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SEALS IN HARAPPA–INDUS CIVILIZATION

Year 2023, Volume: 15 Issue: 1, 257 - 269, 15.02.2023

Abstract

Between 3000 and 1500 BC, their societies, which had a unique way of life in the valley of the Indus and Saraswati Rivers, developed a culture called the Harappa – Indus Civilization. The people of this civilization developed unique technologies to ensure the continuity of their lives and built irrigation canals, baths, advanced drainage systems and large granaries in the 3rd and 4th millennium BC. The geography where the Harappa-Indus civilization was formed is very rich in natural resources and the people living in the region evaluated the advantages of the geography. As a result, an efficient agricultural production system and a systematically functioning commercial structure were formed. While the members of the Harappan-Indus civilization increased their mineral processing skills, they also carried out large-scale livestock activities. The greatest evidence of their development in stone and mining has been the archaeological materials that have survived to the present day. They used the finely crafted artifacts they produced, as well as transported them to neighboring geographies through the merchant class. In the meantime, various forms of seals were used due to the regulation of commercial relations and the need for security. These seals basically show who owns the property right and also give information about the cultural structure of the period. The writing of the Harappa – Indus civilization is still unresolved, so information cannot be obtained from the texts that have reached our days. Therefore, the importance of seals, which contain the most understandable data on how the development of civilization was achieved, has increased and it has gained importance to research. In this study, the types, styles and forms will be determined based on the materials used in the construction of the seals in the Harappa-Indus civilization and the purpose of use and their importance will be explained.

