NCERT Class 12 history Chapter 1 Notes Bricks beads and bones In English

BEGINNINGS (Early archaeological cultures)

There were several archaeological cultures in the region before the Mature Harappan.

• These cultures were associated with distinctive pottery, evidence of agriculture, pastoralism, and some crafts.
• The settlements were small in size and had no large buildings.

Subsistence strategies

Subsistence strategies of the people included hunting and gathering, cultivation, pastoralism, and distribution.

• There is evidence of bones of animals which proves that people consumed meat. Terracotta models of oxen and ploughs show that people relied on agriculture too.

(Agriculture) Different types of food available to the people

The Harappans ate many plants and animal products, including fish.

• Archaeologists found grains such as wheat, barley, lentils, chickpea, and sesame at Harappan sites.
• In Gujarat, Millets have been found. Rice was found rarely.

Bones of cattle, fish, fowl, sheep, goat, buffalo, pig, boar, deer, and gharial are found at the sites. Studies indicate that these animals were either domesticated or hunted by the Harappans.

Agricultural technologies of Harappans

Agriculture was the main occupation of the Harappans.

• Finds of grains indicate the prevalence of agriculture.

It is complicated to reconstruct actual agricultural practices carried out by the Harappans.

• Terracotta sculptors of the bull and their representation on the seals indicate that bull was known to them.
• From this, the archaeologists assume that the oxen were used for ploughing.

• The most spectacular part of the Harappan structure is the large-scale town layout.
• The city of Mohenjodaro was divided into two sections i.e.the Citadel(Smaller but higher) and the lower city(much larger but lower).

The Citadel

The citadel was walled, which meant it was separated from the lower town.

• The buildings were constructed on mud-brick platforms.
• There were variations in Harappan settlements.

At sites such as Dholavira and Lothal (Gujarat), the entire settlement was fortified, and walls also separated sections within the town.

• The citadel within Lothal was not walled off but was built at a height.

The Great Bath

The Great Bath was a large rectangular tank in a courtyard surrounded by a corridor on all four sides.

• There were two flights of steps on the North and the South to reach the tank.

There are structures in the citadel that were probably used for special public purposes.

• These included the warehouse and the Great Bath.

The Great Bath was made watertight by setting bricks on their edges and using the plaster of gypsum.

• There were rooms on three sides of it, one of which was a large well.
• Water from the tank flowed into a huge drain.

On the North side, there was a smaller building having eight bathrooms, four on each side of its corridor.

• From each bathroom, drains were coming out, connected to a drain that ran along the corridor.
• Seeing the uniqueness of the structure, scholars suggest that it was meant for a special ritual bath.

The Lower Town

The lower town was organised on a grid system which served as foundations. It was also walled.

• Archaeologists believe that it was probably the city where most of the people lived and worked.
• Bricks used for settlements were sun-dried or baked.
• They were of standardised ratio, where the length and breadth were four times and twice the height respectively.

Laying out drains

One of the most distinctive features of Harappan cities was the carefully planned drainage system.

• Roads and streets were laid out along an approximate “grid” pattern, intersecting at right angles.
• Street with drains was laid out first, and then houses were built along them.
• If domestic wastewater had to flow into the street drains, every home needed at least one wall along a street.

The drains were made of mortar, lime, and gypsum.

• They were covered with big bricks which could be lifted easily to clean the drains.
• Very long drainage channels were provided at intervals with sumps for cleaning.
• Little heaps of materials mostly sand have frequently been found alongside the drains.
• This shows that the drains were cleaned at regular intervals.

Domestic Architecture

Most of the residential buildings were centered on a courtyard with rooms on all sides.

• The courtyard was the center of activities such as cooking and weaving.
• There were no windows in the walls along the ground level.
• The main entrance does not give a direct view of the interior of the courtyard.

Every house had its bathroom with drains connected through the walls to the street drains.

• Some houses have remains of staircases to reach a second story or the roof.
• Many houses had wells, often in a room that could be reached from outside and used by passers-by.
• The total number of wells in Mohenjodaro was about 700.

Tracking Social Differences: Strategies to find out social differences

1. Studying Burials

Strategies to analyze social and economic differences among people living within a particular culture include the study of burials.

• At burials in Harappan sites, the dead were generally laid in pits.
• Some of the pits were lined with bricks.
• Some of the burials contained ornaments, pottery, etc., maybe a belief that these things can be used afterlife.
• The jewelry was found in both men’s and women’s burials, meaning that both men and women used ornaments.
• In some instances, the dead were buried with copper mirrors.

But Harappans never believed in burying precious things with the dead.

