CUET PG History Unit 1: Indus Valley Civilization

The CUET PG History Indus Valley Civilization is a high-priority topic in Unit 1, covering one of the earliest urban civilizations of the Indian subcontinent. Questions often focus on its phases, important sites, town planning, economy, trade, seals, script, religion and decline, making clear conceptual understanding essential.

CUET PG History Unit-1 Indus Valley Civilization brings together the key facts you need for CUET PG History preparation, from the discovery and development of the Harappan Civilization to major sites such as Harappa, Mohenjo-daro, Dholavira, Lothal and Kalibangan. It also includes revision tables, important exam facts and commonly tested comparisons to make last-minute revision easier.

What is the Indus Valley Civilization

The Indus Valley Civilization, also called the Harappan Civilization, was one of the world's earliest urban civilizations. It flourished around 2,500 BC across present-day Pakistan and Western India, known for its planned cities, advanced drainage, standard weights, and a still-undeciphered script.

Difference Between Culture and Civilization

Before studying the Indus Valley, it helps to know why it is called a "civilization" and not just a "culture." Key points:

• Culture means all human activities in a community — food, clothing, customs, and festivals.

• Civilization is the peak of culture, marked by advanced developments.

• V. Gordon Childe listed the key markers of a civilization: script, planned urban centres, and agricultural surplus.

• The Chalcolithic, Neolithic, and Paleolithic periods are called "cultures," while the Harappan period is called a "civilization."

• Not every culture becomes a civilization, but every civilization grows out of a culture.

Harappan Civilization or Indus Valley Civilization: Which Name Is Correct?

CUET PG questions sometimes test this naming detail directly, so keep these points clear:

• Archaeological convention names a civilization after its first excavated site.

• Harappa was excavated first, so "Harappan Civilization" is the more academically correct term.

• "Indus Valley Civilization" comes from early sites found along the Indus River, but many sites now lie far from it, making the name less accurate.

• "Indus-Saraswati Civilization" is also considered inaccurate, since sites are spread well beyond both river valleys.

• The CUET PG syllabus commonly uses "Indus Valley Civilization," so both names are worth remembering.

Mohenjodaro and Harappa Excavation: Discovery and Background

The Mohenjodaro and Harappa excavation put Indian prehistory on the world map. Key facts:

• This civilization flourished around 2,500 BC in present-day Pakistan and Western India.

• It was one of the four great ancient urban civilizations, alongside Egypt, Mesopotamia, and China.

• Harappa was excavated in 1921 by Daya Ram Sahni.

• Mohenjo-daro was excavated in 1922 by R.D. Banerjee.

• John Marshall, Director-General of the ASI, announced the discovery of this new civilization to the world in 1924.

• Scholars compared artifacts from both sites and found they belonged to the same cultural tradition.

Phases of Harappan Civilization

Knowing the phases of Harappan civilization helps you place sites, features, and dates correctly in the exam. Key points:

• Early Harappan (c. 3300–2600 BCE): A pre-civilizational culture phase, linked to the Hakra Phase in the Ghaggar-Hakra valley. Marked by growing urban character, trade networks, and crops like peas, sesame, dates, and cotton. The earliest Indus script signs date to around 3000 BC. Kot Diji represents the culture leading into the Mature phase.

• Mature Harappan phase (c. 2600–1900 BCE): The civilization proper, showing all its hallmark features — planned towns, a developed script, and surplus agriculture. Major urban centres like Harappa, Mohenjo-daro, and Lothal emerged during this time.

• Late Harappan (c. 1900–1300 BCE): The decline phase, when the civilization regressed into more localised cultures. Cities were largely abandoned by 1700 BC, though Late Harappan elements persisted until around 1000–900 BC.

• A transitional phase (c. 2800–2600 BCE) shows large-scale burning and site abandonment, marking the shift from Early to Mature Harappan.

• Chronologically, the Harappan Civilization is actually older than the Chalcolithic cultures of India, even though those cultures were technologically less advanced.

Origins of the Harappan Civilization

The Harappan Civilization grew from within the region rather than being brought in from outside. Key points:

• Pre-Harappan settlements in Lower Sindh, Balochistan, and Kalibangan (Rajasthan) gradually evolved into the Early Harappan culture, and then into the Mature Harappan Civilization.

• Amal Nanda Ghosh studied pottery to identify the pre-Harappan culture.

• M.R. Mughal established cultural continuity from pre-Harappan to Mature Harappan.

