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Question -

 List the raw materials required for craft production in the Harappan Civilisation and discuss how these might have been obtained.



Answer -

 (a) The raw materials required for craft production in the Harappan civilisation was as given below:

  1. Stones like camelian, jasper, crystal, quartz and steatite;
  2. Metals like copper, bronze and gold, and
  3. Shell, faience and terracotta, or burnt clay.
(b) The above raw materials might have been obtained as mentioned below :

  1. They established settlements such as Nageshwar and Balakot in areas where shell was available. Other places were Shortughai, in far-off Afghanistan, near the best source of lapis lazuli, a blue stone and Lothal near the sources of camelian, steatite and metal.
  2. The second way was to send expeditions to areas such as the Khetri region of Rajasthan for copper and south India for gold.
  3. The third way to have contact with distant lands. For example, copper was brought from Oman, on the south-eastern tip of the Arabian peninsula. Mesopotamian texts mention contact with Meluhha, possibly the Harappan region. It is likely that communication with Oman, Bahrain or Mesopotamia was by sea.

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