1|Page CHAPTER 1

1. Introduction

1.1 Origin, Extent and Distribution of Harappan Culture:

The Indus valley civilization, which is now named as Harappan civilization, was one of the
world’s first great urban settlements. It is known that there were four oldest civilizations in
the world flourished between 4th and 1 st millennium BC: Egyptian, Mesopotamian, Indus and
Chinese (yellow river). All these Bronze Age civilizations had different technological levels
which perhaps developed due to certain environmental conditions, to meet the requirements
of their respective areas1. The North Western region of the Indian subcontinent was
dominated by the Harappan civilization, which rivaled the contemporary cultures of
Mesopotamia and Egypt during the third and second millennium BC. Around 2600 BC the
various regional cultures were united in what is called the Harappan Civilization. The
Harappa culture or civilization is named after its type-site Harappa, located in the valley of
Ravi in Pakistan because the town of Harappa was first discovered. This was perhaps the
most important discovery in south Asia in the last century by great effort of Sir John
Marshall, Rakhal Das Banerjee, Rai Bahadur Daya Ram Sahni, Madho Sarup Vats and many
others. (Marchall: Mohenjo-Daro; Vats: Harappa; Possehl: Indus Age; Kenyor, A. Ghosh:
Indian Prehistory 1964-1965)

The Indus is the longest river in Pakistan, which begins in the Himalayan Mountains, and
flows nearly 3,000 kilometers to the Arabian Sea. In the Sanskrit language of Ancient India,
the Indus was called the Sindhu. Other rivers, such as the Saraswati joined the Indus as it
flows down to the sea. This civilization is also sometimes called the Sindhu-Saraswati
civilization.

The discovery was in a sense the natural consequences of an organized search for man’s early
beginnings and subsequent development in India. Until 1930, some two stone ages were
discernible in India. These were the Paleolithic and Neolithic. However, this classification
into Paleolithic and Neolithic proposed by Robert Bruce tried to arrange his discoveries of
stone tools and pottery from many parts of India in some sort of chronological order.
However this study is based on design factor, regarding artistic growth of Harappan
craftsmen through a specific time period.

1 Osada Toshiki, Indus Civilization, text and context, Manohar Publishers, Delhi, 2006
2|Page

The question of the use of pottery by Mesolithic people was critically discussed by Gordon.
The Chalcolithic cultures of Indo-Pak subcontinent broadly fall into four groups:

a) The peasant communities of Baluchistan, Makran and Sind

b) The urban Harappan cities
c) Post-Harappan settlement
d) The Neolithic Chalcolithic settlement

Against this background, the divergent pottery traditions in either region present an
archaeological paradox. The Harappan pottery as recently remarked: ‘helps rather to isolate
the Harappan Civilization than to link up with other cultures.’ From the forgoing evidence it
is apparent that the Chacolithic cultures in India did not exist in complete isolation of their
contemporaries in west Asia.

Coming to Harappan Civilization, we find that analogies between the Harappan and the
Mesopotamian civilizations are only of a general kind, being largely abstract. The two
civilizations had continuous trade relationship which did not materially affect the social
apparatus or the pattern of the cultures in each region.

With post Harappan Chalcolithic culture we find that the tradition of literacy had disappeared
and organized civic character of the culture forgotten. It is quite possible that technical
tradition was carried over and with impulses from West, new assemblages were formed.

The ruins of Harappa were first described in 1842 by Charles Masson in his Narrative of
Various Journeys in Balochistan, Afghanistan, and the Punjab, where locals talked of an
ancient city extending "thirteen cosses" (about 25 miles). In 1856, General Alexander
Cunningham, later director general of the archaeological survey of northern India, visited
Harappa where the British engineers John and William Brunton were laying the East Indian
Railway Company line connecting the cities of Karachi and Lahore. In 1872–75 Alexander
Cunningham published the first Harappan seal (with an erroneous identification as Brahmi
letters). It was half a century later, in 1912, that more Harappan seals were discovered by
J. Fleet, prompting an excavation campaign under Sir John Hubert Marshall in 1921–22 and
resulting in the discovery of the civilization at Harappa.2