References

  • ALLEN, Nick, Ancient India, Anness Publishing, London 2013.
  • AMERI, Marta, Regional Diversity in the Harappan World: The Evidence of the Seals, Eds: Shinn Anna Abraham vd., Connections and Complexity: New Approaches to the Archaeology of South Asia, Routledge, London 2013, s. 355-374.
  • ATRE, Shubhangana, “The Harappan Riddle Of ‘Unicorn’”, Bulletin of the Deccan College Post- Graduate and Research Institute, vol. 44, 1985, s. 1-10.
  • BHAN, Kuldeep, – VIDALE, Massimo, – KENOYER, Jonathan, Mark, “Harappan Technology: Theoretical and Methodological Issues”, Man and Environment, 19 (1-2), 1994, s. 141- 157.
  • BHAN, Kuldeep, Kumar, - VIDALE, Massimo, - KENOYER, Jonathan, Mark, “Some important aspects of the Harappan technological tradition” Prohistory: Archaeology of the Harappan Civilazition, Eds. Shadakshari Settar – Ravi Korisettar, Council of Historical Resarch and Manohar Publishers & Distributors, India 2002, s. 223-272.
  • CHADWICK, Robert, First Civilazitions Ancient Mesopotamia and Ancient Egypt, Equinox Publishing, Sheffield 2005.
  • CHANDA Ramaprasad, “The Indus Valley in the Vedic Period”, The Decline and Fall of the Indus Civilization, Eds. Nayanjot Lahiri, Orient Longman, Hyderabad, 2000, s. 47-49.
  • CORTESI, Elisa – TOSI, Maurizio – LAZZARI, Alessandra, – VIDALE, Massimo, “Cultural Relationships beyond the Iranian Plateau: The Helmand Civilization, Baluchistan and the Indus Valley in the 3rd Millennium BCE”, Paléorient, Vol. 34, No. 2, 2008, s. 5-35.
  • DANI, Ahmed, Hassan, – THAPAR, Bal, Krishen, “The Indus Civilization”, Eds: Ahmed Hassan Dani – Vadim Mikailovich Masson, History of Civilizations Central Asia Volume I, Motilal Banarsidass Publishers, New Delhi 1999, s. 271-299.
  • FABRI, Charles, Louis, The Age of the " Indus Valley Civilization ", Current Science, Vol. 6, No. 9, 1938, s. 433-436. FARMER, Steve, – SPROAT, Richard, – WITZEL, Michael, The Collapse of the Indus-Script Thesis: The Myth of a Literate Harappan Civilization, Electronic journal of Vedic studies, 11(2), 2004, s. 19-57.
  • FORDE, Cyril, Daryll, The Ancient Cities Of The Indus, Geography, Vol. 17, No. 3, 1932, s. 183-192.
  • FRENEZ, Dennys, – TOSI, Maurizio, “The Lothal Sealings: Records from an Indus Civilization Town at the Eastern End of the Maritime Trade Circuits across the Arabian Sea” Eds: M. Perna, Studi in Onore di Enrica Fiandra: Contributi di Archeologia Egea e Vicinorientale, Diffusion de Boccard, Napoli 2005 s. 65-103.
  • GÖKŞEN, Kadriye, Leyla, Harappa-Indus Medeniyeti, (Kahramanmaraş Sütçü İmam Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü, Yayımlanmamış Yüksek Lisans Tezi), Kahramanmaraş 2020.
  • HERMAN, Charles, Frank, “Harappan” Gujarat: The Archaeology-Chronology Connection, Paléorient, Vol. 22, No. 2, 1996, s. 77-112.
  • HOFFMAN, Brett, – MILLER, Heather, “Production and Consumption of Copper-base Metals in the Indus Civilization”, Journal of World Prehistory, Vol. 22, No. 3, 2009, s. 237- 264.
  • KAINIKARA, Sanu, From Indus Independence A Trek Through Indian History, Vij Books India, New Delhi 2016.
  • KALYANARAMAN, Srinivasan, – LITT, D, “Sarasvati-Sindhu Script - Meluhha metalwork catalogues of Bronze Age”, Antiquity Organized By Indian Council of Historical Research, New Delhi 2017.
  • KARLOVSKY, Carl, Lamberg, Trade Mechanisms in Indus-Mesopotamian Interrelations, Journal of the American Oriental Society, Vol. 92, No. 2, 1972, s. 222-229.
  • KENOYER, Jonathan, Mark, – MEADOW Riachard, “Excavations at Harappa 1994–1995: New perspectives on the Indus script, craft activities, and city organization”, South Asian Archaeology, Eds. Raymond Allchin – Bridget Allchin, Oxford & IBH, New Delhi 1997, s. 139-73.