• There is no substantial evidence of Mesopotamian origin; any Mesopotamian influence was, at most, a stimulus and not a foundation.

Harappan vs Mesopotamian Civilization

Harappan vs Mesopotamian civilization comparisons are a frequently asked CUET PG question type. 

Indus Valley Civilization: Important Sites

Knowing the Indus valley civilization's important sites, their excavators, and their key findings is essential for CUET PG. Boundary sites first:

• North: Manda (Jammu & Kashmir)

• South: Daimabad (Maharashtra)

• East: Alamgirpur (Western Uttar Pradesh)

• West: Sutkagendor (Makran coast, Balochistan)

Over 1,500 sites have been identified so far, most belonging to the Late Harappan phase. Here is a quick table of major sites and their indus valley civilization sites and findings.

Indus Valley Civilization: Town Planning

The Indus Valley Civilization town planning was far ahead of its time. Key points:

• Cities like Harappa and Mohenjo-daro had a citadel (likely for the ruling class) and a lower town for common people.

• Houses were arranged in a grid system, with granaries as an important city feature.

• Harappans used burnt bricks extensively, unlike contemporary Egyptian buildings, which mainly used dried bricks.

• Mohenjo-daro's drainage system was especially advanced, and almost every house had its own courtyard and bathroom.

• In Kalibangan, many houses had their own wells.

• Dholavira and Lothal in Gujarat were fully fortified, with internal sections separated by walls.

Indus Valley Civilization: Agriculture

Indus Valley civilization agriculture supported large, well-organised cities. Key points:

• Wheat, barley, rai, peas, sesame, lentil, chickpea, and mustard were widely grown; millets appear at Gujarat sites.

• Rice cultivation was comparatively rare.

• Harappans were the earliest to produce cotton, known to the Greeks as "Sindon."

• Seals and terracotta sculptures of bulls suggest oxen were likely used for ploughing.

• Traces of irrigation canals have been found only at Shortughai in Afghanistan, not in Punjab or Sindh.

• Dholavira is notable for large water reservoirs rather than canals.

• Evidence of the horse is limited — only from a superficial level at Mohenjo-daro and a doubtful terracotta figurine at Lothal.

• Farming followed a cycle of sowing in November and harvesting in April, ahead of the next flood; produce was stored in granaries at Harappa, Mohenjo-daro, and Lothal.

Harappan Trade and Economy

Harappan trade and economy relied heavily on seals, standard weights, and barter. Key points:

• No metal money was in use, so trade was conducted through barter.

• Harappans traded in stone, metal, and shell, using navigation along the Arabian Sea coast.

• A trading colony in northern Afghanistan supported trade with Central Asia and the Tigris-Euphrates region.

• Copper came from Rajasthan, gold from Karnataka, lapis lazuli and tin from Shortughai (Afghanistan), carnelian from Lothal, shell from Nageshwar and Balakot, and steatite from Rajasthan and Gujarat.

• Harappans were called people of "Meluha" in Mesopotamian records, with trade contacts in Oman ("Magan") and Bahrain ("Dilmun").

Harappan Crafts and Luxury Items

Harappan craftspeople produced a wide range of goods for daily use and trade. Key points:

• Copper for bronze came from the Khetri mines, Rajasthan; tin was possibly imported from Afghanistan.

• Boat-making, bead-making, seal-making, terracotta work, and goldsmithing were all practised.

• Faience — made from silica or sand, colour, and gum, then fired to a glossy blue or sea-green finish — is considered among the first-ever glazed materials in the world.

• Chanhudaro was a dedicated centre for bead-making, shell-cutting, metal-working, and seal-making; Dholavira was known for specialised bead-drilling.

• Bronze casting used the Lost Wax Technique; the Dancing Girl and Bronze Buffalo are the most famous examples, with Daimabad offering later examples of this tradition.

Harappan Seals and Script

Harappan seals and script remain one of the most-asked topics in CUET PG History. Key points:

• Over 2,000 seals have been discovered, mostly made of steatite, though agate, chert, copper, faience, and terracotta were also used.

• Seal impressions ("sealings") confirmed authenticity and identified the sender of goods.

• Harappan weights were typically cubical and made of chert stone.

• Lower weight denominations followed a binary system (1, 2, 4, 8...); higher denominations followed a decimal system.

• The script was discovered in 1923 and remains undeciphered to this day.

• It is pictographic, not alphabetical, using 375–400 signs, generally written right to left.