2
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indus_Valley_Civilization
3|Page

It was in the beginning of the 5 th millennium B.C., some communities from Baluchistan
started moving into the river valleys of northern India viz. in the Indus- Saraswati system of
rivers. These first agriculturists could be identified as Neolithic people, who as a prelude
opened the gates for big settlements by the builders of Harappan Culture. The mounds of
Harappa, Kot-diji, Kalibangan and more recently the excavated site of Bhirrana, Kunal and
Farmana revealed the successive stages before the development of early and mature
Harappans in the region. From the middle of the 4 th millennium BC onwards the area covered
by these people included even the coastal region up to the sites like Balakot (Dales) in
Pakistan and Dholavira (Bisht)and Lothal (Rao) in India, besides the plains of Punjab and
North West Rajasthan.

The Harappan culture, which has a span of about one thousand five hundred years starting
from third millennium B.C.E., has a long hoary past. The Harappan culture zone is huge,
ranging between 680,000 to 800,000 sq. kilometers. The Harappans established their farming
villages and well-planned cities and towns around this large area. To date around 1500 sites
of this civilization are known, out of which only 97 have been so far excavated. The earliest
excavations focused on large cities located along the Indus River and its tributaries such as
Mohenjo-daro on Indus (Sindh, Southern Pakistan) and Harappa on Ravi (Punjab, northern
Pakistan). Perhaps Mohenjo-daro was the capital city of this civilization. The earliest cities
became integrated into an extensive urban culture around 4,600 years ago and continued to
dominate the region for at least 700 years, from 2600 to 1900 B.C. It was only in the 1920's
that the buried cities and villages of the Indus valley were recognized by archaeologists as
representing an undiscovered civilization.

The sites have been found in Afghanistan, Punjab, Sindh, and Baluchistan, northwest frontier
province of Pakistan, Jammu, Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Western UP in India.
The northernmost site is Manda in Jammu district in Jammu and Kashmir, the southernmost
is Malvan in Surat district in southern Gujarat.

The westernmost site is Sutkagen-Dor on the Makran coast of Pakistan and easternmost is
Alamgirpur in Saharanpur district of Uttar Pradesh. There is an isolated site of Shortughai in
Afghanistan.

This civilization flourished in the vast river plains and adjacent regions in what are now in
Pakistan and western India. The Harappan urban centers of this civilization were situated on
the valleys of Indus and Ghaggar rivers or Saraswati or Hakra. Large cities and smaller towns
4|Page

grew up along the major trade routes as administrative and ritual centers. It extended from the
foothills of the Himalayas in the north to the Pravara River in the south, and from the coast of
the Arabian Sea in the west to the plains of the Ganga and Yamuna rivers in the east. The
urban expansion and increasing stratification of social classes in Indus cities required the
development of new forms of symbolic expression and new mechanisms for reinforcing
social organization.

The most important known feature of this civilization is its town planning and uniformity in
material culture but there was regional variation in plans as well as pottery tradition.
Although there is a general unity in style and symbol over this vast area, there are specific
regional styles. The manufacture of symbols is also slightly different in each region. Regional
diversity appears to be interesting feature of this civilization for example fire alters have been
identified both at Kalibangan and Lothal but they are different. The archaeological research
has now shown that there was continuous cultural evolution in the north-western part of the
Indian subcontinent right from the Mesolithic to urbanization of the Harappans. 3 The
Harappans, derived from Pre-Harappans lived together for quite sometimes as indicated by
the evidences at Kalibangan and other sites.

