The Indus (Harappan) civilization flourished in the 3rd millennium BCE, while the Indo-Gangetic (Vedic) civilization prospered in 800 BCE. Archaeologists highlight a gap of a few centuries to one millennium between the former’s collapse and the latter’s rise. In this article, Apeksha Srivastava highlights some differences and several more potential points of contact between the Indus and Indo-Gangetic civilizations.
Granary and Great Hall on Mound F in Harappa. Source: Muhammad Bin Naveed, available here.
Did this gap between the two civilisations contribute to a discontinuity between them?
Indeed, there seem to be some differences between them. For instance, iron became more important in the Vedic civilization, while the Harappan society was of the bronze age. Some practices that seemed absent in the Indus civilization developed in the Indo-Gangetic civilization. These include warfare, better organization of language, readable scripts, the emergence of religions and great literature, development of a caste system (not too rigid in the beginning), more widespread bureaucracy and administration, the emergence of new art forms, thoughts and belief systems, and rulers gaining more prominence. However, the visibility of this discontinuity to us might also be due to a possible lack of evidence.
Not So Different
The Indus civilization does not seem to be completely isolated from the Indo-Gangetic civilization, as believed by people until about three decades ago. There seem to be several crucial contact points between the Harappan and Vedic cultures. According to renowned scholar Jim Shaffer, “At present, the archaeological record indicates no cultural discontinuities separating PGW [Painted Grey Ware culture; corresponds to the middle and late Vedic period] from the indigenous protohistoric [Harappan] culture.” Bioanthropologists such as Pratap C. Dutta, S.R. Walimbe, and B.E. Hemphill have compared Indus Age skeletons with those from different epochs and demonstrated “a genetic continuum between the Harappans and the present‐day people of the region.”
The following paragraphs underline some possible contacts between the Harappan and Indo-Gangetic civilizations.
The Continuity in Architecture
The Indus civilization is renowned for its town planning, civic administration, water management, and sanitation. Several towns of the Gangetic civilization appear to share these characteristics, such as the general orientation, internal grid plan, enclosing fortifications as an authority symbol, garbage bins lining the main streets, and pillared halls, to name a few. The typical Harappan house plan with a central courtyard having rooms on its sides has survived in rural parts of northwest India to the present day. Apsidal (semi-circular) temples found at several Vedic civilization sites find their predecessor from the Indus civilization, most probably used for fire rituals.
Archaeologists also found the Harappan circular wells with trapezoid bricks in the Vedic period. This shape prevents inward collapse in case of strong subsoil pressure. Floors laid by mixing terracotta with charcoal at Kalibangan (Rajasthan) of the Indus civilization was a composition used in nearby villages even after 4,500 years.
Alikeness in Sacred Proportions
Harappan town planning utilized auspicious proportions. These ratios seem to be the same as in classical Hindu architecture literature. For instance, the ratio of 5:4 in Dholavira’s outer fortifications also applies to the overall dimensions of the port-town of Lothal (near Ahmedabad), Harappa’s granary (stored surplus food grains), a large house in Mohenjo-Daro’s lower city, a significant Vedic altar, and the king’s palace, Ashoka’s columns and Delhi’s Iron Pillar.
Similarity in Ornaments & Auspiciousness
Bangles, anklets, nose-pins, and ear studs documented at several Indus civilization sites, remain an integral part of ornaments worn by the Indian women of today. The married Hindu women applying vermilion at the parting of their hair seem to have Harappan origins (figurines found at Nausharo). However, not enough evidence exists to prove that it had the same auspiciousness as the later period. The traditional techniques of working with metals like gold and bronze, making bangles, and carving ivory in today’s India also derive their roots from the Harappan times.
Parallelism in the ‘Religion’ Aspect
The swastika is a classical Indian symbol with possible Indus civilization origins. However, there is not enough evidence of whether Harappans considered it with the same sacredness as the Gangetic civilization. There are many similarities between the animal motifs depicted on the Indus seals and those on early historical era silver punch-marked coins.
The linga and the trishula (trident), worship of a mother-goddess, animal sacrifice, and the sacred peepal tree (sacred fig) seem to be present in both cultures. Both civilizations also seem to have similarities in their gods having multiple faces, ornamental arches, and yogic postures. Some of their figurines seem to join their hands in a similar fashion, signifying “namaste.”
Other Traces of Equivalency
The traditional bronze casters still use the lost wax method used for making the famous ‘Dancing Girl’ bronze figurine in the Harappan period. Ox-carts have mostly survived in shape and size, with very few changes. Some plowing techniques have also continued till the present times. We still use objects like the frying pans and cooking pots found in Indus cities. Children of the Harappan, Vedic, and even the present times play with rattles, whistles, and spinning tops.
Such instances highlight that although there were changes in people’s lifestyles with time, the urban collapse of the Indus civilization did not cause a complete discontinuity. The “dark age” pictured previously to exist in the 2nd millennium BCE between the retreating Indus civilization and the arising Gangetic civilization has filled up such that there seems to be more continuity between the two. It is highly possible that some late Harappans were responsible directly or indirectly for the beginning of the Indo-Gangetic civilization.
“Our civilization cannot survive materially unless it is redeemed spiritually.” - Woodrow Wilson, 28th President of the United States.
What do you think of the links between the Indus & Indo-Gangetic civilizations?
Now read Apeksha’s article on feminine national personifications here.
References
Danino, M. The Harappan legacy. (April 2012). BBC Knowledge, 56-57.
Schug, G. R., & Walimbe, S. R. (2016). A companion to South Asia in the past. John Wiley & Sons.
https://www.britannica.com/place/India/Developments-in-the-Ganges-basin
https://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/climate-change/how-climate-change-forced-migration-of-indus-valley-people-towards-ganga-basin-59423
Apeksha Srivastava completed her Master’s degree from the Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar, Gujarat, India. She is currently an aspiring writer and a Ph.D. candidate at this institute. This article is based on an assignment she submitted for the course, Perspectives on Indian Civilization.
