Customer Reviews

A Peaceful Realm : The Rise And Fall of the Indus Civilization

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I am glad to read this book, which is produced very aesthetically with stunning color and black and white photographs. The book forms a suitable companion to Kenoyer's "Cities of the Indus Civilization". It contains neatly divided sections and chapters on various topics (e.g. Pottery, textiles, metallurgy, town planning). It does not confine itself to just a dry description of artifacts and excavated towns - the discusion is skilfully supplemented by insights from cultural and social anthropology and other tools of theoritical archaeology. The author does a commendable job in showing the survival of the vital traits of the civilization down to our present times in India and Pakistan - whether it is houseplanning, village carts, ladles and coonches for pouring oblations in sacred ritual fire and so on. With the current acedemic climate being vitiated by virtiolic disputes over the nature of this civilization,the author manages to steer clear of the controversies, and manages to give a very consistent, accurate, insightful account that is quite understandable to the lay reader.

The author is a practicing archaeologist, with excavation experience in India and Pakistan. It is hoped that she will continue writing on the Indus Civilization in the years to come.

A Peaceful Dream: The Rise And Fall Of The Indus Civilization by archaeologist and prehistory expert Jane McIntosh is an amazing account of the second oldest known civilization next to the Mesopotamian Civilization. Little is known for absolute certain, yet much has been unearthed of the Indus Civilization. This informative account is gloriously illustrated with maps and black-and-white photographs, as well as a section of color plates, showing the lost treasures and artifacts of an ancient world. Chapters recount and hypothesize about religion, trade, the enigmatic script and the eternal legacy of the Indus Civilization. A Peaceful Dream is a fascinating and "reader friendly" historical study which is very highly recommended for personal, school, and community library antiquities collections and reading lists.

Wonderful!. Excellent!. It left me stunned with spontaneous tears of joy!!!. I am a Tamil speaking Dravidian and could not differ on her theory of continuity of Indus culture in the present day South India.

For example, Lord Shiva, a Dravidian God, is being worshiped till today. ( Yogi Indus seal in Harappa )
Lord Shiva is also mentioned in our old Tamil epics.

The recent discovery of iron age tools with Indus Script in Nagapattinam, South Tamilnadu has proved beyond doubt that South Indian Dravidian culture is in fact Indus!!!.

She seems to have a deep understanding of our culture. Hats off to her!.

The overused adjective "mysterious" certainly applies to the ancient Indus Valley civilization, because far less is known about these people than about other ancient civilizations such as Egypt and Mesopotamia. Much basic excavation work remains to be done, and the Indus Valley script remains undeciphered.

Author Jane McIntosh meets this challenge by combining the best of current scholarship with her own wide-ranging and thoughtful analysis, to produce an appropriately tentative, yet consistent and plausible, view of the Indus civilization. In the author's own words, "it was an exceptionally well integrated state, in harmony with its environment, where warfare was absent and everyone led a comfortable existence under the benevolent leadership of a dedicated priesthood." These conclusions are developed step-by-step throughout the book, with chapters on the rise and fall of the Indus civilization, farming, crafts, urbanization, religion, society, writing, trade, and contributions to the later civilization of India.

The writing throughout is clear, understandable, and objective. The author includes and evaluates an impressive variety of types of evidence, from archaeology to anthropology and linguistics, and approaches this controversial subject with a disciplined, yet open and undogmatic, mind.

In a field where so much remains to be done, it is always possible that future discoveries will radically change our view of the Indus civilization. "A Peaceful Realm" is an excellent synthesis of current knowledge about Indus studies, and can be recommended to anyone interested in the Indus in particular or ancient civilizations in general.

I bought this book along with two others to get a better understanding of the Mature Harappan civilization of the Indus valley. Professor McIntosh provides a thorough interpretation of the evidence of archaeological excavations, and uses the society and customs of later India to support some of her conclusions on the various aspects of the Harappan civilisation.

The following is a summary of the contents of the each chapter

INTRODUCTION - An overview of the development of the 4 Bronze Age civilizations of the Indus, Egypt,
Mesopotamia, and China with a useful comparative time-line summary of each.

