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The Beginnings of Indian Civilisation

NCERT Class 6 · Social Science Based on NCERT Class 6 Social Science textbook · Free CBSE study kit

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Chapter Notes

Overview
This chapter introduces the earliest civilisation of the Indian subcontinent, known as the Harappan, Indus, or Indus-Sarasvatī Civilisation. It explains what a civilisation is, how villages grew into cities, and the remarkable achievements of the Harappans in town-planning, water management, agriculture, crafts, and trade. The big idea a student must walk away with is that this was a well-planned, relatively peaceful urban society that declined due to climatic and environmental changes, but its culture and technology influenced later Indian civilisation.
Key Concepts (12)
Civilisation
An advanced stage of human societies that includes government and administration, urbanism, a variety of crafts, trade, writing, cultural ideas, and productive agriculture.
e.g. Just like a modern city has a mayor, roads, shops, schools, and a written language, an ancient civilisation had rulers, planned cities, craftspeople, traders, and a system of writing.
Harappan Civilisation
The most ancient civilisation of India, also called the Indus or Indus-Sarasvatī Civilisation, whose inhabitants are called Harappans after the first city excavated, Harappa.
e.g. When archaeologists first dug at Harappa in 1920–21, they discovered the remains of a city that was part of a much larger civilisation.
Urbanism
Town-planning, the growth of cities and their management, including water management and a drainage system.
e.g. Harappan cities like Mohenjo-daro had wide streets, brick houses, and a network of drains under the streets to carry away waste water.
Metallurgy
The techniques of extracting metals from nature, purifying or combining them, as well as the scientific study of metals and their properties.
e.g. Harappans used copper to make tools and added tin to make bronze, which is harder and was used for figurines like the 'Dancing Girl'.
Tributary
A river that flows into a larger river or lake.
e.g. The Yamuna is a tributary of the Ganga, just as the five rivers of Punjab are tributaries of the Indus.
Fortification
A massive wall surrounding a settlement or city, generally for protective purposes.
e.g. Many Harappan cities had fortifications around them, like the walls around a fort in Rajasthan today.
Elite
The higher layers of society, such as rulers, officials, administrators, and often priests.
e.g. In Harappan cities, the 'upper town' was where the elite probably lived, while common people lived in the 'lower town'.
Reservoir
A large natural or artificial place where water is stored.
e.g. At Dholavira, the largest reservoir measured 73 metres in length, built with stones or cut into rock for water harvesting.
Pulses
A category of crops that includes beans, peas and lentils (dal).
e.g. Harappans grew pulses like lentils along with wheat and barley, just as we eat dal today.
Seals
Small objects, usually made of steatite, engraved with animal figures and writing signs, used by traders to identify goods and each other.
e.g. A Harappan trader would press a seal into soft clay to mark a package, like a stamp or signature today.
Dockyard
A structure used to receive and send boats for transportation of goods.
e.g. Lothal had a huge basin, 217 metres long and 36 metres wide, which served as a dockyard for maritime trade.
First Urbanisation of India
The development of the Harappan Civilisation, when villages grew into towns and then cities around 2600 BCE.
e.g. Before the Harappans, people lived in small villages; this was the first time in India that large planned cities appeared.
How It Works
Transition from Village to City
  1. Step 1: Fertile plains of Punjab and Sindh, watered by the Indus and its tributaries, supported agriculture.
  2. Step 2: From about 3500 BCE, villages grew into towns due to increasing trade and exchanges.
  3. Step 3: Around 2600 BCE, towns further grew into cities, marking the First Urbanisation of India.
💡 Students often forget the date 2600 BCE for the transition to cities; remember it as '2600 BCE — cities appear'.
Water Management in Harappan Cities
  1. Step 1: Homes had separate bathing areas connected to a network of drains.
  2. Step 2: Drains ran below the streets to carry waste water away.
  3. Step 3: Water was drawn from brick wells (Mohenjo-daro had about 700), ponds, streams, or human-made reservoirs.
  4. Step 4: At Dholavira, at least six large reservoirs were built with stones or cut into rock, connected by underground drains for distribution.
💡 Students often think all Harappan cities used wells; remember that Dholavira used reservoirs cut into rock.
Harappan Trade System
  1. Step 1: Harappans produced goods like carnelian beads, shell bangles, cotton cloth, and bronze tools.
  2. Step 2: They exported these goods using land routes, rivers, and sea routes (first intensive maritime activity in India).