2.Studying Artefacts

• Studying artefacts is another strategy to find out social differences.
• Artefacts are divided into utilitarian and luxuries.

Utilitarian artefacts include objects made of stone or clay.

• These include querns, pottery, needles, flesh rubbers, etc. and are usually distributed throughout settlements.

Luxury artefacts are rare objects made of valuable materials generally concentrated in large settlements like Mohenjodaro and Harappa.

• For Example, little pots of faience were used as perfume bottles and are found mainly in Mohenjodaro and Harappa.

Identifying centres of production.

How centers of production were identified by the archaeologists? 

• Simply by evidence of tools, raw materials, unfinished objects, rejects, waste materials, etc.

Strategies for procuring materials for craft production

Some craft production materials were locally available, and some were transported outside the alluvial plain.

Terracotta models of bullock carts are found. So This suggests that the bullock cart was one of the essential means of transport at that time.

Riverine routes were also probably used. For procuring raw materials, expeditions were sent to other areas.

Material from the subcontinent and beyond

The Harappans procured materials for craft production in various ways.

Two methods of procuring materials for craft production

• They established settlements in Nageshwar, Balakot, and Shortughai.
• They might have sent expeditions to areas such as the khetri region of Rajasthan (for copper) and south India (for gold).

Contact with distant lands (Trade relation with the world)

Archaeological finds suggest that the Harappans maintained long-distance trade.

• The primary source of long-distance contact includes seals, weights, dice, and beads.
• Harappans probably had trade contacts with the Oman peninsula.
• Chemical analyses have shown that both the Omani copper and Harappan artifacts have nickel traces, suggesting a common origin.
• A Harappan jar coated with a thick layer of black clay has been found in Oman.
• The Harappan may have exchanged the contents of these vessels for Omani copper.
• Some data shows that Mesopotamia transported the copper from Magan, Oman.
• Mesopotamian texts refer to contact with regions named Dilmun (probably the island of Bahrain), Magan and Meluhaha, possibly the Harappan.

Evidence of depiction of ships and boats on seals.

Seals, Script, Weights

Seals and Sealings

Seals and Sealings were used to facilitate long-distance communication.

• When a bag of goods was sent from one place to another, its mouth was tied with a rope.
• On the knot was affixed some wet clay on which one or more seals were pressed, leaving an impression.
• If the bag reached with its sealing intact, it had not been tampered with.
• The sealing established the identity of the sender.
• The Harappan seal is the most distinctive artefact; the seal is made of a stone called steatite.
• The seals also contain animal motifs and signs from a script.

A cylinder seal found in Mesopotamia has a humped bull motif, which can be derived from the Indus region.

The round Persian gulf seal found in Bahrain sometimes carries Harappan motifs.

Weights

• Exchangers were regulated by a precise system of weights usually made of a stone called chert (a kind of stone, generally cubical with no markings).
• Lower denominations of weights were binary (1, 2,4,8,16,32, etc.), while the higher denominations followed the decimal system.

Governance in Harappan culture

The archaeologists put forward different arguments over the central authority of Harappa.

The Extraordinary uniformity of Harappan artefacts is evident in pottery, seals, weights, and bricks, suggesting some forms of authority and governance.

There are three major views about the existence of a central authority in Harappan society.

• Some archaeologists believe that there were no rulers in the Harappan society and that everybody enjoyed equal status.
• Others believe that there was no single ruler but several rulers. Monenjodaro had a separate ruler, Harappa had a separate, and so on.
• Yet others argue that there was a single state. This theory was based on the similarity of artefacts, planned settlements, etc.
• The last opinion is more plausible as it is doubtful that such complex decisions were made and implemented collectively by entire communities.

The End of the Civilization

The Evidence that reflected the disappearance of the Harappan civilization by 1800 BCE

By 1800 BCE, most of the mature Harappan sites were abandoned.

• The expansion of population and its migration took place towards Gujarat, Haryana, Western U.P, etc.

After 1900B.C.E sites which existed marked the transformation of material culture, i.e., the disappearance of distinctive artefacts of civilization like weights, seals, foreign trade, etc.

• Writing, long-distance trade, and craft specialization also disappeared.
• House construction techniques deteriorated, and large public structures were no longer produced.
• So, This indicates a rural way of life named late Harappan or successor cultures.

Several explanations for the decline of the Harappan civilization

The reasons responsible for the end of civilization are still unknown. But probable reasons are;

• Climatic Change
• Deforestation
• Excessive floods
• Overuse of the landscape
• The shifting and or drying up of rivers
• Invasion, most probably by the Aryans
• The Harappan state came to an end. There is Evidence of the absence of specific art facts like seals, pottery, etc.

