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The Indus Civilization: A Contemporary Perspective
The Indus Civilization of India and Pakistan was contemporary with, and equally complex as the better-known cultures of Mesopotamia, Egypt and China. The dean of North American Indus scholars, Gregory Possehl, attempts here to marshal the state of knowledge about this fascinating culture in a readable synthesis. He traces the rise and fall of this civilization, examines the economic, architectural, artistic, religious, and intellectual components of this culture, describes its most famous sites, and shows the relationships between the Indus Civilization and the other cultures of its time. As a sourcebook for scholars, a textbook for archaeology students, and an informative volume for the lay reader, The Indus Civilization will be an exciting and informative read.
288 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2002
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
July 29, 2016
An excellent review of archeologic finds, some by the late researcher himself. Four stars for stick drawings outnumbering photos, and some academic verbosity. Sheds light on a few myths, like the long-debated "Aryan Invasion Theory".
Debunked Myths:
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1. The civilization was not ruled by king-priests. In fact, there is no evidence of political hierarchy at all. Social bonds seemed to have rested on highly-specialized, stable inter-community trade.
2. Mohenjo Daro was not the capital of a vast empire, but an elite, pre-planned city built on virgin soil in under 80 years. So far, about 5 major urban centers have been found.
3. The huge round structure atop Mohenjo Daro was not a citadel, but an architecturally-advanced bathhouse (!) Buildings adjacent to it appear to be civic, but that's unverified.
4. In none of the 1000+ sites are there any large-scale granaries. Still, human remains indicate a relatively robust populace that secured its own independent food production for millennia.
5. Numerous attempts at decipherment aside, the Indus script is a mystery. No "Rosetta Stone" has been found.
6. Though Mohenjo Daro was built with millions of mathematically standardized baked bricks, the Indus civilization overall was not.
7. Vedic Sanskrit was most likely not the language of the early Indus, though it is a front-runner. Other contenders include Proto-Dravidian and Munda language groupings. What is not contested is the high ethnic diversity of immigrant waves into the area.
Debunked Myths:
----------------
1. The civilization was not ruled by king-priests. In fact, there is no evidence of political hierarchy at all. Social bonds seemed to have rested on highly-specialized, stable inter-community trade.
2. Mohenjo Daro was not the capital of a vast empire, but an elite, pre-planned city built on virgin soil in under 80 years. So far, about 5 major urban centers have been found.
3. The huge round structure atop Mohenjo Daro was not a citadel, but an architecturally-advanced bathhouse (!) Buildings adjacent to it appear to be civic, but that's unverified.
4. In none of the 1000+ sites are there any large-scale granaries. Still, human remains indicate a relatively robust populace that secured its own independent food production for millennia.
5. Numerous attempts at decipherment aside, the Indus script is a mystery. No "Rosetta Stone" has been found.
6. Though Mohenjo Daro was built with millions of mathematically standardized baked bricks, the Indus civilization overall was not.
7. Vedic Sanskrit was most likely not the language of the early Indus, though it is a front-runner. Other contenders include Proto-Dravidian and Munda language groupings. What is not contested is the high ethnic diversity of immigrant waves into the area.
April 8, 2018
I was never taught about the Indus civilisation. Not at school, nor at university during two degree programs. As an archaeologist, I’d heard about it, but my knowledge was limited to pretty much just its existence, location, the names of a few key sites, and the civilisation’s trading links with ancient Mesopotamia. My situation of ignorance isn’t helped by the fact that academic publications about the Indus civilisation are few, and difficult to get hold of. In other words, my ability to critique this book is rather limited, since this book itself has recently supplied me with an awful lot of what I know about the Indus civilisation. I cannot easily tell if the author’s hypotheses are widely accepted or horribly researched and disproven. However, this was still an important read for me, as it expanded my virtually non-existent comprehension on the subject. What stuck out for me was how little even specialists on the Indus civilisation know. The script is still undeciphered, so we know nothing about what the ancient Indus peoples wrote about themselves and their world. Archaeological sites and artefacts have interpreted wildly differently in the century since the civilisation’s discovery, leaving us with no clear answers to basic questions such as ‘Did they have a religion?’, ‘What was the social structure like?’, and ‘Do their cities demonstrate evidence of town planning?’. Possehl runs through the various propositions put forward in competing theories, offering his own opinion as well, in a useful but understandably frustrating exercise. The text can be a little dry at times – I’m well used to it, but that doesn’t mean I don’t prefer a smoother and more fun read. That said, the book was a great introductory overview for me, and I hope that future work can do more to unravel the lives of the ancient Indus people.
