Study Notes on The Earliest Societies

By Neha Joshi|Updated : September 8th, 2022

Earliest Societies Study Notes: In this article, we should read history study notes related to the earliest societies. The topic is the part of History section of SST, GK & Science Subjects. This article tends to be beneficial for the following exams - REETUPTETCTETSuper TETDSSSBKVS, etc.

In the Earliest Cities

Upon learning the art of using materials, man's lifestyle changed significantly. Copper has been man's first product to use and bronze was followed by a mixture of tin and copper.

The earliest cities in the Indian subcontinent appeared about 4,700 years in the area drained by the Indus and its tributaries in the North-West.

Harappa's Story:

(i) British discovered a mound during railway construction.

(ii) Archaeologists were informed.

(iii) Harappa was among the first city to be found, in the earliest civilization known as the Harappan Civilization.

Architectural features:

(i) Well-planned Harappan cities.

(ii) All the buildings were constructed of burnt bricks and good quality. The British used these good quality bricks for the building of railway lines.

(iii) The Great Bath at Mohenjodaro was the most spectacular building in the Indus Valley. It was lined with bricks, covered with plaster, and with a coating of natural tar made watertight.

(iv) The settlements of Harappan had citadels. The western part was smaller but higher, and the eastern part was larger, but lower and is called the lower city. These structures were designed for special public purposes in citadels.

(v) The Great Granary was the largest building excavated in Harappa.

(vi) One or two floors of tall houses with rooms were constructed around the courtyard. Most of the houses had a separate swimming area and some had water supply wells.

(vii) Harappa's most striking feature was the well-planned drainage system. The drains were covered and the inspection holes were created for cleaning them at intervals. The drains were laid out in straight lines, and each drain had a gentle slope so that water could pass through it.

Life of the People of Harappa:

(i) The town of Harappan was a very busy place. People were planning to build special buildings in the city.

(ii) People from Harappan used common food products such as wheat and barley. Harappa's animal bones include sheep, cows, pigs, etc.

(iii) Clay pots of good quality were made.

(iv) Many kilns have been discovered for baking bricks.

(v) Men and women wore necklaces, armlets, finger rings, and bangles which implies all men and women tended to enjoy ornaments.

New Crafts in the City

(i) Most of the objects found by archaeologists in Harappan cities were made of stones, shells, and metals like copper, bronze, gold, and silver.

(ii) Tools, weapons, and vessels were made of copper and bronze. Gold and silver were used to make ornaments and vessels.

(iii) The most important things found by archaeologists were beads, weights, and blades.

(iv) The rectangular stone seals of Harappan usually have animal motifs carved on them.

(v) Earthen pottery was also found on the Harappan site with beautiful black designs.

Cotton and cloth:

(i) traces of cotton that were grown about 7000 years ago were found from the Mehrgarh site.

(ii) Real pieces of cloth were found from the Mohenjodaro site attached to the lid of a silver vas and some copper artefacts.

(iii) Spindle whorls, made of terracotta and faience, were also found by archaeologists to spin threads.

(iv) Most objects found were created by specialists (a person qualified to do only one kind of work) of all objects found.

In Search of Raw materials

(i) Raw materials were either naturally found or produced by farmers or herders.

(ii) Some of the Harappans ' raw materials were local, but many items such as copper, tin, gold, silver and precious stones had to be brought from far away.

Food for people in the cities:

(i) Farmers grew crops and raised animals and supplied food to craftsmen, writers and city rulers.

(ii) Archaeologists suggest that Harrapans had grown wheat, barley, pulses, peas, rice, sesame, linseed and mustard from the remains of plants.

(iii) The plough was used as a farming tool to dig the earth and turn the soil fertile for plant seeds.

(iv) Some form of irrigation may have been used in dry regions as the water was stored and supplied to the fields as the plants grew.

(v) Harappans gathered fruits such as ber, caught fish and hunted wild animals such as antelope.

Trade:

(i) Harappa showed thriving trade which indicates the presence of long-distance trade.

(ii) Products from outside include Rajasthan copper, Karnataka gold and, Iran and Afghanistan’s precious stones.

(iii) Mesopotamia seals were also found on Indus.

(iv) In Mesopotamia, Indus Valley seals were discovered.

Harappan Cities in Gujarat:

(i) Dholavira and Lothal were two prominent Harappan cities in Gujarat.

(ii) There were traces of fresh water and fertile soil in Dholavira. Dholavira was divided into three parts, each section was surrounded by massive walls of stone, with gateway entrances.

(iii) Lothal was a major centre for making stone, shell and metal objects.

The decline of the Civilization of the Indus Valley:

(i) The decline period is assumed to be from 2500 BC to 1500 BC.

(ii) Indus Valley Civilization could have been destroyed due to the course of the Indus river by earthquakes, floods or changes but many historians argue that the Aryan invasion led to the decline of the civilization of Harappan.

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