  3. Step 3: They imported copper and possibly other materials.
  4. Step 4: Traders used seals made of steatite to mark goods and identify each other.
💡 Students often forget that the Harappans used sea routes; remember Lothal's dockyard as evidence of maritime trade.
Decline of the Harappan Civilisation
  1. Step 1: Around 1900 BCE, cities began to be abandoned.
  2. Step 2: Inhabitants adopted a rural lifestyle as the administration no longer existed.
  3. Step 3: Two main factors: climatic change (reduced rainfall from 2200 BCE) and the drying up of the Sarasvatī River.
  4. Step 4: No evidence of warfare or invasion; it was a relatively peaceful decline.
💡 Students often write 'invasion by Aryans' as a cause — this is NOT in the NCERT; the chapter says no trace of warfare or invasion.
Exam Traps — Don't Make These Mistakes
⚠ Calling it only 'Indus Valley Civilisation'
✗ The Indus Valley Civilisation was located only in the Indus Valley.
→ The term 'Valley' is obsolete because the civilisation extended much beyond the Indus region, including the Sarasvatī basin and Gujarat.
✓ The civilisation is called Indus, Harappan, or Indus-Sarasvatī Civilisation because it covered a large area including the Indus and Sarasvatī river basins.
⚠ Purpose of the Great Bath
✗ The Great Bath was a public swimming pool for everyone.
→ Archaeologists have ruled out the public bath interpretation because most houses had individual bathrooms.
✓ The Great Bath was likely used for religious rituals or by the royal family; its exact purpose is still debated.
⚠ Cause of decline — invasion
✗ The Harappan civilisation was destroyed by invaders from Central Asia.
→ The NCERT states there is no trace of warfare or invasion; the Harappans were relatively peaceful.
✓ The decline was due to climatic change (reduced rainfall) and the drying up of the Sarasvatī River.
⚠ Writing system of Harappans
✗ The Harappan writing system has been fully deciphered and we know what it says.
→ The NCERT clearly states that the writing system and the symbolic meaning of animal figures are 'yet to be understood'.
✓ The Harappan script has not been deciphered; we do not know what the signs mean.
⚠ Harappans and money
✗ Harappans used coins like we do today to pay workers.
→ The chapter says 'there was no money at that time in the way we have today'.
✓ Harappans likely used a barter system or payment in kind (e.g., grain) since coins did not exist.
Compare & Contrast
Location and inhabitants
Upper Town
Lower Town
The upper town was where the elite (rulers, officials, priests) probably lived, while the lower town was where common people lived.
Role in the civilisation
Indus River
Sarasvatī River
The Indus and its tributaries watered the plains where cities like Mohenjo-daro and Harappa grew; the Sarasvatī (now seasonal Ghaggar-Hakra) had many sites including Rakhigarhi and Ganweriwala, but it dried up, contributing to the decline.
Exam Focus
Marks pattern: 2 MCQs (1 mark each), 1 SA (3 marks) on town-planning or decline, 1 LA (5 marks) on achievements or characteristics of civilisation
Most asked: Characteristics of a civilisation · Town-planning and water management of Harappan cities · Causes of the decline of the Harappan Civilisation · Harappan trade and seals · The Great Bath and its possible uses
Don't skip: Describe the town-planning and water management of the Harappan Civilisation (5 marks); What were the major achievements of the Indus-Sarasvatī Civilisation? (5 marks); Explain the possible reasons for the decline of the Harappan Civilisation (3 marks)
One-Line Revision (read aloud before the exam)
  1. The Harappan Civilisation is also called the Indus or Indus-Sarasvatī Civilisation.
  2. A civilisation must have government, urbanism, crafts, trade, writing, cultural ideas, and productive agriculture.
  3. The Harappan Civilisation existed from about 2600 BCE to 1900 BCE.
  4. Harappa was the first city of this civilisation to be excavated in 1920–21.
  5. Harappan cities had wide streets oriented to cardinal directions and were divided into upper and lower towns.
  6. The Great Bath at Mohenjo-daro was a waterproof tank likely used for religious rituals.
  7. Dholavira had at least six large reservoirs for water management, the largest 73 metres long.
  8. Harappans grew wheat, barley, millets, rice, pulses, and were the first in Eurasia to grow cotton.
  9. They domesticated animals and fished in rivers and the sea.
  10. Harappan seals were made of steatite and used for trade; their writing is not yet deciphered.
  11. Lothal had a dockyard for maritime trade, showing the first intensive sea trade in India.
  12. The 'Dancing Girl' is a bronze figurine from Mohenjo-daro, 10.8 cm high.
  13. The Harappan Civilisation declined around 1900 BCE due to climatic change and the drying of the Sarasvatī River.
  14. There is no evidence of warfare or invasion in the Harappan decline.
  15. Harappan culture and technology survived and passed on to later phases of Indian civilisation.

