The Beginnings of Indian Civilisation Class 6 Notes

The Beginnings of Indian Civilisation Class 6 Notes

The Beginnings of Indian Civilisation Class 6 Notes

Civilisation

1. Civilisation is an advanced stage of human societies, characterized by government and administration, urbanism, crafts, trade, writing, cultural ideas, and productive agriculture.
2. Government and administration manage complex societies and their activities.
3. Urbanism involves town-planning, city growth, and management, including water management and drainage systems.
4. Crafts involve managing raw materials and producing finished goods.
5. Trade involves both internal and external goods exchange.
6. Writing is essential for record-keeping and communication.
7. Cultural ideas are expressed through art, architecture, literature, oral traditions, or social customs.
8. A productive agriculture feeds both villages and cities.
9. Civilisation began around 6,000 years ago in Mesopotamia (modern Iraq and Syria) and followed by ancient Egypt a few centuries later.
10. The Indian Subcontinent, with its northwest region, is where the story of civilisation begins.
11. Civilisations have significantly contributed to humanity’s current stage, with the Indian Subcontinent being the starting point.

Village to City Transition in Punjab and Sindh

1. The Indus River and its tributaries watered the fertile plains of Punjab and Sindh, making them suitable for agriculture.
2. The Sarasvati river, flowing from the Himalayas, also influenced the region.
3. Villages grew into towns around 3500 BCE, and cities expanded around 2600 BCE.
4. The civilisation, known as ‘Indus’, ‘Harappan’, ‘Indus-Sarasvati’, or ‘Sindhu-Sarasvati’, is one of the oldest and most renowned.

Sarasvati River

1. This river was part of the Indus and its five main tributaries.
2. Important cities like Mohenjo-daro and Harappa grew along these rivers.
3. It was known as ‘Ghaggar’ in India and ‘Hakra’ in Pakistan.
4. It was a seasonal river.
5. It was first mentioned in the Rig Veda as a goddess and as a river.
6. Later texts describe this river as drying up and eventually disappearing.

Town-Planning in Harappan Civilisation

1. Harappa and Mohenjo-daro, now in Pakistan, were the first two cities discovered in the ‘Indus Valley civilisation’.
2. Other major cities include Dholavira, Rakhigarhi, Ganweriwala, and hundreds of smaller sites.
3. The Sarasvati basin includes several smaller cities and towns, including Farmana, Kalibangan, and Bhirrana and Banawali.
4. Harappan cities were built with precise plans, with wide streets and fortifications.
5. Large buildings were used for collective purposes, like warehouses for goods storage.
6. Individual houses lined streets and smaller lanes, with construction quality consistent across all sizes.
7. The purpose of some structures, like the ‘Great Bath’ in Mohenjo-daro, remains a subject of debate.

Harappan Water Management

1. Harappans prioritized water management and cleanliness.
2. Homes had separate bathing areas connected to drains for waste water removal.
3. Water sources varied across regions, including brick-made wells in Mohenjo-daro, ponds, streams, and human-made reservoirs.
4. Dholavira, in Gujarat, had the largest reservoir.
5. At least six large reservoirs were built with stones or cut into rock, connected via underground drains for efficient water harvesting and distribution.

Harappan Diet

1. Harappans settled along river banks foj easy access and agriculture.
2. They grew cereals like barley, wheat, millets, rice, pulses, and vegetables.
3. They were the first in Eurasia to grow cotton, used in clothing.
4. They made farming tools like the plough, which are still used today.
5. They domesticated animals for meat consumption and fished in rivers and the sea.
6. Harappan cooking pots contained both expected dairy products and surprising remains of turmeric, ginger, and banana.
7. Their diet was diverse and varied.

Harappan Brisk Trade

1. Harappans engaged in active trade with other civilisations and cultures within and outside India.
2. They exported ornaments, timber, daily use objects, gold, cotton, and food items.
3. Camelian beads were popular with Harappan people. They knew craft developing techniques like to drill and decorate.
4. They also worked on conch shells to make them into shell bangles. It required sophisticated techniques.
5. The exchange of exported goods is unclear, but it likely included copper.
6. The first intensive maritime activity in India was conducted through land routes, rivers, and the sea.
7. The trade required traders to identify their goods and each other, which was facilitated by thousands of small seals made of steatite.
8. The symbolic meaning of these seals is yet to be understood, but they likely relate to trade activities.

The End or a New Beginning

1. Around 1900 BCE, the Sindhu-Sarasvati civilisation began to disintegrate, with cities disappearing and inhabitants adopting a rural lifestyle.
2. Archaeologists suggest various factors contributed to this decline, including warfare or invasions, but no evidence of such events are found.
3. Two main factors are agreed upon: a global climatic change from 2200 BCE onwards, causing reduced rainfall and a drier phase, and the drying up of the Sarasvati River in its central basin.
4. Despite the disappearance of cities, much of the Harappan culture and technology survived and was passed on to the next phase of Indian civilisation.

IMPORTANT TERMS AND DEFINITIONS

1. Civilisation: An advanced stage of human societies characterized by features such as some form of government, urbanism, a variety of crafts, trade, some form of writing, cultural ideas, and a productive agriculture.

2. Metallurgy: The techniques of extracting metals from nature, purifying or combining them, as well as the scientific study of metals and their properties.

3. Tributary: A river that flows into a larger river (or lake). For instance, the Yamuna is a tributary of the Ganga.

4. Fortification: A massive wall surrounding a settlement or city, generally for protective purposes.

5. Elite: Refers to the higher layers of society, such as rulers, officials, administrators, and often priests.

6. Pulses: A category of crops that includes beans, peas, and lentils (dal).

7. Water Management: The systems and practices implemented by the Harappans to manage water resources and maintain cleanliness, including separate bathing areas and a network of drains.

8. Reservoir: A large natural or artificial place where water is stored.

9. Harappan Seals: Small artifacts made of steatite, often depicting animal figures and inscribed with signs from a writing system, believed to relate to trade activities.

10. Urbanism: The development, growth and management of towns and cities, including planning, water management, drainage system, infrastructure, and services.