Difference between revisions of "Mohenjo-daro" - New World Encyclopedia

From New World Encyclopedia
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Mohenjo Daro, built around [[26th century B.C.E.|2600]], had been abandoned around [[17th century B.C.E.|1700 B.C.E.]]. Sir [[John Marshall (archaeologist)|John Marshall]]'s [[archaeology|archaeologists]] rediscovered it in the 1920s. His car, still in the Mohenjo-daro museum, shows his presence, struggle, and dedication for Mohenjo-daro. [[Ahmad Hasan Dani]] and [[Mortimer Wheeler]] carried out further excavations in 1945. Mohenjo-daro in ancient times had been most likely the administrative center of the ancient [[Indus Valley Civilization]]. The most developed and advanced city in [[South Asia]] during its peak, Mohenjo-daro's planning and engineering showed the importance of the city to the people of the Indus valley.<ref>A H Dani (1992), Critical Assessment of Recent Evidence on Mohenjodaro, Second International Symposium on Mohenjodaro, 24-27. "February.</ref>
 
Mohenjo Daro, built around [[26th century B.C.E.|2600]], had been abandoned around [[17th century B.C.E.|1700 B.C.E.]]. Sir [[John Marshall (archaeologist)|John Marshall]]'s [[archaeology|archaeologists]] rediscovered it in the 1920s. His car, still in the Mohenjo-daro museum, shows his presence, struggle, and dedication for Mohenjo-daro. [[Ahmad Hasan Dani]] and [[Mortimer Wheeler]] carried out further excavations in 1945. Mohenjo-daro in ancient times had been most likely the administrative center of the ancient [[Indus Valley Civilization]]. The most developed and advanced city in [[South Asia]] during its peak, Mohenjo-daro's planning and engineering showed the importance of the city to the people of the Indus valley.<ref>A H Dani (1992), Critical Assessment of Recent Evidence on Mohenjodaro, Second International Symposium on Mohenjodaro, 24-27. "February.</ref>
 
[[Image:Civilt%C3%A0ValleIndoMappa.png|thumb|left|250px|Location of [[Indus Valley]].]]
 
[[Image:Civilt%C3%A0ValleIndoMappa.png|thumb|left|250px|Location of [[Indus Valley]].]]
−
The [[Indus Valley Civilization]] (c. 3300–1700 B.C.E., flowered 2600–1900 B.C.E.), abbreviated IVC, had been an ancient [[riverine]] civilization that flourished in the [[Indus river]] valley in Pakistan and north-west India. "Harappan Civilisation had been another name for this civilization.
+
The [[Indus Valley Civilization]] (c. 3300–1700 B.C.E., flowered 2600–1900 B.C.E.), abbreviated IVC, had been an ancient [[riverine]] civilization that flourished in the [[Indus river]] valley in Pakistan and north-west India. "Harappan Civilization" had been another name for this civilization.
  
−
The Indus Valley civilization was one of the most ancient civilizations, on the banks of [[Indus River]]. The Indus culture blossomed over the centuries and gave rise to the Indus Valley Civilization around 3000 B.C.E. The civilization spanned much of Pakistan, but suddenly went into decline around 1800 B.C.E. Indus Civilization settlements spread as far south as the [[Arabian Sea]] coast of India, as far west as the [[Iran]]ian border, and as far north as the [[Himalayas]]. Among the settlements were the major urban centers of [[Harappa]] and Mohenjo-daro, as well as [[Lothal]].
+
The Indus Valley civilization had been one of the most ancient civilizations, on the banks of [[Indus River]]. The Indus culture blossomed over the centuries and gave rise to the Indus Valley Civilization around 3000 B.C.E. The civilization spanned much of Pakistan, but suddenly went into decline around 1800 B.C.E. Indus Civilization settlements spread as far south as the [[Arabian Sea]] coast of India, as far west as the [[Iran]]ian border, and as far north as the [[Himalayas]]. [[Harappa]] and Mohenjo-daro, as well as [[Lothal]] numbered among the settlements the major urban centers.
  
