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Indus people were expert in land measurement
NOTED ARCHAEOLOGIST and former joint director general of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) Dr RS Bisht said the Indus Valley people were expert in land measurement.
NOTED ARCHAEOLOGIST and former joint director general of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) Dr RS Bisht said the Indus Valley people were expert in land measurement.
He was delivering the third James Princep Memorial Lecture at Jnana-Pravaha, Centre for Cultural Research and Studies on ‘The Indus Civilisation and Dholavira’ in Samne Ghat area on Friday.
“Before the discovery of the first site of the Indus Valley civilisation, Vincent Smith wrote that India never stepped into the Copper Age. It directly jumped from the Stone to Iron Age.
However, the discovery of several Indus Valley sites indicated that India entered the Copper Age and used copper extensively to make various tools and implements,” he said.
He said, “Although the Harappan Culture, as accepted, belongs to 3500 and 2000 BC, but we find its roots in the form of farming culture right from the 7th millennium BC. Notably, the extent of this Indian culture was larger than the combined area of other contemporary ancient civilisations of Mesopotamia and Egypt.”
“Harappan culture is particularly known for its beautiful pottery, perfect town-planning, developed drainage system, stone and metal sculptures, stone tools, copper implements, ornaments and seals,” he said.
He threw light on the excavation of the famous Harappan site Dholavira in Gujarat, and said that it was one of the five largest sites of this civilization.
“All the other sites are located on the bank of some river, but interestingly, this site is not located near any river, but on an island in Rann of Kutch,” he said.
He further said, “Dholavira presents a perfect picture of the rise and decline of the Harappan culture through seven stages of development covering a time span of about 1500 years.”
“The perfect layout of this huge urban site proves that the Indus Valley people were not only acquainted with the technique of measurement, but they were also expert in making horizontal and vertical geometrical measurement of the land with perfection,” said Dr Bisht and illustrated his lecture with beautiful slides of the site.
Prof Vidula Jayaswal of the Banaras Hindu University presided over the lecture and Prof MNP Tiwari proposed vote of thanks.
