2. Agriculture, Domestication, Trade & Craft Production

Major Crops of IVC

Wheat & Barley, Cotton, Lentil, Chickpea, Sesame, Millets, Rice (rare), Garlic

First people to produce cotton

Harappans (Cotton was a distinguishing feature of IVC)

Greek name for cotton

"Sindon"

Evidence of ploughed field

Found at Kalibangan (Rajasthan); two sets of furrow at right angles suggesting two different crops grown together

Animal used for ploughing

Oxen

Terracotta model of plough locations

Cholistan and Banawali

Animal Domestication in IVC

Cattle (sheep, goat, buffalo, pig, bull, ox) domesticated; bones of boar, gharial, deer, fish, fowl found

Animals whose evidence is generally NOT found in IVC

Horse and Cow

Exception - Bone of horse discovered from

Surkotada (Gujarat)

Exception - Camel bones (2000 BC) discovered from

Kalibangan

Chanhudaro craft production

Bead making, shell cutting, metal working, seal making and weight making

Hallmark artifacts of craft production

Beads of diverse shapes (cylindrical, circular/spherical, barrel shaped)

Shell making centres (Bangles, Ladles, Inlay)

Nageshwar (Gujarat) and Balakot (Pakistan)

Lapis Lazuli Stone source

Shortugai (Badakhshan mines, Afghanistan)

Steatite (soft stone) source

South Rajasthan & North Gujarat

Carnelian Stone source

Gujarat (Ratnapur)

Gold source

Kolar (Karnataka)

Copper source

Rajasthan and Magan (modern-day Oman)

Primary overseas trading partner of IVC

Mesopotamia (cradle of Civilization)

Mesopotamian term for IVC people

Meluhha

Faience

Rare glazed material made from ground silica, fashioned into little pots used as luxury containers for perfume/oil

Saddle querns

Essential stone tools used for grinding cereals like wheat