The term Indus Valley Tradition is used to refer to the cultures of the Indus and Ghaggar-Hakra rivers, stretching from the Neolithic Mehrgarh period down to the Iron Age or Indo-Gangetic Tradition. The Indus is a river; the Indus River. ... The Ghaggar is a seasonal river in India, flowing when water is available from monsoon rains. ... An array of Neolithic artefacts, including bracelets, axe heads, chisels, and polishing tools Excavated dwellings at Skara Brae Scotland, Europes most complete Neolithic village. ... Mehrgarh was an ancient settlement in South Asia and is one of the most important sites in archaeology for the study of the earliest neolithic settlements in that region. ... Iron Age Axe found on Gotland This article is about the archaeological period known as the Iron Age, for the mythological Iron Age see Iron Age (mythology). ... Indo-Gangetic Tradition refers to the continuation of the Indus Valley Tradition. ...

The Indus Valley Tradition is divided into four eras, and each era can be divided into various phases. A phase is an archaeological unit possessing traits sufficiently characteristic to distinguish it from all other units similarly conceived. ^[1] Each phase can be subdivided into interaction systems.

Early Food Producing Era

The Early Food Producing Era corresponds to ca. 7000-5500 BCE. It is also called the Neolithic period. The economy of this era is based on food production, and agriculture developed in the Indus Valley. Mehrgarh Period I belongs to this era. Mehrgarh was an ancient settlement in South Asia and is one of the most important sites in archaeology for the study of the earliest neolithic settlements in that region. ...

Regionalization Era

The Regionalization Era corresponds to 5500-2600 BCE. The Early Harappan phase belongs to this Era. This era was very productive in arts, and new crafts were invented. The Regionalization Era includes the Balakot, Amri, Hakra and Kot Diji Phases. Balakot (Urdu: بالاکوٹ), located about thirty kilometres from the city of Mansehra, is a town in the North-West Frontier Province of Pakistan. ... Amri is the site of a Pre-Harappa fortified town which flourished from 3600 to 3300 BC. The site is located south of Mohenjo Daro on Hyderabad-Dadu Road about 110 kilometres north of Hyderabad in Sind province of Pakistan. ... The Hakra is the dried-out channel of a river in Pakistan that until about 2000 BC - 1500 BC was the continuation of the Ghaggar River in India. ... The ancient cite at Kot Diji was the forerunner of the Indus Civilization. ...

Integration Era

The Integration Era refers to the period of the "Indus Valley Civilization". It is a period of integration of various smaller cultures. Excavated ruins of Mohenjo-daro. ...

Localization Era

The Localization Era (1900-1300 BCE) is the fourth and final period of the Indus Valley Tradition. It refers to the fragmentation of the culture of the Integration Era.

The Localization Era comprises several phases (Shaffer 1992):

• Punjab Phase (Cemetery H, Late Harappan). The Punjab Phase includes the Cemetery H and other cultures. Punjab Phase sites are found in Harappa and in other places.
• Jhukar Phase (Jhukar and Pirak) The Jhukar Phase refers to Mohenjo-daro and sites in Sindh.
• Rangpur Phase (Late Harappan and Lustrous Red Ware). Rangpur Phase sites are in Kutch, Saurashtra and mainland Gujarat.

The Pirak Phase is a phase of the Localization Era of both the Indus Valley Tradition and the Baluchistan Tradition. The Cemetery H culture developed out of the northern part of the Indus Valley Civilization around 1900 BC, in and around the Punjab region. ...

The Cemetery H culture developed out of the northern part of the Indus Valley Civilization around 1900 BC, in and around the Punjab region. ...

Other Periodizations

S. P. Gupta periodized the Harrapan Civilization in a chronological framework that spans the dates from 4000 BCE to 1400 BCE, taking into account new discoveries:^[2] S.P. Gupta (* 1931) is a well-known Indian archaeologist and art historian. ...

Another older nomenclature classifies the Indus Valley Civilization into Early, Mature and Late Harappan. According to Erdosy, the Indus Valley Tradition nomenclature "is much more informative than the traditional Early/Mature/Late Harappan classification which should now be discarded." ^[3]

See also

• Indo-Gangetic Tradition

Indo-Gangetic Tradition refers to the continuation of the Indus Valley Tradition. ...

References

1. ^ Willey and Phillips 1958, Method and Theory in American Archaeology
2. ^ S.P. Gupta. The dawn of civilization, in G.C. Pande (ed.)(History of Science, Philosophy and Culture in Indian Civilization, ed., D.P. Chattophadhyaya, vol I Part 1) (New Delhi:Centre for Studies in Civilizations, 1999)
3. ^ Erdosy, George (editor) The Indo-Aryans of Ancient South Asia, 1995, p. 4

Further reading

• S.P. Gupta. The dawn of civilization, in G.C. Pande (ed.)(History of Science, Philosophy and Culture in Indian Civilization, ed., D.P. Chattophadhyaya, vol I Part 1) (New Delhi:Centre for Studies in Civilizations, 1999)
• Kenoyer, J.M. 1998 Ancient Cities of the Indus Valley Civilization. Oxford University Press and American Institute of Pakistan Studies, Karachi.
• Kenoyer, J. M. 1991a The Indus Valley Tradition of Pakistan and Western India. In Journal of World Prehistory 5(4): 331-385.
• Kenoyer, J. M. 1995a Interaction Systems, Specialized Crafts and Culture Change: The Indus Valley Tradition and the Indo-Gangetic Tradition in South Asia. In The Indo-Aryans of Ancient South Asia: Language, Material Culture and Ethnicity, edited by G. Erdosy, pp. 213-257. Berlin, W. DeGruyter.
• Shaffer, J. G. 1992 The Indus Valley, Baluchistan and Helmand Traditions: Neolithic Through Bronze Age. In Chronologies in Old World Archaeology (3rd Edition), edited by R. Ehrich, pp. 441-464. Chicago, University of Chicago Press.

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