The significant findings in the sites like Harappa, Mohenjo-daro, Chanudaro, Kot-diji and
others speak about Harappan art and culture. In Punjab, Rajasthan and Haryana, the
settlements at Ropar, Kalibangan, Banawali, Kunal and recent excavations at Bhirrana, Baror,
Rakhigarhi also revealed the salient features of Harappan Culture in India. The Indus
Civilization may have had a population of over five million at its peak. Inhabitants of the
ancient Indus river valley developed many new techniques in handicraft. The high level of
technological sophistication, the well-organized appearance of the architectural units, and the
striking similarity in objects of material culture between widely separated sites recorded for
the Harappan Culture were traits which could be compared to the final phases of early
urbanization and state development of Mesopotamia. It was noted, however, that these traits
were much more pronounced in the Indus valley than in Mesopotamia. Recent excavations
and interpretations of existing data on the Mature Harappan clearly indicate the
Mesopotamian models are not applicable to the South Asian context.

3
Kharakwal J.S., Indus Civilisation: an overview, Manohar Publishers, Delhi, 2006
5|Page

In spite of its vast geographical extent, Harappan civilization was highly organized and
enjoyed a singular degree of uniformity in its utilitarian products, town planning, architecture
and standardization of weights and measures. There is systematic layout of the cities, well
regulated drainage system, use of standard burn bricks, steatite seals depicting the animal
kingdom with pictographic or ideographic script, animal and human terracotta figurines, chert
blades and weights and bronze objects.

Map reference: http://www.harappa.com/indus

The map shows major sites and interaction networksw Indus tradition,
integration Era Harappan phase

The Harappan Civilization was a Bronze-Age Civilization (3300–1300 BCE; mature period
2600–1900 BCE). The discovery of ancient cultural remains at Harappa and then Mohenjo-
Daro was the zenith of work beginning in 1861 with the founding of the Archaeological
6|Page

Survey (ASI) of India during the British Raj. Excavation of Harappan sites has been ongoing
since 1920, with crucial breakthroughs occurring as recently as 1999. By 1999, over 1,056
cities and settlements had been found, of which 96 have been excavated mainly in the general
region of the Indus and Ghaggar-Hakra rivers and their tributaries. There were earlier and
later cultures, often called Early Harappan and Late Harappan, in the same area of the
Harappan Civilization. Scholars were aware of the antiquity of cultural development in south
Asian Subcontinent, however, when dealing with the explanation of particular cultural
sequences, most archaeologists used what has been known as cyclic models of cultural
development. This model is based on an analogy of the life cycle of living organisms; that is,
every culture undergoes a developmental sequence of origin (birth), fluorescence (maturity)
and decline (death).4

The history of Indian pottery begins with the Harappan Civilization. Harappan people used
different types of pottery such as glazed, polychrome, incised, perforated and knobbed. For
the decoration of pottery the Harappan people used several methods. There is proof of pottery
being constructed in two ways, handmade and wheel-made. It consists both plain and painted
chiefly of wheel made wares. Harrappan and Mohanjodaro cultures heralded the age of
wheel-made pottery. The Harappan pottery is uniformly sturdy, well-baked and bright or dark
in colour. The plain pottery usually of red clay with or without a fine red slip is more
common than the painted ware. The painted pottery is mostly of red and black colours.

In Indus Valley region handmade corded pottery appears at Mehrgarh, a Neolithic site
situated in Baluchistan, Pakistan. The wheel made painted pottery first appears around 4000-
3500 B.C. E. from the Chalcolithic sites such as Mehrgarh, Rehman-Dheri, Kunal, Nagwada,
Ravi ware of Harappa, Mundigak and oldest painted pottery was reported from here. The
polychrome wheel made pottery of 3500-3200 B C was discovered through excavation from
Nal, Mehrgarh, Nundara, Rehman-Dheri, all situated in the Indus Valley region on the north-
west bordering region of south Asia. This was a period of development extending far beyond
the earliest painted design we have.

