The Indus Valley civilisation did not appear overnight. It grew slowly, reached a peak, and then faded. Historians split this story into three phases.
The cities also needed food. Farmers in the villages grew it. This lesson covers the three phases and the crops that fed the cities.
- Early Harappan: the first phase, when villages and farming were growing.
- Mature Harappan: about 2600 to 1900 BCE, when the big cities stood.
- Late Harappan: about 1900 to 1300 BCE, when the cities faded.
- Crops: wheat and barley were grown, with some lentil, chickpea and sesame.
- Cotton: Harappans grew it and wove it into cloth.
The Three Phases of the Civilisation
What are the three phases?
Historians use three names to describe the civilisation over time. Each name marks a stage of its life.
- Early Harappan: 6000 BCE to 2600 BCE, a formative phase.
- Mature Harappan: 2600 BCE to 1900 BCE, the urban and most prosperous phase.
- Late Harappan: 1900 BCE to 1300 BCE, the decadent phase.
The decline starts around 1900 BCE. So the three phases show a rise, a peak and a fall.
Sources (card 0): NCERT, Themes in Indian History I, Ch. 1 (Class 12).
What was the Early Harappan phase like?
Before the cities, there were several older cultures in the region. They had their own pottery, farming and herding, and some crafts.
Their settlements were generally small. There were virtually no large buildings.
New finds show that Harappan culture grew out of early farming communities, dated to around 7000 BCE.
The Mature Harappan culture then grew in some of the same areas. It was a gradual change from within.
Sources (card 1): NCERT, Themes in Indian History I, Ch. 1 (Class 12).
Why is the Mature phase called the peak?
This was the urban phase and the most prosperous one. Large planned cities belong to these years.
The Class 6 book gives the same span. It says the civilisation lasted from about 2600 to 1900 BCE.
When a question describes grid streets and drains, it means this phase.
Sources (card 2): NCERT, Themes in Indian History I, Ch. 1 (Class 12) · NCERT, Exploring Society: India and Beyond, Ch. 6 (Class 6).
What changed in the Late Harappan phase?
By about 1800 BCE most Mature Harappan sites in Cholistan had been abandoned. At the same time, people spread into new settlements in Gujarat, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh.
In the few sites that stayed in use, the special Harappan goods vanished. Weights, seals and special beads disappeared.
- Writing and long-distance trade disappeared.
- Craft specialisation disappeared too.
- Houses were built less well, and large public buildings were no longer made.
In short, far fewer things were made from far fewer materials.
Sources (card 3): NCERT, Themes in Indian History I, Ch. 1 (Class 12).
Check 1
The Mature Harappan phase lasted from about 1900 BCE to 1300 BCE.
Show the answer
People kept living in some sites and moved to new areas. What faded were cities, writing, seals, weights and long-distance trade.
What the Harappans Grew and How
Which crops did the Harappans grow?
Archaeologists study charred grains and seeds to learn what people ate. Specialists called archaeo-botanists do this work.
Grains found at Harappan sites include wheat, barley, lentil, chickpea and sesame. Millets turn up at sites in Gujarat.
Finds of rice are relatively rare, while wheat and barley are common.
Sources (card 4): NCERT, Themes in Indian History I, Ch. 1 (Class 12).
Did the Harappans grow cotton?
Yes. The Harappans were the first in Eurasia to grow cotton. They wove it into clothes.
Cloth does not last for thousands of years. So historians also look at how people are shown in sculpture.
Sources (card 5): NCERT, Exploring Society: India and Beyond, Ch. 6 (Class 6).
What animals did they keep?
Bones found at Harappan sites include those of cattle, sheep, goat, buffalo and pig. Studies show these animals were domesticated.
Bones of wild animals such as boar, deer and gharial are also found. Bones of fish and fowl are found as well.
We do not know if the Harappans hunted wild animals themselves or got meat from hunting communities.
Sources (card 6): NCERT, Themes in Indian History I, Ch. 1 (Class 12).