• The longest known inscription has only 26 signs, and most inscriptions appear on seals, possibly recording names or titles.

Harappan Institutions and Political Life

Very little is known for certain about Harappan governance, since the script is still undeciphered. Key points:

• No temples have been found at any Harappan site, ruling out priestly rule.

• One theory suggests rule by a merchant class.

• Another theory proposes multiple regional rulers rather than one central authority.

• Some scholars believe there was no centralised ruler at all.

Indus Valley Civilization: Religion

Indus Valley Civilization religion is a frequently asked CUET PG topic. Key points:

• Numerous terracotta figurines of women point to fertility worship, including one figure showing a plant growing from a woman's womb.

• A male deity on a seal, shown with three horned heads in a yogi-like posture surrounded by animals, was traditionally called Pashupati Mahadeva.

• The Pashupati seal is now more often interpreted by scholars as depicting a "Shraman" (sage/ascetic) figure rather than definitively Shiva.

• Stone symbols representing the phallus and female sex organs point to phallic worship, also referenced later in the Rigveda.

• Tree worship (especially of the peepal) and animal worship (the single-humped bull and a "unicorn"-like rhinoceros figure) were also practised.

• Fire altars, linked to ritual practice, have been found at Lothal and Kalibangan.

• No large temples have been found, suggesting an absence of institutionalised, temple-based worship.

Harappan Burial Practices and Social Structure

Harappan burial practices offer insight into social hierarchy. Key points:

• Graves were located away from residential areas, unlike the Chalcolithic practice of burying the dead under house floors.

• Richer graves contained more grave goods, pointing to social stratification.

• Daily-use items in graves suggest a belief in life after death.

• Precious objects were rarely buried with the dead, reflecting a broadly utilitarian outlook.

Decline of the Indus Valley Civilization

The decline of the Indus Valley Civilization began around 1800 BCE, and historians still debate the exact causes. Key theories:

• Most cities were abandoned by 1700 BCE, though Late Harappan culture persisted in some form until 1000–900 BCE.

• The once-popular Aryan Invasion theory is now largely rejected due to a lack of archaeological evidence.

• Most historians today favour a combination of climatic, tectonic, and trade-related factors behind the slow decline.

CUET PG History Unit-1: Indus Valley Civilization Quick Revision

Use this table to revise the whole topic quickly before your exam.

Important CUET PG History Unit-1 Indus Valley Civilization Key Points

Keep these points ready while solving Indus Valley Civilization PYQs and Indus Valley Civilization MCQ sets, and while making your Indus Valley Civilization CUET PG notes.

• Culture is all human activity; civilization is the zenith of culture, marked by script, planned towns, and agricultural surplus (V. Gordon Childe's criteria).

• "Harappan Civilization" is the academically correct term, though the syllabus often says "Indus Valley Civilization."

• Harappa was excavated first (1921, Daya Ram Sahni); Mohenjo-daro followed in 1922 (R.D. Banerjee).

• The Mature Harappan phase (c. 2600–1900 BCE) is the civilization proper, with full urban features.

• The Harappan Civilization developed indigenously, with no substantial evidence of Mesopotamian origin.

• Rice was a rare crop, mainly found at Lothal; the staple crops were wheat, barley, lentil, and chickpea.

• Fire altars have been found at Lothal and Kalibangan.

• No temples have been found at any Harappan site.

• Faience is considered among the first-ever glazed materials in the world.

• Harappan bronze casting used the Lost Wax Technique; the Dancing Girl and Bronze Buffalo are famous examples.

• Harappan weights were cubical and made of chert stone, with binary and decimal denominations.

• The Harappan script, discovered in 1923, remains undeciphered.

• The decline began around 1800 BCE, with most cities abandoned by 1700 BCE.

The Indus Valley Civilization is a long topic, but CUET PG questions mostly test the same recurring points with phases, sites, town planning, script, religion, and decline theories. Keep the tables above close at hand while revising CUET PG History Indus Valley Civilization, since most questions are built around matching sites, excavators, and theories correctly.

Get Exam-Ready with PW's CUET PG History Support

Along with these notes, PW offers dedicated resources to help you revise the full CUET PG History syllabus faster and practice more questions before exam day.

The Indus Valley Civilization becomes easier to revise when its phases, sites, urban features, economy, script, religion and decline theories are studied together. Focus on matching important sites with their excavators and distinctive findings, as these connections are especially useful for CUET PG History revision and MCQ practice.