Chapter 4

In the Earliest Cities Class

Short Notes or Revision Notes

• Harappa: Bustling city, planned buildings, traders sought raw materials, scribes made seals.

• Indus Valley cities called Harappan cities.

• Rediscovered in 1920s, excavated in Sindh, Punjab (present-day Pakistan).

• Flourished since 3300 BC.

The layout of the Cities:

• Harappan cities divided: citadel, lower town; fortified walls with interlocking bricks.

• Streets laid straight, intersected at right angles.

• Parallel drains, covered.

• Citadel elevated, housed special buildings.

• Great Bath in Mohenjodaro for bathing rituals.

• Kalibangan, Lothal had fire altars, potentially for sacrifices.

• Lower town: residential, one/two-storey houses around corridors.

• Harappa discovered 80 years ago in present-day Pakistan, around 4700 years old.

• Cities divided into citadel (west, smaller, higher) and lower town (east, larger, lower).

• Durable bricks, strong walls due to interlocking pattern.

• Mohenjodaro had Great Bath; fire altars, storehouses in some cities.

• Harappan houses: 1-2 stories, wells for water, covered drains.

• Simultaneous planning of houses, drains, streets.

• Busy city with rulers planning, scribes making seals.

• Craftspeople produced stone, shell, metal items, beads, blades, pots with designs, cloth.

• Raw materials from Rajasthan, Oman, Iran.

• Cultivation: wheat, barley, pulses, rice, sesame, linseed, mustard; plough used for digging, irrigation employed, and animal rearing.

• Dholavira, Gujarat: Discovered large ceremonial area, Harappan script engravings.

• Lothal: City with discovered storehouse.

• Harappan decline 3000 years ago due to various reasons like drying up of rivers, deforestation.

• Bronze: Tin-copper alloy.

• Citadel: Smaller, elevated western part of Harappan cities.

• Craftspeople: Men, women creating various items in homes or workshops.

• Lower Town: Eastern part of Harappan cities.

• Plough: Earth-digging tool for soil turning, seed planting.

• Raw materials: Naturally found or farmer/herder-produced substances for manufacturing.

• Rulers: City planners overseeing special building constructions.

• Scribes: People who knew how to write were the scribes.

• Around 2700 BC, i.e. 4700 years ago: Beginning of cities.

• Around 1900 BC, i.e. 3900 years ago: Beginning of the end of these cities.

• Around 500 BC, i.e. around 2500 years ago: Beginning of newer cities.