  • KENOYER, Jonathan, Mark, “Iconography of the Indus Unicorn: Origins and Legacy”, Eds: Shinu Anna Abraham vd., Connectıons Andcomplexıty New Approaches to the Archaeology of South Asia, Left Coast Press, California 2013, s. 107-126.
  • KENOYER, Jonathan, Mark, “Seals and Sculpture of the Indus Cities”, Minerva, 9(2), 1998, s. 19-24.
  • KENOYER, Jonathan, Mark, Master of Animals and Animal Masters in the Iconography of the Indus Tradition, Eds: Derek Counts – Bettina Arnold, The Master of Animals in Old World Iconography, With the generous support of the Center for Etruscan Studies, Amherst, Massachusetts 2010, s. 37-58.
  • KENOYER, Mark, Kenoyer, Ancient Cities of The Indus Valley Civilization, Oxford University Press, Oxford 1998.
  • LESHINK, Lawrance, "Port" at Lothal: Another View, American Anthropologist, Vol. 70, No. 5, 1968, s. 911-922.
  • MACKAY, Ernest, “Excavatıons At Chanhu-Daro”, Journal of the Royal Society of Arts, Vol.8 85, No. 4405, 1937, s. 527-545.
  • McINTOSH, Jane, The Ancient Indus Valley; New Perspective, ABC-CLIO, Santa Barbara 2008.
  • MEADOW Richard, “Faunal Remains and Urbanism at Harappa”, Eds. Richard Meadow, Harappa Excavations 1986-1990 A Multidisciplinary Approach to Third Millennium Urbanism, Prehistory Press, Wisconsin 1986, s. 89-106.
  • MEADOW, Richard, – KENOYER, Jonathan, Mark, “The ‘Tiny Steatite Seals’ (Incised Steatite Tablets) of Harappa Some Observations on Their Context and Dating”, Eds: Maurizio Taddei – Giuseppe De Marco, South Asia Archaeologhy 1997, Italy 1997, s. 1-20.
  • OURSEL, Paul, Masson, – GRABOWSKA, Helena, Willman, - STERN, Philippe, Ancient India and Indian Civilization, Routledge, London 1998.
  • PARPOLA, Asko, “Is the Indus Script Indeed Not A Writing System”, Felicitation volume in honour of Iravatham Mahadevan, Varalaaru.com, India 2008, s. 111-131.
  • PARPOLA, Asko, “The Harappan Unicorn is Eurasian and South Asian Perspectives”, Eds. Toshiki Osada – Hıtoshı Endo, Linguistics Archaeology and the Human Past, Indus Project Resarch Institute for Humanity and Nature, Kyoto 2011, s. 125-188.
  • POSSEHL, Gregory, Louis, “The Mature Harappan Phase”, Bulletin of the Deccan College Research Institute, Vol. 60/61, 2000-2001, s. 243-251.
  • POSSEHL, Gregory, Louis, The Transformation of the Indus Civilization, Journal of World Prehistory, Vol. 11, No. 4, 1997, s. 425-472. POSSEHL, Louis, Gregory, “Sociocultural complexity without the state”, Archaic States, Eds. Joyce Marcus – Gari Feinmann, School of American Research Press, USA, 1998, s. 261-291.
  • PRABHAKAR, Nandogopal, Harappans and their Mesopotamian contacts, India International Centre, New Delhi 2013.
  • RATNAGAR, Sheeren, Understanding Harappa Civilization in the Greater Indus Valley, Tulika Books, New Delhi 2001.
  • SHAHANI, Lajwanti, “Trade And Transport Mechanisms Of Protohistoric Sea Trade Between Harappans And Mesopatamia – With Fresh Evidence From Oman Peninsula”, Bulletin of the Deccan College Post-Graduate and Research Institute, Vol. 64/65, 2004-2005, s. 375-377. SULLIVAN, Herbert, “A Re-Examination of the Religion of the Indus Civilization”, History of Religions, Vol. 4, No. 1, 1964, s. 115-125.
  • VOGT, Ute, Franke, “Inscribed objects from Mohenjo-daro: Some remarks on Stylistic variability and distribution patterns”, Eds: Jean François Jarrige, South Asian Archaeology 1989, Prehistory Press, Madison 1992, s.103-112.
  • WHEELER, Sir, Mortimer, The Indus Civilization Supplementary Volume to the Cambridge history of India, Cambirdge University Press, Cambridge 2010.
  • WRIGHT, Rita, The Ancient Indus: Urbanism, Economy, and Society (Case Studies in Early Societies, Series Number 10), Cambridege University Press, Cambridge 2010.

