Harappa is an archaeological site in the Punjab Province of Pakistan. It preserves the remains of an early village that grew into a large urban center by about 4,600 years ago. Harappa was part of the Indus Valley civilization, one of the earliest and largest civilizations in South Asia. The site was first investigated in the 1850’s and excavations (digs) have been conducted since the 1920’s.
Harappa is about 15 miles (25 kilometers) west of the modern city of Sahiwal. The site takes its name from the modern village of which it is now a part. The site was originally situated near the Ravi River. Today, that river passes about 5 miles (8 kilometers) north of the site. The empty channel that the river once flowed through lies adjacent to the site. The city went through several cultural phases from its earliest occupation, around 3300 B.C., to between 1800 and 1300 B.C. The archaeological site covers an area of approximately 150 hectares (1.5 square kilometers).
The people of ancient Harappa grew wheat, barley, rye, sesame, and cotton. They raised zebu (humped cattle), water buffalo, sheep, goats, and chickens. They ate catfish, carp, snakehead, and spiny eels caught in nearby rivers and oxbow lakes. They also hunted wild animals, including rhinoceros, pigs, and such antelopes as nilgai and blackbuck.
Archaeologists refer to the earliest periods in the cultural history of this site as the Early Harappan Phase. During this time, the site was a small village. This phase is recognized by its coil pottery, made by layering strips of clay on top of one another. Later periods are recognized by the introduction of the potter’s wheel and the mass production of ceramics. By this time, the village had grown into a much larger urban center of the Indus Valley Civilization.
The people of Harappa constructed their buildings on mud-brick platforms to protect them from seasonal floods. The site consists of several tells (mounds) that once held different neighborhoods of the ancient city. Each mound had a perimeter (outer) wall around it with large corners resembling fortifications called bastions. Archaeologists believe that the occupation of these mounds shifted as political alliances changed and different groups came into power. Two gates are found along the southern side of one mound and the southeastern corner of Harappa. A large structure in the southeast corner appears to be part of the city’s water and sewage systems.
Many of the larger buildings at Harappa were destroyed when people took baked-mud bricks from the site to build a bed for a railway from Multan to Lahore in the mid-1800’s. Despite the destruction, archaeologists have identified several distinct architectural structures and features at Harappa. Archaeologists have found the remains of houses, wells, and industrial sites with kilns (ovens) for making pottery. A structure called the granary was a large mud-brick building built to allow air to flow beneath a wooden platform. Archaeologists believe the building was used to store and dry harvested grain. The site also features circular platforms—made up of rings of baked bricks set on edge—with a space in the center. The platforms may have been used for threshing grain, but no preserved remains of grain have been found around them. Some scholars think that the platforms may have been constructed around large pipal (wild fig) trees.
Ceramics found at Harappa include distinctive red slip-cast vessels with geometric and animal designs—sometimes peacocks—painted on in black. Slip-cast vessels are made by pouring a creamy clay called slip into a mold. Dishes and bowls were often made with a stand, a design unique to Harappan ceramics. Other vessel forms include large black slip-cast storage vessels. Such vessels are found at sites throughout the Persian Gulf region, indicating their use in trade. Cooking pots and perforated jars—probably used to make a form of beer—are also common at Harappa. Harappans also mass-produced clay figurines of women and animals. These items may have been used in religious rituals.
Important industries included the making of such trade items as beads of cut carnelian, gold, and silver and jewelry. Steatite (soapstone) seals with picture motifs and writing are found in abundance at Harappa. Unicorns are common animal motifs on the seals, along with elephant and rhinoceros designs. The seals were used to show ownership of trade goods.
From about 1900 to 1700 B.C., the Indus civilization gradually broke up into smaller cultures. Changes in the course of the Indus River disrupted agricultural and economic systems, leading to decline of the civilization. Many people left the cities of the Indus Valley region, and Harappa was eventually abandoned.
See also Mohenjo-Daro.