−
The Mohenjo-daro ruins were once the center of this ancient society. At its peak, some archaeologists opine that the Indus Civilization may have had a population of well over five million.
+
The Mohenjo-daro ruins had been once the center of this ancient society. At its peak, some archaeologists opine that the Indus Civilization may have had a population of well over five million. To date, over a thousand cities and settlements have been found, mainly in the Indus River valley in Pakistan and north western India. Anthropologists have yet to decipher the language of the Indus Civilization, and the real name of the city as of other excavated cities in [[Sindh]], [[Punjab region|Punjab]] and [[Gujarat]], remains unknown. "Mohenjo-daro" means "Mound of the Dead" in the Sindhi language. (The name has been seen with slight variants such as '''Moenjodaro'''.)
  
−
To date, over a thousand cities and settlements have been found, mainly in the Indus River valley in Pakistan and north western India.
+
[[Image:Ghanghro location.jpg|thumb|right|Mohenjo-Daro, 25 km southwest of [[Larkana]], had been the center of the Indus Valley Civilization [[26th century B.C.E.|2600 B.C.E.]]-[[17th century B.C.E.|1700 B.C.E.]]]]
 +
Mohenjo-daro had been a remarkable construction, considering its antiquity. It has a [[planned city|planned]] layout based on a grid of streets, laid out in perfect patterns. At its height the city probably had around 35,000 residents. The buildings of the city, of particularly advanced designed, had structures constructed of same-sized sun dried bricks of baked mud and burned wood. The public buildings of those cities also suggest a high degree of social organization.  
  
−
The language of the Indus Civilization has yet to be deciphered, and the real name of the city as of other excavated cities in [[Sindh]], [[Punjab region|Punjab]] and [[Gujarat]], is unknown. "Mohenjo-daro" is [[Sindhi language|Sindhi]] for "Mound of the Dead." (The name is also seen with slight variants such as '''Moenjodaro'''.)
+
The great granary at Mohenjo-daro, designed with bays, received carts delivering crops from the countryside. Ducts exist for air to circulate beneath the stored grain to dry it. Close to the granary, a building similarly civic in nature stands: a great public bath, with steps down to a brick-lined pool in a colonnaded courtyard. The elaborate [[public bathing|bath]] area had been extremely well built, with a layer of natural [[tar]] to keep it from leaking, and in the center stood the pool. Measuring 12m x 7m, with a depth of 2.4m, the pool had been likely used for religious or spiritual ceremonies.
  
−
[[Image:Ghanghro location.jpg|thumb|right|Mohenjo-Daro, 25 km southwest of [[Larkana]], was center of the Indus Valley Civilization [[26th century B.C.E.|2600 B.C.E.]]-[[17th century B.C.E.|1700 B.C.E.]]]]
+
The houses had been designed and constructed to protect inhabitants from noise, odors, and thieves. That urban plan included the world's first urban [[sanitation]] systems. Within the city, individual homes or groups of homes obtained water from wells. Some of the houses included rooms that appear to have been set aside for bathing, waste water diverted to covered drains, which lined the major streets. Houses opened only to inner courtyards and smaller lanes. A variety of buildings stood up to two stories high. Being an agricultural city, it featured a large well, and central marketplace. It had a building with an underground furnace ([[hypocaust]]), possibly for heated bathing.
−
Mohenjo-daro is a remarkable construction, considering its antiquity. It has a [[planned city|planned]] layout based on a grid of streets, which were laid out in perfect patterns. At its height the city probably had around 35,000 residents.
 
−
The buildings of the city were particularly advanced, with structures constructed of same-sized sun dried bricks of baked mud and burned wood.
 
  
−
The public buildings of these cities also suggest a high degree of social organization. The great granary at Mohenjo-daro is designed with bays to receive carts delivering crops from the countryside, and there are ducts for air to circulate beneath the stored grain to dry it.
+
Defensively, Mohenjo-daro constituted a well fortified city. Lacking city walls, it did have towers to the west of the main settlement, and defensive fortifications to the south. Considering those fortifications and the structure of other major [[Indus valley]] cities like [[Harappa]], lead to the question of whether Mohenjo-daro served as an administrative center. Both Harappa and Mohenjo-daro share relatively the same architectural layout, generally lightly fortified like other Indus Valley sites. Obviously, considering the identical city layouts of all Indus sites, they served in some kind of political or administrative capacity, although the extent and functioning of an administrative center remains unclear. .
  
