List of inventions and discoveries of the Indus Valley Civilisation explained

This list of inventions and discoveries of the Indus Valley Civilisation lists the technological and civilisational achievements of the Indus Valley Civilisation, an ancient civilisation which flourished in the Bronze Age around the general region of the Indus River and Ghaggar-Hakra River in what is today Pakistan, and parts of India.

Inventions

• Button, ornamental: Buttons—made from seashell—were used in the Indus Valley Civilisation for ornamental purposes by 2000 BCE.^[1] Some buttons were carved into geometric shapes and had holes pierced into them so that they could be attached to clothing by using a thread.^[1] Ian McNeil (1990) holds that: "The button, in fact, was originally used more as an ornament than as a fastening, the earliest known being found at Mohenjo-daro in the Indus Valley. It is made of a curved shell and about 5000 years old."^[2]
• Shipyard

The world's oldest shipyard has been found in Lothal. It is situated 80 km south of Ahmedabad in Gujarat.^{[3] [4]}

• Cockfighting: Cockfighting was a pastime in the Indus Valley Civilisation in what today is Pakistan by 2000 BCE^[5] and one of the uses of the fighting cock. The Encyclopædia Britannica (2008)—on the origins of cockfighting—holds: "The game fowl is probably the nearest to the Indian red jungle fowl (Gallus gallus), from which all domestic chickens are believed to be descended...The sport was popular in ancient times in the Indian subcontinent, China, the Persian Empire, and other Eastern countries and was introduced into Greece in the time of Themistocles (c. 524–460 BCE). The sport spread throughout Asia Minor and Sicily. For a long time the Romans affected to despise this "Greek diversion," but they ended up adopting it so enthusiastically that the agricultural writer Columella (1st century CE) complained that its devotees often spent their whole patrimony in betting at the side of the pit."^[6]
• Stepwell: Earliest clear evidence of the origins of the stepwell is found in the Indus Valley Civilisation's archaeological site at Mohenjo Daro in Pakistan and Dholavira, India.^{[7] [8] [9]} The three features of stepwells in the subcontinent are evident from one particular site, abandoned by 2500 BCE, which combines a bathing pool, steps leading down to water, and figures of some religious importance into one structure.^[7] The early centuries immediately before the common era saw the Buddhists and the Jains of India adapt the stepwells into their architecture.^[7] Both the wells and the form of ritual bathing reached other parts of the world with Buddhism.^[7] Rock-cut step wells in the subcontinent date from 200-400 CE. Subsequently, the wells at Dhank (550-625 CE) and stepped ponds at Bhinmal (850-950 CE) were constructed.^[10]
• Circular saw

Excavated in Lothal.^{[11] [12]}

• Bow Drill

Bow drills were used in Mehrgarh between the 4th and 5th millennium BC. This bow drill—used to drill holes into lapis lazuli and carnelian—was made of green jasper.^[13] Similar drills were found in other parts of the Indus Valley Civilisation and Iran one millennium later.

• Public Baths

The earliest public baths are found in the ruins in of the Indus Valley Civilisation. According to John Keay, the "Great Bath" of Mohenjo Daro in present-day Pakistan was the size of 'a modest municipal swimming pool', complete with stairs leading down to the water at each one of its ends.^[14]

• Grid Plan

Rehman Dheri contains the earliest evidence of a grid-planned city in south Asia dated c. 3300 BCE.^{[15] [16]} By 2600 BC, Mohenjo-daro and Harappa, and other major cities of the Indus Valley Civilisation, were built with blocks divided by a grid of straight streets, running north–south and east–west. Each block was subdivided by small lanes.^[17]

• Flush Toilet

Mohenjo-Daro circa 2800 BC is cited as having some of the most advanced, with toilets built into outer walls of homes. These toilets were Western-style, albeit a primitive form, with vertical chutes, via which waste was disposed of into cesspits or street drains.^{[18] [19]}

• Drainage System

The Indus Valley Civilisation had advanced sewerage and drainage systems. All houses in the major cities of Harappa and Mohenjo-daro had access to water and drainage facilities. Waste water was directed to covered gravity sewers, which lined the major streets.^[20]

• Distillation: A terracota distillation apparatus in the Indus Valley in West Pakistan dates from around 3000 BCE.^[21]
• Cotton industry

The Indus cotton industry was well-developed and some methods used in cotton spinning and fabrication continued to be used until the industrialization of India.^[22]

• Public Litter bins: Archaeologists have found several brick containers that were strategically located along the street junctions of Mohenjo-Daro specifically for garbage disposal.^{[23] [24]}
• Dentistry

The evidence of dentistry being practised as far back as 7000 BCE.^[25] An IVC site in Mehrgarh indicates that this form of dentistry involved curing tooth related disorders with bow drills operated, perhaps, by skilled bead crafters. The reconstruction of this ancient form of dentistry showed that the methods used were reliable and effective.^[26]

