Indus+Decline+Essay

Essay By Fiona Hartmann
The fall of the Indus civilization

One of the most interesting things about the Indus civilization is that the exact reasons for its fall are shrouded in mystery. There are many theories, but few have any evidence at all to back them up, and some even contradict each other. But perhaps I should make myself a little clearer – outside of geographic changes, there is not much evidence of other factors. It was the geographic changes that created, or at the very least attributed to the other factors that led to the fall of the Indus civilization. __The tectonic changes, the disappearance of the Ghaggar-Hakra River, and the priestly elite losing control – the third factor being a product of the first two, teaches us that everything is connected, that the fall of a civilization is a chain reaction.__

The natural and uncontrollable factors did the most damage, and that began the chain reactions. The first natural change was the tectonic uplift that caused Harappan seaports along the Makran coast, such as Sutkagendor, Sotka Koh, and Bala Kot to go as far as 50km inland. ([]) These tremendous earthquakes would have caused a devastating disruption to the sea and land trade networks. (http://archaeology.about.com/od/iterms/qt/indus.htm) This tectonic uplift would explain the demise of several Harappan coastal sites, as well as imply a hardship for many other Harappan sites, which were dependent on these coastal sites for trade and/or marine resources. Just like how the misfortune is all connected, so is the success. Also, it is shown that many Indus Valley Civilization cities show signs of having been abandoned and then rebuilt, indicating they were continuously flooded. It was because of tectonic changes that caused the creation of a dam in the lower Indus – the citadels ([]), thus flooding these plains and cities. Eventually this began to take its toll, and what archaeologists call the squatters period set in. And these squatters caused another a problem – the priestly elite losing control. But we can't look down upon them for floods setting them back - even in the modern time we are susceptible to Mother Nature's Wrath. They have set Canada, our great country, back millions, even billions of dollars. ([]) Even we are not prepared for such feroce strikes.

The second natural change was that the Ghaggar-Hakra River dried up, forcing the people around the Hakra plain to abandon it. It certainly didn’t help that that their other natural source of water, the rain, was also decreasing, the average rainfall in the area began decreasing as the area slowly began turning into the desert it is today. ([]) For a civilization that was highly dependant on agriculture, any major climatic changes would have a devastating effect. The influence the big cities had on the rest of the region was based largely on the amount of grain they stocked in their granaries, once again, the priestly elite were losing control because of another factor they had no power over. Once agricultural production declined, so did their influence of the cities and eventually the region went into a state of anarchy, as the government had lost it's grasp. ([])

Finally, leading up to the final point, of which the two natural changes caused : the priestly elite losing change. There was an increase of population from the tectonic changes and the drying of the Hakra plain, leaving people with no choice to move to another city, leading to a vast increase in population – letting the squatter period to set in. Squatters are: “one that settles on property without right or title or payment of.” ([]) Town planning was nowhere up to par to where it had been. There was a breakdown in sanitation and cities like their modern-day counterparts in India simply ran themselves aground. This negligence of sanitation and mixing of clean and foul water led to malaria and cholera, bringing an epidemic. (Habib 57) The massive squatter colonies and an explosion of rural sites as people, disillusioned with cities, went back to farming communities. A giant step backward. The majestic capitals essentially became slums.

It is often the choices of leaders that can make or break a civilization, but in the rare cases, it is Mother Nature that decides their fate. The Indus Civilization was overcome with several forms of natural disasters – floods, and earthquakes (tectonic uplifts). This disrupted the two things they relied most heavily upon : agriculture and trade. And with cities laid to waste, poorly being rebuilt again and again, waiting for the next flood to come in, citizens migrated to the larger cities, overwhelming the current government. The town planning and sanitation fell apart, the things that had made the civilization so great compared to others. It is nature that may bestow prosperity, but it is nature that can just as easily unleash it’s wrath. But how much can we really learn from the Indus Civilization, who were seemingly struck down from the heavens with misfortune? Simply enough, we have to better prepare ourselves for natural disasters, so that when they do come, they do as little damage as possible. While in the modern day it may not cause the fall of a country, they are still something we shouldn't turn a blind eye on.