−
Close to the granary, there is a building similarly civic in nature - a great public bath, with steps down to a brick-lined pool in a colonnaded courtyard
+
Mohenjo-daro had been successively destroyed and rebuilt at least seven times. Each time, the new cities built directly on top of the old ones. Flooding by the [[Indus river|Indus]] may have been the cause of destruction. The city divided into two parts, the [[Citadel]] and the Lower City. Most of the Lower City remains uncovered, but that the Citadel had the public bath, a large residential structure designed to house 5,000 citizens and two large assembly halls, has been determined. Mohenjo-daro, [[Harappa]] and their civilization, vanished without trace from history until discovered in the 1920s. Although extensively excavated in the 1920s, in-depth excavations suspended in the 1960s.
−
The elaborate [[public bathing|bath]] area was very well built, with a layer of natural [[tar]] to keep it from leaking, and in the center was the pool. Measuring 12m x 7m, with a depth of 2.4m, it was likely used for religious or spiritual ceremonies.
 
−
 
 
−
The houses were protected from noise, odors, and thieves. This urban plan included the world's first urban [[sanitation]] systems.
 
−
 
 
−
Within the city, individual homes or groups of homes obtained water from wells. Some of the houses included rooms that appear to have been set aside for bathing, waste water was directed to covered drains, which lined the major streets. Houses opened only to inner courtyards and smaller lanes. A variety of buildings were up to two stories high.
 
−
 
 
−
Being an agricultural city, it also featured a large well, and central marketplace. It also had a building with an underground furnace ([[hypocaust]]), possibly for heated bathing.
 
−
 
 
−
Defensively Mohenjo-daro was a well fortified city. Lacking city walls, it did have towers to the west of the main settlement, and defensive fortifications to the south. Considering these fortifications and the structure of other major [[Indus valley]] cities like [[Harappa]], lead to the question of whether Mohenjo-daro was an administrative center. Both Harappa and Mohenjo-daro share relatively the same architectural layout, and were generally not heavily fortified like other Indus Valley sites. It is obvious from the identical city layouts of all Indus sites, that there was some kind of political or administrative centrality, however the extent and functioning of an administrative center remains unclear. .
 
−
 
 
−
Mohenjo-daro was successively destroyed and rebuilt at least seven times. Each time, the new cities were built directly on top of the old ones. Flooding by the [[Indus river|Indus]] is thought to have been the cause of destruction.
 
−
 
 
−
The city was divided into two parts, the [[Citadel]] and the Lower City. Most of the Lower City is yet uncovered, but the Citadel is known to have the public bath, a large residential structure designed to house 5,000 citizens and two large assembly halls.
 
−
 
 
−
Mohenjo-daro, [[Harappa]] and their civilization, vanished without trace from history until discovered in the 1920s. It was extensively excavated in the 1920s, but no in-depth excavations have been carried out since the 1960s.
 
  
 
== Civilization ==
 
== Civilization ==
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[[Image:Mohenjodaro_toy_002.jpg|thumb|right|200px|A clay toy from Mohenjodaro]]
 
[[Image:Mohenjodaro_toy_002.jpg|thumb|right|200px|A clay toy from Mohenjodaro]]
 
<!-- Deleted image removed: [[Image:DancingGirl.jpg|thumb|right|170px|"The Dancing girl" artifact found in Mohenjo Daro]] —>
 
<!-- Deleted image removed: [[Image:DancingGirl.jpg|thumb|right|170px|"The Dancing girl" artifact found in Mohenjo Daro]] —>
−
The Dancing girl found in Mohenjo Daro is an interesting artifact that is some 4500-years old. The 10.8 cm long bronze statue of the dancing girl was found in 1926 from a house in Mohenjo Daro. She was British archaeologist [[Mortimer Wheeler]]'s favorite statuette, as he said in this quote from a 1973 television program:
+
The Dancing girl found in Mohenjo Daro constitutes an interesting artifact some 4500-years old. The 10.8 cm long bronze statue of the dancing girl, found in 1926 from a house in Mohenjo Daro, had been British archaeologist [[Mortimer Wheeler]]'s favorite statuette, as he said in this quote from a 1973 television program:
  
 
:"There is her little Baluchi-style face with pouting lips and insolent look in the eye. She's about fifteen years old I should think, not more, but she stands there with bangles all the way up her arm and nothing else on. A girl perfectly, for the moment, perfectly confident of herself and the world. There's nothing like her, I think, in the world."
 