• Touchstone

Found in excavations from Banawali, Haryana.^{[27] [28]}

• Signboard

One of the most significant discoveries at Dholavira was made in one of the side rooms of the northern gateway of the city, and is generally known as the Dholavira Signboard. The Harappans had arranged and set pieces of the mineral gypsum to form ten large symbols or letters on a big wooden board.^[29] At some point, the board fell flat on its face. The wood decayed, but the arrangement of the letters survived. The letters of the signboard are comparable to large bricks that were used in nearby walls. Each sign is about 37cm (15inches) high and the board on which the letters were inscribed was about 3m (10feet) long.^[30] The inscription is one of the longest in the Indus script, with one symbol appearing four times, and this and its large size and public nature make it a key piece of evidence cited by scholars arguing that the Indus script represents full literacy. A four-sign inscription with large letters on a sand stone is also found at this site, considered the first of such inscriptions on sand stone at any of the Harappan sites.^[31]

• Hydraulic Engineering

"The kind of efficient system of Harappans of Dholavira, developed for conservation, harvesting and storage of water speaks eloquently about their advanced hydraulic engineering, given the state of technology in the third millennium BCE" says R.S.Bist, Joint Director General (Rtd.), Archaeological Survey of India. One of the unique features^[32] of Dholavira is the sophisticated water conservation system^[33] of channels and reservoirs, the earliest found anywhere in the world,^[34] built completely of stone. The city had massive reservoirs, three of which are exposed.^[35] They were used for storing fresh water brought by rains or to store water diverted from two nearby rivulets.^[36] This clearly came in response to the desert climate and conditions of Kutch, where several years may pass without rainfall. A seasonal stream which runs in a north–south direction near the site was dammed at several points to collect water.

• Dams: In Neolithic Mehrgarh pre-Harappan phase (7000-3200 BCE) people had developed a water storage system called Bund to trap rain and torrential waters in the semi-arid region of Kach between the Indus river and Balochistan mountains where the seasonal Bolan river flows. Stone walls were built along the slope of torrential river beds to serve as reservoir dams, restrict flow of water and for diverting water into canals for irrigation.^{[37] [38] [39]}
• Stadium

the world's earliest stadium with terraced stands was constructed at Dholavira and Juni Kuran.^[40] Two stadiums have been identified at the ancient site, one is considered a ceremonial ground, another, a small stadium. At Juni Kuran, two separate stadiums for commoners and the elite have been discovered.^{[41] [42] [43] [44]}

• Bronze sculpture

Dancing Girl from Mohenjo-daro belonging to the Harappan civilisation dating back to 2500 BCE is said to be the first bronze statue.^{[45] [46]}

• Lost wax casting

a detailed, full-field photoluminescence study of a 6,000 year old copper "wheel" amulet from Mehrgarh in Balochistan has opened the door to many new facts about this period of history. This study by Ipanema, the European center for the study of ancient materials, believes that this is the oldest known example of the "lost wax" casting technique, one of the most important innovations in the history of metallurgy^{[47] [48]}

• Shampoo

Pre-Harappan level of Banawali (2750-2500 BCE), Haryana have revealed traces of a mixture of shikakai with soap nuts and Amla (Indian Gooseberry) of what would constitute herbal shampoo, exhibiting ancient roots of South Asian hygiene.^[49]

• Mordant (Dye Fixing)

Mordants for fixing dyes were used since the Indus Valley Civilisation, it exhibited Indian mastery over clothes dyeing which was unrivalled until the invention of western chemical dyes.^[50]

• Stoneware

Earliest stonewares, predecessors of porcelain have been recorded at the Indus Valley Civilisation sites of Harappa and Mohenjo Daro, they were used for making stoneware bangles.^{[51] [52] [53]}

• Seven Stones

An Indian subcontinent game also called Pitthu is played in rural areas and has its origins in the Indus Valley Civilisation.^[54]

• English Bond

This bond has alternating stretching and heading courses, with the headers centred over the midpoint of the stretchers, and perpends in each alternate course aligned. Harappan architecture in South Asia was the first use, anywhere in the world, of so-called English bond in building with bricks.

• Saw, modern

True saws with modern teeth were a Harappan invention.^[55]

• Needle's eye

The eye of the needle was another Harappan contribution.

• Etched Carnelian beads

are a type of ancient decorative beads made from carnelian with an etched design in white. They were made according to a technique of alkaline-etching developed by the Harappans during the 3rd millennium BCE and were widely disperced from China in the east to Greece in the west.^{[56] [57] [58]}

• Finished Ivory Goods: Finished Ivory products like kohl sticks, pins, awls, hooks, toggles, combs, gamesmen, dice, inlay and other personal ornaments are considered to have its origin form Harappan sites.

