An Encyclopaedia of Indian Archaeology v1.c9.s10: 4.10 Late Harappa
An Encyclopaedia of Indian Archaeology v1.c9.s10
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4.10 Late Harappa
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The late Harappa cultures represent a declined or transformed stage of the Harappa [4.9] and can be identified by an assemblage showing some sort of cultural continuity with the mature Harappa and its associated miscellany, though the general homogeneity of the Harappa that had persisted throughout its mature phase was broken. It is clear that some of the Harappa elements did not entirely die out with the abandonment of the urban settlements but persisted in Gujarat, Punjab, Haryana and w. Uttar Pradesh. Different pottery types and other cultural traits unconnected with each other emerged in individual regions. A time-bracket of 1700 to 1000 B.C. may be proposed for these cultures on the basis of the continuity of the Harappa elements from the end of the mature Harappa to their overlap with later cultures.
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The late Harappa cultures appear to be the outcome of the normal process of cultural transformation in the Harappa culture and the internal interactions of the society due to an economic decline. These cultures witnessed a general decline in the civic standards of the mature Harappa. Planned houses were replaced by inferior structures. Mohenjo-daro especially witnessed in later times encroachments on public places and streets in an unprecedented manner.
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In Gujarat the transitional cultures from the mature to the late Harappa is clear at LOTHAL, RANGPUR, SURKOTADA, DESALPUR, PRABHAS PATAN and SOMNATH, again farther s. at MEHGAM and TELOD in the Narmada and at BHAGATRAV and MALWAN in the TAPTI estuaries. LOTHAL A, a port town of the mature Harappa, shows in its late phase (LOTHAL B) a transformation comparable with that of RANGPUR. The convex-sided bowl shows change, whereas the beaker, goblet, small jar and basin gradually disappear and are replaced by newly evolved ones. No mud-brick houses, drains and baths are noticed, and the other structures are poor. The Harappa traits further deteriorate in RANGPUR II C which is marked by the appearance of the Lustrous Red Ware [11.9]. Terracotta Cakes [6.27] and perforated jars are absent. The use of faience and steatite altogether vanish. At SURKOTADA it is towards the end of Phase B and in Phase C that a white-painted black-and-red ware akin to that of AHAR^2 is found dominating in the Harappa complex, whereas at LOTHAL this ware is present right from the beginning [11.6.1]. The other types consist of the bowl-and-dish, handled bowl and channel-handled bowl. The typical Harappa goblet and perforated jar in red ware are also available but in a restricted way. There is no lustrous red ware present here. The other objects include terracotta bulls, cart frames, wheels, chert blades and copper and faïence objects. The earlier rubble masonry fortification was also reconstructed in this phase. DESALPUR also reveals a cultural continuity from the mature to late Harappa phases. In the late phase the cream-slipped bichrome ware is present in the form of dish and bowl. The white-painted black-and-red ware also makes its appearance, but there is no lustrous red ware. The handled sauce-pan in red ware with a deliberate curved top for firm grip which started in the mid-levels of the mature phase is in profusion in the late phase. Other objects include knives, chisels, rods and rings of copper and ribbon flakes of chert. ROJDI, PRABHAS PATAN, SOMNATH, AMRA and LAKHABAwal also indicate a kind of transformation of the Harappa culture. Pd II B of PRABHAS PATAN saw the decline of the lustrous red ware and emergence of plain slipped ware.
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In Haryana, specially in the Dṛṣadvatī and Sarasvatī valleys, the settlements of the late Harappa cultures are much more in number than those of the mature Harappa. These later settlements are generally away from the perennial rivers and are located outside the flood plains of seasonal streams. Excavation at MITATHAL and SISWAL has revealed a cultural sequence from the pre-Harappa to the late Harappa times. MITATHAL II A is characterized by the mature Harappa with a continuation of certain pre-Harappa types, whereas II B is marked by a gradual decline in the culture. Types like the dish-on-stand, storage jar, vase, bowl-like lid and basin are considerably modified in form. The pottery of pre-Harappa traditions like SISWAL also survives in this phase. The goblet, beaker, perforated jar, etc., are rare. The pottery indicates a general decadence in fabric, potting and treatment of surface. A variety of incised designs is also noticed on the exterior of vases. This Phase II B conforms well to DAULATPUR, MIRZAPUR and BHAGWANPURA^2 I A, where, besides Harappa pottery, a terracotta humped bull, a portion of human figure, copper rods and pins and beads and bangles of faïence have also been found. In I B the interlocking of the late Harappa culture with the PGW [11.14] is noticed [see below]. Besides pottery there are other objects of terracotta, glass, ivory and bone and copper, but there is no iron object. The phase of overlap has also revealed three structural phases from round or semicircular huts, houses of mud walls and ultimately to houses of baked brick. As ploughing has damaged all the structures, it is difficult to associate them singularly with the Harappa or PGW [4.15] cultures. At DAULATPUR, about 8 km from BHAGWANPURA^2, however, no such overlap is noticed.
