The ancient Indus : urbanism, economy, and society / Rita P. Wright.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Wright, Rita P.

Series:

Case studies in early societies

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Indus civilization.

Physical Description:

xix, 396 pages : illustrations, maps ; 23 cm.

Place of Publication:

Cambridge ; New York : Cambridge University Press, 2010.

Summary:

The Ancient Indus civilization was erased from human memory until 1924, when it was rediscovered and announced in the Illustrated London News. Our understanding of the Indus has been partially advanced by textual sources from Mesopotamia that contain references to Meluhha, a land identified by cuneiform specialists as the Indus, with which the ancient Mesopotamians traded and engaged in other forms of interaction. In this volume, Rita P. Wright uses both Mesopotamian texts and, principally the results of archaeological excavations and surveys to draw a rich account of the Indus civilization's well-planned cities, its sophisticated alterations to the landscape, and the complexities of its agropastoral and craft-producing economy. She focuses principally on the social networks established between city and rural communities, farmers, pastoralists, and craft producers; and Indus merchants and traders and the symbolic imagery that the civilization shared with contemporary cultures in Iran, Mesopotamia, Central Asia, and the Persian Gulf region. Broadly comparative, her study emphasizes the interconnected nature of early societies.

Contents:

1 A Long-Forgotten Civilization 1

A Civilization Rediscovered 4

Reconstructing a Long-Forgotten Civilization 11

Perspectives on Civilizations 15

Theoretical Perspective 19

The Indus Civilization: Chronologies of Indus Antecedents, Coalescence, Decline, and Transformations 21

Rethinking Perspectives on the Indus Civilization 23

2 Geographical and Environmental Settings 25

Factors to Consider in Assessing Differences between Past and Present 26

Geography and Climate Today 27

Geographical Setting 27

Climate 28

Climate Change Before, During, and After Peak Periods of Settlement 29

The Indus in the Past-Documenting Landscape and River System Dynamics 33

The Upper and Lower Indus 33

The Ghaggar-Hakra 37

The Ganges-Yamuna 38

New Solutions and Perspectives on Climate Change 38

Conclusions 44

3 From Foraging to Farming and Pastoralism 45

From Hunting and Gathering to Farming 48

Focus on Mehrgarh-The Choice of a Site and the Establishment of a Chronology 51

A First Village (7000-4000 B.C) 54

Subsistence 56

Architecture 57

Burial Patterns 58

Material Culture and Technology 59

External Contacts 63

Summary-Period I/II 63

Villages at the Crossroads (4000-3200 B.C.) 64

Subsistence 65

Architecture 65

Burial Patterns 66

Material Culture and Technology 67

External Contacts 70

Summary-Period III 70

A Mosaic of Villages and Towns (3200-2500 B.C.) 71

Subsistence 71

Architecture 72

Burial Patterns 73

Material Culture and Technology 74

External Contacts 75

Summary-Period IV/VII 76

Settling Down: The Domestication of Plants and Animals, the Development of a Village Farming Community into a Sizable Town, and Expanded Interaction 76

4 An Era of Expansion and Transformation 79

An Age of Emerging Polities 80

Upper Indus - Harappa Excavations and the Pre-urban Period 81

Upper Indus - Ravi Phase 83

Upper Indus - Early Harappan/Kot Diji Phase 87

Upper Indus Regional Surveys Near Harappa 89

The Ghaggar-Hakra - Cholistan Survey 91

The Ghaggar - Hakra Plains-Hakra Phase 92

Ghaggar-Hakra Plains-Early Harappan/Kot Diji Phase 93

Ghaggar-Hakra Settlements in Northwest India 95

Expansion of Settlements in the Upper Indus and Ghaggar-Hakra Plains 96

The Lower Indus Valley 96

Lower Indus Valley - Hakra and Kot Diji Phases 97

Lower Indus Valley - Amri Phase 99

Expansion of Settlement in the Lower Indus 100

Beyond the Indus and Ghaggar-Hakra Plains - Baluchistan 100

Pre-urban Ecological and Settlement Diversity 102

5 Urbanism and States: Cities, Regions, and Edge Zones 106

Indus Cities and States - The First Urban Climax 107

Indus Cities 110

City Plans and Physical Layouts 115

Nonresidential Structures 117

PublicWorks 122

Walls and Separated Sectors (Neighborhoods) 124

City Plans and Physical Layouts Summarized - Nonresidential Structures, Public Works, Walls, and Neighborhoods 126

City and Countryside 127

The Upper Indus and Beas Regional Surveys near Harappa 127

The Ghaggar-Hakra Plain - Cholistan Regional Surveys 131

Ghaggar-Hakra Plain - Northwest India 133

The Lower Indus Regional Surveys 134

Interpreting the Evidence for Indus Cities, City - States, and Regional Surveys 136

Urbanism at Its Margins, Gateway Towns and Edge Zones 138

Uniformity and Diversity - Cities, Regions and Edge Zones 142

6 Agropastoral and Craft-Producing Economies I - Intensification and Specialization 145

Craft Production 148

Craft Production and Intensification 148

Craft Production and Specialization - Resource Availability and Selection, Technical Skills, and Specialized Production 152

