CAUSES OF DECLINE OF THE INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION
Introduction:
The Harappan Civilization lasted for about one thousand years. Archaeological evidence shows that many of the major cities of the Harappan Civilization, like Harappa, Mohenjo-daro, and Dholavira faced abandonment and decline during the late 3rd and early 2nd millennium B.C. Many of the distinctive features of the Harappan Civilization like writing, standardised seals and weights, some standardised aspects of town planning and other traits of material culture also disappeared.
The decline of this civilization which was the largest in Bronze Age civilization has been an enigma even today. Earlier it appeared to be a sudden and total decline and abandonment. This was due to focus on the studies of cities, town planning, large structures and goods of splendour. However, mounting new evidence since the sixties compels that the decline was not as sudden and dramatic as earlier assumed. Some scholars have even argued for continuity and survival of the Harappan tradition in certain areas. We see abandonment or sparse occupation of certain areas like Sindh in the west and increase in settlements in other areas, particularly towards the east - northwestern India including the westernmost Yamuna -Ganges rivers region, and Gujarat in the southwest. Often, reoccupation of former cities is also noted. During this transitional phase we notice a shift from urban centres towards increasing settlements of villages, or deurbanisation. But many distinctive features of the Harappan Civilization, like Indus script, seals, architectural style, etc. disappeared forever.
Timing:
The abandonment of major Indus cities has been roughly dated to about 1700 B.C. References to Meluhha in the Mesopotamian literature does not occur after 1900 B.C.
After the Harappan Civilization, the major culture observed is Painted Grey Ware (PGW) culture which is found after a long gap. PGW sites have been dated variously to 1100-500 B.C. (Possehl 2002); 1200-800 B.C. (Kenoyer 1998) and 1700-1400 B.C. (Bisht 1998). The interface between PGW and the "Late Harappan" in the Punjab has been documented at places such as Dadheri and Bhagwanpura. However, the interface between the Cemetery H assemblage (Late Harappan or Post-Urban Harappan) and the PGW has not yet been defined in Pakistan. The interface between the Rojdi C/Lothal B and the Gujarat Early Iron Age is also not clear.
The chronology of the end of the Harappans still remains tentative (Table 1). We also do not know whether the major settlements were abandoned at the same time or at different periods.
Further there are various contradictory views with regard to the terminology
Introduction:
The Harappan Civilization lasted for about one thousand years. Archaeological evidence shows that many of the major cities of the Harappan Civilization, like Harappa, Mohenjo-daro, and Dholavira faced abandonment and decline during the late 3rd and early 2nd millennium B.C. Many of the distinctive features of the Harappan Civilization like writing, standardised seals and weights, some standardised aspects of town planning and other traits of material culture also disappeared.
The decline of this civilization which was the largest in Bronze Age civilization has been an enigma even today. Earlier it appeared to be a sudden and total decline and abandonment. This was due to focus on the studies of cities, town planning, large structures and goods of splendour. However, mounting new evidence since the sixties compels that the decline was not as sudden and dramatic as earlier assumed. Some scholars have even argued for continuity and survival of the Harappan tradition in certain areas. We see abandonment or sparse occupation of certain areas like Sindh in the west and increase in settlements in other areas, particularly towards the east - northwestern India including the westernmost Yamuna -Ganges rivers region, and Gujarat in the southwest. Often, reoccupation of former cities is also noted. During this transitional phase we notice a shift from urban centres towards increasing settlements of villages, or deurbanisation. But many distinctive features of the Harappan Civilization, like Indus script, seals, architectural style, etc. disappeared forever.
Timing:
The abandonment of major Indus cities has been roughly dated to about 1700 B.C. References to Meluhha in the Mesopotamian literature does not occur after 1900 B.C.
After the Harappan Civilization, the major culture observed is Painted Grey Ware (PGW) culture which is found after a long gap. PGW sites have been dated variously to 1100-500 B.C. (Possehl 2002); 1200-800 B.C. (Kenoyer 1998) and 1700-1400 B.C. (Bisht 1998). The interface between PGW and the "Late Harappan" in the Punjab has been documented at places such as Dadheri and Bhagwanpura. However, the interface between the Cemetery H assemblage (Late Harappan or Post-Urban Harappan) and the PGW has not yet been defined in Pakistan. The interface between the Rojdi C/Lothal B and the Gujarat Early Iron Age is also not clear.
The chronology of the end of the Harappans still remains tentative (Table 1). We also do not know whether the major settlements were abandoned at the same time or at different periods.
Further there are various contradictory views with regard to the terminology
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