:"There is her little Baluchi-style face with pouting lips and insolent look in the eye. She's about fifteen years old I should think, not more, but she stands there with bangles all the way up her arm and nothing else on. A girl perfectly, for the moment, perfectly confident of herself and the world. There's nothing like her, I think, in the world."
Line 64: Line 48:
 
John Marshall, one of the excavators at Mohenjo-Daro, described her as a vivid impression of the young ... ''girl, her hand on her hip in a half-impudent posture, and legs slightly forward as she beats time to the music with her legs and feet.''<ref>Gregory L. Possehl (2002), The Indus Civilization: A Contemporary Perspective, AltaMira Press. ISBN 978-0759101722</ref>
 
John Marshall, one of the excavators at Mohenjo-Daro, described her as a vivid impression of the young ... ''girl, her hand on her hip in a half-impudent posture, and legs slightly forward as she beats time to the music with her legs and feet.''<ref>Gregory L. Possehl (2002), The Indus Civilization: A Contemporary Perspective, AltaMira Press. ISBN 978-0759101722</ref>
  
−
The artistry of this statuette is recognizable today and tells of a strange, but at least fleetingly recognizable past. As author [[Gregory Possehl]] says, "We may not be certain that she was a dancer, but she was good at what she did and she knew it." The statue could well be of some queen or other important woman of the Indus Valley Civilization judging from the authority the figure commands.
+
The artistry of that statuette has remained recognizable today, telling of a strange, but at least fleetingly recognizable past. As author [[Gregory Possehl]] says, "We may not be certain that she was a dancer, but she was good at what she did and she knew it." The statue could well be of some queen or other important woman of the Indus Valley Civilization judging from the authority the figure commands.
  
−
Seated male [[sculpture]], or "Priest King" (even though there is no evidence that either [[priests]] or [[Monarch|kings]] ruled the city). This 17.5 cm tall statue is another artifact which has become a symbol for the [[Indus valley civilization]]. Archaeologists discovered the sculpture in Lower town at Mohenjo-Daro in 1927. It was found in an unusual house with ornamental brickwork and a wall niche and was lying between brick foundation walls which once held up a floor.
+
Seated male [[sculpture]], or "Priest King" (even though no evidence exists that either [[priests]] or [[Monarch|kings]] ruled the city). That 17.5 cm tall statue represents another artifact which has become a symbol for the [[Indus valley civilization]]. Archaeologists discovered the sculpture in Lower town at Mohenjo-Daro in 1927, found in an unusual house with ornamental brickwork and a wall niche, lying between brick foundation walls which once held up a floor.
  
−
[[Image:Mohenjo-daro Priesterk%C3%B6nig.jpeg|thumb|left|130px|"The Priest King" Wearing [[Sindh]]i [[Ajrak|Ajruk]], ca. 2500 B.C.E. National Museum, [[Karachi]], Pakistan]]
+
[[Image:Mohenjo-daro Priesterk%C3%B6nig.jpeg|thumb|right|130px|"The Priest King" Wearing [[Sindh]]i [[Ajrak|Ajruk]], ca. 2500 B.C.E. National Museum, [[Karachi]], Pakistan]]
  
−
This bearded sculpture wears a fillet around the head, an armband, and a cloak decorated with trefoil patterns that were originally filled with red pigment.
+
This bearded sculpture wears a fillet around the head, an armband, and a cloak decorated with trefoil patterns that were originally filled with red pigment. The two ends of the fillet, falling along the back and though the hair, has been carefully combed towards the back of the head, without a bun. The flat back of the head may have held a separately carved bun, like the other traditional seated figures, or it could have held a more elaborate horn and plumed headdress.
  
