3. Society, Religion, Script & Decline

Burial Habits of IVC

The dead were buried with copper mirrors; they did not believe in burying precious things with the dead (though some graves contain potteries/ornaments for afterlife)

Joint/Double burial excavated from

Lothal

Urn burial and Coffin burial excavated in

Harappa

Burial of dogs along with their masters found in

Ropar (Punjab)

IVC Script Name and Style

Indus Script, written in boustrophedon style (Right to Left then left to right)

Nature of Indus Script

Pictographic, not alphabetical, undeciphered till date (longest inscription contains about 26 signs)

Harappan seals material and content

Made of steatite, contained animal motifs (Short Script) and pictographic script with owner's name/title

Evidence they knew about ships

Ships were portrayed in seals

Barter system in IVC

Prominent; exchange regulated by precise weights made of stone called "Chert"

Weight denominations

Lower denominations were Binary system; Higher denominations were Decimal system

Mass production site for Limestone and Chert blades

Sukkur and Rohri hills (sent to various settlements in Sindh)

Religious Practices

Worshipped unusual objects like Mother Goddess and Priest King

Sites indicating fire worship (Fire altars)

Kalibangan and Lothal

Terracotta figure of a Mother Goddess

Found in Mohenjodaro, symbolises a Tree Growing out of Embryo

Priest King statue

17.5 cm tall, made of steatite, obtained from Mohenjodaro

Dancing girl statue

10.5 cm tall, made of bronze in Tribhanga Mudra

Seals & Symbols

Unicorn (One Horned Animal), Proto Shiva / Pashupati seal (Shiva in yogic posture), Lingas (Conical stone objects worshipped as symbol of Shiva)

Metals knowledge

IVC people knew about gold but did not know about Iron

Pottery phases

Hakra Pottery (Early Harappan), Black-Red ware pottery, Ochre coloured pottery (Late Harappan)

Theories for Decline of Harappan Civilization

Climate Change, Deforestation, Shifting/Drying up of Rivers, Foreign invasion by Aryans (Excessive Floods theory is now rejected)