An Encyclopaedia of Indian Archaeology v1.c16.s4.1

v1.c16.s4.1

The term ‘late Harappa’, in contradistinction to the early and middle stages of the development of the Harappa culture [4.9], implies a stage of decline and decay viewed from the cyclic concept of cultural development. Recent investigations have exploded the idea of a uniformity of the culture in time and space and its regional traits are growing apparent. Though present at all the stages of the culture, such traits seem to be more pronounced in the latest stage. The late Harappa pottery is an index to the character of the late Harappa culture [4.10]. It comprises the Harappa, degenerate Harappa and non-Harappa elements woven into evolving regional matrices, the first element representing the great tradition—its unifying trends over the extensive area of its spread—and the last two elements reflecting the little traditions having regional moorings, all the three elements together producing varied manifestations depending upon the degree of interaction between the major components of the ceramic cultures.