THE HARAPPAN CULTURE

Sources of Harappan Culture: The archaeological excavations carried out at Mohenjo-daro and Harappa are useful to know about Harappan culture. Sir John Marshall and his team worked in the sites of Mohenjo-daro. The excavation work was continued by J.H Mackay. G.F.Dales and M.S.Wats. They have brought to light a highly advanced civilisation that flourished in India in the pre-Aryan period. Their discoveries are the basic source materials of Harappan culture.

It is called the Harappan Civilization because it was first discovered in 1921 at the modem site of Harappa. Harappa is on the banks of the river Ravi, one of the tributaries of the Sindh. The Ravi is situated in the province of West Punjab in Pakistan, A year later, in 1922 another city was unearthed in Larkana district of Sindh (now in Pakistan) at a site called Mohenjo-daro.

The Harappan culture flourished on the banks of the river Sindh. There were many reasons why the early civilisations arose along rivers. Some of them are as follows:

1. The rivers provided plenty of water, which could support large settlements.

2. The lands adjoining the rivers were fertile. So, various crops could be grown with ease.

3. The rivers were the means of cheap and easy transport in the absence of roads.