Economic System in Indus valley civilization

7. Economic System in Indus valley civilization

Economic System:

• Agrarian (Agricultural) Economy.
• These people got two crop seasons Rabi and Kharif In Rabi, Wheat, and Barley (Mostly food grains, the staple food) were produced and in Kharif Cotton, Mustard and others were produced. There are certain controversies in historians.

               - Rice available is either grown or flew?

               - Did they use plough?

               - Domestication of the horse?

       But recent excavations prove that all the three existed and they all existed but                 used only to very limitation.

• Only two cities were rice grain was found

                - Lothal, Gujarat (Rice grain was found)

                - Rangapur, Gujarat (Rice-husk was found)

• At every site a digging hoe was found but not plough; only at two sites plough was found.

               - Kali Bangal, Rajasthan (Furrows were discovered — a filed which is ploughed).

               - Banvali, Haryana (Banks of River Saraswati) (A terracotta / burnt clay replica of the plough was found).

• The horse was known to Indus people but it is domesticated on a limited basis.

               - Lothal, Gujarat ( A terracotta replica was found)

               - Surkotada, Gujarat ( Skeletal/original remains were found)

Industries:

• Textile industries both cotton & wool (At every site)
• Shipbuilding industries at Lothal.
• Jewellery/Ornaments [Indus Valley Civilization made jewellery largely using beads and shells]

              - Lothal, Gujarat

              - Chanhudaro

              - Dholavira (Beads of goldware found of very small size)

• Brick Industry
• Carpentry Industries
• Copper & Bronze Industries

Trade and Commerce:

• Indus Valley Civilization has both internal & international trade. The mode of transportation for internal trade was bullock cart and river boats majorly. International trade was regular with Mesopotamians. It is sea-borne trade and Lothal played an important role.
• Large no of seals were found in Mesopotamian civilizations and vice-versa. Mesopotamians used cylindrical seals.

              - 3 cylindrical seals were found at Mohenjodaro belonging to Mesopotamians.

              - The script used by Mesopotamians called as cuneiform.

              - An inscription dated 2200 BC was found and deciphered. It says Sindan (cotton) was imported from Meluha (India).

Related Posts: http://www.indianhistoryarticles.in/2016/04/vedic-aryan-civilization-1500-bc-600-bc.html