−
The two ends of the fillet fall along the back and though the hair is carefully combed towards the back of the head, no bun is present. The flat back of the head may have held a separately carved bun as is traditional on the other seated figures, or it could have held a more elaborate horn and plumed headdress.
+
Two holes beneath the highly stylized ears suggest that a necklace or other head ornament had been attached to the sculpture. The left shoulder, covered with a cloak decorated with trefoil, has double circle and single circle designs originally filled with red pigment. Drill holes in the center of each circle indicate they had been made with a specialized drill and then touched up with a [[chisel]]. Eyes, deeply incised, may have held inlay. The shaved upper lip and a short combed beard frames the face. The large crack in the face resulted from weathering or may have happened in the original firing of that object.
−
 
 
−
Two holes beneath the highly stylized ears suggest that a necklace or other head ornament was attached to the sculpture. The left shoulder is covered with a cloak decorated with trefoil, double circle and single circle designs that were originally filled with red pigment. Drill holes in the center of each circle indicate they were made with a specialized drill and then touched up with a [[chisel]]. Eyes are deeply incised and may have held inlay. The upper lip is shaved and a short combed beard frames the face. The large crack in the face is the result of weathering or it may be due to original firing of this object.
 
  
 
==Current UNESCO Status==
 
==Current UNESCO Status==
−
Mohenjo-daro is a [[UNESCO World Heritage Site]]. The most extensive recent work at the site has focused on attempts at conservation of the standing structures, undertaken by UNESCO in collaboration with the Department of Archaeology and Museums, as well as various foreign consultants.
+
[[UNESCO]] designated Mohenjo-daro a [[World Heritage Site]]. The most extensive recent work at the site has focused on attempts at conservation of the standing structures, undertaken by UNESCO in collaboration with the Department of Archaeology and Museums, as well as various foreign consultants. In December 1996, preservation work at the 500-acre site suspended after funding from the government and international organisations ran out, according to a resident archaeologist.
−
 
 
−
In December 1996, preservation work at the 500-acre site suspended after funding from the government and international organisations ran out, according to a resident archaeologist.
 
−
 
 
−
However in April 1997, the UN Educational, Scientific and Culture Organization ([[UNESCO]]) funded $10 million to a project to be conducted over two decades in order to protect the Mohenjo-daro ruins from [[flooding]]. This project has been a success so far.
 
  
−
UNESCO's efforts to save Mohenjo-daro was one of the key events that led the organization to establish [[World Heritage Site]]s.
+
In April 1997, the UN Educational, Scientific and Culture Organization ([[UNESCO]]) funded $10 million to a project to be conducted over two decades to protect the Mohenjo-daro ruins from [[flooding]]. That project has been a success so far. UNESCO's efforts to save Mohenjo-daro has been one of the key events that led the organization to establish [[World Heritage Site]]s.
  
 
== See also ==
 
== See also ==
Line 92: Line 70:
 
* [[Sindh]]
 
* [[Sindh]]
  
−
== References ==
+
== Notes ==
 
{{reflist}}
 
{{reflist}}
 +
 +
 +
==References==
 +
* Dales, George F., Jonathan M. Kenoyer, and Leslie Alcock. Excavations at Mohenjo Daro, Pakistan The Pottery. University Museum monograph, 53. Philadelphia: University Museum, University of Pennsylvania, 1986. ISBN 9780934718523.
 +
* Lahiri, Nayanjot. Finding Forgotten Cities How the Indus Civilization Was Discovered. London: Seagull, 2006. ISBN 9781905422180.
 +
* Marshall, John Hubert. Mohenjo-Daro and the Indus Civilization Being an Official Account of Archæological Excavations at Mohenjo-Daro Carried Out by the Government of India between the Years 1922 and 1927. London: A. Probsthain, 1931. OCLC 5298990.
 +
* Westwood, Jennifer. The Atlas of Mysterious Places The World's Unexplained Sacred Sites, Symbolic Landscapes, Ancient Cities, and Lost Lands. New York: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1987. ISBN 9781555841300.
  