MCQs — 10 Questions with Answers

Q1. Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of a civilisation?

  • A. Government and administration
  • B. Writing system
  • C. Hunting and gathering only ✓
  • D. Trade with other regions

Answer: C — Civilisations need productive agriculture, not hunting and gathering; all other options are characteristics of civilisation listed in the chapter.

Q2. The Indus-Sarasvatī civilisation existed from approximately _____ BCE.

  • A. 3500 to 2600
  • B. 2600 to 1900 ✓
  • C. 1900 to 1000
  • D. 4000 to 3000

Answer: B — The chapter clearly states that the civilisation flourished from about 2600 to 1900 BCE, marking the First Urbanisation of India.

Q3. Why is the earliest Indian civilisation called 'Harappan'?

  • A. It was named after the Indus River
  • B. Harappa was the first city of this civilisation to be excavated in 1920–21 ✓
  • C. It was named after King Harappa
  • D. Harappa was the largest city in the civilisation

Answer: B — The textbook explains that archaeologists named it 'Harappan' because Harappa was the first city of this civilisation to be discovered and excavated over a century ago.

Q4. Which two rivers were most important for the growth of the Harappan civilisation?

  • A. Ganga and Yamuna
  • B. Brahmaputra and Sutlej
  • C. Indus and Sarasvatī ✓
  • D. Narmada and Godavari

Answer: C — The chapter states that the Indus River with its tributaries and the Sarasvatī River watered the fertile plains where Harappan cities grew.

Q5. The transition from villages to cities in the Indian Subcontinent is called the _____.

  • A. Second Urbanisation of India
  • B. First Urbanisation of India ✓
  • C. Agricultural Revolution of India
  • D. Industrial Development of India

Answer: B — The textbook explicitly refers to this development as 'First Urbanisation of India,' occurring around 2600 BCE when towns grew into cities.

Q6. Looking at the map (Fig. 6.3), which modern state is Dholavira located in?

  • A. Punjab
  • B. Haryana
  • C. Gujarat ✓
  • D. Rajasthan

Answer: C — The chapter and the map clearly show that Dholavira, one of the major Harappan cities, is located in present-day Gujarat.

Q7. What does 'metallurgy' mean in the context of Harappan civilisation?

  • A. The art of making clay pots
  • B. The techniques of extracting, purifying, and studying metals ✓
  • C. The skill of farming and irrigation
  • D. The method of writing and record-keeping

Answer: B — The textbook defines metallurgy as techniques of extracting metals from nature, purifying or combining them, and the scientific study of metals and their properties.

Q8. If a smaller river joins a larger river, the smaller river is called a _____.

  • A. Delta
  • B. Tributary ✓
  • C. Estuary
  • D. Basin

Answer: B — The chapter defines a tributary as a river that flows into a larger river, giving the example of Yamuna flowing into the Ganga.

Q9. Based on the Harappan city layout, where did the common people likely live?

  • A. In the upper town with fortifications
  • B. In the lower town away from fortifications ✓
  • C. Outside the city walls only
  • D. In large warehouse buildings

Answer: B — The text states that Harappan cities had two distinct parts: the 'upper town' where the local elite lived and the 'lower town' where common people lived.

Q10. The modern name of the ancient Sarasvatī River in Pakistan is _____.

  • A. Sutlej
  • B. Ravi
  • C. Hakra ✓
  • D. Chenab

Answer: C — The chapter explains that the Sarasvatī River is now called Ghaggar in India and Hakra in Pakistan, and flows only during the rainy season.

Flashcards

What is a civilisation?

An advanced stage of human society with government, cities, writing, trade, crafts, agriculture, and cultural ideas working together.

Name the earliest civilisation of the Indian Subcontinent.

The Indus-Sarasvatī (or Harappan) civilisation, which existed from about 2600 to 1900 BCE.

Why is this civilisation called 'Harappan'?

Because Harappa was the first city of this civilisation to be discovered and excavated in 1920–21.

Which two rivers made the region fertile for the Harappan civilisation?

The Indus River (with its tributaries) and the Sarasvatī River provided water for farming in the plains of Punjab, Sindh, Haryana, Rajasthan, and Gujarat.

What is meant by 'First Urbanisation of India'?

The transition from villages to towns and cities that happened around 2600 BCE in the Indus region, marking the beginning of city life in India.

Name three major cities of the Harappan civilisation.

Mohenjo-daro and Harappa (in Pakistan) and Dholavira (in Gujarat) are three important Harappan cities.