1: LOST CIVILIZATIONS - An overview of the archaeological discoveries relating to the Indus civilization, and a review of
the most significant theories put forward by eminent scholars of the past

2: BEFORE INDUS CIVILIZATION - A brief review of the evidence of the earliest inhabitants of the Indian subcontinent,
the discoveries at Mehrgarh and the evidence for the development of agriculture.

3: FARMERS OF THE INDUS - A discussion on the development of the Harappan civilization in the Indus valley, the
pastoralists, the farmers, the fishermen, the cultivation of new crops, and the lost Sarasvati river

4: CRAFTS OF THE INDUS - a review of the specialized crafts - pottery, flint knappers, metal workers, brick makers, shell
workers, bead makers, seal makers, ivory carvers, woodworking, textiles - the techniques used, the standardization of some
products, and the organization of craft activities

5: THE URBAN REVOLUTION - the villages, towns, and cities of the Indus civilization, a description of the public
buildings, the citadels, the houses of major sites - Mohenjo Daro, Harappa, Dholavira, Lothal - and comparison with those
of historical times

6: INDUS RELIGION - a review of possible items of religious importance such as the Great Bath at Mohenjo Daro, the
importance of water, the significance of the trefoil symbol, the fire altars, sacred images, figurines, funerary rites etc., with a discussion of various theories and the case for religious continuity with that of historical times.

7: INDUS SOCIETY - a proposal for the organization of the Indus civilization, its rulers, the possible beginnings of the caste
system, the possible use of bangles and seals as indicators of rank and membership in clans, cities, and professions

8: THE ENIGMATIC INDUS SCRIPT - the nature of the scripts found so far, the case for a Dravidian language, the current
methods used to decipher unknown languages ,and the attempts (thus far unsuccessful) to "crack the code"

9: TRADE AND INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS - the references to trade between Mesopotamia and "Meluhha", the
evidence for trade in raw materials such as copper, tin, gold, silver, and artefacts such as carnelian beads, weights, and a
discussion on the impact of the movement of Mesopotamian trade towards Anatolia.

10: A PEACEFUL REALM - a discussion on the lack of evidence of warfare - (no swords, maces, battle axes, catapults, and
other military equipment has been found) , in distinct contrast to contemporary civilizations

11: THE END OF THE INDUS CIVILIZATION - a review and analysis of the possible causes for the end of the civilization

12: THE LEGACY OF THE INDUS CIVILIZATION - a review of aspects of the Indus civilization which seem to have
influenced Indian cultures in later times

13: CIVILIZATION - discussion on the factors underlying the emergence of civilization and the present's debt to the past

I very much enjoyed reading this book. It is well illustrated, the style and content of the maps are very helpful, and the colour plates representative and interesting. Considering that there is only minimal evidence on the culture of the Harappan civilization, most interpretation must be based on circumstantial evidence and possible parallels in historical times. The author's conclusions on religion, the language of the scripts, and the causes of the decline of the civilization are convincing, and well balanced between views based on "articles of faith" and those based on " the facts on the ground".
I think that book is very complementary to "Understanding Harappa" by Shereen Ratnagar which I found easier to follow with respect to the discussion on the context, the review of the most significant sites, their artefacts, and their geographical setting. "The Peaceful Realm", however, has a considerably greater and wider ranging analysis of the culture of the civilization. Both authors are very fair in their consideration of the many differing views concerning the antecedents, the nature, and the legacy of the Indus civilization, and I recommend both books to readers who wish to obtain a greater knowledge of this civilization based upon an objective analysis of the available evidence. The website http://www.harappa.com also provides many interesting essays and beautiful photographs on the Harappan sites and aspects of the Harappan civilization.

it appears that except Indologist everybody else know how to read mtDNA findings. nowhere in the book I could read the recent breakthrough about the lack of genetic evidence on Aryan invasion and migration. and after concluding that Indus valley had the evidence of fire place, shiva and shakti seals and so on, she then again go back to the imaginary of how European white Aryan descended to the black Dravidian world of Indus valley. if that is how Westerner try to write history of other cultures, I myself being a westerner feel very sorry for my own people. The bottom line is this: do not try to defend something that is indefensible. please start writing all the facts in details, and tell us cleary: what happened to the Indus valley culture? did it disappear or continued as the Vedic culture?