HARAPPA – İNDUS MEDENİYETİNDE MÜHÜRLER

Year 2023, Volume: 15 Issue: 1, 257 - 269, 15.02.2023

Abstract

MÖ 3000-1500 yılları arasında İndus ve Saraswati Nehirleri Vadisinde kendine özgü yaşam biçimine sahip olan toplumlar, Harappa – İndus olarak isimlendirilen medeniyeti meydana geliştirmiştir. Bu medeniyetin insanları, hayatlarının devamlılığını sağlamak amacıyla özgün teknolojiler geliştirmişlerdir. MÖ 3. ve 4. binyıl gibi erken dönemlerde sulama kanalları, hamamlar, gelişmiş drenaj sistemleri ve büyük tahıl ambarları inşa etmişlerdir. Harappa – İndus medeniyetinin oluştuğu coğrafya doğal kaynaklar bakımından oldukça zengin olup bölgede yaşayan insanlar coğrafyanın artılarını değerlendirmiştir. Bunun sonucunda verimli bir tarımsal üretim düzeni ve sistemli bir şekilde işleyen ticari yapı oluşmuştur. Harappa-İndus medeniyetinin mensupları maden işleme becerilerini artırırken geniş ölçekli hayvancılık faaliyeti de yürütmüşlerdir. Taş ve maden işçiliğinde gelişmişliklerinin en büyük kanıtı günümüze ulaşmış olan arkeolojik materyaller olmuştur. Ürettikleri ince işçilikli zanaat eserlerini kendileri kullandıkları gibi tüccar sınıfı vasıtasıyla komşu coğrafyalara da ulaştırmışlardır. Bu esnada ticari ilişkilerin düzenlenmesi ve güvenlik ihtiyacından dolayı çeşitli formda mühürler kullanılmıştır. Bu mühürler, temelde mülkiyet hakkının kime ait olduğunu gösterdiği gibi dönemin kültürel yapısı ile ilgili bilgilerde vermektedir. Harappa – İndus medeniyetinin yazısı halen çözümlenemediği için günümüze ulaşan metinlerden bilgi edinilememektedir. Bundan dolayı medeniyetin gelişiminin nasıl sağlandığı konusunda en anlaşılabilir verileri içeren mühürlerin önemi artmış ve araştırılması önem kazanmıştır. Bu çalışmada, Harappa – İndus medeniyetindeki mühürlerin yapımında kullanılan materyallerden yola çıkarak tipleri, stilleri ve biçimleri saptanıp kullanım amaçları ile önemi açıklanmaya çalışılacaktır.

