Archaeological site Mohenjo Daro
ARCHEOLOGICAL SITE MOHENJO-DARO 2
Archaeologicalsite Mohenjo Daro
Subjectnumber
Department
Indusvalley civilization remained in the dark for quite so long until theearly 1920s. To be more specific, Indian civilization was brought outto the limelight when the excavation of the Indus Valley started in1921. As a result of the archaeological works which continuedthroughout the most of the 1920s, the revelation of the ancient andmedieval city of Mohenjo Daro brought out the other side of theIndian civilization. The archaeological site helped to reflect theIndus Valley as the epicenter of ancient and medieval India, throughbringing to the surface deeply buried inventions and innovations ofthe city of Mohenjo Daro (Davé2015: 12-17).Moreover, it also indicated the lifestyles of the people of this cityalongside its contemporary, the city of Harappa. Its thriving cultureshowed the way of life of the then residents of this city, and theiractivities they engaged in. The Mohenjo-Daro excavation and thearcheological site as a whole are instrumental in developing a clearunderstanding of the ancient life and civilization in the Indusvalley and the impact it had on the current Lifestyles and views oflife. (Williams2015: 1-20).
Thefirst question that would arise to anyone who hears of thearchaeological site would be its location. The city of Mohenjo Darois situated in the Indus Valley, sitting on the modern day Pakistanidistrict of Larkana, which is in the province of Sindh. The city’sname has been interpreted in the local language of Sindhi as themound of dead men or as the mound of Mohan and the title Mohan isrefereeing to Krishna. There have been speculations as to what theancient name of the city is, with some inferring that the town wasinitially called the Kukkutarma, which loosely translated to the cityof the cock. The later as is going to be elaborated, had a culturalmeaning tagged alongside it. The exact location of the site isbetween the two great rivers of Gharggar- Hakra and the Indus River.The location of the site is necessary to points out the position oftheir economy and the contributions made by the location to thelifestyle and their culture. Additionally, as an impact of the placeon the civilization of the people, some observations can be linked toits being where it was located that promoted how they ended upbecoming civilized. The site location favored trade, agriculture, andsocialization due to favorable environment supported by the tworivers (Mcintosh2012: 215-327).
Moreover,the city seemed to have deliberately been established with aninclination to the ridges of the valley to ensure easy flowing forthe waters, hence the safety of the people. Most notably, the cityseemed to stand high the ground level thus making it be surrounded bythe floods all around. This, however, has since been lost due toyears of siltation that led to the burying of the ridge. Presently,the rivers that used to flow adjacent to the city are no longerflowing as they used to. Whereas the Indus River still flows to theeast of the recovered city, the Gharggar River has since dried up.The recurring floods prompted to the demise of the city. The dwellerstried to put flood barriers which were aimed to prevent destructionwhen it rains. However, these sand barriers were at one pointoverpowered by rain and resulted to massive siltation (Mcintosh2012: 19-34).
Thecity spread over an expansive outstretch of land, covering up to 250acres. Within this stretch is the distribution of the civilization ondifferent mounds. Thus the earlier said name, Mound of the dead men.On these mounds is demonstrated effective construction Industry withthe type of buildings and structures that the ancient people of themounds had put up. As a sign of superior architecture andconstruction civilization, the city of Mohenjo Daro exhibitsurbanization of sorts. The street alignments and proper design ofrectilinear structures that were done using fired and mortared brickspoint out to the technological advancements that surpassed thetechnology of the time (Williams2015: 8-44).
Apartfrom the use of properly prepared blocks, there was, however, use ofsun-dried mud bricks as well as the erection of wooden constructions.These wooden structures were however of excellent standards if we areto consider the time of existence of the city of Mohenjo Daro, whichwas at about 2200 B.C. According to excavated evidence, the manymounds on which the city stood all housed the people of the city. Thesetting of this mound was more of an urban setup. Apart from beingcomposed of the hills, the city was also made of the great bath andalso additionally, a building that was larger than the standard sizeof the houses in the city. This large house was even more peculiarlysituated on the tallest mound (Shinde2016: 127-150).
Outof the size of the city and the complexity of this architecture, theexcavation demonstrates a socially organized city that had a citadeland a city making up the ruins. The construction of the fortress wascertainly different from that of the lower city. On observation ofthe streets earlier mention, the archaeological site demonstratesthat the streets were designed to hold a high population of citizenswho would frequent the marketplace of the city. Furthermore, theresidential structure of the city had to permit a well-prepared spacefor interaction of the citizens, and for the daily activities thatwould be associated with a large population (Williams2015: 40-44).
Valuefor good health is also incorporated into the cities architecture.The city had the elaborate system for the drainage of waste water.Therefore, this ultimately ensured the Public health was sustained.Moreover, the drainage system was covered hence ensured safety(Fardin et al. 2014: 43-53). The fact that the systems were wellarchitecture, not only indicate a concern for public health but alsoshows the skill in incorporating design and technology in solvingtheir societal issues. Another way in which architecture is appliedto ensure the wellness of the people is the presence of the publicbaths that portray elaborate design. The design of the structureabove is a proof that dwellers were advanced in civilization due tothe use of bitumen in constructions and waterproof systems. Thisgrounds the argument that cleanliness and hygiene were highlyesteemed. The great baths also pointed out the social relations ofthe people were intact. (Fardin et al. 2014: 43-53).
Moreover,from the planning of the city and the artifacts collected therein, itcan be suggested that the people were also religious. For example,due to the sculpture of male seated figures that are considered byrenown archaeologists as priest-kings, the people of the city can besaid to have been religious (Pratap2016: 1-8).
