Part 16 - Agriculture

The main crops cultivated were barley and wheat, along with cotton, lentils and oilseeds like sesame. This means that the sesame seed oil was in use. It was used in earthen lamps. There is no concrete evidence that the irrigation system was available those days, but one can draw some conclusion from the available information. For domestic water supply house wells were seen, as such there seems to be a great possibility of the existence of wells in agriculture land. At an excavation site in Sindh at Alladino, two wells were found. One of them was found at some distance and was built on a higher plane. It was built in stones and a big pot was found near it and a slope was given to the ground. Surrounding land was covered with baked bricks and it might be possible that the slope was made to facilitate the flow of water to the agricultural land. (Dhavlikar 2012: 39)

During excavation at the sites in Indus civilisation evidence of food grains along with vegetables and fruits has been found. This shows the advancement in agriculture. It may be said that the agricultural prowess was the reason for their economic development. The very fertile land in Sindh and Punjab was responsible for a fast progress in agriculture. From the existence of huge size silos, one can imagine the abundance of crops in this civilasition. (Dhavlikar 2012: 35)

Fish and meat were a part of the diet. The domestication of animals was also done. The clothing of men and women were not much different. The upper garment was a shawl taken over the left shoulder and under the right arm and the lower garment was like a dhoti of modern time. The hair of men and women were decorated in various types and metal ornaments were made of gold, silver and copper along with semi-precious stones which were also used by people. The vessels of bronze and copper along with pottery and furniture was also in use. The transportation was done by bullock carts. They had a basic knowledge of medicine.

Cotton and usual spinning along with dying of fabrics and pottery manufacturing were done. An important feature of this culture was the existence of seals which have been found during excavation.