Indus Valley Civilisation — the examinable frame

• ›Mature phase: roughly 2500–1900 BCE; a Bronze Age civilisation
• ›Discovered: Harappa in 1921 by Daya Ram Sahni, Mohenjodaro in 1922 by R.D. Banerji, under Director-General John Marshall
• ›Also called the Harappan Civilisation, after the first site excavated

Sites and their signature finds — this is what gets asked:

• ›Harappa (river Ravi) — granaries, cemetery R-37
• ›Mohenjodaro (river Indus) — the Great Bath, the Great Granary, the bronze Dancing Girl, the Pashupati seal
• ›Lothal (Gujarat) — the dockyard
• ›Kalibangan (Rajasthan) — the ploughed field, fire altars
• ›Dholavira (Gujarat) — water harvesting structures, signboard
• ›Rakhigarhi (Haryana) — the largest Harappan site in India

A fact worth holding for Bihar candidates: there is no Harappan site in Bihar. The civilisation is north-western; Bihar's antiquity begins with the Later Vedic eastward expansion, not with the Indus.

The Vedic Age, and how it reached Bihar

Early Vedic (Rig Vedic), c. 1500–1000 BCE — the Rig Veda is the oldest of the four Vedas and the oldest text in an Indo-European language. Life centred on the Sapta Sindhu, the land of seven rivers in the north-west. Pastoral, tribal, no cities.

Later Vedic, c. 1000–600 BCE — the decisive shift for Bihar. With iron came the clearing of the Gangetic forests, and Aryan settlement moved eastward down the Ganga valley.

• ›The Shatapatha Brahmana records this eastward spread, carrying the sacred fire as far as Videha
• ›Videha, that is Mithila — north Bihar — enters the record here, and its king Janaka becomes the archetype of the philosopher-king
• ›The Later Vedic period is when the four Vedas are complete: Rig, Sama, Yajur, Atharva

Why this matters for the syllabus: the paper asks for Indian history and the salient features of Bihar's history. Videha and Mithila are where the two first meet.

Points to Remember

• ›IVC mature phase 2500–1900 BCE; Bronze Age; script still undeciphered
• ›Harappa 1921 — Daya Ram Sahni · Mohenjodaro 1922 — R.D. Banerji · DG John Marshall
• ›Great Bath & Pashupati seal — Mohenjodaro · Dockyard — Lothal · Ploughed field — Kalibangan · Water harvesting — Dholavira · Largest in India — Rakhigarhi
• ›No Harappan site in Bihar
• ›Rig Veda — oldest Veda; Early Vedic centred on the Sapta Sindhu
• ›Later Vedic — iron, eastward expansion, Shatapatha Brahmana records the fire reaching Videha
• ›Videha = Mithila, north Bihar; King Janaka
• ›Exam tip: Harappa was excavated first, which is why the civilisation carries its name — but Mohenjodaro has the famous finds. Questions swap the two sites' discoveries and their excavators constantly.
• ›Exam tip: The Great Bath is at Mohenjodaro, not Harappa. Harappa's signature is the granary and the cemetery.