Indus Valley – Late Phase
c. 1900–1300 BCE
Overview
Fragmentation into regional cultures (Cemetery H in Punjab, Jhukar in Sindh, Sorath Harappan in Gujarat) as the Ghaggar-Hakra dries and major cities are abandoned.
Indus Valley Civilization
One of the three earliest urban Bronze Age civilizations (alongside Mesopotamia and Egypt), spanning from Neolithic Mehrgarh (c. 7000 BCE) through five cultural phases to Post-Harappan ceramic traditions (c. 1000 BCE). At its Mature phase (2600–1900 BCE) it covered ~1.26 million km² with grid-planned cities, advanced sanitation, standardized baked bricks and weights, an undeciphered script, and extensive trade with Mesopotamia. Its apparent lack of palaces, royal tombs, and militarized iconography distinguishes it as more heterarchical than contemporary states. Climate-driven aridification of the Ghaggar-Hakra river system triggered progressive de-urbanization after 1900 BCE, leading to regional Late Harappan cultures and ultimately to the Ochre Coloured Pottery (a Chalcolithic successor culture, c. 2000–1300 BCE) and Painted Grey Ware traditions of the early Iron Age.
Territory Phases
Cemetery H1900 BCE – 1300 BCE
Post-urban culture at Harappa and surrounding Punjab. Distinctive painted pottery with peacock and pipal motifs. Cremation burials in Cemetery H at Harappa.
Jhukar Culture1900 BCE – 1500 BCE
Post-urban Sindh culture succeeding Mature Harappan at sites like Jhukar and Mohenjo-daro. New pottery styles, continued use of Indus-era sites but with declining urbanism.
Late Ghaggar-Hakra1900 BCE – 1300 BCE
Remnant settlements along the drying Ghaggar-Hakra paleochannel. Population gradually shifts eastward as the river system fails. Sites like Rakhigarhi and Banawali continue with reduced scale.
Late Harappan Kutch1900 BCE – 1500 BCE
Dholavira and surrounding Kutch settlements in gradual decline. Water management systems deteriorate as climate dries.
Sorath Late Harappan1900 BCE – 1300 BCE
Gujarat coastal tradition with continued maritime activity. Lothal and Rangpur persist with evolved ceramic traditions.
Key Events
Onset of Ghaggar-Hakra river changes and urban decline1900 BCE
Ghaggar-Hakra river system, Pakistan/India
Climate aridification and shifts in monsoon patterns cause progressive drying of the Ghaggar-Hakra paleochannel (proposed identification with the Vedic Sarasvati). Reduced water availability triggers settlement decline in the urban core and a shift to smaller rural settlements, marking the beginning of the Late Harappan localization phase.
Progressive abandonment of major urban centers1700 BCE
Harappa and Mohenjo-daro, Pakistan
Gradual depopulation of core urban centers including Mohenjo-daro and Harappa; loss of script, standardized weights, and monumental architecture. Population disperses eastward and southward, maintaining regional craft traditions but abandoning the integrated urban network. Cemetery H culture develops at Harappa; Jhukar culture continues at Mohenjo-daro on a reduced scale.
Sources
- Hand-drawn polygon
- Kenoyer, J.M. (1998) Ancient Cities of the Indus Valley Civilization
- Possehl, G.L. (2002) The Indus Civilization: A Contemporary Perspective
- Allchin, B. & Allchin, R. (1982) The Rise of Civilization in India and Pakistan
- Wheeler, Sir Mortimer (1968) The Indus Civilization (3rd ed.)
- Kenoyer, Jonathan Mark (1991) The Indus Valley Tradition of Pakistan and Western India
- Possehl, Gregory L., ed. (1993) Harappan Civilization: A Recent Perspective (rev. ed.)
- Mughal, M. Rafique (1990) The Harappan Settlement Systems and Patterns in the Greater Indus Valley
- Shaffer, Jim G. and Diane A. Lichtenstein (1999) Migration, Philology and South Asian Archaeology