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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An excellent introduction to the Harappan civilization,
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This review is from: Understanding Harappa: Civilization in the Greater Indus Valley (Paperback)
This slim and well written book concentrates on describing the discoveries at archaeological sites of the Mature Harappan era which Ms Ratnagar places during the period c 2600BC to 1900BC
I bought this book with two others to extend my knowledge of the Harrapan period which I had first read about in the book "In Search of the Cradle of Civilization" by Georg Feuerstein, Subhash Kak, & David Frawley. Having read that book, which develops a number of seemingly controversial hypotheses about the origins and subsequent disappearance of the Harrapan civilization, I realised that my knowledge of this period was decidedly inadequate for me to be able to make any objective judgement about these hypotheses. So my purpose in buying these books was to "seek more data". The book by Ms Ratnagar, which was published in 2001, definitely provides much information about the most important Harappan sites and she provides a clear definition between those which she considers Harappan and those which she considers are sites of local culture with Harappan contact. She concentrates on describing and interpreting the artefacts and objects which have been found at both types of site, and avoids any lengthy discussion on the origins and disappearance of the Harappan civilization until the final two chapters. After a short introduction which highlights the distinctive features and phases of the Harappan civilization , there is an opening chapter "Concepts and Parameters" in which the author describes the basic parameters for defining what is an Harappan site, the context, dating methodologies, definition of the word "civilization" and a brief discussion of the term "Bronze Age". These are important chapters to read because they set the limits on the context of the rest of the book. The next five chapters form the backbone of the book: Chapter 2: Harappan settlements in their setting - which provides a description and discoveries from about 60 sites of the Mature Harappan era Chapter 3: Neighbours and Trade partners - which describe neighbouring non Harappan sites in South Asia, Iran, Afghanistan, and Turkemistan Chapter 4: Material Culture - Communication , Public economy - which describes evidence of possible transport systems, seals, script and language, crafts and metalwork, and craft specialization Chapter 5: Material Culture - Artistic Representation - which describes pottery decoration, animal carvings, terra cotta models stone and bronze sculpture of human beings Chapter 6: Material Culture - Urban form and Architecture - which describes the architecture of Mohenjo-Daro, and Harappa, with brief descriptions of the architecture at smaller sites such as Kalibangan, Banawali, Lothal The remaining chapters are more interpretative in nature Chapter 7: Religion A review of burial customs, artifacts, and architecture which may have a religious significance Chapter 8: The Bronze Age Social formation An outline of the Harappan economy and an attempt to indicate the logic of the socio-economic structure Chapter 9: Origins A review of the pre-Harappan site at Mehrgarh , the Kacchi plain, and other sites close to the passes along which pastoralists from the higher elevations in Afghanistan and Central Asia have moved with their herds down into the Indus valley for winter pasturing from time immemorial. Chapter 10: The End of the Harappan civilization A review of the desertion of Harappan sites, the possible causes, and the sites of the succeeding period. Ms Ratnagar is often quite tentative in her conclusions, carefully analysing the data with little speculation. I will not attempt to summarize her findings since that would spoil the fun of reading the book, but do feel that they are inclusive and well thought out. I liked the fact that they are firmly based on what has been discovered, yet open enough to assert that there is simply insufficient evidence at the moment for support of more speculative theories. I enjoyed this book very much, it certainly met my expectations and I have since re-read it a second time. It has a large number of colour plates, some attractive and easy to read maps, a useful short section on future reading and an index of sites, artefacts, authors, and major towns and regions mentioned in the text. I can thoroughly recommend it to other readers who are interested in obtaining a factual description of what has thus far been discovered about the Harappan civilization
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent book.,
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This review is from: Understanding Harappa (Paperback)
The author approaches her examination of Harappan civilization from a meticulously scientific perspective, carefully defining her terms and reasoning strictly on the basis of Harappan material culture. This is a terrific and accessible read for anyone interested in the earliest human urban civilizations.
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