7 out of 10
July 1, 2022
An impressive, extensive book on the Indus Valley Civilzation, this work by Gregory Possehl (who has carried out a number of excavations in the area) covers pretty much all a lay person might need to know about one of the most fascinating ancient civilizations in the world. Possehl begins by describing how, during the 1800s, Mohenjo-daro and Harappa were first discovered, then goes on to narrate the developments that took place, the past (and its mysteries) that emerged as various archaeologists worked on these sites.
The bulk of the chapters deal with explaining what has been found at different sites, not just across the Indian subcontinent but also in some cases further afield. All of these - from artefacts to town layouts, remains of buildings and roads, burial sites, and more - are carefully and logically interpreted by Possehl to build up an image of what life in the Indus Civilization might have been like. In the process, Possehl runs the gamut, from the layout of homes to the adornment of the body, from ablutions to religion to bead-making, trade and more. There are also some interesting discussions on how and why the Indus Civilization may have ended, plus its impact on cultures that followed - down to echoes in modern India.
I found this book slightly uneven. On the one hand, the details of Indus life - so brilliantly put forward as an interpretation of what has been found - are fascinating. Possehl uses varied sources to build up a composite and very interesting image of how these people lived, and he is careful to not assert that so-and-so theory is the correct one. Invariably, he shows how different theories have been put forward (for instance, regarding religion, or the script) and how each of these may or may not work. All of this is lucid and well-written, in a style that might appeal to a general reader.
On the other hand, there are parts where it begins to read like something that would interest only someone who is a very dedicated student of history or archaeology: detailed lists of sites, artefacts, measurements, and so on; some sinking into the typical language of academia - sections, in essence, that I found rather tedious.
On the whole, though, I found The Indus Civilization offering a very good, balanced insight into its subject. This was written before some of the more recent work on Rakhigarhi - since revealed to be even larger than Mohenjo-daro - so that is one area where I found it lacking. But that, of course, is understandable.
The bulk of the chapters deal with explaining what has been found at different sites, not just across the Indian subcontinent but also in some cases further afield. All of these - from artefacts to town layouts, remains of buildings and roads, burial sites, and more - are carefully and logically interpreted by Possehl to build up an image of what life in the Indus Civilization might have been like. In the process, Possehl runs the gamut, from the layout of homes to the adornment of the body, from ablutions to religion to bead-making, trade and more. There are also some interesting discussions on how and why the Indus Civilization may have ended, plus its impact on cultures that followed - down to echoes in modern India.
I found this book slightly uneven. On the one hand, the details of Indus life - so brilliantly put forward as an interpretation of what has been found - are fascinating. Possehl uses varied sources to build up a composite and very interesting image of how these people lived, and he is careful to not assert that so-and-so theory is the correct one. Invariably, he shows how different theories have been put forward (for instance, regarding religion, or the script) and how each of these may or may not work. All of this is lucid and well-written, in a style that might appeal to a general reader.
On the other hand, there are parts where it begins to read like something that would interest only someone who is a very dedicated student of history or archaeology: detailed lists of sites, artefacts, measurements, and so on; some sinking into the typical language of academia - sections, in essence, that I found rather tedious.
On the whole, though, I found The Indus Civilization offering a very good, balanced insight into its subject. This was written before some of the more recent work on Rakhigarhi - since revealed to be even larger than Mohenjo-daro - so that is one area where I found it lacking. But that, of course, is understandable.
March 15, 2018
The book is a collection of essays, gives a few answers but still leaves a lot unanswered. Who were ruled this vast civilization which seemed to be run by priests and traders without clear boundaries or fighting armies? But it's clear that the whole 'state' was held together by volunteer citizens who all seemed to subscribe to one ideology. An ideology which sustained them for thousands of years. And when they lost their trust in this mysterious ideology the whole state came crashing down.
March 22, 2020
Highly technical and rather dry, apparently up to date account of our state of knowledge on the Indus Civilization. Be assured that whatever you have learnt up to now from general and popular histories is wrong. Our knowledge seems to be in flux but the author is very fair and clear and showing just where we are.
November 5, 2025
This was a great read on the IVC by Gregory Possehl. The Indus Civilization contains a lot of info about this enigmatic civilization centered in modern day Pakistan. The final couple of chapters are interesting since in those chapters, Possehl talks about his take on why the IVC vanished. Overall, this is a good read.
December 5, 2021
This book completely is complex to read .But mohenjodaro is a place which Iam always interested in.
Good reading it.
Good reading it.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews