ESSAI

Volume 8 Article 21
4-1-2011
Indus Valley Civilization: Enigmatic, Exemplary,
and Undeciphered
Charise Joy Javonillo
College of DuPage
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Recommended Citation
Javonillo, Charise Joy (2010) "Indus Valley Civilization: Enigmatic, Exemplary, and Undeciphered," ESSAI: Vol. 8, Article 21.
Available at: htp://dc.cod.edu/essai/vol8/iss1/21
67
Indus Valley Civilization: Enigmatic, Exemplary, and Undeciphered

by Charise Joy Javonillo

(Anthropology 1120)



Introduction
mong the four great ancient civilizations of the Old World, the Indus Valley Civilization
(IVC) has the distinction of being the most enigmatic of this notable group (Kenoyer and
Meadow, 2000). Mindful of the inevitable comparisons to its better represented, recorded,
and studied Western contemporaries Mesopotamia and Egypt, four major comparable aspects of the
Indus Valley will be presented and discussed in this review. Beginning with settlement patterns,
special attention is paid to Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro and specifically to the urban layout of these
two exemplary cities. Second is the Indus sphere of influence as suggested by possible interaction
with Mesopotamia, including motifs found in artwork and seals. Next is a synthesis and discussion
about the current debate over the Indus Valley script and its decipherment. Lastly, possible theories
are reviewed regarding the collapse and disappearance of the IVC. By focusing on the standard
components of urbanization, expansion, interaction, language, and decline that are attributed to the
trajectory of ancient cultures, it is hoped that the uniqueness of the IVC becomes evident and invites
further discussion and investigation.

Discovery
The story of the ancient Indus Valley Civilization developed gradually. It does not enter the
archaeological record until 1924 when Sir John Marshall began excavations at Harappa. Awareness
of Harappan remains however, goes back to the nineteenth century. Most notable are Charles Masson
and Sir Alexander Cunningham. Best described as a deserter and wanderer, Charles Masson
stumbled upon the remains of Harappa in the late 1820s. He had no idea of the significance of what
he found but proceeded to record his site observations. These would be published in a book entitled
Narrative of Various Journeys in Balochistan, Afghanistan and The Panjab (Masson 1996). Over
four decades later, Sir Alexander Cunningham would briefly excavate the site, uncovering seals of
which the Indus Valley would become famous for. In these two instances, there were literal pieces of
Indus culture strewn around but were yet to be fully understood within their proper contexts. All that
changed in the 1920s when Sir John Marshall announced the discovery of Harappa and Mohenjo-
Daro in Illustrated London News. Excavations began. Mohenjo-Daros history of excavation, it
should be noted, was more limited with consideration given to conservation and weathering
concerns. The late Dr. George F. Dales, Jr. of the University of California at Berkeley led the last
major excavation of the site in 1964-65 (Kenoyer 2005). Pakistani archaeologists and conservators
played a larger part in the stewardship of their heritage in the 1980s (Kenoyer 2005). More recent
archaeological work has been under the auspices of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and
Cultural Organization (UNESCO) which deemed Mohenjo-Daro a World Heritage Site in 1980.

Phases
It must be noted that the stages of Harappan cultural evolution used in this review will be the
Early Harappan-Mature Harappan model, coupled with the Transitional Stage. Attention will be
paid to the Mature Harappan phase due to Mohenjo-Daros description as a Mature Harappan
settlement. This was between 2500 to 1700 B.C.E. (Possehl 2002).

A
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Location
Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro are the two major examples given when referring to the IVC.
These two settlements are located in the north and south respectively. To the northeast in the Punjab
and by a former route of the Ravi tributary lies Harappa. Situated on the Indus River flood plain to
the west and the Ghaggar-Hakra River, Mohenjo-Daro lies in the Sind province in what is today
Pakistan (Figure 1). Like Mesopotamia and Egypt, the IVC was a river valley civilization. Rivers
play an enormous part in the impetus and sustainability of large and complex settlements, providing
water for agricultural development on the fertile flood plains (Coulborn 1959; Hawkes 1973). Cities
of the Indus Valley were no different. These communities had to negotiate and organize their
surroundings in order for their burgeoning metropolises to flourish.


Figure 1 - Map of the Indus Civilization (Tokai University 2000)

Urban Life: Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro
Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro hold the distinction of being both the civilizations two largest
and best known cities amongst over a hundred smaller sites. The Indus Valley is also known as the
Harappan due to Harappas prominence as the type city for the region. Not to be overshadowed,
Mohenjo-Daro holds the position as the largest metropolis in the third millennium with 2.5 million
people at its peak (see Dobbs 2007). As such, archaeologists have studied these cities as
representative models of Indus Valley life. Manifest in their metropolitan design, the Indus people
present themselves as innovators of urban planning, which made existence efficient and
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maintainable. Mohenjo-Daro offers the best examples of three characteristics of Indus urban living:
the general grid-pattern organization and platforms; the water and drainage systems; and the
conspicuous absence of large monuments.
The organization of the city is centered on the direction of the streets. Major streets ran from
north to south and east to west (Kenoyer 2003: 379). Such a blueprint has often been described as a
grid pattern. It is certainly structured in an orderly fashion but it is hardly uniform (Possehl 2002:
101). Aside from the wider streets, the city rested atop platforms in response to the violent flooding
of the Indus River. Such measures point to not only a considerable amount of planning done on the
part of the original engineers, but commitment of time and resources.
Another impressive aspect of the city is its water and drainage systems. All neighborhoods
had provisions for both drainage and wastewater management within the houses. Houses contained
platforms for bathing with sloping surfaces that allowed the water to flow out through a drain in the
wall (Possehl 2002).
A conspicuous absence of an obvious palace or imposing temple, but only simple public
halls; not one massive tomb [no great mounds, pyramids]; and not even any large statuary is a
unique feature of IVC (Thompson 2006: 2). Thus, it has been suggested that without large
monumental works and public projects, the Indus Valley civilization was a stateless society.
However, the lack of evident governing mechanisms for socio-political organization does not
preclude and/or undermine societal control or stratification. As, ironically, the Great Bath (Figure 2)
was a place where the elites could look down upon the workings of the city and the lower and
middle classes (Possehl 2002: 195).


Figure 2 - The Mound of the Great Bath (Kenoyer 1996)

Discussion
One must look at the Indus Valley cities as microcosms of the Indus Valley Civilization.
Therefore, using the example of Mohenjo-Daro, it is suggested that the society is capable of complex
structuring and planning, with an emphasis on hygiene as indicated by the extensive water system.
But the absence of any concrete signs of overarching political authority is unusual. If the non-
existence of a state is true, it may explain the Indus diminished status compared to Mesopotamia and
Egypt in power and, by extension, notoriety.
The presence of cities often invites the assumption of a state. The presence of a state is
denoted by control over people and territory exercised from a centre through specialized apparatuses
of power: 1) military 2) administrative (mostly tax-raising) 3) legal and 4) ideological (Maisels
1999: 221). Mesopotamia and Egypt not only had centralizing authorities but birthed empires
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because of them. Empires mean deliberate expansion. This is premised on an agenda of might and
prosperity and bolstered by national identification and unity. Once again, the Indus Valley did not
follow such a course. Using the microcosm of the Indus Valley city, the macrocosm of the
civilization reveals that the people were not inclined to conquer. Perhaps this was due to the absence
of a state to act as unifier and/or instigator. Being stateless (or lacking a centralizing authority) the
IVC thus should not be viewed as an entirely homogeneous entity. Indus Valley culture exists but its
dissemination should be viewed on a city to city basis (similar to ancient Mayan culture).
Furthermore, the lack of a state certainly did not prohibit expansion into other territories beyond the
Indus Valley.

Expansion and Interaction
At its axis, the range of the Indus extended for 1000 miles from the Sutkagen Dor near the
shores of the Arabian Sea 300 miles west of Karachi to the neighborhood of Rupar at the foot of the
Simla Hills(Wheeler 1967: 62). With such a wide geographical scope the opportunity for contact
and trade with other peoples was inevitable. The name given to this system of exchange and
interaction is the Middle Asian Interaction Sphere (MAIS) (Possehl 2007). The most prominent of
the Indus Valleys trade partners was Mesopotamia. Evidence of this relationship is exhibited on
seals, beads, and ceramics also mentioned in Mesopotamian historical record. Obviously the Indus
Valley Civilization was not referred to as the Indus Civilization during the third millennium B.C.E.
But, it has been strongly suggested that the land of Meluhha referenced in Early Dynastic Period
Mesopotamian texts was in fact the Indus Valley. Five historical observations would lead to this
conclusion (see Possehl 2002: 219). If Meluhha was indeed the Indus, it would certainly explain the
appearance of Harappan material culture in Mesopotamia.
Indus seals are best represented amongst the material culture found within the Mesopotamian
record (Kenoyer 2003). Seals similar to Figure 3 featured notably. Also present are beads of etched
carnelian beads found at Ur (Sumer), Kish, Akkad, and Iran. Etching on beads began with the Indus
Civilization (Possehl 2002: 222). Cylindrical and segmented faience beads are found in large
numbers at Indus sites, though these designs died with the decline of the Indus. Further inventory
would yield carved steatite figures with zebus (animals indigenous to the Indian subcontinent), as
well as dice, sherds with Indus script graffiti, and black slipped jars. Despite all of the evidence of
Mesopotamian-Indus interaction found in Mesopotamia, there is very little to suggest such a
relationship in the Indus Valley itself. Seals from the Persian Gulf, western metal types, animal
headed pins, copper axe-adzes, and terra-cotta heads with square beards have been found in Indus
settlements. Yet none match the capacity of Indus material found in Mesopotamia.


Figure 3 - Unicorn seal similar to the ones found in Kish (Sumer) (Kenoyer 1996)
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Discussion
The MAIS stretched from the Indian subcontinent to the Mediterranean, touching the shores
of the Caspian and central Asia to the northeast along the way. Many cultures converged, including
Mesopotamia and the IVC. The term international is inappropriate in this instance because the
Indus was not a nation. However, such extensive connections across cultural lines and a vast
landmass certainly warrant descriptions that international evoke. For all their seemingly insular
nature, the Indus Valley peoples were certainly capable of mediation and negotiations with peoples
from Mesopotamia and elsewhere. As seen with Indus artifacts found in Mesopotamia and through
the scant Mesopotamian material found in the Indus, there is no doubt of the fluidity and potential
influence of Indus culture on other peoples. This was also the environment of which Indus seals came
into prominence as forms of identification, communication, and control.

Indus Script: Description and Form
Though decipherment is not definitively agreed upon, the Indus script nonetheless is not
devoid of form. The Indus script is pictographic. The exact number of signs in the script has yet to be
determined, though the general consensus is that there are at least a few hundred (Possehl 2002;
Robinson 1995). Another virtual consensus amongst scholars is that the script is most likely logo-
syllabic. Comparing it to the twenty-six letters in the alphabet and the characters in Chinese and
Japanese, it is concluded that having potentially a few hundred signs is too manyfor an alphabet
or syllabery (Robinson 1995: 148).
In trying to decipher the meanings of these pictographs three considerations must be made
aside from the number of signs. First, is the length of the inscriptions, from one sign to twenty-six
(Possehl 2002: 132). The most commonly found examples tend to be one line but some have gone up
to seven (Possehl 2002:132). Second, sign frequency is important. Classifying signs as separate or
variations of one sign is a point of contention for many decipherers (Possehl 2002: 132). Third, is the
context of which these inscriptions are found. Signs appear on various objects, though their brevity is
still an issue (Kenoyer 2003; Possehl 2002; Robinson 1995).


Figure 4 - Seals inscribed with Indus script (Kenoyer 1996)

Language or not?
The decipherment of the Indus script is one of the most hotly contested endeavors in
Harappan archaeology. Two major scholars in the debate are Asko Parpola of the University of
Helsinki and comparative historian Steve Farmer. Parpola is a proponent of the Indus-Script thesis
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(Patel, 2010), while Steve Farmer and his colleagues have come out as its major opponents (Patel,
2010).
Since the 1960s, Parpola has claimed that he and his team had successfully deciphered the
script as being derived from a form of pre-Dravidian. Using the fish sign min /meen/, which
means both fish and star in Dravidian, coupled with Tamil cognates, Parpola was able to
decipher more words associated with other astral bodies (Robinson 1995:148) Farmer (2004)
counters Parpolas claims and methodology. He critiques Parpolas original use of incipient computer
analysis and points to the brevity of the signs as evidence that they are mostly likely not encoding a
language. Also, the perishable media that is used is indicative of writing being an unimportant aspect
of Indus Valley society (see Farmer et al. 2004). Parpola (2008: 113) answered Farmers critiques by
admitting we cannot expect complete sentences in seals and other types of objects preserved (cf.
Parpola 1994: 87). But even written noun phrases qualify as language-based script.

Discussion
Both Parpola and Farmer make compelling arguments supporting and opposing the Indus
Valley script thesis. But simply, there is no consensus as to the exact meanings of the symbols. Thus,
the language that the script may or may not represent is still pending. As for the theory that the script
is Dravidian based, a find in 2006 of a hand-axe inscribed with Indus symbols found in the Tamil
Nadu region may be evidence of such a derivation (Subramanian 2006; see Figure 5). The absence of
the equivalent of a Rosetta Stone makes the study of the script both frustrating and rewarding. If
decipherment is never totally agreed upon (in terms of the criteria of a spoken language and not so
much meanings), then the Indus Valley would be one of the largest non-literate society the world
has ever known. Further investigation into the structure of language and writing would make the
evidence and previous arguments presented in this discussion a bit more obvious. Having an
understanding of the nature of language is to come to a realization of its truly complex and integral
role in identity building within the human experience.



Figure 5 - The Neolithic polished stone celt (hand-held axe) with the Indus valley script found at
Sembian-Kandiyur village, near Mayiladuthurai in Tamil Nadu (Vino John 2006)

Theories of Decline
The collapse and disappearance of the Indus Civilization around 1900 B.C.E. is another
mystery that has yet to be definitively solved. Several theories have been put forth over the years;
some have fallen to the wayside. Based off of evidence from specific sites, about nine theories have
been proposed (see Kostman 1996). One early theory was the Indo-Aryan invasion suggested by Sir
Mortimer Wheeler (1966). This was a theory later rejected by Wheeler himself, as mounting
evidence began to suggest that the very structure of Indus cities gave no signs of invasion of any sort.
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With better excavations and interpretations, alternative theories emerged. Theories developed by
George F. Dales, Jr. of the University of California at Berkeley, hydrologist Robert L. Raikes, and
Pakistani archaeologist M.R. Mughal (as cited in Kostman 1996) tended to revolve around the
flooding or rerouting of rivers.

Discussion
As with the other aspects of IVC, there is no one explanation to attribute to the collapse and
disappearance of the civilization. In fact, the non-uniformity of causes (at least in terms of explaining
massive, unilateral decline) and the archaeological record posits the assertion that there was no actual
collapse. Indeed many important sources and authorities on the Indus often use the description
transformation when expressing what became of the settlements and peoples after the Mature
Harappan period in the mid-second millennium. Although there is an equifinality of possibilities,
recent research has focused on the role of climatic changes which may have precipitated
abandonment of settlements due to the rise or fall of rivers (Possehl 2002). Natural causes, it seems,
have usurped any human-based explanations. Ultimately the collapse of the IVC is over
exaggerated.

Conclusion(s)
Certainly there is still much that is to be uncovered and understood about the IVC. To
counteract the hindrance of geography and Western biases, it is imperative that archaeologists and
scholars find the means to effectively disseminate the knowledge and importance of this ancient
culture. If the standard of studying a civilization is its accomplishments and scope, the name Indus
should be just as prominent as Mesopotamia and Egypt. However it must be noted that though the
Indus Civilization should be given its due in the pantheon of ancient societies, it is also slightly
misleading to use such an all encompassing name. Ironically, referring to the Indus as a civilization
implies a uniformity that may not have existed in the sense of an identity equivalent to nation-states.
Made evident in the path of its decline, it was individual cities that regressed and faltered. By reason
of their being the first covered, best preserved and sophisticatedly organized, Harappa and Mohenjo-
Daro are in reality a limited sample to work off of in terms of characterizing an entire region. No
doubt do they exemplify Indus Valley ingenuity at its best, but it has been seen that variations existed
throughout the region and during different times.

Acknowledgements
I am forever grateful to Dale F. Simpson, Jr., who thought that my work was worth
publishing and who solidified my desire to become an anthropologist. I would also like to thank my
friend and fellow ancient civilizations enthusiast Paul Gauthier at the University of Chicago. His
scholarly input and editing skills are the likes of which I can only hope to emulate one day. And to
my other anthropology professors Dr. Alex Bolyanatz and Dr. Michael Dietz, who taught me the
complexity and beauty of the human creature at the cultural, psychological, and biological levels.


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