Harappan trade

Also called: Harappan long-distance trade, Indus-Mesopotamia trade · Topic: Harappan (Sindhu-Sarasvati) Civilisation · NCERT: Class 6, Ch 6 "The Beginnings of Indian Civilisation"; Class 12, Ch 1 "Bricks, Beads and Bones"

Meaning

Harappan trade was the exchange of goods by the people of the Harappan (Sindhu-Sarasvati) Civilisation. They traded within their own region and also over long distances with Oman (Magan), Bahrain (Dilmun), Mesopotamia and Iran, by land, by river and by sea through the Persian Gulf.

It matters for two reasons. It is one of the few Bronze Age trade networks proven by two kinds of evidence at once: objects dug up from the ground, and written records from Mesopotamia. It also helps explain why the Harappans used seals, a script and standard weights.

Explanation

Background: why the Harappans traded

• Raw materials were spread far apart. Copper, semi-precious stones, shell and good timber were not all found in the Harappan heartland.
• So the Harappans got them through trade inside the region and from distant lands.

• Within the region, Harappans set up settlements or sent expeditions to places with raw materials. Examples are Shortughai (Afghanistan) for lapis lazuli, Nageshwar and Balakot for shell, Lothal near sources of carnelian, and the Khetri area (Rajasthan) for copper.

• The Harappans were skilled craftspeople. Their beads, ivory work and cotton cloth were valued abroad, so they had goods to offer in return.

What was traded

• Goods sent out (exports) from Meluhha (the Harappan region):
• Mesopotamian texts list carnelian, lapis lazuli, copper, gold and different kinds of wood as goods from Meluhha.
• An ivory comb found at a site in Oman is a Harappan craft export.
• Cotton textiles and chickens were native to the Indus region, not Mesopotamia, so they were probably sent there [2].

• Mesopotamian texts also mention a haja-bird from Meluhha, which scholars identify with the peacock.

• Goods brought in (imports):

• Copper from Magan (Oman). Copper ingots (metal bars) reached Lothal from Magan (likely Oman) [2].

• Bitumen (a natural tar found in Mesopotamia) was probably traded for Harappan cotton and chickens [2].

• Routes:

• The sea route ran along the coast and through the Persian Gulf.
• Overland and river routes connected Harappan sites with each other and with Iran.

How the trade was run

• Seals and sealings:
• Seals were made of steatite (a soft stone that is easy to carve and becomes hard when fired).
• Each seal carried an animal motif (such as a unicorn or bull) and a short line of script, probably the owner's name or title.
• A sealing is the impression a seal leaves on clay. It was used to close bags or packets of goods.

• If the sealing reached the buyer unbroken, it showed that nobody had tampered with the goods. It also showed who had sent them. This worked like an early customs or authentication system.

• Standard weights:

• The weights were cubical (cube-shaped), made of chert (a hard stone) and unmarked (no numbers carved on them).
• Smaller weights followed a binary system (1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32…). Larger weights followed a decimal system (160, 200, 320, 640).
• The base unit was about 0.856–0.8565 g, and the most common weight was about 13.7 g [3].
• Very small weights were used for costly items such as jewellery and beads. Metal scale-pans have also been found, which shows that goods were actually weighed.
• The weights were the same across sites, and Dilmun followed the Harappan standard. This points to a centrally regulated system, probably used for market exchange and/or taxation [3].

How the trade changed over time

• c. 2600 BCE (Early Dynastic Period): archaeological finds suggest the trade began around this time [2].
• c. 2350–1794 BCE: this is the period of the written Mesopotamian references to Meluhha, covering the Akkadian, Ur III and Isin-Larsa periods [2].
• Akkadian period: ships from Meluhha sailed directly to Mesopotamian ports [2].
• Isin-Larsa period (later): Dilmun became the entrepôt, meaning a middle port where goods were unloaded and passed on. Direct voyages gave way to trade through Dilmun [2].
• Sumerian texts describe Dilmun as a trading centre from the late 4th millennium BCE onwards [2].

