History
Indus Valley Civilisation
Economy and Trade
Harappan economy for CGPSC: crops and animals, crafts and metals, weights and seals, raw-material sources, and trade with Mesopotamia (Meluhha).
Prerequisites
- Sites and Town Planning: you need the sites (Lothal, Chanhudaro, Shortughai, Kalibangan) to place each economic activity
- Crafts: Dhokra, Bell Metal and Others: Bastar’s living lost-wax tradition, used in the hook below
The Hook: A Bastar Craft With a Harappan Ancestor
Connect
In Kondagaon, a Dhokra (ढोकरा) artisan shapes a figure in beeswax over a clay core, covers it in clay, melts the wax out and pours molten metal into the hollow. The mould is broken to release the figure, so no two pieces are identical.
More than 4,000 years ago, a metalworker at Mohenjo-daro used the same lost-wax (cire perdue) method to cast the small bronze figure we call the “Dancing Girl”. Bronze needs copper and tin, and neither occurs in Sindh. So the Harappans had to farm a surplus, organise craft workshops and bring metals and stones from hundreds of kilometres away.
What did the Harappans grow, make and trade, and with whom?
Why it matters: Prelims asks crop and animal “which was known / not known”, raw-material sources, and “Meluhha / Dilmun / Magan” questions. Mains asks you to explain the economic base of Harappan urbanisation or its trade networks.
Agriculture (कृषि)
Crops
| Crop | Evidence and notes |
|---|---|
| Wheat and barley | The staple crops, found at most sites. Barley is reported from Banawali |
| Pulses | Lentil, chickpea (gram), field pea |
| Oilseeds | Sesame, mustard |
| Cotton | Harappans were among the earliest cotton cultivators in the world; a fragment of woven cotton cloth was found at Mohenjo-daro, and cotton seeds are reported from Mehrgarh much earlier. The Greeks later called cotton sindon, a word linked to Sindh |
| Rice | Relatively rare. Rice husk is known from Lothal and Rangpur (Gujarat) |
| Millets | Found at sites in Gujarat |
| Dates, fruits | Date stones and other fruit remains |
Ploughing and irrigation
- Ploughed field: at Kalibangan (Early Harappan level), with criss-cross furrows. Two crops seem to have been grown together in the same field, a practice still seen in north-west India.
- Terracotta plough models: from Banawali (Haryana) and sites in Cholistan (Pakistan). Oxen were used to pull the plough.
- Irrigation: Most farming relied on floodwater and rain. Canal traces are reported from Shortughai (Afghanistan), but not from the Punjab or Sindh heartland. Dholavira stored rainwater in reservoirs, and wells were common.
- Sickles: stone blades (chert) and some copper tools.
Animals
| Status | Animals |
|---|---|
| Domesticated | Cattle, including the humped bull (zebu), buffalo, sheep, goat, pig, dog |
| Known, wild | Elephant, rhinoceros, tiger, deer, boar, gharial (from seals and bones). Fish and shellfish were eaten |
| Debated | The horse: bones claimed at Surkotada and a few other sites are disputed, and the horse does not appear on Harappan seals. The camel is reported only rarely |
Why the horse matters
Crafts and Industry (शिल्प)
The Harappans were a Bronze Age (कांस्य युग) people. They knew copper, bronze, gold, silver and lead, but not iron.
| Craft | Key points |
|---|---|
| Metalwork | Bronze = copper + tin; also arsenical copper. Tools, vessels, figurines. The Dancing Girl (Mohenjo-daro) was cast by the lost-wax method |
| Bead-making | Beads of carnelian (red), jasper, crystal, steatite, lapis lazuli, gold, shell and faience. Workshops at Chanhudaro (almost entirely a craft town) and Lothal. Carnelian got its red colour by heating |
| Shell-working | Bangles, ladles and inlay from conch shell. Coastal centres such as Nageshwar and Balakot |
| Seal-cutting | Mostly steatite (soapstone), carved and then fired to harden |
| Pottery | Wheel-made, red ware with black painted designs (geometric patterns, pipal leaves, fish-scales) |
| Textiles | Cotton spinning and weaving: spindle whorls are common, and cloth impressions survive |
| Stone tools | Standard chert blades from the Rohri hills (Sindh) |
| Faience | An artificial glazed material, used for beads, bangles and small figures |
| Terracotta | Toys, carts, animals and Mother Goddess figurines |
Where the Raw Materials Came From
NCERT’s chapter “Bricks, Beads and Bones” stresses that the Harappans built two strategies: settlements where the material was available, and expeditions to distant source areas.