This work is essential a display piece that corresponds well with McIntosh's other major publication, 'The Ancient Indus River Valley.' It has more of an introductory/layman feel to it, with a little less emphasis on archaeological data. This is the sort of thing one would purchase at a museum, rather than a bookstore. Not that I want to denature its marketability! McIntosh is a very thoughtful and level-headed writer, which is perfect for a subject as touchy as Indian archaeology. I would recommend this book, but turn the more serious enthusiast to her main textbook on the subject.

I reread this book recently. I was dazzled when I read it a few years ago. The most important impression it left was that the ancient Indus/Saraswati Civilization was not only civilized but peaceful. No convincing evidence had been found as of 2002 that there had been the kind of inequality and violence associated with other great civilizations. No evidence has been found of an aggrandized ruling class supported by armed force. There is no evidence of wars of conquest to enlarge and enrich the elite. It appeared to be a very widespread and prosperous culture without those features. It was apparently administered by Priests who built temples but not palaces.
When I mentioned this at the time at a meeting of the local Archaeology Society, the expert speaker dismissed my question with "Conclusions can't be made at this stage from what has not been found". Well, time has passed, much more digging has been done and the major conclusion that has been drawn is that the so called Aryan invasion never happened. There was plenty of population movement and extensive trade, but no invasion. The Indus/ Saraswati Civilization also seems to be much older than previously supposed and was not only peaceful, but the common people shared in its prosperity. In fact, according to Feuerstein, Kak & Frawley (In Search of the Cradle of Civilization), it was just as influential as the ancient civilizations of the Middle East. While the script has not been deciphered, the custom of having a whole class of people devoted to memorizing and preserving the Vedic literature in tact from ancient times, seems to have given us a more ancient record than even the Bible.
While I recommend both books highly, the breathtaking illustrations in A Peaceful Realm make it my first choice.

"A Peaceful Realm" by Jane McIntosh is an excellent introduction to the Indus Valley Civilization, a mysterious high culture that florished 4000 years ago in the northwestern part of the Indian sub-continent. The author summarizes what I take to be the current scholarly thinking about the Indus culture.

The book is intended for the general reader, but since it's written from an archeological perspective, some people may found it boring. Brace yourself for an over-view of excavations, excavations and even more excavations! Jane McIntosh is obviously not a journalist... Still, I give the book four stars, because it's very informative and fascinating, and the archeological perspective is inevitable anyway. Since most written records of the Indus Valley Civilization have been lost, and those that remain are undeciphered, most of what we can know about this ancient culture is due to...well, archeological excavations.

There are at least three things that make the Indus culture mysterious. First, it was a highly developed civilization with large cities (the largest had perhaps 100,000 inhabitants), a uniform culture, and a well-developed division of labor, including vast trade networks. This suggests some kind of empire with a large and efficient state administration. Yet, nobody has been able to find the rulers of the Indus people! There are no royal palaces, no cult statues of kings, and all burials were relatively simple. Also, all people seem to have been well-nourished, suggesting the non-existence of an underclass. This has led some daring people to suggest that the Indus civilization was relatively egalitarian, making it a curious anomaly among high cultures. McIntosh doesn't go that far. She believes that a ruling class did exist, and suggests other reasons for why it remains invisible in the archeological record. Perhaps the rulers were a caste of ascetic priests, whose ruling function was marked precisely by the absence of any worldy goods? The Indus peoples may also have showed their rank in ways we don't comprehend today. Studies of burials and sculptures suggest that jewelry or bracelets may have been used to denote rank, and seals with different animal motifs may have been caste symbols. Curiously for a culture ruled by priests, there are no temples either! At Mohenjo-Daro, a large structure known as the Great Bath have been uncovered, which may have been a kind of sanctuary for ritual purification, but this remains an educated guess.

