Periodisation of the Indus Valley Civilisation

Bronze Age
Neolithic

Near East (c. 3300–1200 BC)

Anatolia, Caucasus, Elam, Egypt, Levant, Mesopotamia, Sistan, Canaan (Phoenicia)
Bronze Age collapse

South Asia (c. 3000– 1200 BC)

Ochre Coloured Pottery
Cemetery H

Europe (c. 3200–600 BC)

Aegean, Caucasus, Catacomb culture, Srubna culture, Beaker culture, Unetice culture, Tumulus culture, Urnfield culture, Hallstatt culture, Apennine culture, Canegrate culture, Golasecca culture,
Atlantic Bronze Age, Bronze Age Britain, Nordic Bronze Age

China (c. 2000–700 BC)

Erlitou, Erligang

arsenical bronze
writing, literature
sword, chariot

Iron Age

The Indus Valley Tradition is a term used to refer to the cultures of the Indus and Ghaggar-Hakra rivers, stretching from the Neolithic Mehrgarh period down to the Iron Age or Indo-Gangetic Tradition. According to a 2014 report by the Archaeological Survey of India, Bhirrana is the oldest Indus Valley Civilisation site.[1]

The Indus Valley Tradition is divided into four eras, and each era can be divided into various phases. A phase is an archaeological unit possessing traits sufficiently characteristic to distinguish it from all other units similarly conceived.[2] Each phase can be subdivided into interaction systems.

Date range (BCE) Phase Era
7570-6200 Bhirrana (aceramic Neolithic)[1] Early Food Producing Era
7000-5500 Mehrgarh I (aceramic Neolithic)
5500-3300 Mehrgarh II-VI (ceramic Neolithic) Regionalisation Era
5500-2600
3300-2600 Early Harappan
3300-2800 Harappan 1 (Ravi Phase)
2800-2600 Harappan 2 (Kot Diji Phase, Nausharo I, Mehrgarh VII, Rakhigarhi)
2600-1900 Mature Harappan (Indus Valley Civilisation) Integration Era
2600-2450 Harappan 3A (Nausharo II)
2450-2200 Harappan 3B
2200-1900 Harappan 3C
1900-1300 Late Harappan (Cemetery H); Ochre Coloured Pottery Localisation Era
1900-1700 Harappan 4
1700-1300 Harappan 5
1300-300 Painted Gray Ware, Northern Black Polished Ware (Iron Age) Indo-Gangetic Tradition

Early Food Producing Era

The Early Food Producing Era corresponds to ca. 7000-5500 BCE. It is also called the Neolithic period. The economy of this era was based on food production, and agriculture developed in the Indus Valley. Mehrgarh Period I belongs to this era.

Regionalisation Era

The Regionalisation Era corresponds to 5500-2600 BCE. The Early Harappan phase belongs to this Era. This era was very productive in arts, and new crafts were invented. The Regionalisation Era includes the Balakot, Amri, Hakra and Kot Diji Phases.

1A/B Ravi aspect of the Hakra Phase ca. 3300-2800 BCE
2 Early Harappan/Kot Diji Phase ca. 2800-2600 BCE

Integration Era

The Integration Era refers to the period of the "Indus Valley Civilisation". It is a period of integration of various smaller cultures.

3A Harappan Phase ca. 2600-2450 BCE
3B Harappan Phase ca. 2450-2200 BCE
3C Harappan Phase ca. 2200-1900 BCE

Localisation Era

The Localisation Era (1900-1300 BCE) is the fourth and final period of the Indus Valley Tradition. It refers to the fragmentation of the culture of the Integration Era.

The Localisation Era comprises several phases (Shaffer 1992):

The Pirak Phase is a phase of the Localisation Era of both the Indus Valley Tradition and the Baluchistan Tradition.

4 Harappan/Late Harappan Transitional ca. 1900-1700 BCE
5 Late Harappan Phase (Cemetery H) ca. 1700-1300 BCE

Other Periodisations

S. P. Gupta periodised the Harappan Civilisation in a chronological framework that spans the dates from 4000 BCE to 1400 BCE, taking into account new discoveries:[3]

Formative Phase e.g., Mehrgarh-IV-V ca. 4000 - 3500 BCE
Early Phase e.g., Kalibangan-I ca. 3500 - 2800 BCE
Period of Transition e.g., Dholavira-III ca. 2800 - 2600 BCE
Mature Phase e.g., Harappa-III, Kalibangan-II ca. 2600 - 1900 BCE
Late Phase e.g., Cemetery H, Jhukar ca. 1900 - 1500 BCE
Final Phase e.g., Dholavira ca. 1500 - 1400 BCE

Another older nomenclature classifies the Indus Valley Civilisation into Early, Mature and Late Harappan. According to Erdosy, the Indus Valley Tradition nomenclature "is much more informative than the traditional Early/Mature/Late Harappan classification which should now be discarded." [4]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Haryana's Bhirrana oldest Harappan site, Rakhigarhi Asia's largest: ASI".
  2. Willey and Phillips 1958, Method and Theory in American Archaeology
  3. S.P. Gupta. The dawn of civilisation, in G.C. Pande (ed.)(History of Science, Philosophy and Culture in Indian Civilization, ed., D.P. Chattophadhyaya, vol I Part 1) (New Delhi:Centre for Studies in Civilizations, 1999)
  4. Erdosy, George (editor) The Indo-Aryans of Ancient South Asia, 1995, p. 4

Further reading

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