Different Perspectives of the Indus Civilization

 

Dancing Girl
The Indus Valley Civilization
2300-1750 B.C.E.
National Museum, New Delhi

    Introduction

    The point of this post is to compare and contrast the differences in the information presented on the Indus Valley Civilization existing from 3300-1300 BCE. The two sources that will be analyzed will be the film Indus: The Unvoiced Civilization and Awakening: An Introduction to the History of Eastern Thought by Patrick S. Bresnan.

    The goal of exploring and researching the information found in both sources was to analyze the cultural practices and products of the Indus Civilization, as well as to evaluate the different interpretations of the events of this time period.

    Differences in Information

    One thing that I found within the chapters of Bresnan's book that was not present within the video was information on the possible causes of the downfall of the Indus Civilization. "One of the more plausible theories concerns the slow relentless destruction of the environment by the generations of people who lived in those cities and towns"(Bresnan 7). This information altered my perspective on the ingenuity and efficiency of the Indus people, something heavily touched upon by the film contents.

    The film elaborates extensively on the intelligent architecture of the Indus people and its many applications. "The reservoirs were constructed using the central bedrock as their base so that there a gradual slope...the water-filled up each reservoir in-turn, starting with the higher reservoir and descending to those on the lower levels...this is how the people of Dholavira, despite the lack of rainfall, managed to save enough water to cultivate their crops for the year"(Indus 18:19).

    Differences in Perspective

    The film ultimately fails to detail both the downfall of the civilization and the possibility of the downfall being a result of actions taken by the Indus people when building and/or living in their cities.

Terra-cotta Figure with a Headdress of Flowers
The Indus Valley Civilization
3000 B.C.E.

    The film covers the topic of the end of the Indus Civilization only briefly and chooses to instead, by neglecting the information on its end, leave the audience in awe of the impressiveness of the Indus architecture, culture, and technologies to which the film covers in great detail. "Forty-five hundred years ago, the people of the region built their cities along the river banks. When the water dried up, the cities were abandoned"(Indus 57:35). The film ends by pointing to the fact that the Indus river waters continue to flow, further emphasizing the civilization's influence and longevity. 

    Bresnan instead goes in-depth on the end of the Indus Civilization and explains its hypothesized effects on the world at the time. "The decline of the Indus Civilization (also referred to as the Harappan Period) was apparently accompanied by a deep cultural depression, but it was relatively short-lived"(Bresnan 7). 

Overall, I would say that Bresnan's writing seems to be more aimed at giving an in-depth analysis of the rise and fall of the Indus Civilization while stating facts in mostly chronological order. In contrast, I would say that the film does more to emphasize the positive aspects of the Indus Civilization while also aiming to engage the reader as much as possible throughout. 

Work Cited

Bresnan, Patrick S. Awakening an Introduction to the History of Eastern Thought. Milton 

Taylor And Francis, 2017.

‌“Dancing Girl (Mohenjo-Daro) from the Indus Valley Civilization.” Joy of Museums Virtual Tours, 

joyofmuseums.com/museums/asia-museums/india-museums/national-museum-n

ew-delhi/dancing-girl-mohenjo-daro/.

“Indus: The Unvoiced Civilization.” Films Media Group, www.films.com/id/1460. Accessed 14 Sept.

            2021.

“A Glimpse at the Human Figurines of the Indus Valley Civilization.” Www.people.vcu.edu,

            www.people.vcu.edu/~djbromle/artviewsnet/portrait04/jithin/indusvalley.htm. Accessed 14 Sept.

           2021. ‌