Theabove points us to another aspect of the ancient Indus valleycivilization. The artwork that was collected from the archaeologicalworks in the Mohenjo-Daro indicates a highly artistic society thathad increasingly grown in skill. Some of the artifacts such as thedancing girl, the seven stranded necklace and the Pashupati string(Pratap2016: 1-8).Each of this, displaying an excessively artistic trait for that time,also influences the subsequent artwork of the neighborhood. Thiscould have been so due to the trade contacts and other interactionsbetween the city and its neighbors. Moreover, the excavationindicates the presence of two assembly hall. The significance of themeeting halls to the issue of civilization is that this showed thatthe citizens were socially active. The use of the social hall cannotenough be inferred to. However, it is easy to deduce that theassembly hall was majorly used for social activities which couldinclude recreation and political activities.
Thepresence of the two rivers, Indus and Gharggar, determined theactivities that took place in the city of Mohenjo Daro. Firstly,being alongside, the river allowed agriculture to thrive. Moreover,the close probity that the town had with Mesopotamia allowed it tointeract either directly or indirectly with the Agrarian city. Thus,the agricultural economy of the city of Mohenjo Daro thrived.Additionally, the excavation of the town indicates that it had alarge granary. The later is a large building, a wooden structurewhich had storage structures and was designed in a way that allowedthe grains to dry. The design of the structure is seen to have beenone that would enable transportation of food all the way into thegranary, directly without an intermediate storage system (Vijay2015: 1-10).
Regardingeconomic activities and trade, it has been demonstrated by the manymaterials that have been excavated in the city. For example, tradewith neighbors was made of cotton fabrics, handcrafted materials,smith works, among others. Also, materials that were needed in thecity but were not available were acquired from their neighbors,examination of the existing weights and materials indicate bartertrade as predominant in the area at the time of existence of thebusiness. The later is based on the excavated blocks that belong to aparticular system. According to the hypothesis of Ridgeway, theseblocks had weights attached to the, and more specifically to theprecious metals. This can be indicative of trade on precious metals,and usage of precious metals as well as a means of currency (Davé2015: 12-20).
Withall these civilizations, however, the city of Mohenjo Daro ended upcollapsing around the year 1900 BCE, following the decline of theIndus civilization. The probable cause of the decline has beensuggested to be the change of course of the Indus River. Moreover,the flooding of the valley ultimately led to the utter destruction ofthe city. Over the years, silt deposits resulted in the burying ofthe city before the excavation city started between 1921 and 1927(Davé2015: 12-20).
Inconclusion, the vast civilization of the Indus valley influenced thestatus of the city of Mohenjo Daro. Moreover, the city’s statusgrew courtesy of the civilization, and its constructions andarchitecture demonstrate the great application of technology.
Listof References
Davé,Vasant.
2015. Novelizingthe Ancient Indus Valley.Vasant Davé.
https://books.google.co.in/books?id=P9XZk9FTyNYC&printsec=frontcover&dq=Novelizing+the+Ancient+Indus+Valley.+Vasant+Dav%C3%A9&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjq9LidiY3TAhWBK8AKHav5BysQ6AEIGzAA#v=onepage&q=Novelizing%20the%20Ancient%20Indus%20Valley.%20Vasant%20Dav%C3%A9&f=false 
FardinFranz, Hollé Annick, and Gautier-CostardEmmanuelle
2014 Sanitation and water management in ancient South Asia. Evolutionof Sanitation and WastewaterTechnologies through the Centuries 43-53.
https://books.google.co.ke/books?hl=en&lr=&id=mbgrBQAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PA43&dq=Sanitation+and+water+management+in+ancient+South+Asia.+Evolution+of+Sanitation+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++and+Wastewater+Technologies+through+the+Centuries+43-53.+&ots=rW0Hl-99vY&sig=m3dBslp_Q4PCPBn0h6f6TEIRZqo&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false
Pratap,Ajay.
2016 The archaeology of childhood: revisiting Mohenjodaroterracotta. AncientAsia, 7.http://www.ancient-asia-journal.com/articles/10.5334/aa.110/ 
Shinde,Vasant.
2016.Current Perspectives on the Harappan Civilization. ACompanion to South Asia in the Past,127.https://books.google.co.ke/books?hl=en&lr=&id=VAb9CgAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PA127&dq=Current+Perspectives+on+the+Harappan+Civilization.+A+Companion+to+South+Asia+in+the+Past,+127&ots=IkVpiAejME&sig=D9G1YPqHd3qX0I_T79ir8_qhA8k&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=Current%20Perspectives%20on%20the%20Harappan%20Civilization.%20A%20Companion%20to%20South%20Asia%20in%20the%20Past%2C%20127&f=false
Mcintosh,Jane
2012.TheAncient Indus Valley: New Perspectives
https://books.google.co.in/books?id=1AJO2A-CbccC&printsec=frontcover&dq=Novelizing+the+Ancient+Indus+Valley.+Vasant+Dav%C3%A9&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjq9LidiY3TAhWBK8AKHav5BysQ6AEIIDAB
Vijay,Muni.
2015.Agriculture at Kalibangan–Evidences and Excavations. AsianJournal of Multidisciplinary Studies, 3(12).
http://www.ajms.co.in/sites/ajms2015/index.php/ajms/article/view/1493/1070
Williams,Bian.
2015. DailyLife in the Indus Valley Civilization.Capstone.
https://books.google.co.ke/books?id=ArReCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA2&lpg=PA2&dq=Daily+Life+in+the+Indus+Valley+Civilization.+Capstone.&source=bl&ots=QHZENImiwQ&sig=Q-TAAjD62g–_l59wdnb133aqXc&hl=en&sa=X&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=Daily%20Life%20in%20the%20Indus%20Valley%20Civilization.%20Capstone.&f=false
No related posts.