| Material | Source region (as reconstructed by archaeologists) |
|---|---|
| Copper | Khetri region, Rajasthan (the Ganeshwar-Jodhpura culture); also Oman |
| Tin | Possibly Afghanistan (source debated) |
| Gold | South India (Karnataka, the Kolar area is often suggested) |
| Lapis lazuli (blue) | Badakhshan, Afghanistan, via the outpost at Shortughai |
| Carnelian (red) | Bharuch area, Gujarat |
| Steatite | South Rajasthan and north Gujarat |
| Shell | Nageshwar (Gujarat) and Balakot (Makran coast) |
| Turquoise | Iran |
| Chert | Rohri hills, Sindh |
Evidence of contact with Oman
Copper found at Harappan sites and in Oman shares traces of nickel, suggesting a common source. A large Harappan jar coated with black clay has been found at Omani sites. NCERT uses these to argue for regular exchange with Magan (Oman).
Weights, Measures and Seals: The Tools of Trade
Weights (बाट)
- Usually cubical, made of chert, with no markings.
- Lower denominations follow a binary sequence: 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, and so on.
- Higher denominations follow a decimal pattern.
- The smaller weights were probably used for jewellery and beads; the larger for grain and goods.
- Weights are uniform across the whole zone, which points to regulated exchange.
Measures
- A scale of ivory from Lothal and a scale of shell from Mohenjo-daro show standard units of length.
Seals (मुहरें) and sealings
- Mostly square, of steatite, with an animal motif and a short line of script.
- The “unicorn” (a one-horned animal) is the most common motif. Others include the humped bull, elephant, tiger, rhinoceros and buffalo.
- Use in trade: a bag of goods was tied, the knot covered with wet clay, and the seal pressed on it. The impression (a sealing) showed the sender and that the package had not been opened.
- Harappan seals and sealings have been found in Mesopotamia (for example at Ur and Kish), and a Persian Gulf type (round) seal was found at Lothal.
Trade (व्यापार)
Internal trade
- Long-distance movement of raw materials (above) and finished goods between cities.
- Transport: bullock carts (terracotta cart models; solid wheels), pack animals, and boats along the rivers and the coast (terracotta boat models, including from Lothal).
- Barter (वस्तु विनिमय): no coins have been found. Exchange used goods measured by standard weights.
External trade: Meluhha, Dilmun and Magan
Mesopotamian (Sumerian and Akkadian) texts name three trading partners to the east:
| Name in Mesopotamian texts | Generally identified with |
|---|---|
| Dilmun | Bahrain (and the nearby Gulf coast and Failaka island) |
| Magan | Oman (south-east Arabia; some include the Makran coast) |
| Meluhha (मेलुहा) | The Harappan region (the identification is widely accepted, though not proven by a bilingual text) |
- Sargon of Akkad (c. 2334–2284 BCE, as usually dated) boasted that ships from Meluhha, Magan and Dilmun tied up at the quay of his capital, Akkad (Agade).
- Mesopotamian texts list products from Meluhha such as carnelian, lapis lazuli, copper, gold and varieties of wood. They also call Meluhha a land of seafarers.
- Harappan beads (etched carnelian), weights and seals have been found in Mesopotamia.
- Overland routes ran through Afghanistan and Iran (Shortughai as an outpost); sea routes along the Makran coast to the Gulf.
What the Harappans probably exported and imported
Exports (likely): carnelian and etched beads, cotton goods, ivory, timber, shell, copper objects.
Imports (likely): tin, lapis lazuli (via Shortughai), turquoise, silver, copper from Oman.
Exact trade lists are reconstructions; no Harappan text survives to confirm them.
flowchart LR
A["Badakhshan / Shortughai
(lapis lazuli)"] --> H["Harappan cities
(Harappa, Mohenjo-daro)"]
K["Khetri, Rajasthan
(copper)"] --> H
G["Gujarat coast
(carnelian, shell)"] --> H
H --> L["Lothal and coastal sites"]
L --> M["Magan (Oman)"]
L --> D["Dilmun (Bahrain)"]
D --> S["Mesopotamia
(Ur, Kish, Akkad)"]
M --> SEvaluation for Mains: the economic base of the first cities
- Agricultural surplus (wheat, barley, cotton) fed non-farming populations in cities.
- Craft specialisation: whole settlements such as Chanhudaro specialised in beads and seals.
- Standardisation of weights, bricks and seals implies regulation, whether by rulers, merchants or guild-like groups.
- Long-distance trade gave access to metals and stones absent from the floodplains, and linked South Asia to West Asia.