How did they plough their fields?
Grain shows that farming was common. It is harder to know exactly how they farmed.
Seals and terracotta sculptures show the bull. From this, archaeologists infer that oxen were used for ploughing.
Terracotta models of the plough have been found at sites in Cholistan and at Banawali in Haryana. The Class 6 book shows a small clay plough model from Banawali. It adds that some Harappan tools are still used by farmers today.
Sources (card 7): NCERT, Exploring Society: India and Beyond, Ch. 6 (Class 6) · NCERT, Themes in Indian History I, Ch. 1 (Class 12).
What is special about the field at Kalibangan?
Archaeologists found a ploughed field at Kalibangan in Rajasthan. It belongs to the Early Harappan levels.
The field had two sets of furrows at right angles to each other. This suggests that two different crops were grown together.
Sources (card 8): NCERT, Themes in Indian History I, Ch. 1 (Class 12).
How did crops get water?
Most Harappan sites lie in semi-arid land. Irrigation was probably needed for farming.
Traces of canals have been found at Shortughai in Afghanistan. None are found in Punjab or Sind, but old canals may have silted up long ago.
Water from wells was probably used as well. Reservoirs at Dholavira in Gujarat may have stored water for farming.
Sources (card 9): NCERT, Themes in Indian History I, Ch. 1 (Class 12).
Check 2
Canal traces were found at Shortughai, a Harappan site in Afghanistan.
| Evidence | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Charred grains and seeds | Wheat, barley, lentil, chickpea, sesame |
| Bull on seals | Oxen probably pulled the plough |
| Clay plough models | Ploughs at Cholistan and Banawali |
| Two sets of furrows | Two crops grown together at Kalibangan |
| Traces of cotton | Cotton was grown and woven |
Show the answer
No one found a tied ox. Archaeologists saw bulls on seals and clay ploughs, and drew a conclusion from them.
How Farms Fed the Cities
Why did cities need villages?
The Class 6 book explains that cities depended on villages to provide food, and sometimes water.
A productive agriculture is listed among the traits of an early civilisation. It must feed not just the villages but also the cities.
So the grand cities of the Mature phase rested on farms. When farming settled elsewhere, the city way of life faded as well.
Sources (card 10): NCERT, Exploring Society: India and Beyond, Ch. 6 (Class 6).
Check 3
Harappan cities grew their own food inside the city walls.
How do farming and the phases fit together?
Put the two halves of the story side by side.
- Early phase: small farming and herding villages, with no large buildings.
- Mature phase: farms fed large planned cities. The urban phase grew out of the early phase through slow, internal change.
- Late phase: people moved to new settlements in Gujarat, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh.
This shows that the civilisation changed slowly, not suddenly. Farming was the thread that ran through all three phases. Whenever you read a Harappan fact, ask which phase it belongs to. That habit helps in both history questions and map questions.
Sources (card 11): NCERT, Themes in Indian History I, Ch. 1 (Class 12).
How Exams Ask About It
Which town has the ploughed field?
The answer is (d) Kalibangan. (Source: CAPF (ACs) 2025, General Ability and Intelligence.)
Sources (card 12): NCERT, Themes in Indian History I, Ch. 1 (Class 12).
When were Cholistan sites abandoned?
The answer is (c) c. 1800 BCE. (Source: CAPF (ACs) 2021, General Ability and Intelligence.)
Sources (card 13): NCERT, Themes in Indian History I, Ch. 1 (Class 12).
Exam trap
Do not mix up the phase dates. Mature is 2600 to 1900 BCE. Late is 1900 to 1300 BCE.
Also keep the sites straight. The ploughed field is at Kalibangan. The abandoned sites are in Cholistan.
Quick Q&A
- Peak phase? Mature Harappan.
- Ploughed field site? Kalibangan.
- Plough model site? Banawali.
- Rare crop? Rice.
- Abandoned c. 1800 BCE? Cholistan.
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