4 Shaffer G. Jim, Harappan Culture: A reconsideration, edited by Possehl L. Gregory, Harappan Civilization-a

recent perspective, American Institute of Indian Studies and Oxford & IBH Publishing Co. Pvt. Ltd., New
Delhi,1982, 1993.
7|Page

The Harappan pottery, broadly termed as black-on-red ware, but this term is not a realistic
idea because the collection of pottery has four categories known as red ware, buff ware, grey
ware and black-and-red ware. The black-and-red ware is confined to Kutch and Saurashtra
region alone. The percentage of painted pottery does not continue more than ten percent of
total yield of pottery. The different ware would suggest various methods of firing. Big and
large the Harappan pottery is well fired. But the kiss-marks, black blotches, and cramped pots
do indicate bad firing. Under fired pots are not noticed much. The red ware, though contained
ferrous-oxide may have been fired under the reducing condition not allowing sufficient
oxygen in the kiln. About black-and-red ware, there are many views that the ware is being
subjected to various examinations in labs.

The Harappan pottery is characterized by a well-burnt black painted red ware with distinctive
shapes like dish on stand, cylindrical jar, goblet, big storage jar etc. The general motifs on the
pottery are intersecting circles, leaf patterns, fish scale patterns and also human and animal
figurines. The Harappan ceramic industries produced one of the most impressive products of
this civilization that is the pottery made of fine clay. They are very fine, well-fired ceramic
known as slipped ware, reserve slipped ware and also black and red wares. This
sophistication Harappan skill is also reflected in the development of all the craft industries,
which is characterized by presence of seals, script, terracotta cakes, ceramics like painted
pots, perforated pots, offering stands, shell-working, bead-making, and many other
remarkable art and craft.

The glazed Harappan pottery is the earliest example of its kind in the ancient world.
Polychrome pottery is rare and mainly comprised small vases decorated with geometric
patterns mostly in red, black and green and less frequently in white and yellow. Incised ware
is also rare and the incised decoration was confined to the bases of the pans. Perforated
potteries have large hole at the bottom and small holes all over the wall and were probably
used for straining liquor. Knobbed pottery was ornamented on the outside with knobs. The
types of Harappan pottery includes goblets, dishes, basins, flasks, narrow necked vases,
cylindrical bottles, tumblers, corn measures, spouted vases and a special type of dish on a
stand which was a offering stand or incense burner. The painted designs on the Harappan
8|Page

pottery are the reflection on the presence of flora and fauna including other symbols like
natural and geometrical patterns.

The main analytical framework for Mature Harappan material culture was established by
Piggott (1950:1325-42), who chose to emphasize the uniformity instyle and technology
definable among such objects like ceramics, seals and other artifacts. According to him such
uniformity co-relates a regularity of a highly organized community under some strong system
of centralized government, controlling production and distribution throughout the territory
under its rule. Piggott felt that this uniformity reflected a conservative attitude towards
culture change. However it is possible that the uniformity of such objects has been over-
emphasized, and similarities, which exist, do not necessarily reflect conservative cultural
framework nor are they necessarily indicative of centralized types of political set up.
Exploration and excavations in the eastern Mature Harappan sites have demonstrated that
among the ceramics, some degree of regional variation does exist. Mature Harappan
decorated pottery was found in association with a distinct regional style. It is possible that the
traditional emphasis upon the very distinctive Harappan black-on-red pottery was prevented
the definition of regional ceramic variations, which manifest themselves among non-
decorative ceramics. At the Mature Harappan site of Allahdino near Karachi the distinctive
Harappan black-on-red ceramic type was restricted to specific vessel shapes and sizes and
quantitatively constituted less than one percent of the pottery found. It is possible that the
cultural rules governing the manufacture and distribution of distinctive black-on-red
decorated pottery were significantly different and varied independently from those which
governed other types of pottery.

Far-reaching explorations in the upper and central Indus valley by Mughal (1981, 82, 88) and
on southwest Sind by Louis Flam (1981) indicate that these Neolithic communities, with
increase of population, were expanding towards adjoining highlands and forming into distinct
culture groups. They were occupying areas near small rivers. Recent explorations in Pakistan
have thrown new light on the genesis of the early agricultural communities.

