rehman Dheri shows planned settlement, fortification and organized craft activity, demonstrating substantial social complexity before Mature Harappan urbanism.
  2. Banawali: Early and Mature Harappan occupational phases at Banawali reveal gradual incorporation of regional traditions into the wider Harappan cultural system.

Process of urban transformation

The archaeological evidence suggests:

Agricultural surplus → Craft specialization → Regional exchange → Settlement hierarchy → Standardization → Urban integration

The Mature Harappan phase witnessed increased standardization in:

  • bricks;
  • weights and measures;
  • seals;
  • pottery;
  • settlement organization.

This standardization appears to have emerged through the integration of several regional cultural traditions, rather than through the expansion of a single pre-Harappan centre.

Critical assessment

Endogenous origin should not be equated with complete isolation. Harappan communities maintained contacts with Afghanistan, Iran, Oman and Mesopotamia and participated in long-distance trade.

External interaction may have facilitated exchange of commodities and technological ideas. However, there is no convincing archaeological evidence of a foreign population suddenly introducing urban civilization into the Indus region.

Conclusion

The Indus Civilization is best understood as the culmination of a long indigenous developmental trajectory involving agricultural expansion, craft specialization and interregional integration, while simultaneously participating in wider West and Central Asian exchange networks.

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