Comparison of the Harappa and Vedic Civilizations

Other Important Notes
Comparison of the Harappa and Vedic Civilizations
The key differences between Harappa and Vedic Civilization are enumerated as follows:
The sources of information of the Harappan civilization are mainly archaeological, while the Vedic culture is mostly known from the literary sources
Harappans are said to have been the original inhabitants of India while the Aryans are believed to have come to India from central Asia
The Harappan civilization was urban in nature, Vedic culture was rural and pastoral At best the Rig Vedic Aryans lived in fortified places protected by mud walls; and these cannot be regarded as towns in the Harappan sense
In the Indus civilization trade, internal and external, crafts as well as industries were the main sources of economy, Vedic Economy was initially postoral and later became based upon agriculture and cattle rearing
The agricultural operations, including the ploughing of fields, were better known to the later-Vedic people
Indus people did not know the use of iron It was purely a copper-bronze culture, while the Vedic culture in its later phase is replete with references to iron
The horse, which played a decisive role in the Aryan system of warfare, was not known to the Indus people A few bones of horse and terracotta figure of a horse-like animal have been unearthed from surkotada
Indus people were basically peace loving Their arms (swords, daggers, arrow-heads, spears) were primitive in nature Aryans were warlike people and were conversant with all kinds of traditional arms and armour and had devised a full-fledged science of war
Aryans worshiped Varuna, Indra, aditi and a large number of other deities which stood for the principal phenomena of nature They performed sacrifices and offered milk, ghee, etc to their The Harappans worshipped Pashupati, mother goddess, animals , snake and nature The fire-altars were discovered from only one Harappan site at Kalibangan