With a humble beginning in central Baluchistan, Mahrgarh, the settlements seem to flourish
into neighbouring areas developing uniformity of cultural traits over a well defined region. At
the beginning of 4th millennium BC Mehrgarh (Jarrige, J. F. 1979) became a mass production
center for wheel turned pottery. The vessels often made of fine clay and they are decorated
9|Page

with geometric motifs or with other flora-fauna representations. Workshops where lapis
lazuli, turquoise carnelian and seashells were worked are also associated with this period
which marks an important stage in the development of craft activities. The mature phase of
the Harappan civilization lasted from c. 2600 BCE to 1990 BCE. With inclusion of
predecessor and successor cultures – Early Harappa and Late Harappa respectively – the
entire Harappan Civilization might have been lasted from C.3300 BCE – C.1400 BCE.

Harappan culture may be perceived broadly through the following phases:

 Phase I: Central Baluch Neolithic cultures

 Phase II: Pre-Early Harappan Culture /Hakra Ware
 Phase III: Early Harappan culture
 Phase IV: Mature Harappan culture
 Phase V: Late Harappan culture5

Two terms are employed in order to periodization of the Indus Valley

Civilization: Phases and Eras. The Early Harappan, Mature Harappan, and Late Harappan
phases are also called the Regionalization, Integration, and Localization eras, respectively,
with the Regionalization era reaching back to the Neolithic Mehrgarh period. Ahmad Hasan
Dani, professor emeritus at Quaid-e-Azam University, Islamabad said "Discoveries at
Mehrgarh changed the entire concept of the Indus civilization. There we have the whole
sequence, right from the beginning of settled village life”6

A study of pottery provides clear evidence for understanding complex character of a culture.
So, extensive research on forms and designs of the Harappan pottery becomes a vital
testimony of the art of pre-historic period of India. New excavations during the last 25 years
helped to recognize the dynamism of the late Harappan phase more prominently. This study
has immense value and relevance to look through proto-historic culture because India is such
a place where the rich and the poor continue to patronize earthen pots in variety of forms and
decoration. The Harappan painted pottery shows the pot painters predilection for geometrical

5
Agrwal, D. P., The Harappan legacy: Break and Continuity, edited by Possehl L. Gregory, Harappan
Civilization-a recent perspective, American Institute of Indian Studies and Oxford & IBH Publishing Co. Pvt.
Ltd., New Delhi,1982, 1993.

6
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indus_Valley_Civilization
10 | P a g e

designs. Naturalistic pattern depict the floral and faunal wealth of those times. The paintings
generally occur in registers or zones which normally do not reach below the waist of the
vessels. The paintings occur in black on the red surface, chocolate or purple black on the buff
surface and white or creamy on black surface.

A classification is made on the basis of application of the slip or its absence and also on the
basis of the thickness of the section or body of the pottery. The black- and-red ware is usually
of fine fabric and thick section.

1.2. Scope of Study

More than ninety years have passed since the discovery of the remains of the Indus Valley
civilization: in 1921 at Harappa by Daya Ram Sahni and in 1922 at Mohenjo-Daro by R. D.
Banerjee. This great discovery threw at one stroke the antiquity of civilization on this
subcontinent back by at least two millennia: before 1921 it was generally held that India has
no past to boast of and civilization began here only after the invasion of Alexander in 326
BC. The initial discovery was followed by large-scale excavations at these two sites at the
former, first by Sir John Marshall and then by E.J.H. Mackay and at the latter by M. S. Vats.
During 1925-26 Hargreaves had undertaken large scale excavation at Nal of Baluchistan,
which had already been plundered and had yielded a unique type of polychrome pottery. A
systematic exploration were conducted during1926-27 and 1927-28 in Baluchistan (by Aurel
Stein in 1929-30-31 and 1937) and also in 1929-30-31 in Sind (Majumdar 1934). In addition
to these during 1935-36 a joint expedition of school of Indian and Iranian Studies and the
Museum of fine arts, Boston under Mackey carried out considerable work at Chanu-Daro. A
great deal of fieldwork was done by Aurel Stein during 1939-45 at the ancient sites along
with the dry bed of the Ghggar or Hakra (lost Saraswati) in Pakistan.