Discovering the Harappan Civilization

The discoveries of the Harappan Civilisation by archaeologists were as follows :

Cunningham and his Confusions

Cunningham was the first Director General of ASI (Archaeological Survey of India).

• He was known as the father of Indian archaeology.
• He began archaeological excavations in the mid-19th century.

Evidence used by Cunningham

His primary interest was in the archaeology of early history from 6th-century BCE- 4th century CE and later periods.

• He used the accounts left by Chinese pilgrims who had visited the subcontinent between the 4th and 7th centuries CE.
• He also collected, documented, and translated inscriptions found during his Excavations.
• Sites like Harappa did not fit well in his area of investigation.

Alexander Cunningham Confusion

Although Harappan artefacts were found during the 19th century, some reached Cunningham.

• But he did not realize how old these were as they were not part of the itinerary of Chinese pilgrims and were not known as Early Historic cities.
• An English man gave a Harappan seal to Cunningham.
• But he could not place it in the time frame with which he was familiar. He thought that Indian history began with the first cities in the Ganga valley.
• So, it is assumed that he missed the significance of Harappa.

Daya Ram Sahni

In the early decades of the 20th century, seals were discovered at Harappa by Daya Ram Sahni.

Rakhal das Banerji

He also found similar seals at Mohenjodaro, leading to conjecture that these sites were part f a single archaeological culture.

John Marshall

Based on the finding of Daya Ram Sahni and Rakhal das Banerji found in 1924, John Marshall was the Director General of the ASI.

• In 1924 he announced the discovery of a new civilization in the Indus valley to the world.
• Marshall tended to excavate along regular horizontal units, measured uniformly throughout the mound, ignoring the site’s stratigraphy.
• The artefacts recovered from the same unit were grouped, even if found at different stratigraphic layers.

As a result, valuable information about the context of these finds was irretrievably lost.

He was the Director General of the ASI in 1944.

• He recognized that it was necessary to follow the stratigraphy of the mound rather than dig mechanically along uniform horizontal lines.
• R.E.M. Wheeler rectified this problem.

Problems of piecing together the past

Problems faced by archaeologists in the interpretation of religious practices of Harappa.

• The Harappan script does not help understand the Harappan civilization. The script remains undeciphered to date.
• Material remains to help the archaeologists to reconstruct Harappan’s life.

Organic materials such as cloth, leather, wood, and reeds generally decompose, while stone, burnt clay, metal, etc., survive.

Materials such as pottery, tools, ornaments, and household objects are available.

Classifying finds (Division Of Finds Have Survived)

Recovering artefacts is just the beginning of the archaeological enterprise. Archaeologists then classify their findings.

• One simple principle of classification is in terms of materials such as stones, clay, metal, bone, ivory, etc.
• The second and most complicated, archaeologists have to decide whether, for instance, an artifact is a tool or an ornament, or both, or something meant for ritual use.
• An understanding of the function of an artefact is often shaped by its resemblance with present-day things-beads; querns, stone blades, and pots are prominent examples.

Archaeologists also try to identify the function of an artefact by investigating the context in which it was found, whether it was found in a house, drain, grave, or kiln.

Problems of interpretation

• The problems of archaeological interpretation are perhaps most evident in attempts to reconstruct religious practices.

Attempts have also been made to reconstruct religious beliefs and practices by examining seals, some of which seem to depict ritual scenes. 

• Others, with plant motifs, are thought to indicate nature worship.

Many reconstructions of the Harappan religion are made on the assumption that later traditions provide parallels with earlier ones.

• This is because archaeologists often move from the known to the unknown, from the present to the past.

The discovery of pots, querns, beads, etc., in the Harappan sites and their graves provide enormous information.

• Traces of cotton and dresses depicted on seals and sculptures give us an idea about the dressing style of Harappan people.
• The terracotta figurines of women indicate the worship of the mother goddess.
• Plant motifs suggest the practice of nature worship.
• Some animals, such as the unicorn depicted on seals, seem to be mythical, composite creatures.

In Some seals, a figure shown seated cross-legged in a ‘yogic’ posture, sometimes surrounded by animals, has been regarded as a depiction of proto-Siva. 

• Which is an early form of one of the major deities of Hinduism.
• The conical stones indicate linga worship.

The two important structures that archaeologists have found are :

• The fire altars found at Kalibangan and Lothal and The Great Bath at Monhenjodaro were meant for ritual use.

Timeline 1

Major periods in Early indian Archaeology

Hoards: Hoards are objects kept carefully by people, often inside containers such as pots.