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One can see three phases of the Harappa culture in Sutlej basin of Punjab starting from KOTLA NIHANG KHAN to ROPAR, DARA, DHER MAJRA, CHANDIGARH and ultimately SANGHOL, KATPALON, NAGAR and DADHERI. The Harappa complex of the Dṛṣadvatī valley in Haryana is different from this. The earliest phase at KOTLA NIHANG KHAN reveals a limited use of mud and burnt brick along with characteristic Harappa pottery and other objects like bronze, celts, chert, blades, faïence ornaments, terracotta cakes [6.27] and beads. At ROPAR a steatite seal has also been found. Together with the mature Harappa types modifications in them, like the dish-on-stand with drooping rim, jar with horizontally splayed-out rim, bowl-like lid, etc., are also noticed. In the late Harappa context the position of BARA can be taken as a distinct culture as its antecedents are traceable to a pre-Harappa tradition. The pattern of the movement and settlements of the Harappa and Bara cultures in Punjab is not clear. The middle and upper levels of BARA came in contact with the mature and late Harappa phases. From DHER MAJRA, CHANDIGARH and SANGHOL it appears that in the late Harappa culture different varieties of wares—pre-Harappa, Harappa and non-Harappa—mingled and continued. DADHERI, a late Harappa site, conforms to the sequence of BHAGWANPURA.² Other objects include those of copper, terracotta beads, wheels, round cakes, faïence bangles and a terracotta painted bull. At KATPALON and NAGAR the late Harappa pottery complex and PGW are found together from the beginning.
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This sequence is also noticed at MANDA and AKHNUR on the Chenab in Jammu. The mature phase, with typical Harappa pottery, triangular terracotta cakes and a double spiral-headed copper pin, is succeeded by a continued use of Harappa pottery along with the appearance of the grey ware of the PGW assemblage.
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The Harappa sites in Uttar Pradesh are confined to its n.-w. part with a heavy concentration in Dt Saharanpur, situated at distance of 8 to 12 km from each other—a settlement pattern conforming well to that of Haryana, Punjab and even Gujarat and Saurashtra. The sites are generally located on the tributaries of the Yamuna and are more influenced by the Harappa complex of the Sutlej valley. The average occupational thickness of the Harappa settlement is somewhere from ·75 to 1·50 m. They are not more than 200 m in length and breadth which suggests that the habitations belonged to a small cluster of families. The late Harappa culture lost much of the mature traits in this region. The Harappa pottery recovered at BARGAON is plain, painted and incised, but an admixture with the OCW [4.12] is also noticed. Terracotta cakes from this region are generally oval in shape, although a few of them are longer with tapering ends but have prominent finger impressions implying their manufacture by hand. Other antiquities are copper rings, chert blades, faïence bangles and terracotta objects.
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The pottery of the late Harappa period reveals a typological affinity with the OCW which is also circumstantially associated with Copper Hoards in this region [4.11]. One can notice pure Harappa sites and also sites mixed up with the OCW in the Yamuna valley of Dt Saharanpur. As no Harappa settlement is noticed beyond the Hindon, a tributary of the Yamuna, the OCW settlements in the Ganga valley are free of any admixture, although AMBKHERI, an OCW site, definitely shows a contact with the late Harappa in the form of terracotta objects like beads, oval cakes, hubbed cartwheels, animal figurines and a solitary carnelian bead. In the e. doab, from where OCW is reported from BAHARIA, SAIPAI and ATRANJIKHERA, no such Harappa contact is discernible.
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Agrawal, D.P., & Pande, B.M., 1977, *Ecology & Arch. of w. India*, New Delhi. Bisht, R.S., Sharma, Y.D., & Suraj Bhan, 1976, in *Arch. Congress & Seminar 1972*, Kurukshetra, pp. 5-30 (for transformation of Harappa culture in Haryana & Punjab). Lal, B.B., ed., 1977, *Indus Civilization: Problems & Issues*, Simla (in press). For sites see respective entries in vol. II.—K.N. DIKSHIT
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Excavations at ROPAR, and ALAMGIRPUR and explorations in Dt Ganganagar had revealed a hiatus between the Harappa and the PGW cultures, but bridging this gap remained a vital problem. Recent explorations and excavations in Dts Kurukshetra, Gurdaspur, Ludhiana, Jullundur and Jammu have however revealed that sites in Dt Gurdaspur have grey ware associated with the PGW and the late Harappa red ware, though the PGW itself is not available. The main sites are KANWA, DODWAM, HARIPUR, LOHGARH, HARDO-RAWAL KHURD and GURUDAS NANGAL DA THEH. While the n. side of Dt Amritsar is devoid of the PGW, at GHARINDA, w. of Amritsar, the PGW, grey ware and few late Harappa sherds are seen, as also at SOSAN, Dt Ferozepur, and APARA, HARIPUR and CHINI KANJI DA THER, Dt Jullundur. On the n.-w. side of that Dt grey ware and black-slipped ware are available at MALSIAN, KARALAN and KARTARPUR, while NAGAR and KATPALON on the e. side yield the PGW, grey ware and late Harappa ware. Similarly DADHERI, Dt Ludhiana, and a few sites like PIPLI and GARHI RODAN, Dt Kurukshetra, have the PGW, grey ware and late Harappa ware. Excavations at BHAGWANPURA² in the same Dt, DADHERI in Dt Ludhiana and NAGAR and KATPALON in Dt Jullundur and MANDA in Jammu are also very significant in respect of the interlocking of the late Harappa and PGW cultures—a phenomenon that can be tentatively dated from 1600 to 1000 B.C.
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For sites see respective entries in vol. II.—J.P. JOSHI