In 1946 Mortimer Wheeler worked at Harappa and brought to light a fortification-wall

around. Wheeler’s work sought to give a new dimension to the Indus Civilization in two
ways. In the first place he made out that the Indus valley Civilization was ruled from a
‘Citadel’. Secondly, he held that it was destroyed by the incoming Aryans. An event of great
political significance happened in 1947 when the subcontinent was divided into two countries
India and Pakistan. After the partition of the country, hardly any Harappan culture site worth
11 | P a g e

the name remained on the Indian side, which became big challenge for Indian archaeologists.
Y. D. Sharma excavated Ropar in Punjab and A. Ghosh’s exploration in Ghaggar Valley
expanded the distributional zone of Harappa in North India, whereas the work of S. R. Rao in
Gujarat brought to light many sites like Rangpur and others. Excavation of Lothal added new
dimension to this civilization that is maritime trade with Mesopotamia. Excavation at
Kalibangan in Rajasthan initiated by B.B. Lal showed the fortified ‘Lower town’. Many more
sites in Gujarat, Maharashtra, Haryana, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh namely Dholavira,
Daimabad, Banawali, Mitathals, Hulas and Alamgirpur have been excavated which added
wider perspective and knowledge about this civilization. In Pakistan too remarkable amount
of work has been done by scholars like J. M. Casal, F. A. Khan, A. H. Dani, George F. Dales,
Walter A. Fairservis, M. A. Salim, Rafique Mughal, F. A. Durani and many others.
Discovery of Mehargarh in Baluchistan added great deal of knowledge, particularly about the
gradual evolution on this subcontinent.

On the basis of the stratigraphical evidence provided by these excavations and on

comparative study of different wares and their decorations it was then possible to arrange the
explored sites and the different phases of cultures represented by them in a sequence. As this
research is about pottery and its design, there is huge opportunity to study, comparative
analysis, explore and reinvestigate the facts. Through this study it is possible to navigate
highly developed, even sophisticated artistic sense of the earliest decorators, and the amazing
spread in prehistoric times of certain identical artistic conventions over the whole of north-
central Asia.

The great excavations at Mohenjodaro, as described and published by Sir John Marshall and
Dr. Mackey, are the source of most of our knowledge of Harappan materials as a whole
creates an immense scope to revisit in an artistic angle based on design aspects. Besides this,
we have finds from Chanhudaro and Harappa itself, partially published in various journals.
Second in importance only to the Mohenjodaro volumes is the account of explorations carried
out in Sind by N. G. Majumdar. Though his work was confined to Sind, later we have a
similar survey of Punjab. All together to interpret ‘Painted pottery’ this study opens up a wide
scope for a scholarly quest.
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1.3. Frame Work & Methodology

During the excavations of the various sites since 1921, many archaeologists worked on the
substantial findings and evidences of the earliest civilization of India. The artifacts and
material remains like houses, city layout, fortification, inscribed seals, ornaments, pottery in
charming shapes and with beautiful painted designs unearthed from the sites helped the
scholars to reconstruct the way of life of the Harappans. Their aesthetic sense and sensibility
towards art are reflected through the vast available materials.

This study on Harappan pottery design is confined to a specific aspect of Indus Valley
material Culture. The available materials are immense and it makes essential for a noteworthy
and in-depth review of the subject undertaken. The study is restricted to a specific time period
of Indus Valley Civilization that is 3 rd and 2nd Millennium B.C.E.; however any particular
section of this landmark civilization cannot be appreciated in segregation and hence it is
necessary to study various other aspects in relation to this.

Map reference: http://www.crystalinks.com/induscivilization

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As the framework of this research paper, fundamental points which have been taken into
concern are as follows:

 Geographical regions
 Natural features
 Time period
 Material
 Shape & Form
 Colour & Design
 Rationale & Classification

Geographical regions: Baluchistan, Non-Baluchi Area outside the Indus Plain and The Indus
Hakra Plain.

Natural features: climate and flora-fauna depending on rainfall and soil.

