a. Social conditions:
1. Race: Experts are of the opinion, that the Indus people belonged to a mixed (admixtured) race of Proto- austroloids, Alpines, Mediterraneans, and Mongoloids. Some other scholars believed, that Dravidians founded the Indus culture.
2. Social divisions (classes): There was no caste system then. With the help of the excavations, historians have come to the conclusion that there was a fourfold division of the society based on occupations. They were probably, as follows. The first class was made up of priests, physicians, astrologers, etc., the second that of warriors, the third class consisted of traders and various artisans and the fourth one comprising of manual labourers and agriculturists who were the majority.
3. Dresses and ornaments: Both men and used cotton and woollen threads as fabrics. Men wore an upper garment like shawl or cloak and their lower garment was dhoti. used skirts and a garment to cover their upper body and a kind of fan-shaped head-dress. They were conscious about their physical appearance. ***** used cosmetics like face powder, lipsticks, eye ointment and accessories like mirrors, combs, and hairpins.
4. Ornaments: Ornaments were worn by men and , like necklaces, anklets, girdles, armlets and finger rings. alone used girdles, nose studs, earstuds, anklets, etc. Rich amongst them used gold, silver, ivory, and semi-precious stone ornaments and the poor used shell, bone and copper ornaments.
5. Household articles: Highly sophisticated household articles were found at the Indus sites. They had used mud to make domestic vessels of different shapes and sizes, stands and storage jars. Vessels of copper, bronze, silver, and porcelain were also used and they knew how to make them. ** jars made of ivory, metal, pottery, and stones have been discovered at Harappa.
6. Food articles: Indus people consumed wheat, barley, rice, other grains, vegetables, fruits, and milk. Animal produce like beef, mutton, pork, fresh and dried fish, etc., were also consumed.
7. Amusements: The people had great love for indoor and outdoor games. Dice, , hunting, animal and bird were their entertainment games. Toys were made of terracotta consisting of rattles, whistles, carts, birds, and figures of men and *****. Chanhudaro was a centre for toy products.
8. Weapons: Excavations have brought to light, weapons such as slings, maces, daggers, spears, bows, and arrows. No piece of iron has been discovered there and only weapons of defence have been found. Therefore, scholars hold the view, that Indus people were peace-loving people.
b. Economic conditions :
1. Agriculture: Agriculture was the main occupation followed by cattle rearing and dairy farming. In those days, the Indus basin must have been much more fertile and received more rain. They produced wheat, barley, peas, sesame, mustard, rice, fruits, and vegetables.
2. Domestication of animals: The Indus people had domesticated a number of animals. They were cow, oxen, sheep, goat, dog, pig, cat, elephant, camel, buffaloe, humped bull, etc. They reared a fine breed of cattle, both for milk and meat purposes.
3. Industries: At both Mohenjodaro and Harappa, several industries including home- spun cloth were developed. There were professionals like potters, carpenters, jewellers, ivory workers, gold smiths, weavers, blacksmiths, and dyers. Chanhudaro became a great centre for pottery and terracotta toys. They produced artistically made stone beads.
4. Trade and commerce: Indus people had developed internal and external trade. External trade was with many countries of Western Asia, Egypt, Persia, Sumeria. Baluchistan etc., They used bullock carts as a means of transport to carry goods. Harappa, Lothal, Rupar, Kalibangan, Surkotada, and Chanhudaro were the main centers of trade. They carried on their trading activities through a barter system. They also had knowledge of the decimal system.
The dockyard at Lothal (Gurajat) shows, that they carried on external trade through ships. They exported ivory, gold, beads, timber, etc, and imported precious stones, copper and tin. The uniform seals and a regular system of weights and measures have helped commercial transactions. Weight ratios were 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 160,200,320 and 640. Measurement of the linear scale used was 13.2 inches.