Second, the Indus Valley culture was completely peaceful, and this peace seems to have lasted for at least 700 years, maybe more! This too is almost unique among high cultures, and indeed among "primitive" cultures as well. The towns of the Indus peoples did have large walls, but they were not defensive, but built mostly to impress, and perhaps to make sure that merchants moving in and out of the towns paid the proper dues. There is no evidence that the walls were ever attacked or destroyed by foreign armies. Nor are there any remains of a developed military technology, no siege engines for instance, and the weapons found were probably used for hunting. That a hierarchical, priest-ridden empire could be peaceful is counter-intuitive, and sounds almost to good to be true, but this is what the archeological record suggests. Nor was the Indus Valley Civilization brutally destroyed by invading Indo-Aryans, as once assumed. It seems that the civilization broke down for other reasons, including ecological disasters and a shift in agriculture, which eventually turned the once prosperous cities into backwater slums, eventually forcing the inhabitants to abandon them.

The third mystery of this culture is the Indus script, which nobody has been able to decipher (yet). McIntosh is confident that the script records an agglutinative language, which in an Indian context would mean a Dravidian language. Other linguistic evidence also suggests that the Dravidians settled in India before the Indo-Aryans, making the Indus culture the obvious candidate for a Dravidian culture. One fact not mentioned by the author is that genetic evidence confirms that Dravidians came to India earlier than the Indo-Europeans. The claim that the Indus Valley Civilization was Dravidian is controversial, especially in modern India, where various nationalist groups among both Dravidians and Indo-Aryans try to claim the Indus peoples for themselves. In America, there are Black groups which claim that the Indus peoples were Africans. (The aboriginal peoples of India may have been related to Negritos, Papuans and Australian Aborigines). Still, the case for the Indus-Saraswati cultures being Dravidian seems rock-solid. It also seems as if later Indian religion ("Hinduism") is a mixture of Indus and Aryan elements. While the religion of the Indus culture is difficult to interpret in the absence of written records, it seemed to include worship of cows or buffalo, mother godesses, the cult of Shiva or Durga, yoga, ritual purification through water, stellar worship based on astronomical observations (the author mentions this piece of information only in passing!), and perhaps even fire altars. When the Aryans entered the Indian sub-continent, they took with them their own gods, such as Indra or Vishnu, other kinds of rituals, and eventually wrote the Vedic scriptures. Together, these strands united to form Hinduism as practiced today.

Of course, the Indus Valley Civilization raises a lot of philosophical questions. How can a hierarchical society be benign and peaceful? How can a ruling class refrain from show off its wealth or power? Was there even a ruling class? And if not, how did these peoples get along so well together? (Perhaps precisely because of that?) McIntosh doesn't answer these questions.

They are left for the reader to ponder...

(For more on the Indus Valley culture, see the commentary section below!)

Aboout the Indus Valley Civilization, quite a few Achealogists have been writing and this book gives a brief account. However, at pages 116 and 117 she says,"Parpola identifies the goddess as as Durga...to whom human sacrifices were made until quite recently, and the kneeling figure is identified as the youthful god known variously as Skanda,Rudra or Kumara,who is bound to the goddess in a sacred marriage that will culminate in his sacrifice".It is not clear whether the whole statement is based on Parpola's observations or only the identification of the figure as that of Durga. Be that as it may, what is the source on the basis of which it is alleged that human sacrifices were made until 'quite recently'? There is no report of such a practice by the East India Company men, by Marco Polo, by Ibn Batuta, by Husien Sang or any other foreign visitor to India. "Sati' has been described and Raja Ram Mohan Roy had asked the then British Govt of India to legislate against it as illegal and if Human sacrifices were being practiced would he not have objected to that also? Jane's statement in regard to the practice of human sacrifices is therefore totally unacceptable. As regards, Skanda being a husband for sacrifice, again, where does she get that fact? From the insect-world? Rudra was himself a fierce God all-powerful and trashed Daksha the father of Parvati. His dance and anger shook the world. And he to be sacrificed at the end of a marriage! Why is such trash being put forward as serious work. Sampath