Time period: Time period of the study is 3 rd and 2nd millennium BC which includes Pre-
Harappan Cultures, Harappan Culture and Late Harappan Culture.

Material: Designs and motifs found on pottery, available ceramics both from habitational
and burial areas.

Shape & Form: The Harappan pottery is characterized by a well burnt black painted red
ware with distinctive shapes like cylindrical, perforated, gobletdish shape and big tall jars.
This variety of shapes in pottery found in Indus Valley culture gives a great source to
understand the creative side of Harappan lifestyle. Pottery used for different purposes are
available to study such as Drinking vessel, Vase, flasks, narrow necked vases, Storage jar,
offering stand, Dish, Dish on stand, Bowl, Handi, Cup & Cup on stand, Feeder, Basin,
Casket, Ring stand, Lid and Lamp.

Colour & Design: Painted pottery from Indus Valley region constitutes a very small
percentage of the total ceramics.7 Though most of the potteries found are plain and unpainted,
but the available evidence of painted pottery is not too less and deserves great significance to
understand the artistic development in daily life of that era.

7Satyawadi, Dr. Sudha, Proto-historic Pottery of Indus Valley Civilization, D. K. Printworld (P) Ltd, New
Delhi, 1994
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Rationale & Classification: Study of the purpose and categorization of painted designs like
different kind of motifs and symbols. The general motifs on the pottery are intersecting
circles, leaf patterns, fish scale patterns, human and animal figurines.

Focused study the characteristic of this Bronze Age Civilization of 3rd millennium B.C.E.
needs distinctive approach because it is strongly rooted in the Indian subcontinent and
contributed primarily to the formation of India. As the Indus script is still undeciphered
which does not allow us to know about the culture clearly, the excavated remains become the
prime factor to understand how the civilization came into being, flourished and declined for
unknown reason and in due course became a significant part of the cultural flow of the
subcontinent as a whole. The study may reveal not only the painted designs of the Harappan
pottery but it will also shed light on the environmental condition including climate flora-
fauna and also the social and economic condition in which the users of these pottery were
living and flourishing. The remains of pottery make us aware that painted designs of
Harappan culture gone through many changes starting from the Early Harappan phase to the
end of this culture known as Late Harappan period.

The study of Harappan culture has been done can be divided into phases. The first phase was
pre-Independence began with excavation at Harappa (D. R. Sahni) and at Mohenjo-Daro (R.
D. Banerjee) in 1920-21: based on that in 1924 this civilization was identified as Bronze Age
similar to those of Mesopotamia and Egypt. The second phase began with the publication of
Sir Mortimer Wheeler’s excavation report.1947. This argued for the beginning of the
civilization. Duration of this phase was 1947 to 1963. The third phase (1964-84) began with
Aryan invasion theory by G. F Dales, D P Agrawal’s analysis of radiocarbon dates and the
work by A.Ghosh on Ghaggar system of Rajasthan in 1965. A considerable number of
research paper, books and other literature have been published on this subject with authentic
facts and research analysis, which are great source of knowledge and information to support
this study.

John Marshall, under whose leadership the discovery and much of the excavations at
Mohenjo-daro and Harappa took place, wrote in the first major archaeological report on Indus
civilization in general; modern research has proved him right and in his book he discussed on
pottery in details, describing types of pottery, method of manufacture, slips, design shapes
and he also talked about different kinds of potter’s wheel. This report provides elaborate
information to support this study.
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This research procures detail understanding about the making of pottery, classification of
design and also purpose by studying the available literature like archaeological reports and
interpretational statements made by leading archaeologists for true idea on Indus pottery.
Visiting pottery collections, the actual shreds housed in various museums is the authentic
experience to look at the painted pottery and to study symbols and motifs painted on different
kind of pottery for daily use and understanding the creative thought-process of Harappan
people. Literary material on the subject is available in the form of Indus script written on
seals which till date has not been deciphered. It was most important for this study to go
through with the collections kept in different museums controlled by Archaeological Survey
of India (A.S.I), National Museum, State Museums and the collection of Universities
involved with the excavation of Harappan sites to carry forward.

