[Pramāṇa](https://indike.org/pramana/) › [Studies](https://indike.org/pramana/ins) › [Reference works](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.reference) › [An Encyclopaedia of Indian Archaeology](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.reference.ghosh-1989) › v1.c9.s9.64 # An Encyclopaedia of Indian Archaeology v1.c9.s9.64 An Encyclopaedia of Indian Archaeology v1.c9.s9.64 - **Language:** English ### [v1.c9.s9.64](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.reference.ghosh-1989.v1.c9.s9.64) Whatever may have been the cause of the desertion of individual sites, it would be wrong to assume that the Indus civilization came to an end one sad morning, leaving nothing behind. A civilization may devolve and deteriorate, but its bearers are not normally expected to be wiped out. And this is precisely what seems to have happened in the case of the Indus civilization as well. By about the turn from the 3rd to the 2nd millennium B.C. changes or devolution had begun to appear at LOTHAL, as is evidenced from the difference from the material equipment of Lothal A and B. In the latter not only were the typical seals, weights and measures conspicuous by their absence but the pottery also had begun to shed some of its typical Harappa shapes and designs. The story of Lothal B is carried on to RANGPUR II C and III. In n.-w. India the devolution is easily noticeable at quite a few sites in Haryana and in the Upper Ganga-Yamuna doab, for example at ALAMGIRPUR and Hulas. Indeed these sites present the Indus civilization sans its label of civilization! One can recognize the old person all right, but without the youthful vigour. A de-urbanization had taken place in which town-planning and use of weights, measures, seals and sealings had all become things of the past. But the rural traits of the Harappans which had got deeply entrenched among the folks left an indelible imprint on Indian civilization. How otherwise can one explain the continuance even today of many an items and practices which go back to Harappa and even pre-Harappa times: for example the grid pattern of ploughing the fields, the use of \*tandurs\* for cooking, Śiva worship, \*yogic asanas\*, and the like? Indeed, when one sees a Rajasthani woman bedecking her arms with a series of bangles, is not one reminded of the 'dancing girl' from Mohenjo-daro, or is not one surprised to find that not merely the shape but also the gauge of the modern Sindhi bullock-cart are the same as in days of the Indus civilization? - [Previous: v1.c9.s9.63](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.reference.ghosh-1989.v1.c9.s9.63) - [Next: v1.c9.s9.65](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.reference.ghosh-1989.v1.c9.s9.65) - [Up: v1.c9.s9](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.reference.ghosh-1989.v1.c9.s9) ## Linked texts (5) - [Mohenjo-daro](https://indike.org/pramana/inp.site.mohenjo-daro) - [Lothal](https://indike.org/pramana/inp.site.lothal) - [Rangpur](https://indike.org/pramana/inp.site.rangpur) - [Alamgirpur](https://indike.org/pramana/inp.site.alamgirpur) - [Hulas](https://indike.org/pramana/inp.site.hulas) --- Source: [https://indike.org/pramana/ins.reference.ghosh-1989.v1.c9.s9.64](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.reference.ghosh-1989.v1.c9.s9.64) · Pramāṇa