Ceramic Production 153

Stoneware Bangle Production 158

Seal Production 160

Intensification and Specialization of Craft Production 166

Agropastoral Production 166

Agriculture and Intensification 166

Specialization of Cropping Patterns and Regional Diversity 169

Pastoralism and Intensification 170

Pastoralism-Specialization and Regional Diversity 173

Continued Use of Wild Plants and Animals - Foraging and Fishing 174

Specialization and Intensification of the Agropastoral and Craft-Producing Economy 176

7 Agropastoral and Craft-Producing Economies II - Diversification, Organization of Production, and Distribution 179

Diversification and the Organization of Production, Distribution, and Exchange 180

Diversified Crafts and the Organization of Graft Production 182

Seal Production 183

Ceramic Production 187

Stoneware Bangle Production 188

The Diversification and Organization of Production - Seals, Ceramics, and Stoneware Bangles 188

Diversification of Raw Materials and Finished Products - The Organization of Interregional Exchange 189

Chert 189

Lapis Lazuli 193

Carnelian, Chalcedony, Agate, and Jasper 194

Limestone 195

Precious Metals - Copper, Gold, Lead, Silver, and Tin 196

Shell 198

Steatite 200

Diversification of Craft Production, Organization, and Distribution 201

Diversification of Land, Labor, and the Organization of Agropastoral Production 203

Diversification of Farming - Multicropping, Plow Agriculture, Crop Processing, Fiber Crops, and Aboriculture 203

Diversification of Pastoralism - Specialized Breeds, Food and Fiber, Animal Provisioning, Mobility, and the Organization of Production 207

The Organization of Interregional Exchange of Plant and Animal Products 210

Agropastoral and Craft-Producing Economies - Intensification, Specialization, Diversification, and the Organization of Production and Distribution 212

8 The Lure of Distant Lands 215

The Lure of Distant Lands - Dilmun, Magan, and Meluhha 215

Mapping the Third Millennium B.C. 216

Indus and Mesopotamian Contact by Sea and Over Land - Texts and Archaeology 221

Indus Contact beyond Mesopotamia - By Sea and Over Land 225

Indus Contacts along Maritime Routes 225

Indus Contacts along Overland Routes 228

The Indus and an Interconnected Third - Millennium World 230

9 Landscapes of Order and Difference - The Cultural Construction of Space, Place, and Social Difference 233

Landscapes as Community Identity - Mohenjo-daro, Dholavira, and Harappa 235

Landscapes as Social Order 242

Space and Public Works 242

Interior Spaces and Social Differences 248

Landscapes and Memory 262

The R37 Cemetery and Cemetery H at Harappa 263

The Cemetery at Kalibangan 267

Human Remains at Mohenjo-daro 268

Death and Memory in the Indus 269

Community Identity, Social Order, and Memory 271

10 Models for Indus Religious Ideologies 274

Direct Historical Analogies and the Study of Indus Religion 275

Identifying Ceremonial Places 275

Terracotta Masks, Figurines, and Narrative Imagery 277

New Approaches to Uncovering Indus Ideologies 282

Comparative Study of Early Civilizations 282

Alternative Visions - Masks and Figurines 284

Terracotta Masks 285

Terracotta Figurines 285

AlternaUve Visions-Seal and Tablet Narrative Imagery 288

Themes and Motifs in Indus Narrative Imagery 290

Decoding Indus Narrative 293

Cross-Cultural Comparisons 297

Mesopotamian Seal Imagery 297

Iranian Seal Imagery 299

Rethinking Indus Religion and World Views.

Shared Vocabularies, Modes of Presentation and Systems of Thought 301

An Indus Pantheon, Elements of Order, and Conceptions of Power and Hierarchy 303

11 The Decline and Transformation and the Comparative Study of Early States 308

The Decline and Transformation of the Indus 309

Causes of a General Nature 312

Environmental Changes - Climate, Precipitation, and River Courses 312

Massacres and Aryan Invasions 313

Disruptions and Changes in Intercultural Trade 314

Shifting Regional Histories, Transformations, and Decline - Causes of a Local Nature 315

Upper Indus (Cemetery H/Late Harappan) 315

Lower Indus - Late Harappan and Jhukar Styles 316

Post-urban/Late Harappan: The Ghaggar-Hakra (Cholistan and Northwest India) 317

Post-urban/Late Harappan - Kutch, Gujarat, and Sorath Harappan 318

Borderland Regions - Afghanistan and Baluchistan (West and Southern Margins) 320

Collapse, Transition, or Transformation - Culture Traits and Political Structure 320

Cycles of Change or Breakdown of Society 324

The Indus Civilization in Comparative Perspective 325

The Harappan Economy and Society 326

Indus Urbanism and City - States 330.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780521572194

0521572193

9780521576529

0521576520

OCLC:

226984820