The reports of excavated sites are great support for comparative study. Some of the good
collection of this period is housed in museums and universities of Pakistan which was studied
through internet and available text from libraries. Reports of the excavations, which were in
collaboration with foreign Universities, also provided great amount of understanding for this
paper.

From the middle of the 4 th millennium B.C.E. onwards the area covered by these people
included even the coastal region up to the sites like Balakot in Pakistan and Dholavira and
Lothal in India, besides the plains of Punjab and North West Rajsthan. Following are the
main excavated sites of the Harappan Culture which have yielded painted Harappan pottery.
Our main study revolves around these sites for comparative and developmental studies of
painted designs.

 Harappa  Dholavira
 Mohen-jo-Daro  Ropar
 Kalibangan  Hulas
 Kunal  Farmana
 Rakhigarhi  Sanauli
 Banawali  Rangpur
 Lothal  Bhirrana
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The mounds of Harappa, Kot Diji, Kalibangan and more recent excavations at Bhirrana, Kunal,
Farmana and Sanauli, which have been included for the study of painted designs from cemetery
area, revealed the successive stages before the development of Early and Mature Harappans in
the region. The Sites like Harappa, Mohen-jo-Daro, Chanudaro, Kot-Diji and others on the Indus
valley speak about Harappan Culture. In Punjab, Rajasthan and Haryana, the settlements at
Ropar, Kalibangan, Banawali, Kunal and recent excavations and findings at Bhirrana, Baror and
Rakhigarhi also revealed the salient features of Harappa Culture in India.

These are the systematic layout of the cities, well regulated drainage system, use of standard size
burnt bricks, steatite seals depicting the animal kingdom with pictographic or ideographic script,
animal and human terracotta figurines, chert blades and weights and other bronze objects.
Pottery is indestructible evidence and historical proof which impart persuasive knowledge about
any culture. So the study of pottery becomes most significant and the study of design gives
deeper understanding about the people of Harappa, who created and used this treasure in their
daily life.

1.4. Analysis of Recent work

The earlier authors have dealt Harappan pottery from the point of shapes and other associated
material to fix the chronology, but the present study will have detailed classification of painted
designs which was not attempted earlier, thereby, revealing the genesis of the design and its
continuance. Now, the excavated material (from new sites, lying on the bank of saraswati system
of rivers like, Bhirrana, Farmana, Girwaot, Kunal and Rakhigarhi pushed back the origin of
Harappan culture to somewhere in the middle of 8th millennium BCE representing Neolithic
groups, which are also required to the Analysis from our point of study)

Many new painted designs have been noticed in excavations in the recent past and they have not
been documented or even examined from the point of genesis or comparative angle. New
material from Pakistan, Iran and Oman (Persian Gulf) has also revealed new motifs and their
comparison may throw light on environment or on the other aspect, such as trade relationship.
However, further researches may provide more useful information.
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It may not be out place to mention about one of the later cultures noticed in Madhya Pradesh
known as Malwa culture. The red ware industry of this culture has stylized human figurines
painted on red surface which according to majority of scholars, are derived from the sites in Iran
viz Tepe Sialk, Tepe Yahya or Shahr-i-Sokhta. This is not the reason of influence why we
should not see the inspiration in rock - shelters lying in the same vicinity such as (Bhaibetaka).
The above assumption may not be true, even quite farfetched one, but a different approach is
there.
Happan Painted Pottery

Picture courtesy: http://www.harappa.com/indus

This study reveals how gradually Harappan artisans grown through the ages exploring their own
simple motifs in creative way to decorate the daily life usable things. This also shows their way
of life or Harappan lifestyle like today we live in contemporary lifestyle. Harappan artisans used
their master-skill of freehand designing to paint various geometrical designs as well as motifs
from nature around them with a great artistic urge which has always been a driving force for
human community to create something imaginative and original. Earthen Pottery otherwise is a
common activity and a need for every home, but when it comes designing them in various theme
then it becomes a subject of research.