After flourishing from 2600 – 1900 B.C.E, the Indus Valley Civilization entered a period of decline. The various reasons cited for the decline include climate change, like the decline of monsoons. A crucial factor was also the disappearance of substantial portions of the Ghaggar Hakra river system, believed to be the mythical Saraswati.

Climate changes are sometimes responsible for the development of civilizations. For example, a pre-historic climate change in Eastern Sahara resulted in the rise of the Egyptian civilization. There is an argument that civilizations developed as a by-product of adaptation to climate change and hostile environments.

The early civilisations of Egypt, Mesopotamia, South Asia, China and northern South America were founded between 6000 and 4000 years ago when global climate changes, driven by natural fluctuations in the Earth’s orbit, caused a weakening of monsoon systems resulting in increasingly arid conditions. These first large urban, state-level societies emerged because diminishing resources forced previously transient people into close proximity in areas where water, pasture and productive land was still available.

“Civilisation did not arise as the result of a benign environment which allowed humanity to indulge a preference for living in complex, urban, ‘civilized’ societies,” said Dr. Brooks.

“On the contrary, what we tend to think of today as ‘civilisation’ was in large part an accidental by-product of unplanned adaptation to catastrophic climate change. Civilisation was a last resort – a means of organising society and food production and distribution, in the face of deteriorating environmental conditions.”

He added that for many, if not most people, the development of civilisation meant a harder life, less freedom, and more inequality. The transition to urban living meant that most people had to work harder in order to survive, and suffered increased exposure to communicable diseases. Health and nutrition are likely to have deteriorated rather than improved for many.

The new research challenges the widely held belief that the development of civilization was simply the result of a transition from harsh, unpredictable climatic conditions during the last ice age, to more benign and stable conditions at the beginning of the Holocene period some 10,000 years ago. [Climate change rocked cradles of civilization]

The Rig-Veda authors mention their land as that of seven rivers. Out of the seven only five exist now. The remaining two, Saraswati and Drishadwati have disappeared. Following the discovery of Mohenjo-Daro along the banks of Indus and Harappa about 350 miles away, archaeologists started looking for other sites in the area. New sites were discovered, but they were buried under the sand in the desert. Archaeologists knew that these towns could not survive in the desert and satellite images have now shown that in what is now Thar Desert, once traversed a river with its own fertile banks[2]. These dry channels of the Ghaggar-Hakra is considered by many to be the Saraswati river.

A recent paper by Fuller and Madella describe the importance of Ghaggar-Hakra system in Indus-Saraswati Civilization

Another factor in the Holocene environmental history of the northwestern sub-continent, overlooked in some discussions of Quaternary palaeoecology, is the changes in the river drainage system, especially the Ghaggar-Hakra system flowing roughly parallel but separate to the Indus . Archaeological research in Cholistan has led to the discovery of a large number of sites along the dry channels of the Ghaggar-Hakra river (often identified with the lost Sarasvati and Drishadvatirivers of Sanskrit traditions) . Along the Ghaggar-Hakra there is a relatively high frequency of settlements during the Mature Harappan (2600–2000 cal BC), which suggests a well-watered region that could support agriculture. This may be interpreted either as a river or an inland delta in the area around Derawar. By the time of the Painted Grey Ware period (ca 1200–500 cal BC) the river must have been dry, because several sites of this period are found in river bed contexts. This change, thought to have been brought on by tectonic uplift and the capture of the Ghaggar-Hakra headwaters by the Yamuna watershed, led to gradual desiccation during the Holocene, which was well underway by the period of the Harappan Civilisation  The final desiccation of some of these channels may have had major repercussions for the Harappan Civilisation and is considered a major factor in the de-centralisation and de-urbanisation of the Late Harappan period. [via email from Carlos Aramayo]

Following the discovery of Mohenjo-Daro along the banks of Indus and Harappa about 350 miles away, archaeologists started looking for other sites in the area. New sites were discovered, but they were buried under the sand in the desert. Archaeologists knew that these towns could not survive in the desert and satellite images have now shown that in what is now Thar Desert, once traversed a river with its own fertile banks[2]. Geologists have identified this river, an extension of the present day Ghaggar, as the Saraswati river mentioned in the Vedic scriptures. Originally the Saraswati flowed through Rajasthan and met the ocean  at the Gulf of Kutch near the Kathiawar peninsula.

