Raw materials & Food

RAW MATERIALS

Raw materials:

 Substances that are

• found naturally
  • Wood
  • Ores of metals
• Produced by farmers and herders

Raw materials + process = finished goods

cotton(raw material produced by the farmers) + processes = cloth

The Harappans used locally available raw materials as well as brought from distant places such as copper, tin, gold, silver, and precious stones.

• Copper from present-day
  •  Rajasthan
  • Oman in West Asia
• Tin from present-day
  • Afghanistan
  • Iran

(tin was mixed with copper to produce bronze)

• Gold from present-day Karnataka
• Precious stones from present-day
  • Gujarat
  • Iran
  • Afghanistan
• Toy cart shows that carts were used to transport things from one place to another.

• Seals show that the trading of goods flourished at that time.

FOOD FOR PEOPLE IN THE CITIES

PEOPLE IN THE CITIES:

• The rulers, the scribes, and the crafts persons lived in the cities.
• The farmers and the herders lived in the countryside and supplied the food to the city.

  

THE FARMERS:

We got to know through the remains that-

• The Harappans grew
  • Wheat
  • Barley
  • Pulses
  • Peas
  • Rice
  • Sesame
  • Linseed
  • Mustard
• A new tool.the plough was used to dig the earth and planting seeds.

• The plough was probably made of wood that’s why not survived but toy models have been found.
• The Harappan region did not receive heavy rainfall, irrigation needed in some parts.
• This means  that water once stored then supplied to the fields where plants grow.

THE HERDERS:

• The Harappan reared cattle, sheep, goat and buffalo.
• They settled around the water resources and the pasture lands.

• And moved to far off  places in search of water and pastures during the summers.
• They collected fruits like ber, caught fish and hunted wild animals like the antelope.