References

  • ALLEN, Nick, Ancient India, Anness Publishing, London 2013.
  • AMERI, Marta, Regional Diversity in the Harappan World: The Evidence of the Seals, Eds: Shinn Anna Abraham vd., Connections and Complexity: New Approaches to the Archaeology of South Asia, Routledge, London 2013, s. 355-374.
  • ATRE, Shubhangana, “The Harappan Riddle Of ‘Unicorn’”, Bulletin of the Deccan College Post- Graduate and Research Institute, vol. 44, 1985, s. 1-10.
  • BHAN, Kuldeep, – VIDALE, Massimo, – KENOYER, Jonathan, Mark, “Harappan Technology: Theoretical and Methodological Issues”, Man and Environment, 19 (1-2), 1994, s. 141- 157.
  • BHAN, Kuldeep, Kumar, - VIDALE, Massimo, - KENOYER, Jonathan, Mark, “Some important aspects of the Harappan technological tradition” Prohistory: Archaeology of the Harappan Civilazition, Eds. Shadakshari Settar – Ravi Korisettar, Council of Historical Resarch and Manohar Publishers & Distributors, India 2002, s. 223-272.
  • CHADWICK, Robert, First Civilazitions Ancient Mesopotamia and Ancient Egypt, Equinox Publishing, Sheffield 2005.
  • CHANDA Ramaprasad, “The Indus Valley in the Vedic Period”, The Decline and Fall of the Indus Civilization, Eds. Nayanjot Lahiri, Orient Longman, Hyderabad, 2000, s. 47-49.
  • CORTESI, Elisa – TOSI, Maurizio – LAZZARI, Alessandra, – VIDALE, Massimo, “Cultural Relationships beyond the Iranian Plateau: The Helmand Civilization, Baluchistan and the Indus Valley in the 3rd Millennium BCE”, Paléorient, Vol. 34, No. 2, 2008, s. 5-35.
  • DANI, Ahmed, Hassan, – THAPAR, Bal, Krishen, “The Indus Civilization”, Eds: Ahmed Hassan Dani – Vadim Mikailovich Masson, History of Civilizations Central Asia Volume I, Motilal Banarsidass Publishers, New Delhi 1999, s. 271-299.
  • FABRI, Charles, Louis, The Age of the " Indus Valley Civilization ", Current Science, Vol. 6, No. 9, 1938, s. 433-436. FARMER, Steve, – SPROAT, Richard, – WITZEL, Michael, The Collapse of the Indus-Script Thesis: The Myth of a Literate Harappan Civilization, Electronic journal of Vedic studies, 11(2), 2004, s. 19-57.
  • FORDE, Cyril, Daryll, The Ancient Cities Of The Indus, Geography, Vol. 17, No. 3, 1932, s. 183-192.
  • FRENEZ, Dennys, – TOSI, Maurizio, “The Lothal Sealings: Records from an Indus Civilization Town at the Eastern End of the Maritime Trade Circuits across the Arabian Sea” Eds: M. Perna, Studi in Onore di Enrica Fiandra: Contributi di Archeologia Egea e Vicinorientale, Diffusion de Boccard, Napoli 2005 s. 65-103.
  • GÖKŞEN, Kadriye, Leyla, Harappa-Indus Medeniyeti, (Kahramanmaraş Sütçü İmam Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü, Yayımlanmamış Yüksek Lisans Tezi), Kahramanmaraş 2020.
  • HERMAN, Charles, Frank, “Harappan” Gujarat: The Archaeology-Chronology Connection, Paléorient, Vol. 22, No. 2, 1996, s. 77-112.
  • HOFFMAN, Brett, – MILLER, Heather, “Production and Consumption of Copper-base Metals in the Indus Civilization”, Journal of World Prehistory, Vol. 22, No. 3, 2009, s. 237- 264.
  • KAINIKARA, Sanu, From Indus Independence A Trek Through Indian History, Vij Books India, New Delhi 2016.
  • KALYANARAMAN, Srinivasan, – LITT, D, “Sarasvati-Sindhu Script - Meluhha metalwork catalogues of Bronze Age”, Antiquity Organized By Indian Council of Historical Research, New Delhi 2017.
  • KARLOVSKY, Carl, Lamberg, Trade Mechanisms in Indus-Mesopotamian Interrelations, Journal of the American Oriental Society, Vol. 92, No. 2, 1972, s. 222-229.
  • KENOYER, Jonathan, Mark, – MEADOW Riachard, “Excavations at Harappa 1994–1995: New perspectives on the Indus script, craft activities, and city organization”, South Asian Archaeology, Eds. Raymond Allchin – Bridget Allchin, Oxford & IBH, New Delhi 1997, s. 139-73.
  • KENOYER, Jonathan, Mark, “Iconography of the Indus Unicorn: Origins and Legacy”, Eds: Shinu Anna Abraham vd., Connectıons Andcomplexıty New Approaches to the Archaeology of South Asia, Left Coast Press, California 2013, s. 107-126.
