Domestication of Animals in The Indus Valley Civilisation

Animals were of the utmost importance to the Indus Valley Civilisation, with cows and buffaloes being their coveted animals. However, sheep, grazing goats, cats, and dogs were also domesticated. The animals were slaughtered for festive foods or to complement available food during failed or limited harvests. They were offered as gifts to the kin and traded with pastoralists in the expectation of generous return gifts or bartered for stored grain.

Millets were cultivated to this very end. The fodder required by domestic animals was provided by grazing on natural grounds.

Why were animals domesticated during the Indus Valley Civilisation?

Agriculture was one of the main reasons for domesticating many animals during the Indus Valley Civilisation. Animals were used in fields for ploughing the soil to aid agriculture. Cows and buffalos were used for collecting dairy. Other than this, animals such as goad goats were used for meat. Camels were used for transportation, while farmers used oxen for cultivation.

Animals were traded for grains or other necessities as well. 

Domesticated animals of the Indus Valley Civilisation

Cattle

They were the main domestic animals of the Indus Valley Civilisation, and their bones constitute half of those found in the uncovered Indus sites. Cows were mainly domesticated for their milk, and bullocks were kept for drawing carts, threshing, and raising water; simultaneously, bulls were kept for breeding. Each village housed a single bull for reproduction.

Many animals were killed for their flesh, supported by the bones recovered from the archaeological sites. They bear marks of butchery and are often burnt or charred.

Buffaloes

Buffalo bones discovered in these sites prove that water buffaloes were probably herded. Wild buffaloes were hunted as the Indus Valley seals consist of images that strikingly match them.

Buffaloes were kept for their milk, as a buffalo’s milk is richer in nutrients than a cow’s; it is higher in butterfat content, so ghee was likely made out of it. Domestic water buffaloes were generally kept in or near the village, unlike cattle taken elsewhere for seasonal grazing. Buffaloes were taken to the water bodies to keep their skins moist as buffaloes required daily access to water. There were river buffaloes or mud buffaloes, also called swamp buffaloes.

Other Domestic Animals

Apart from cattle and buffaloes, these civilisations domesticated several other animals. Pigs were probably not included, but dogs and cats indeed were.

Dogs

Suggested by the discovered bones, various breeds of dogs, including a squat animal that resembles a bulldog and a rangy beast like an Afghan hound, were among those that were domesticated. Some bones indicated that some dog breed types had pointed ears, and the others had upright tails. Collars were found around the necks of some of the skeletal figures, indicating domestication. One dog is shown tied to a post which may represent a guard dog.

Cats

If the paw prints discovered on bricks suggest anything, it is that domesticated cats were widely popular during the period. It could be possible that people may not have deliberately domesticated cats; they were commensal with humans in farming settlements where they are attracted by the rodents that feed on stored grain. 

Birds

Various birds like pigeons and parrots were also kept by the people of the Indus Valley Civilisation and played an important role as food for the wild and sometimes for domestic animals like cats. 

Conclusion

The Indus Valley Civilisation or the Harappan civilisation is an old civilisation dating back to 2500–1700 BCE. Domestication of animals was common, and the Harappans domesticated animals like dogs, humped bulls, various cattle, and cats. Evidence shows that people also housed domestic camels and buffaloes. Camels were used in transportation, while Farmers used oxen for cultivation purposes. Dogs and cats were kept as pets.

Animals played a significant role in the period’s agriculture. Animals were used for agriculture purposes, slaughtered for food, or traded for necessities to fulfil the last two requirements. During the Indus Valley Civilisation, people domesticated a wide range of animals.