Editing Harappa (section)

==Archaeology==
{{see also|Harappan architecture}}
[[File:Harappan small figures.jpg|thumb|Miniature votive figurines or toy models from Harappa, ca. 2500. Hand-modeled terra-cotta figurines with [[polychrome|polychromy]].]]
The excavators of the site have proposed the following [[Periodisation of the Indus Valley Civilisation|chronology]] of Harappa's occupation:<ref name=unesco />
#Ravi Aspect of the [[Hakra]] phase, c. 3300 – 2800&nbsp;BC
#Kot Dijian (Early Harappan) phase, c. 2800 – 2600&nbsp;BC
#Harappan Phase, c. 2600 – 1900&nbsp;BC
#Transitional Phase, c. 1900 – 1800&nbsp;BC
#Late Harappan Phase, c. 1800 – 1300&nbsp;BC

Period 1 occupation was thought to be around 7 to 10 hectares, but following excavations and findings of pottery in Mound E, along with previously found Mound AB pottery, suggest Ravi/Hakra phase would have been extended, together in both mounds, to 25 hectares.<ref>Kenoyer, J. M., (June 6, 2023). [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7uXKUInyVo "Indus Socio-Economic, Political and Ideological Organization"], in ARWA Association, '''min. 5:48 to 6:41''', "Period 1 Ravi/Hakra Phase, area greater than 10 to 25+ hectares, possibly divided into two mounds, one to the north, Mound AB and the other to the southeast, Mound E."</ref>

Period 2, Kot Diji phase, was extended in the same two mounds, AB and E, covering over 27 hectares.<ref>Kenoyer, J. M., (June 6, 2023). [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7uXKUInyVo "Indus Socio-Economic, Political and Ideological Organization"], in ARWA Association, '''min. 8:04 to 9:30'''.</ref>

In Period 3, Harappa phase, the settlement reached 150 hectares.<ref>{{cite book|last=Fagan|first=Brian|title=People of the earth: an introduction to world prehistory|year=2003|publisher=Pearson|isbn=978-0-13-111316-9|page=414}}</ref>

By far the most exquisite and obscure artefacts unearthed to date are the small, square [[steatite]] (soapstone) seals engraved with human or animal motifs. A large number of seals have been found at such sites as Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa. Many bear pictographic inscriptions generally thought to be a form of writing or script.{{citation needed|date=June 2015}} Despite the efforts of philologists from all parts of the world and the use of modern [[cryptography|cryptographic analysis]], the [[Indus script|signs]] remain undeciphered. It is also unknown if they reflect proto-[[Dravidian languages|Dravidian]] or other non-[[Vedic period|Vedic]] language(s). The ascribing of Indus Valley Civilisation [[iconography]] and [[epigraphy]] to historically known cultures is extremely problematic, in part due to the rather tenuous archaeological evidence for such claims, as well as the projection of modern South Asian political concerns onto the archaeological record of the area.

In February 2006, a school teacher in the village of Sembian-Kandiyur in [[Tamil Nadu]], discovered a stone [[celt (tool)]] with an inscription estimated to be up to 3,500 years old.<ref name="The Hindu_century">{{cite news | last=Subramaniam | first=T. S. | title= "Discovery of a century" in Tamil Nadu  | date=1 May 2006 | url =http://www.hindu.com/2006/05/01/stories/2006050112670100.htm | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20060615053236/http://www.hindu.com/2006/05/01/stories/2006050112670100.htm | url-status =dead | archive-date =15 June 2006 | work=[[The Hindu]] | access-date = 21 May 2008}}</ref><ref name="significance">{{cite news | last=Subramaniam | first=T. S. | title=Significance of Mayiladuthurai find | date=1 May 2006 | url=http://www.hinduonnet.com/2006/05/01/stories/2006050101992000.htm | work=The Hindu | access-date=23 May 2008 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080430214654/http://www.hinduonnet.com/2006/05/01/stories/2006050101992000.htm | archive-date=30 April 2008 | url-status=usurped }}</ref> Indian epigraphist [[Iravatham Mahadevan]] postulated that the four signs were in the Indus script and called the find "the greatest archaeological discovery of a century in Tamil Nadu".<ref name="The Hindu_century" /> Based on this evidence, he went on to suggest that the language used in the Indus Valley was of [[Dravidian languages|Dravidian]] origin. However, the absence of a Bronze Age in South India, contrasted with the knowledge of bronze making techniques in the Indus Valley cultures, calls into question the validity of this hypothesis.

The area of the late Harappan period consisted of the areas of the [[Daimabad]], [[Maharashtra]], and [[Badakhshan|Badakshan]] regions of [[Afghanistan]]. The area covered by this civilisation would have been very large with a distance of around {{convert|1500|mi|order=flip}}.<ref>{{cite book|title= History of India |first= Herman |last= Kulke |publisher= Routledge |year=2004 |page=4 |isbn= 978-0-415-32920-0 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RoW9GuFJ9GIC&q=india++history}}</ref>