TNPSC Free Notes History – Social and political life

இந்தக் கட்டுரையில், TNPSC குரூப் 1, குரூப் 2, குரூப் 2A, குரூப் 4 மாநிலப் போட்டித் தேர்வுகளான TNUSRB, TRB, TET, TNEB போன்றவற்றுக்கான  முறைகள் இலவசக் குறிப்புகளைப் பெறுவீர்கள்.தேர்வுக்கு தயாராவோர் இங்குள்ள பாடக்குறிப்புகளை படித்து பயன்பெற வாழ்த்துகிறோம்.

Social and political life  

Trade:

• Harappans were great traders. 
• They used carts with spokeless solid wheels.
• Standardised weights and measures were used by them. They used sticks with marks to measure length.
• Lothal is situated on the banks of a tributary of Sabarmati river in Gujarat. There is evidence for extensive maritime trade with Mesopotamia.
• Indus Seals have been found as far as Mesopotamia (Sumer) which are modern-day Iraq, Kuwait and parts of Syria. 

Social Life

• The dress of both men and women consisted of two pieces of cloth, one upper garment and the other lower garment.
• Beads were worn by men and women
• Jewelleries such as bangles, bracelets, fillets, girdles, anklets, ear-rings and finger rings were worn by women.
• These ornaments were made of gold, silver, copper, bronze and semi precious stones.
• Various household articles made of pottery, stone, shells, ivory and metal have been found at Mohenjo-Daro.
• Spindles, needles, combs, fishhooks, knives are made of copper.
• Fishing was a regular occupation while hunting and bull fighting were other pastimes.
• There were numerous specimens of weapons of war such as axes, spearheads, daggers, bows, arrows made of copper and bronze.

Seals

• The seals from various media such as steatite, copper, terracotta and ivory are frequently found in the Harappan sites.
• Square type seals are engraved with carved animals and inscriptions.
• Hundreds of rectangular seals were discovered here. It engraved with inscriptions only.
• Pictographic writings were written on them.

Script

• The Harappan script has still to be fully deciphered. 
• The number of signs is between 400 and 600 of which 40 or 60 are basic and the rest are their variants. 
• The script was mostly written from right to left. 
• In a few long seals the boustrophedon method – writing in the reverse direction in alternative lines – was adopted.
• Parpola and his Scandinavian colleagues came to the conclusion that the language of the Harappans was Dravidian.
• The mystery of the Harappan script still exists and there is no doubt that the decipherment of Harappan script will throw much light on this culture

Religion & Decline

Faith

• • The Indus people worshipped nature. 
  • They worshipped pipal trees. 
  • Some of the terracotta figures resemble the mother Goddess(which symbolized fertility).
  • Fire altars have been identified at Kalibangan. 
  • The Indus people buried the dead. 

• Burials were done elaborately and evidence for cremation has also been found.

Pasupathi Shiva

• The chief male deity was Pasupati, (proto-Siva) represented in seals as sitting in a yogic posture.
• He has three faces and two horns.
• He is surrounded by four animals (elephant, tiger, rhino, and buffalo- each facing a different direction). 
• Two deer appear on his feet.
• In latter times, Linga worship was prevalent.

Burial Methods

• The cemeteries discovered around the cities like Mohenjodaro, Harappa, Kalibangan, Lothal and Rupar throw light on the burial practices of the Harappans.
• Complete burial and post-cremation burial were popular at Mohenjodaro.
• They buried the dead with Head facing north direction.
• At Lothal the burial pit was lined with burnt bricks indicating the use of coffins.
• However, there is no clear evidence for the practice of Sati

Decline of the Harappan Culture

• There is no unanimous view pertaining to the cause for the decline of the Harappan culture.
• By 1900 BCE, the Harappan culture had started declining. It is assumed that the civilisation met with

• repeated floods
• ecological changes
• invasions (Aryans)
• natural calamity
• climatic changes
• deforestation
• an epidemic

• In course of time, the people shifted to the southern and eastern directions from the Indus region.
• The destruction of forts is mentioned in the Rig Veda.
• It did not completely disappear.
• It continued as rural culture.

Iron Age in Tamilnadu

• It is contemporary to Indus Civilization.
• The archaeological evidence points to several groups of people living in Tamil Nadu and South India continuously from the Mesolithic period.
• One cannot rule out the migration of a few groups from the Indus region
• The graffiti found on the megalithic burial pots of South India and the place names presented are cited to establish the relationship between Indus and Tamil cultures.
• A circular tomb using big stone slabs built upon the place of burial is known as a megalith.

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