Romila Thapar thinks that this identification of Ghaggar with Sarasvati is controversial since Sarasvati is said to cut through high mountains and that is not the landscape of the Ghaggar. She believes that early references to Sarasvati could be to the Haraxvati Plain in Afghanistan[3].

During the time of the NDA administration, Jagmohan started this Saraswati Heritage Project to conduct archaeological excavations in the region.

So far, excavation has already been undertaken in 10 places – Adi Badri, Thanesar, Sandhauli, Bhirrana, Hansi (all in Haryana), Baror, Tarkhanwala Dhera, Chak 86 (all in Rajasthan), Dholavira and Juni Karan in Gujarat. The project’s action taken report claims that during the excavation, remains from the pre-Harappan, Harappan and even medieval times have been discovered. [Times of India]

Then the usual words – saffronization of history, attempts to push the antiquity of Indian civilization were thrown and the Sonia Gandhi administration has scrapped the project. Now Haryana’s Public Health Minister Mr Randeep Singh Surjewala has taken a lead in the search for Saraswati.

Mr Surjewala will soon convene a joint meeting of experts from the Archeological Survey of India, the Geological Survey of India, the Oil and Natural Gas Commission, the ISRO, and other organizations to form a joint working group to trace the paleo-channel of the ancient sacred, Saraswati.

After watching a presentation on the Saraswati paleo-channel here yesterday, Mr Surjewala said the government had twin interests in launching this project — first to find out whether there was any under-ground aquifer in Haryana and secondly even if there was any slight possibility of it, then to harness the water of this channel.

He said the mythical Saraswati was described as the biggest water reservoir by the Rig Veda and Yajurveda and presently confirmed by the satellite images.

The focus was to discover new sources of water by linking the past with the future.

He said the satellite images had confirmed the major course of Saraswati was present through the present day Gaggar which further passed through parts of Haryana, including Kurukshetra, Kalayat and Kaithal. Finally, the channel passed through parts of Jaisalmer in Rajasthan and adjoining regions in Pakistan before discharging into Rann of Kutch.

He explained that paleo-drainage system was an old channel through which river flowed and could hold thousands of cubic km of water. [Surjewala keen on tracing Saraswati]

See Also: A detailed map showing Indus Valley sites and Ghaggar-Hakra river

Climate was an important factor in the rise and decline of ancient civilizations. The decline of the Indus Valley Civilization in 1700 BCE has been attributed to tectonic activity along the Indo-Asian plate boundary, the drying up of the Ghaggar-Hakra river system, and the failure of monsoons. While the decline of the Indus Valley Civilization lead to the rise of the city states in the Gangetic plain, it seems a pre-historic climate change in Eastern Sahara resulted in the rise of the Egyptian civilization.

Starting at about 8500 B.C., researchers say, broad swaths of what are now Egypt, Chad, Libya, and Sudan experienced a “sudden onset of humid conditions.”  For centuries the region supported savannahs full of wildlife, lush acacia forests, and areas so swampy they were uninhabitable. During this time the prehistoric peoples of the eastern Sahara followed the rains to keep pace with the most hospitable ecosystems.

But around 5300 B.C. this climate-driven environmental abundance started to decline, and most humans began leaving the increasingly arid region. “Around 5,500 to 6,000 years ago the Egyptian Sahara became so dry that nobody could survive there,” said Stefan Kröpelin, a geoarchaeologist at the University of Cologne in Germany and study co-author. Without rain, rivers, or the ephemeral desert streams known as waddis, vegetation became sparse, and people had to leave the desert or die, Kröpelin says. [Exodus From Drying Sahara Gave Rise to Pharaohs, Study Says ]

The association between Emperor Asoka and Orissa go much beyond the Kalinga war.  There are people who suggest that Asoka had never ever been to Orissa , even though there are statues with the inscription that it was unveiled by Asoka himself.   When Huen Tsang visited Orissa in the 6th century, he saw ten stupas in the Odra country, established by Asoka and present day archaeology in that region have given lot of artifacts, dating to the time of Asoka. Excavations done by the Orissa Institute of Maritime and South East-Asian Studies are revealing new facts about the capital of Kalinga, the city of Tosali and if Vajragiri had ties with Japan.

The organisation had extensively surveyed the Brahmani-Kelua river valley since 1996 to explore and excavate Buddhist sites. It had excavated Langudi hill site and discovered the ancient Pushpagiri Vihara, an Ashokan Stupa, two rare statues believed to be that of Emperor Ashoka himself, besides 54 rock-cut votive Stupas, five Dhyani Buddha statues and remains of two monasteries.