Seal: It generally contained animal motifs and signs from a script to identify its user.

Stratigraphy: The study of layers.

Linga: A linga is a polished stone worshipped as a Shiva symbol.

Shamans: Shamans are men and women who claim magical and healing powers and the ability to communicate with the other world.

Steatite: It is a type of stone that is like talc or soapstone.

Saddle querns: Saddle querns were the only means of grinding cereals and pulses. They were made of hard, gritty rock or sandstone. The remains of saddle querns show signs of hard usage.

Curry stones: The type of quern in which the second stone was used as a pounder, which eventually made a cavity in the base stone, was called curry stones. This type was possibly used only for pounding herbs and spices for making curries.

Chert: Chert was a type of stone, generally cubical with no markings. It was used in the system of weight by the people of Harappan people.

Archaeo: Botanists: Specialists in ancient plant remains.

Mound: Reuse of the landscape results in the build-up of occupational debris.

Motif: A Symbol used by the Harappans on seals o mark some sort of trademark.

Ncert Class 12 history chapter 1 notes: Summary

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Class 12 history bricks beads and bones notes Summary

Class 12 History revision notes Bricks beads and bones will help you to clear your long Ch in an easy format and help the student to score better in the exam. Bricks, beads, and bones history revision notes will help the student complete the syllabus quickly.

Class 12 History ch 1 Bricks beads and bones history revision notes will provide information about Harappan Civilisation and Excellent town planning of Harappan Civilisation and agricultural techniques that the Harrapan used and governance of Indus valley Civilisation, Bricks beads, and bones. Class 12 history revision notes will also provide about the trade structure of Harappan.

NCERT Bricks beads and bones Revision Notes

Question: What was Cunningham’s confusion class 12 history notes chapter 1 ?

Ans: Although Harappan artefacts were found during the 19th century, some reached Cunningham.

• But he did not realize how old these were as they were not part of the itinerary of Chinese pilgrims and were not known as Early Historic cities.
• An English man gave a Harappan seal to Cunningham.
• But he could not place it in the time frame with which he was familiar. He thought that Indian history began with the first cities in the Ganga valley.
• So, it is assumed that he missed the significance of Harappa.

Question: What strategies adopted to identify Social differences among the Harappans class 12 history notes chapter 1 ?

Ans: Two strategies were adopted to identify Social differences among the Harappans:-

1. Studying Burials

Strategies to analyze social and economic differences among people living within a particular culture include the study of burials.

• At burials in Harappan sites, the dead were generally laid in pits.
• Some of the pits were lined with bricks.
• Some of the burials contained ornaments, pottery, etc., maybe a belief that these things can be used afterlife.

2. Studying Artefacts

• Studying artefacts is another strategy to find out social differences.
• Artefacts are divided into utilitarian and luxuries.

Question: What is the Period of the Harappan Civilization class 12 history notes chapter 1 ?

Ans: The civilization is dated between 2600 BCE and 1900 BCE
The period of the civilization is broadly divided into three parts:

1. The Early Harappan culture (Before 2600 BCE)
2. The Mature Harappan culture (2600 BCE to 1900 BCE)
3. The Late Harappan culture (After 1900)

Question: What are the important sites of the Harappan civilization class 12 history notes chapter 1 ?

Ans: Kalibangan, Lothal, Rakhigarhi, Dholavira, Rupar, Harappa, Ganeriwala, Chanhudaro, Sutakagendor, Mohenjodaro, Amri, Balakot, Kot Diji, Rangpur, Nageshwar, Ganeriwala etc.

Question: What were the features of the drainage system of Harappan civilization class 12 history notes chapter 1 ?

Ans: One of the most distinctive features of Harappan cities was the carefully planned drainage system.

• Roads and streets were laid out along an approximate “grid” pattern, intersecting at right angles.
• If domestic wastewater had to flow into the street drains, every home needed at least one wall along a street.
• The drains were made of mortar, lime, and gypsum.
• They were covered with big bricks which could be lifted easily to clean the drains.
• Little heaps of materials mostly sand have frequently been found alongside the drains.
• This shows that the drains were cleaned at regular intervals.

Question: What were the reasons for the decline of the Harappa civilization class 12 history notes chapter 1 ?

Ans: The reasons responsible for the end of civilization are still unknown. But probable reasons are;

• Climatic Change
• Deforestation
• Excessive floods
• Overuse of the landscape
• The shifting and or drying up of rivers
• Invasion, most probably by the Aryans
• The Harappan state came to an end. There is Evidence of the absence of specific art facts like seals, pottery, etc.

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