  • KENOYER, Jonathan, Mark, “Seals and Sculpture of the Indus Cities”, Minerva, 9(2), 1998, s. 19-24.
  • KENOYER, Jonathan, Mark, Master of Animals and Animal Masters in the Iconography of the Indus Tradition, Eds: Derek Counts – Bettina Arnold, The Master of Animals in Old World Iconography, With the generous support of the Center for Etruscan Studies, Amherst, Massachusetts 2010, s. 37-58.
  • KENOYER, Mark, Kenoyer, Ancient Cities of The Indus Valley Civilization, Oxford University Press, Oxford 1998.
  • LESHINK, Lawrance, "Port" at Lothal: Another View, American Anthropologist, Vol. 70, No. 5, 1968, s. 911-922.
  • MACKAY, Ernest, “Excavatıons At Chanhu-Daro”, Journal of the Royal Society of Arts, Vol.8 85, No. 4405, 1937, s. 527-545.
  • McINTOSH, Jane, The Ancient Indus Valley; New Perspective, ABC-CLIO, Santa Barbara 2008.
  • MEADOW Richard, “Faunal Remains and Urbanism at Harappa”, Eds. Richard Meadow, Harappa Excavations 1986-1990 A Multidisciplinary Approach to Third Millennium Urbanism, Prehistory Press, Wisconsin 1986, s. 89-106.
  • MEADOW, Richard, – KENOYER, Jonathan, Mark, “The ‘Tiny Steatite Seals’ (Incised Steatite Tablets) of Harappa Some Observations on Their Context and Dating”, Eds: Maurizio Taddei – Giuseppe De Marco, South Asia Archaeologhy 1997, Italy 1997, s. 1-20.
  • OURSEL, Paul, Masson, – GRABOWSKA, Helena, Willman, - STERN, Philippe, Ancient India and Indian Civilization, Routledge, London 1998.
  • PARPOLA, Asko, “Is the Indus Script Indeed Not A Writing System”, Felicitation volume in honour of Iravatham Mahadevan, Varalaaru.com, India 2008, s. 111-131.
  • PARPOLA, Asko, “The Harappan Unicorn is Eurasian and South Asian Perspectives”, Eds. Toshiki Osada – Hıtoshı Endo, Linguistics Archaeology and the Human Past, Indus Project Resarch Institute for Humanity and Nature, Kyoto 2011, s. 125-188.
  • POSSEHL, Gregory, Louis, “The Mature Harappan Phase”, Bulletin of the Deccan College Research Institute, Vol. 60/61, 2000-2001, s. 243-251.
  • POSSEHL, Gregory, Louis, The Transformation of the Indus Civilization, Journal of World Prehistory, Vol. 11, No. 4, 1997, s. 425-472. POSSEHL, Louis, Gregory, “Sociocultural complexity without the state”, Archaic States, Eds. Joyce Marcus – Gari Feinmann, School of American Research Press, USA, 1998, s. 261-291.
  • PRABHAKAR, Nandogopal, Harappans and their Mesopotamian contacts, India International Centre, New Delhi 2013.
  • RATNAGAR, Sheeren, Understanding Harappa Civilization in the Greater Indus Valley, Tulika Books, New Delhi 2001.
  • SHAHANI, Lajwanti, “Trade And Transport Mechanisms Of Protohistoric Sea Trade Between Harappans And Mesopatamia – With Fresh Evidence From Oman Peninsula”, Bulletin of the Deccan College Post-Graduate and Research Institute, Vol. 64/65, 2004-2005, s. 375-377. SULLIVAN, Herbert, “A Re-Examination of the Religion of the Indus Civilization”, History of Religions, Vol. 4, No. 1, 1964, s. 115-125.
  • VOGT, Ute, Franke, “Inscribed objects from Mohenjo-daro: Some remarks on Stylistic variability and distribution patterns”, Eds: Jean François Jarrige, South Asian Archaeology 1989, Prehistory Press, Madison 1992, s.103-112.
  • WHEELER, Sir, Mortimer, The Indus Civilization Supplementary Volume to the Cambridge history of India, Cambirdge University Press, Cambridge 2010.
  • WRIGHT, Rita, The Ancient Indus: Urbanism, Economy, and Society (Case Studies in Early Societies, Series Number 10), Cambridege University Press, Cambridge 2010.
There are 39 citations in total.

Details

Primary Language Turkish
Subjects Ancient History (Other)
Journal Section Research Articles
Authors

Ercüment Yıldırım 0000-0001-5376-4061

Kadriye Leyla Gökşen This is me 0000-0002-7869-5813

Publication Date February 15, 2023
Submission Date January 6, 2023
Published in Issue Year 2023 Volume: 15 Issue: 1

Cite

Chicago Yıldırım, Ercüment, and Kadriye Leyla Gökşen. “HARAPPA – İNDUS MEDENİYETİNDE MÜHÜRLER”. History Studies 15, no. 1 (February 2023): 257-69.