The excavation of the fort of Radhanagar indicated that it could be the ancient capital of Kalinga, Pradhan said. The excavation of the fort of Radhanagar indicated that it could be the ancient capital of Kalinga, Pradhan, also the curator of state archaeology, said.

The artefacts discovered from last year’s excavation established that Radhanagar or Tosali was a fort city. But interesting findings of this year indicated that it could be a Port city.

Around 100,000 years back, if the woman had “headache”, the man knew the trick to make it disappear – jewelry. While people thought that such creative thinking started only about 50,000 years back, new discoveries are changing the timeframe.

An international team of archaeologists, in an article in Friday’s issue of the journal Science, reported their analysis of small shells with distinctive perforations that appeared to have been strung together as ornamental beads. Chemical study showed that the two shells from the Skhul rock shelter in Israel were more than 100,000 years old, and the single shell from Oued Djebbana, in Algeria, was about 90,000 years old. [Shell Jewelry said to be 100,000 years old]

The article also notes that the sites where the shells were found were far from the sea shore indicating that they were bought there intentionally. This could mean that there could be an industry of shell making in all these regions. This shell making industry was found in India also, but not in the timeframe of the sites in Israel and Algeria. In 2004, a Harappan site was found in the small town of Bagasara in Gujarat. This site which dates back to 2500 B.C was found to have a shell making workshop, fortifications, and knives with bone handles.

Shell bangles have been found before but not a workshop with a such a concentration of shells. The presence of the workshop reveals that the shells were cut and polished into fine bangles. Several heaps of sacred conch shells along with thousands of shell circles systematically cut from these shells have been discovered. Workshops of faience and lapidary stone beads have also been found. [Parallel rural civilization to Harappa]

A similar industry dating to about 1800 BCE was found in Bet Dwaraka as well.

Usually history books depict the development of ancient Indian Civilization as starting from Mehrgarh (from 7000 – 3300 BCE) and then moving to the Indus Valley. The Indus Valley civilization flourished from 3300 BCE to 1700 BCE and then the settlements moved to the Ganges plains, probably due to reduced monsoons or due to the disappearance of the Ghaggar-Hakra river system. It was assumed that the Ganges plains had dense forests and people did not have the tools to clear the forests till about 3500 years back.
Our understanding of the development in the Ganges plains are changing due to the work done by the scientists from the Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeobotany and Lucknow University.

..analysed pollen and chemical signatures in mud dug up from a two-metre-deep hole in the dry lake bed of Sanai Tal, between Rae Bareli and Lalganj in eastern Uttar Pradesh. Ancient pollen yields information about vegetation, while changes in the monsoon are reflected in the signatures of chemical elements buried in lake sediments.
“Our findings suggest that people lived in the Sanai lake region 15,000 years ago,” said Mohan Singh Chauhan, a scientist at Birbal Sahni Institute. But the Sanai lake bed tells a different story: of a seesawing monsoon affecting vegetation and human activity.
The pollen analysis shows that the Ganga plain was a savannah grassland with a few pockets of forests. The scientists also found “cultural pollen” — pollen from plants that grow at sites of human habitation. “Cultural pollen is indirect evidence for human presence and we found it throughout the 15,000-year history of Sanai Tal,” Chauhan said.
The lake itself formed about 12,500 years ago, during a period when the monsoon gained in strength. But the region experienced a 1,000-year spell of dry weather between 11,500 years and 10,500 years ago. During the period, there was a clear decline in the growth of trees around the Sanai Tal, the scientists said.
The levels of cultural pollen — in other words, human activity in the region — also dramatically declined during this dry spell.
The studies show the largest expansion of the lake occurred between 10,000 years and 5,800 years ago, a period corresponding to heavier monsoons. Early during this period, Chauhan said, the region witnessed the beginnings of agriculture.
Excavations at some 9,000-year-old sites in Pratapgarh district, about 100 km east of Sanai Tal, had earlier shown evidence of farming. From 5,000 years ago to the present, the levels of cultural pollen — including pollen from cultivated plants — increases significantly. During this period, the Ganga plain is believed to have witnessed a largescale influx of people.

Previous discoveries in Lahura-Deva site near Sanai Tal have given indication that the Middle Ganga Valley could be home to one of the oldest farming sites in the world, where agriculture developed independently (with respect to West Asia and China).