 
== External links ==
 
== External links ==
 
{{commons2|Mohenjo-daro}}
 
{{commons2|Mohenjo-daro}}
−
* [http://www.harappa.com Harappa]
+
* [http://www.harappa.com Harappa]. Retrieved December 15, 2007.
−
* [http://archaeology.about.com/od/indusrivercivilizations/a/dancinggirl.htm archaeology.about.com]
+
* [http://archaeology.about.com/od/indusrivercivilizations/a/dancinggirl.htm archaeology.about.com]. Retrieved December 15, 2007.
−
* [http://www.harappa.com/har/indus-saraswati-geography.html Harappa geography]
+
* [http://www.harappa.com/har/indus-saraswati-geography.html Harappa geography]. Retrieved December 15, 2007.
−
* [http://www.tourtopakistan.com/pakistan-historical-sites/tour-to-mohenjodaro.html tourtopakistan]
+
* [http://www.tourtopakistan.com/pakistan-historical-sites/tour-to-mohenjodaro.html tourtopakistan Mohenjodaro Tour Information]. Retrieved December 15, 2007.
−
* [http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?historyid=ab73 HistoryWorld]
+
* [http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?historyid=ab73 HistoryWorld History of the world]. Retrieved December 15, 2007.
−
* [http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/archaeology/sites/middle_east/mohenjo_daro.html Mohenjo-Daro]
+
* [http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/archaeology/sites/middle_east/mohenjo_daro.html Mohenjo-Daro]. Retrieved December 15, 2007.
−
* [http://www.Mohenjodaro.org Mohenjodaro]
+
* [http://www.Mohenjodaro.org Mohenjodaro]. Retrieved December 15, 2007.
−
* [http://www.cybercity-online.net/Pakistan/html/civilizations_in_pakistan.html Civilizations in Pakistan]
+
* [http://www.cybercity-online.net/Pakistan/html/civilizations_in_pakistan.html Civilizations in Pakistan]. Retrieved December 15, 2007.
−
* [http://www.geocities.com/siyal/moenjodaro.htm Moenjodaro lifestyle]
+
* [http://www.geocities.com/siyal/moenjodaro.htm Moenjodaro lifestyle]. Retrieved December 15, 2007.
−
* [http://www.hvk.org/articles/0597/0254.html The Telegraph]
+
* [http://www.hvk.org/articles/0597/0254.html The Telegraph]. Retrieved December 15, 2007.
  
 
{{World Heritage Sites in Pakistan}}
 
{{World Heritage Sites in Pakistan}}

Revision as of 18:57, 15 December 2007

Archaeological Ruins at Moenjodaro*
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Mohen jo Daro
State Party Flag of Pakistan Pakistan
Type Cultural
Criteria ii, iii
Reference 138
Region** Asia-Pacific
Inscription history
Inscription 1980  (4th Session)
* Name as inscribed on World Heritage List.
** Region as classified by UNESCO.

Mohenjo-daro (Urdu: موئن جودڑو, Sindhi: موئن جو دڙو, English: Mound of the dead) - a city of the Indus Valley Civilization built around 2600 B.C.E., located in the Sindh Province of Pakistan. That ancient five thousand year old city constitutes the largest of Indus Valley, widely recognized as one of the most important early cities of South Asia and the Indus Valley Civilization. Mohenjo Daro, one of the world’s first cities and contemporaneous with ancient Egyptian and Mesopotamian civilizations, has been sometimes referred to as "An Ancient Indus Valley Metropolis."

History

Mohenjo Daro, built around 2600, had been abandoned around 1700 B.C.E.. Sir John Marshall's archaeologists rediscovered it in the 1920s. His car, still in the Mohenjo-daro museum, shows his presence, struggle, and dedication for Mohenjo-daro. Ahmad Hasan Dani and Mortimer Wheeler carried out further excavations in 1945. Mohenjo-daro in ancient times had been most likely the administrative center of the ancient Indus Valley Civilization. The most developed and advanced city in South Asia during its peak, Mohenjo-daro's planning and engineering showed the importance of the city to the people of the Indus valley.[1]

Location of Indus Valley.

The Indus Valley Civilization (c. 3300–1700 B.C.E., flowered 2600–1900 B.C.E.), abbreviated IVC, had been an ancient riverine civilization that flourished in the Indus river valley in Pakistan and north-west India. "Harappan Civilization" had been another name for this civilization.