Discoveries

• Gemstones and Lapis Lazuli: Lapis lazuli artifacts, dated to 7570 BCE, have been found at Bhirrana, which is the oldest site of the Indus Valley Civilisation.^[59]
• Sesame oil

Sesame seeds were one of the first crops processed for oil as well as one of the earliest condiments. Sesame was cultivated during the Indus Valley Civilisation and was the main oil crop. It was probably exported to Mesopotamia around 2500 BC.^{[60] [61] [62]}

• Pashmina

Samples of wool fibres discovered from corroded copper artifacts from Harappa dating back to the Indus Valley Civilisation are extremely fine and resemble Pashmina and Shatoosh.^[63]

See also

• Sanitation of the Indus Valley civilisation
• List of Indus Valley civilisation sites
• List of Indian inventions and discoveries
• List of Pakistani inventions and discoveries
• Indus Valley Civilisation

Notes and References

1. Hesse, Rayner W. & Hesse (Jr.), Rayner W. (2007). Jewelry making Through History: An Encyclopedia. Greenwood Publishing Group. 35. .
2. McNeil, Ian (1990). An encyclopedia of the history of technology. Taylor & Francis. 852. .
3. Web site: Archaeological remains of a Harappa Port-Town, Lothal - UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Centre. UNESCO World Heritage. whc.unesco.org. en. 2021-11-24.
4. Book: Maritime India: Ports and Shipping. 4. Animesh Ray. Lothal is the oldest and most important dockyard unearthed by excavation in India..
5. Sherman, David M. (2002). Tending Animals in the Global Village. Blackwell Publishing. 46. .
6. Cockfighting. Encyclopædia Britannica 2008
7. Livingston & Beach, 20
8. The Lost River by Michel Danino. Penguin India 2010
9. Book: Her Space, Her Story: Exploring the Stepwells of Gujarat. Purnima Mehta Bhatt. 16 December 2014. Zubaan. 9789384757083.
10. Livingston & Beach, page xxiii
11. Book: Raj Pruthi. Prehistory and Harappan Civilization. 2004. APH Publishing. 978-81-7648-581-4. 185.
12. Book: Rebecca Kraft Rector. The Early River Valley Civilizations. 15 July 2016. The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc. 978-1-4994-6328-6. 45.
13. Kulke, Hermann & Rothermund, Dietmar (2004). A History of India. Routledge. 22. .
14. Keay, John (2001), India: A History, 13–14, Grove Press, .
15. Web site: Rehman Dheri: One of the earliest planned cities in South Asia Harappa. 2021-03-10. www.harappa.com.
16. Durrani. F.A.. Ali. Ihsan. Erdosy. G.. 1995. New Perspectives on Indus Urbanism from Rehman Dheri. East and West. 45. 1/4. 81–96. 29757206. 0012-8376.
17. Jane McIntosh, The Ancient Indus Valley: New Perspectives ; ABC-CLIO, 2008; ; pp. 231, 346.
18. Teresi et al. 2002
19. Sewerage in Ancient and Mediaeval Times. 25029094. Gray. Harold Farnsworth. Sewage Works Journal. 1940. 12. 5. 939–946.
20. Book: Arthur Coterell. The Encyclopedia of Ancient Civilizations. Rainbird Publishers. 1980. 0-7112-0036-X. 176–178.
21. Book: 14. Essential Oils: A Handbook for Aromatherapy Practice. Rhind. Jennifer Peace. Pirie. David. 2012. Singing Dragon. 9781848190894.
22. Wisseman & Williams, p. 127
23. Book: The Ancient South Asian World. Kenoyer. Jonathan M.. Heuston. Kimberley Burton. 2005. Oxford University Press. 9780195222432. en.
24. News: World's only surviving Bronze Age metropolis in Pakistan faces ruin. Daily Telegraph. 2013-10-13. 2018-08-17. en-GB. 0307-1235.
25. Coppa, A. et al. 2006. "Early Neolithic tradition of dentistry" (PDF). Nature. Volume 440. 6 April 2006.
26. MSNBC (2008). Dig uncovers ancient roots of dentistry.
27. Book: Upinder Singh. A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India: From the Stone Age to the 12th Century. 2008. Pearson Education India. 978-81-317-1120-0. 152–.
28. Book: Shannon L. Kenny. Gold: A Cultural Encyclopedia: A Cultural Encyclopedia. 12 April 2011. ABC-CLIO. 978-0-313-38431-8. 264–.
29. Kenoyer, Jonathan Mark. Ancient Cities of the Indus Valley Civilization. Oxford University Press. 1998
30. [Gregory Possehl|Possehl, Gregory]
31. Web site: The rise and fall of a Harappan city. Subramanian. T. The Archaeology News Network. 3 June 2016.
32. Book: Singh, Upinder. A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India: From the Stone Age to the 12th Century. Pearson Education India. 2008. 978-813-17-1120-0. New Delhi. 155 bottom. Upinder Singh.
33. News: Dholavira excavations throw light on Harappan civilization. 25 June 1997. United News of India. 15 June 2012. Indian Express.
34. Web site: Dholavira: A Harappan City - UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Centre. UNESCO World Heritage. whc.unesco.org. en.
35. Book: McIntosh, Jane. The Ancient Indus Valley : New Perspectives. ABC-CLIO. 2008. 978-157-60-7907-2. Santa Barbara, California. 84.
36. Book: Singh, Upinder. A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India: From the Stone Age to the 12th Century. Pearson Education India. 2008. 978-813-17-1120-0. New Delhi. 155.
37. Web site: Developments in water dams and water harvesting systems throughout history in different civilizations.
38. Web site: DAMS IN ANCIENT INDIA.
39. Web site: The Ancient Indus Valley New Perspectives.
40. Book: Dikshit, K. N.. Puratattva no.34. 2003.
41. Rawat. Yadubirsingh. Coastal Sites: Possible Port Towns Of Harappan time in Gujarat. Port Towns of Gujarat. January 2015. en.
42. Web site: ANISTORITON: In Situ. www.anistor.gr. 2018-08-17.
43. Bisht. Ravindra Singh. Dholavira and Banawali: Two Different Paradigms of the Harappan Urbis Forma. en.
44. Book: Possehl, Gregory L.. The Indus Civilization: A Contemporary Perspective. 2002. Rowman Altamira. 9780759101722. en.
45. Web site: National Museum, New Delhi. www.nationalmuseumindia.gov.in. https://web.archive.org/web/20150916130047/http://www.nationalmuseumindia.gov.in/prodCollections.asp?pid=44&id=1&lk=dp1. 2015-09-16. dead.
46. Web site: The Bronze Age | Boundless Art History.
47. Web site: Mehrgarh Wheel Amulet Analysis Yields Many Secrets. www.harappa.com. en. 2018-08-17.
48. News: This 6,000-year-old amulet is the oldest example of a technology still used by NASA - The Washington Post. The Washington Post.
49. Bisht. 1993. Paleobotanical and pollen analytical investigations. Indian Archaeology a Review 1993-1994. 143–144.
50. Web site: Indian Textiles: Nature & Making - The Victoria and Albert Museum. 2021-02-14. Google Arts & Culture. en.
51. Book: Satyawadi. Sudha. Proto-Historic Pottery of Indus Valley Civilization; Study of Painted Motif. July 1, 1994. D.K. Printworld. 978-8124600306. 324.
52. Book: Blackman . M. James . etal. . The Production and Distribution of Stoneware Bangles at Mohenjo-daro and Harappa as Monitored by Chemical Characterization Studies. 1992. Prehistory Press. Madison, WI, USA. 37–44.
53. Book: Mark Kenoyer. Jonathan. Ancient Cities of the Indus Valley Civilization. 1998. Oxford University Press. 260.
54. Web site: Terra cotta discs Harappa. 2021-03-07. www.harappa.com.
55. Vibha. Tripathi. 2018. Metals and Metallurgy in Harappan Civilization. Indian Journal of History of Science. 53. 3. 10.16943/ijhs/2018/v53i3/49460. free.
56. For the etching technique, see MacKay. Ernest. 1925. Sumerian Connexions with Ancient India. The Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland. 4. 699. 25220818.
57. Book: Guimet. Musée. Les Cités oubliées de l'Indus: Archéologie du Pakistan. 2016. FeniXX réédition numérique. 9782402052467. 355. fr.
58. "Such beads occur fairly largely on all the principal sites of the Harappan civilisation." in Book: Pakistan Archaeology No.2. 1965. 21.
59. Web site: Excavation Bhirrana ASI Nagpur. 2020-08-21. excnagasi.in.
60. Web site: History and Lore of Sesame in Southwest Asia.
61. Small. Ernest. 2004. History and Lore of Sesame in Southwest Asia. Economic Botany. New York Botanical Garden Press. 58. 3. 329–353. 10.1663/0013-0001(2004)058[0329:AR]2.0.CO;2. 4256831. 198159338 .
62. Book: Kenneth F. Kiple. Kriemhild Coneè Ornelas. The Cambridge World History of Food. 2000. Cambridge University Press. 978-0-521-40214-9. 413–.
63. https://www.harappa.com/sites/default/files/pdf/Kenoyer2004%20IndusTextilesfinal.pdf Ancient Textiles of the Indus Valley Region By Jonathan Mark Kenoyer University of Wisconsin, Madison