- Limits of evidence: no coins, no written accounts we can read, so the scale and organisation of trade remain inferences.
- Decline link: the fall in Mesopotamian references to Meluhha after about 1900 BCE is one of the factors in the decline.
Memory Tricks
'Dil-Ma-Mel': Bahrain, Oman, Indus
Read west to east as a sailor from Mesopotamia would: Dilmun (Bahrain, closest), Magan (Oman, further), Meluhha (Indus, furthest).
“Dil (heart) is near, Mela (fair) is far.”
Weights: 'Small is binary, big is decimal'
1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32 … for the jeweller’s tray; tens and hundreds for the merchant’s sacks. Chert, cubical, unmarked.
Stones by colour
Blue lapis → Afghanistan (Shortughai). Red carnelian → Gujarat (Bharuch). Green-blue turquoise → Iran. Copper → Khetri.
Don’t Confuse
| This | vs | That |
|---|---|---|
| Kalibangan — real ploughed field | vs | Banawali — terracotta plough model |
| Rice husk — Lothal, Rangpur (rare crop) | vs | Wheat and barley — the staples |
| Dilmun = Bahrain | vs | Magan = Oman; Meluhha = Indus |
| Shortughai — lapis lazuli outpost, Afghanistan | vs | Sutkagendor — westernmost site, Makran coast |
| Chanhudaro — bead workshop city, no citadel | vs | Lothal — bead-making plus dockyard |
| Lost-wax bronze — Dancing Girl | vs | Steatite — the Priest-King bust and most seals |
Common Mistakes
MCQ traps on economy
- “The Harappans used iron tools / coins.” Neither. They were Bronze Age, and trade was by barter with standard weights.
- “Rice was the staple.” Wheat and barley were the staples. Rice is reported only from a few Gujarat sites.
- “The horse was common and appears on seals.” The horse is not on seals; claimed bones (Surkotada) are disputed.
- “Magan is Bahrain.” Dilmun is Bahrain; Magan is Oman.
- “Harappan weights were decimal throughout.” The smaller weights were binary.
- “The unicorn seal shows a real animal domesticated by Harappans.” The unicorn is a motif, probably mythical or symbolic. The humped bull was the real domesticated animal.
Practice
All questions below are original practice questions written in CGPSC style. They are not previous-year questions.
Level 1: Foundation
- The Mesopotamian name generally identified with the Harappan region is ______.
- Rice husk has been found at the Harappan sites of ______ and ______.
- Harappan weights were usually made of ______ and were ______ in shape.
Answers
- Meluhha.
- Lothal and Rangpur (Gujarat).
- Chert; cubical.
Level 2: Prelims MCQs
Q1. Match List I (Material) with List II (Probable source for the Harappans):
| List I | List II |
|---|---|
| A. Lapis lazuli | 1. Khetri, Rajasthan |
| B. Copper | 2. Badakhshan, Afghanistan |
| C. Carnelian | 3. Bharuch area, Gujarat |
| D. Chert | 4. Rohri hills, Sindh |
- (a) A-1, B-2, C-3, D-4
- (b) A-2, B-1, C-4, D-3
- (c) A-2, B-1, C-3, D-4
- (d) A-3, B-1, C-2, D-4
Answer and explanation
(c) A-2, B-1, C-3, D-4. Lapis lazuli came from Badakhshan, reached through the outpost at Shortughai. Copper came from the Khetri area of Rajasthan (and Oman). Carnelian came from the Bharuch area. Standardised chert blades came from the Rohri hills in Sindh.
Q2. Consider the following statements about the Harappan economy:
- Lower denominations of Harappan weights followed a binary system.
- Coins of copper were used as the main medium of exchange.
- Evidence of a ploughed field has been found at Kalibangan.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- (a) 1 and 2 only
- (b) 2 and 3 only
- (c) 1 and 3 only
- (d) 1, 2 and 3
Answer and explanation
(c) 1 and 3 only. Lower weights ran 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32 (binary), and Kalibangan has a ploughed field with criss-cross furrows. Statement 2 is wrong: no Harappan coins have been found, and exchange was by barter using standard weights.
Q3. In Mesopotamian records, “Dilmun” refers to which present-day region?
- (a) Oman
- (b) Bahrain
- (c) Makran coast
- (d) Sindh
Answer and explanation
(b) Bahrain. Dilmun is identified with Bahrain and the nearby Gulf coast, Magan with Oman, and Meluhha with the Harappan region. Sargon of Akkad mentioned ships from all three at his capital.
Q4. Which of the following animals is not clearly attested on Harappan seals?