The Indus Valley civilization had been one of the most ancient civilizations, on the banks of Indus River. The Indus culture blossomed over the centuries and gave rise to the Indus Valley Civilization around 3000 B.C.E. The civilization spanned much of Pakistan, but suddenly went into decline around 1800 B.C.E. Indus Civilization settlements spread as far south as the Arabian Sea coast of India, as far west as the Iranian border, and as far north as the Himalayas. Harappa and Mohenjo-daro, as well as Lothal numbered among the settlements the major urban centers.

The Mohenjo-daro ruins had been once the center of this ancient society. At its peak, some archaeologists opine that the Indus Civilization may have had a population of well over five million. To date, over a thousand cities and settlements have been found, mainly in the Indus River valley in Pakistan and north western India. Anthropologists have yet to decipher the language of the Indus Civilization, and the real name of the city as of other excavated cities in Sindh, Punjab and Gujarat, remains unknown. "Mohenjo-daro" means "Mound of the Dead" in the Sindhi language. (The name has been seen with slight variants such as Moenjodaro.)

Mohenjo-Daro, 25 km southwest of Larkana, had been the center of the Indus Valley Civilization 2600 B.C.E.-1700 B.C.E.

Mohenjo-daro had been a remarkable construction, considering its antiquity. It has a planned layout based on a grid of streets, laid out in perfect patterns. At its height the city probably had around 35,000 residents. The buildings of the city, of particularly advanced designed, had structures constructed of same-sized sun dried bricks of baked mud and burned wood. The public buildings of those cities also suggest a high degree of social organization.

The great granary at Mohenjo-daro, designed with bays, received carts delivering crops from the countryside. Ducts exist for air to circulate beneath the stored grain to dry it. Close to the granary, a building similarly civic in nature stands: a great public bath, with steps down to a brick-lined pool in a colonnaded courtyard. The elaborate bath area had been extremely well built, with a layer of natural tar to keep it from leaking, and in the center stood the pool. Measuring 12m x 7m, with a depth of 2.4m, the pool had been likely used for religious or spiritual ceremonies.

The houses had been designed and constructed to protect inhabitants from noise, odors, and thieves. That urban plan included the world's first urban sanitation systems. Within the city, individual homes or groups of homes obtained water from wells. Some of the houses included rooms that appear to have been set aside for bathing, waste water diverted to covered drains, which lined the major streets. Houses opened only to inner courtyards and smaller lanes. A variety of buildings stood up to two stories high. Being an agricultural city, it featured a large well, and central marketplace. It had a building with an underground furnace (hypocaust), possibly for heated bathing.

Defensively, Mohenjo-daro constituted a well fortified city. Lacking city walls, it did have towers to the west of the main settlement, and defensive fortifications to the south. Considering those fortifications and the structure of other major Indus valley cities like Harappa, lead to the question of whether Mohenjo-daro served as an administrative center. Both Harappa and Mohenjo-daro share relatively the same architectural layout, generally lightly fortified like other Indus Valley sites. Obviously, considering the identical city layouts of all Indus sites, they served in some kind of political or administrative capacity, although the extent and functioning of an administrative center remains unclear. .

Mohenjo-daro had been successively destroyed and rebuilt at least seven times. Each time, the new cities built directly on top of the old ones. Flooding by the Indus may have been the cause of destruction. The city divided into two parts, the Citadel and the Lower City. Most of the Lower City remains uncovered, but that the Citadel had the public bath, a large residential structure designed to house 5,000 citizens and two large assembly halls, has been determined. Mohenjo-daro, Harappa and their civilization, vanished without trace from history until discovered in the 1920s. Although extensively excavated in the 1920s, in-depth excavations suspended in the 1960s.

Civilization

Artifacts

"The Dancing girl" artifact found in Mohenjo Daro
A clay toy from Mohenjodaro

The Dancing girl found in Mohenjo Daro constitutes an interesting artifact some 4500-years old. The 10.8 cm long bronze statue of the dancing girl, found in 1926 from a house in Mohenjo Daro, had been British archaeologist Mortimer Wheeler's favorite statuette, as he said in this quote from a 1973 television program:

"There is her little Baluchi-style face with pouting lips and insolent look in the eye. She's about fifteen years old I should think, not more, but she stands there with bangles all the way up her arm and nothing else on. A girl perfectly, for the moment, perfectly confident of herself and the world. There's nothing like her, I think, in the world."

