The End or a New Beginning?

Class 6 Social Science · Chapter 6: The Beginnings of Indian Civilisation · NCERT Exploring Society: India and Beyond section 6.8

Learn

Around 1900 BCE, the Harappan cities slowly began to be abandoned, one by one. The government that had organised them seems to have disappeared, and people scattered into hundreds of small villages.

Why? Long ago, some people thought invaders destroyed the cities, but there is no trace of war. Today scholars agree on two main causes: a change in climate that brought less rain, making farming harder, and the drying up of the Sarasvati river in its central basin. Cities there, like Kalibangan and Banawali, were suddenly abandoned.

Cities depended on villages for food and sometimes water. When food became scarce, it made sense to move back to village life, closer to fields and water. This reminds us how much people depend on climate and the environment.

But it was not a complete end. Many Harappan skills and customs, in farming, crafts like beads and bangles, town-building and perhaps some beliefs, continued in later Indian life. So it was also a new beginning.

Explore: the story of the cities.

1. Put the story in order.

Remember

• After about 1900 BCE, cities were abandoned because of a drier climate and the drying of the Sarasvati.
• People moved to villages, and many Harappan skills continued: a new beginning.

Quick check

Which is NOT one of the agreed causes of the decline?

1. A great war with invaders
2. Less rain from a climate change
3. The Sarasvati drying up
4. Harder farming and less food

Think about it

Climate change affected the Harappans. How is climate change affecting people today?

Practice

Practise with fresh questions at three levels (easy, medium, hard), some answered hands-on, with hints and worked answers. Get 4 of your last 5 right to finish the topic.