- (a) Humped bull
- (b) Rhinoceros
- (c) Horse
- (d) Elephant
Answer and explanation
(c) Horse. The humped bull, rhinoceros and elephant all appear on seals (the rhinoceros and elephant on the Pashupati seal too). The horse does not appear on seals, and bone finds claimed as horse, such as at Surkotada, are disputed.
Q5. The bronze “Dancing Girl” from Mohenjo-daro was made by a technique still practised by craftspeople in which region of Chhattisgarh?
- (a) Bastar, as Dhokra casting
- (b) Janjgir-Champa, as Kosa silk weaving
- (c) Surguja, as Rajwar clay relief
- (d) Bilaspur, as terracotta pottery
Answer and explanation
(a) Bastar, as Dhokra casting. The Dancing Girl was cast by the lost-wax (cire perdue) method, which is the basis of Bastar Dhokra, a GI-tagged craft centred on Kondagaon. Kosa is silk weaving and Rajwar art is clay relief, neither of which is metal casting.
Level 3: Mains Answer Writing
Q1. (150–200 words) Examine the nature and extent of Harappan trade, with reference to the evidence on which our knowledge rests.
Model answer outline
- Intro: The Harappan cities depended on materials absent from the floodplains, so trade was integral to their urban life.
- Body:
- Internal trade: copper from Khetri, carnelian and shell from Gujarat, chert from Rohri; bullock carts and riverboats (terracotta models).
- Outposts and expeditions: Shortughai for lapis lazuli; possible expeditions to south India for gold.
- Gulf and Mesopotamia: Meluhha, Magan, Dilmun in Mesopotamian texts; Sargon’s boast of Meluhhan ships; Harappan seals and etched carnelian beads in Mesopotamia; a Persian Gulf seal at Lothal; Omani copper with nickel traces and a Harappan jar in Oman.
- Instruments: standard chert weights (binary and decimal), seals and sealings guaranteeing goods; barter, no coins.
- Limits: the script is unread, so reconstruction depends on archaeology and Mesopotamian texts.
- Conclusion: Harappan trade linked Afghanistan to the Gulf and Mesopotamia; its decline after about 1900 BCE fed into de-urbanisation.
Q2. (60 words) What does the uniformity of Harappan weights suggest about their society?
Model answer outline
- Cubical chert weights following the same binary (small) and decimal (large) system are found from Sindh to Gujarat.
- This implies regulated exchange, a measure of central or collective authority, and trust in transactions across long distances.
- It also shows craft and trade specialisation: small weights suited jewellers and bead-makers.
Quick Revision Table
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Staple crops | Wheat, barley; also pulses, sesame, mustard, cotton |
| Rice | Rare; husk at Lothal, Rangpur |
| Ploughed field / plough model | Kalibangan / Banawali |
| Canals | Shortughai only (not the heartland) |
| Domesticated | Humped bull, buffalo, sheep, goat, pig, dog |
| Horse | Not on seals; Surkotada bones disputed |
| Metals | Copper, bronze, gold, silver, lead; no iron |
| Lost-wax | Dancing Girl, Mohenjo-daro (same principle as Bastar Dhokra) |
| Bead workshops | Chanhudaro, Lothal |
| Weights | Chert, cubical; binary (small), decimal (large) |
| Scales | Ivory (Lothal), shell (Mohenjo-daro) |
| Commonest seal motif | “Unicorn”; seals mostly square steatite |
| Lapis lazuli | Badakhshan via Shortughai |
| Copper | Khetri (Rajasthan), Oman |
| Dilmun / Magan / Meluhha | Bahrain / Oman / Indus |
| Sargon of Akkad | Ships from Meluhha at Akkad’s quay |
| Exchange | Barter, no coins |
Key Takeaways
Key Takeaways
- A wheat-barley-cotton farming surplus supported the cities; rice was marginal.
- Harappans were Bronze Age craftspeople: beads, shell, seals, lost-wax bronze; no iron.
- Raw materials came from Khetri, Gujarat, Afghanistan, Oman and Iran through settlements and expeditions.
- Trade ran on barter with standardised chert weights (binary for small values) and seals to guarantee goods.
- Mesopotamia called the Harappan region Meluhha; Dilmun (Bahrain) and Magan (Oman) were stops on the route.
What’s Next
- Religion and Script: what the seals and figurines tell us about belief
- Decline: how the trade networks and cities unravelled
- Agriculture (Geography): today’s crop geography of the same north-western plains
- Crafts: Dhokra, Bell Metal and Others: the lost-wax tradition alive in Bastar
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