Time, place and evidence

• Period: the Harappan Civilisation is dated c. 3500–1300 BCE, with its mature phase c. 2600–1900 BCE. Long-distance trade belongs mainly to the mature phase.
• Places:
• Meluhha: the Akkadian name for the Indus region, glossed as "land of seafarers".
• Magan: Oman.
• Dilmun: Bahrain.
• Susa: a site in Iran.

• Lothal: a Harappan site in Gujarat that received copper from Magan [2].

• Key ruler named in the sources: Sargon of Akkad. Cuneiform tablets from his era mention trade with Dilmun, Magan and Meluhha.

• How we know about the trade:
• Nickel traces: Omani copper ore and Harappan copper objects both contain traces of nickel. This points to a common source of ore and is strong evidence of direct exchange.
• Black-clay-coated jar: a large Harappan jar with a thick coat of black clay was found at sites in Oman. Its contents are unknown, but it was probably traded for copper.
• Ivory comb found at a site in Oman.
• Carnelian beads from the Harappan region found at Susa (Iran).
• Persian Gulf seals that carry Harappan motifs.
• Dilmun weights that follow the Harappan standard.
• A Mesopotamian cylinder seal with a humped-bull motif, which shows contact in the other direction.
• Ships and boats shown on Harappan seals, which support the idea of sea trade.

• Cuneiform tablets (Mesopotamian clay tablets with wedge-shaped writing) from the 3rd millennium BCE.

• Limitation: the Indus script (Sindhu lipi) has not been deciphered. So we know about the trade only from objects and from Mesopotamian writing, not from the Harappans' own words.

Don't confuse with

• Meluhha vs Magan vs Dilmun: Meluhha = the Indus/Harappan region; Magan = Oman (the source of copper); Dilmun = Bahrain (the later transit port). A common trap is to match Dilmun with Oman.
• Seal vs sealing: a seal is the carved steatite object. A sealing is the impression it leaves on clay, used to close and certify packets of goods.
• Harappan seal vs Mesopotamian cylinder seal: Harappan seals were usually flat steatite seals with an animal and a line of script. The humped-bull motif found in Mesopotamia is on a cylinder seal, a Mesopotamian type that was rolled across clay.
• Binary vs decimal weights: smaller Harappan weights were binary (1, 2, 4… 32). Larger ones were decimal (160, 200, 320, 640). The weights carried no numbers.

Prelims Hooks

• In Mesopotamian texts: Dilmun = Bahrain, Magan = Oman, Meluhha = the Indus region.
• "Meluhha", the Akkadian name for the Harappan region, is glossed as "land of seafarers".
• Nickel traces link Omani copper ore to Harappan copper objects. Lothal received copper ingots from Magan [2].
• Harappan carnelian beads have been found at Susa, in Iran.
• Dilmun's weights followed the Harappan standard. Harappan weights were cubical chert blocks with no markings, binary at lower values and decimal at higher values.
• Trade sequence: direct Meluhha voyages to Mesopotamia in the Akkadian period, then Dilmun as the transit port in the Isin-Larsa period [2].

Mains Points

• Rare cross-checked evidence: objects from the ground (the jar, the ivory comb, nickel-traced copper, carnelian beads at Susa) agree with Mesopotamian cuneiform records. Very few Bronze Age trade networks can be confirmed by both kinds of evidence.
• A trade system that changed over time: the move from direct voyages (Akkadian period) to trade through Dilmun (Isin-Larsa period) shows an organised network that adapted, not a fixed exchange [2]. Standard weights and the use of sealings point to rules for trade and administration. This happened even though no strong central ruler is clearly visible, which links to the debate on how Harappan society was governed.
• Limits of our knowledge: because the Sindhu lipi is undeciphered, every conclusion about Harappan trade comes from outside evidence: Mesopotamian texts, weights and where seals were found. Any answer on Harappan society should mention this limit.

Related concepts

• Meluhha
• Harappan seals
• Unicorn seal
• Harappan script
• Boustrophedon
• Harappan weights

Read more

• Long-distance trade, seals, script, weights