What was special about the town planning in Harappan cities?

Cities were built with wide streets facing cardinal directions, had drainage systems, fortifications, and were divided into upper town (for the elite) and lower town (for common people).

What is metallurgy?

Metallurgy includes techniques of extracting metals from nature, purifying or combining them, and studying metals and their properties.

What is a tributary river?

A smaller river that flows into a larger river, such as the Yamuna flowing into the Ganga.

What happened to the Sarasvatī River over time?

The ancient Sarasvatī River gradually dried up and now flows only during the rainy season as the Ghaggar River in India and Hakra River in Pakistan.

Important Board Questions

What is a civilisation? (1 mark) [1 mark]

List the seven key characteristics: government, cities, crafts, trade, writing, culture, and agriculture. Pick any two or three main ones for a 1-mark answer.

Why was the ancient Indus civilisation called 'Harappan'? (1 mark) [1 mark]

Focus on: Harappa was the first city discovered and excavated in 1920–21. That's why archaeologists named the entire civilisation after it.

Name any three characteristics of Harappan civilisation. (2 marks) [2 marks]

Choose three from: planned cities with wide streets, drainage systems, fortifications, two-part town layout (upper and lower), warehouses, writing system, or trade networks.

Explain how the fertile river plains helped the growth of Harappan cities. Give one example. (3 marks) [3 marks]

Link: Indus and Sarasvatī rivers → water and fertile soil → good farming → extra food → people moved to cities → trade and crafts grew. Example: Dholavira grew near water sources for farming and trade.

Describe the town planning of a major Harappan city like Mohenjo-daro or Dholavira. (5 marks) [5 marks]

Explain: precise plan with wide streets facing cardinal directions (N-S-E-W), fortifications around city, two sections (upper town for elite, lower town for common people), drainage systems, warehouses, and water management. Draw a simple diagram if possible.

Assertion-Reason Questions for The Beginnings of Indian Civilisation

Q1. Assertion (A):

The Harappan civilisation is called 'Harappan' because the city of Harappa was the first city of this civilisation to be excavated.

Reason (R):

Harappa was excavated in 1920-21 and was the largest city of the civilisation.

Answer: C — A is true but R is false — The assertion is true — Harappa was indeed the first city excavated, which is why archaeologists named the entire civilisation after it. However, the reason is false because the reason given is that it was the 'largest city,' which is not mentioned in the chapter. The real reason is simply that it was excavated first.

Q2. Assertion (A):

Productive agriculture was necessary for the growth of Harappan cities.

Reason (R):

Productive agriculture produced enough food to feed not just the villages but also the cities.

Answer: A — Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A — Both the assertion and reason are true. For cities to grow and people to specialise in crafts and trade, villages needed to produce extra food beyond their own needs. This is exactly why the chapter lists 'productive agriculture' as a characteristic of civilisation.

Q3. Assertion (A):

The Sarasvatī River is now a seasonal river in India.

Reason (R):

The Sarasvatī River dried up completely thousands of years ago and no longer flows at all.

Answer: C — A is true but R is false — The assertion is true — the Sarasvatī is now seasonal and flows only during the rainy season. However, the reason is false because it says the river 'no longer flows at all,' but the passage states it still flows seasonally as the Ghaggar River in India.

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Case-Based Questions (CBQ) for The Beginnings of Indian Civilisation

Case Study:

Raj's grandfather told him about how ancient Harappan cities were built. He explained that in these cities, streets were very wide and straight, running in directions like North-South and East-West (cardinal directions). The cities had strong walls around them, and Raj learned that rich and important people lived in the 'upper town' while ordinary workers and craftspeople lived in the 'lower town'. There were also large buildings called warehouses where merchants stored goods before sending them to other cities for trade.

Q1. What does the passage tell us about how Harappan streets were planned?

  • A. Streets were wide, straight, and followed cardinal directions (North-South and East-West) ✓
  • B. Streets were narrow and curved without any pattern
  • C. Streets were built randomly without any planning
  • D. Streets were only used for walking and had no other purpose

Answer: A

Q2. According to the passage, what is the purpose of warehouses in a Harappan city?

  • A. To store goods before transporting them to other cities for trade ✓
  • B. To store only food for the city people
  • C. To serve as homes for the richest people
  • D. To protect the city from enemies

Answer: A

Q3. If you wanted to buy items made by craftspeople in a Harappan city, where would most of those craftspeople likely live?

  • A. In the upper town with the wealthy people
  • B. In the lower town with other ordinary workers and craftspeople ✓
  • C. Outside the city walls
  • D. Only in the warehouses

Answer: B

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