Thus the indus valley civilisation seems to have embraced the whole of the Sindh & Punjab, the bulk of Kathiawar, a part of the coastal region, the valley of north-west frontier province and a part of at least Gangetic basin. Judging from the point of view expressed by different scholars after careful examination of the excavated objects & available material, it is believed that after centuries of evolution, Mohenjo Daro and Harappa culture reached to its developed stage by nearly 2800 BC and continued in that stage till 2200 BC before its destruction. It is also believed that the primary cause its decline & destruction may be natural causes such as floods, lack of rain-fall, earthquakes but cause of its final extinction could only be foreign invasion probably by Aryans from north-west. The indus valley people does not know the use of iron proves that this culture belonged to the pre-iron age.
The plain and painted pottery of indus valley is similar to the Egyptian and Mesopotamean pottery which dates 2500BC. There is no written record about indus vallery culture. Available information is solely based on a variety of archaealogical finds such as buildings of burnt bricks, bones, skeletons, toys, jewellery, seals of different shpaes, pottery, stone images, clay figurines etc. These seals bear some inscription consider to be the pictographic script which is not yet been deciphered.

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A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Indus Valley Art : Proto-Historic Period (3500 BC)

Proto-historic period is that part of history about which no written historical evidence is available. Till the dawn of the present century, there was no certainty about the exact antiquity of Indian civilisation. However the well established chronology of Mohenjo Daro and Harappa proved that Indus valley culture is the oldest known culture in India and is as old as the Egyptian and the Mesopotanean culture of the middle east. Not only that, but to the ashtonishment of scholars, the Indus Valley culture was proved to be more advanced in many fields than its middle east counter parts.
There is difference of opinion among archaeologist/historians about the age of cave paintings and evidential record of artistic achievements before 300 BC were scanty but discovery of Indus valley culture completely shattered the sequence of Indian art history. This civilisation is known as Indus valley civilisation because the earliest discovered sites were situated in the river Indus Valley. Indus valley culture was neither local nor regional nor confined to any restricted area. The excavations in the large number of cities have bought to the light pre-historic antiquities representing the identical civilisations and these indicate that Mohenjo Daro and Harappa do not mark the extreme limits of its extent. Terra-cottas recovered at Buzar and Pataliputra (present day Patna) indicate the extent of cultural influence of the Indus vallery east ward.

                

            (Mohenjo Daro- Painted Pottery)


        

        (Famous Yogi Seal - Mohenjo Daro)

 
 

The most significant cjaracteristics of this civilisation is the tremendous progress made by these people in the field of art, architecture and town planning. The art of this period is depicted throgh human and animal figures, seals and ornaments. The figures show a high degree of technical skill and artistic ability. Some of the seals really can be regarded as master pieces of engraver's art. The skill of the engraver is proved by the fact that he had carved the figure of a male deity, animal figures and letters on the top in a very small place and that too very neatly. Among the most remarkable figures inlcude the "sand stone torso of a man", "bust of another male" figure and the bronze "Dancing Girl". The last mentioned is supposed to be the most charming and impressive figure.