Prelims – History of India.

Mains (GS I) - Indian Heritage and Culture.

Why in News?

The Haryana government has declared two sites of over 4,400-year-old Harappan civilization in Bhiwani district as protected monuments and archaeological sites.

• These are notified under the Haryana Ancient and Historical Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1964.

Mitathal site

• The site was first discovered in 1913 when a hoard of coins belonging to Samudra Gupta of the Gupta dynasty was found.
• Archaeological excavation conducted in 1968 has thrown light on the Copper- Bronze Age culture, a complex of the Indo-Gangetic divide of the 3rd-2nd millennia BCE.
• From 1965 to 1968, beads and copper implements were discovered at the site, yielding proto-historic material.
• Mitathal bear out the Harappan tradition in town planning, architecture and in arts and crafts.
• The pottery was well-burnt, sturdy red ware painted in black with pipal leaf, fish scale, and other geometric designs.
• The site has yielded a variety of antiquities, such as beads, bangles, and terracotta, as well as stone, shell, copper, ivory, and bone objects.

Tighrana site

• According to the Tighrana village site, the post-Harappan period remnants shed light on the development and persistence of human habitation in the area.
• Chalcolithic farming communities originally settled in the area around 2,400 BCE.
• These early settlers, often referred to as Sothians, resided in modest thatched-roofed mud-brick homes at Chang, Mitathal, Tighrana, and other locations.
• Some of their settlements may have been fortified and comprised 50 to 100 houses each.
• They used wheel-made ceramics decorated in bichrome with black-and-white motifs, domesticated cows, bulls, goats, and other animals, and engaged in agriculture.
• They used copper, bronze and stone implements as discovered in large numbers.
• The presence of beads and green carnelian bangles indicate a thriving industry of bead making and jewellery production.
• Remains from pre-Siswal, pre-Harappan, and post-Harappan settlements were found in Tighrana, making it an important archaeological site.

Reference

The Indian Express | Harappan civilization spots