John Marshall, one of the excavators at Mohenjo-Daro, described her as a vivid impression of the young ... girl, her hand on her hip in a half-impudent posture, and legs slightly forward as she beats time to the music with her legs and feet.[2]

The artistry of that statuette has remained recognizable today, telling of a strange, but at least fleetingly recognizable past. As author Gregory Possehl says, "We may not be certain that she was a dancer, but she was good at what she did and she knew it." The statue could well be of some queen or other important woman of the Indus Valley Civilization judging from the authority the figure commands.

Seated male sculpture, or "Priest King" (even though no evidence exists that either priests or kings ruled the city). That 17.5 cm tall statue represents another artifact which has become a symbol for the Indus valley civilization. Archaeologists discovered the sculpture in Lower town at Mohenjo-Daro in 1927, found in an unusual house with ornamental brickwork and a wall niche, lying between brick foundation walls which once held up a floor.

"The Priest King" Wearing Sindhi Ajruk, ca. 2500 B.C.E. National Museum, Karachi, Pakistan

This bearded sculpture wears a fillet around the head, an armband, and a cloak decorated with trefoil patterns that were originally filled with red pigment. The two ends of the fillet, falling along the back and though the hair, has been carefully combed towards the back of the head, without a bun. The flat back of the head may have held a separately carved bun, like the other traditional seated figures, or it could have held a more elaborate horn and plumed headdress.

Two holes beneath the highly stylized ears suggest that a necklace or other head ornament had been attached to the sculpture. The left shoulder, covered with a cloak decorated with trefoil, has double circle and single circle designs originally filled with red pigment. Drill holes in the center of each circle indicate they had been made with a specialized drill and then touched up with a chisel. Eyes, deeply incised, may have held inlay. The shaved upper lip and a short combed beard frames the face. The large crack in the face resulted from weathering or may have happened in the original firing of that object.

Current UNESCO Status

UNESCO designated Mohenjo-daro a World Heritage Site. The most extensive recent work at the site has focused on attempts at conservation of the standing structures, undertaken by UNESCO in collaboration with the Department of Archaeology and Museums, as well as various foreign consultants. In December 1996, preservation work at the 500-acre site suspended after funding from the government and international organisations ran out, according to a resident archaeologist.

In April 1997, the UN Educational, Scientific and Culture Organization (UNESCO) funded $10 million to a project to be conducted over two decades to protect the Mohenjo-daro ruins from flooding. That project has been a success so far. UNESCO's efforts to save Mohenjo-daro has been one of the key events that led the organization to establish World Heritage Sites.

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ A H Dani (1992), Critical Assessment of Recent Evidence on Mohenjodaro, Second International Symposium on Mohenjodaro, 24-27. "February.
  2. ↑ Gregory L. Possehl (2002), The Indus Civilization: A Contemporary Perspective, AltaMira Press. ISBN 978-0759101722


References
ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

  • Dales, George F., Jonathan M. Kenoyer, and Leslie Alcock. Excavations at Mohenjo Daro, Pakistan The Pottery. University Museum monograph, 53. Philadelphia: University Museum, University of Pennsylvania, 1986. ISBN 9780934718523.
  • Lahiri, Nayanjot. Finding Forgotten Cities How the Indus Civilization Was Discovered. London: Seagull, 2006. ISBN 9781905422180.
  • Marshall, John Hubert. Mohenjo-Daro and the Indus Civilization Being an Official Account of Archæological Excavations at Mohenjo-Daro Carried Out by the Government of India between the Years 1922 and 1927. London: A. Probsthain, 1931. OCLC 5298990.
  • Westwood, Jennifer. The Atlas of Mysterious Places The World's Unexplained Sacred Sites, Symbolic Landscapes, Ancient Cities, and Lost Lands. New York: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1987. ISBN 9781555841300.

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