The Chinese society grew, developed and flourished in the loess regions associated with the eastern parts of High Asia. This was/is the most impressive and longest lasting of the ancient civilizations and it can be argued that it owes much of its success to its firm foundation in the loess lands. There were/are loess lands associated with the western end of High Asia; not so spectacular and amazing as the Chinese occurrences but significant and deserving of appreciation. The Central Asian loess has been studied and investigated but the loess now in India and Pakistan has been neglected and its societal influence has not been fully appreciated. The Indus Valley was the home for well developed societies in the period of around 3000-1500 BCE; two centres are identified: Harappa and Mohenjo Daro and they both appear to have interesting loessic connections. Here were well developed societies with brick buildings, built with fired bricks, and an alphabet or writing system, which still needs to be significantly translated.
Some of these symbols appear to have geomorphological significance. There are four major rivers in the Punjab- the Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi & Sutlej dominate the region, and are closely associated with the Harappan society. The better known Mohenjo Daro situation is located further down the Indus Valley. The loess deposits in the Indus Valley are not well demarcated; there has not been much mapping activity, but the two deposits indicated by S.Z.Rozycki correspond nicely with the two sites of ancient societies
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Region 7 on the High Asia diagram is where we find the Indus Valley civilizations; region 1 is the Central Asian loess region; the two rivers indicated are the Amu-Darya and the Syr-Darya. Regions 3 & 4 contain the Chinese loess deposits.
S.Z.Rozycki 1991. Loess and Loess-like Deposits. Ossolinium Wroclaw. On p.117 in the section on Local Loesses of Southern Asia - one of the very few maps of loess in India region. SZR has made the picture rather too complex but he manages to show the two loess regions: NE of the Thar desert and W of the Thar desert; the locations of the Harappan and Mohenjo-Daro civilizations.
Bricks. Thoughts about bricks. The Indus Valley people built with fired bricks; and they built extensively- there was a lot of brick construction in Harappa and Mohenjo Daro. So they must have had good access to large deposits of suitable brickearth- the sort of brickearth that encouraged the making of fired bricks. It has been suggested that the location of early brick buildings in England was to some extent controlled by access to loessic brickearth- for the construction of suitable bricks. Similar constraints could apply in the Indus Valley; city location may depend on the provision of material for making bricks. In the case of Mohenjo Daro the city appears to be placed exactly on the loess region demarcated by Rozycki. A large patch of suitable loess providing building material for a substantial city. And there must have been plenty of wood available; we see the bricks being fired in clamps with wood as the fuel. A lot of bricks requires a lot of wood.
The bricks were made to a 4:2:1 ratio; the sizes were 10 x 20 x 40cms or 7 x 14 x 28 cms. These are large bricks; the smaller bricks appear to been used in houses and the larger bricks in public buildings. They were well laid and many of the constructions have lasted remarkably well.
The question of the big brick.
Reports suggest that fired bricks were used to construct the buildings at Harappa and Mohenjo Daro. Also it is suggested that some of these were very large- the big bricks 10 x 20 x 40 cms; far too large to be conveniently handled. The normal European brick in the 21st Century has dimensions of about 6 x 10 x 21 cm. It is designed to fit the hand of the bricklayer, and also be of a weight which he or she can lift and manipulate.
To be able to produce, to move, and to construct with these large bricks suggests a very well organised and efficient society. The number of bricks used in Harappa and Mohenjo Daro is enormous- so vast brickearth resources were required, and large amounts of fuel for firing. But it is the size of the large brick which causes questions. It is too big; it requires two people to handle it- particularly in the unfired state; great skill and dexterity would have been required. And to get satisfactory firing.. difficult.
Are the reports perhaps mistaken? The reported smaller Indus Valley brick at 7 x 14 x 28 cm is not that much larger than the standard European brick and would seem to have been a logical size for normal use. We need a brick measuring expedition to the Indus Valley to measure the bricks, and try
to locate the regions where they were produced.
Some of these symbols appear to have geomorphological significance. There are four major rivers in the Punjab- the Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi & Sutlej dominate the region, and are closely associated with the Harappan society. The better known Mohenjo Daro situation is located further down the Indus Valley. The loess deposits in the Indus Valley are not well demarcated; there has not been much mapping activity, but the two deposits indicated by S.Z.Rozycki correspond nicely with the two sites of ancient societies
Region 7 on the High Asia diagram is where we find the Indus Valley civilizations; region 1 is the Central Asian loess region; the two rivers indicated are the Amu-Darya and the Syr-Darya. Regions 3 & 4 contain the Chinese loess deposits.
The bricks were made to a 4:2:1 ratio; the sizes were 10 x 20 x 40cms or 7 x 14 x 28 cms. These are large bricks; the smaller bricks appear to been used in houses and the larger bricks in public buildings. They were well laid and many of the constructions have lasted remarkably well.
The question of the big brick.
Reports suggest that fired bricks were used to construct the buildings at Harappa and Mohenjo Daro. Also it is suggested that some of these were very large- the big bricks 10 x 20 x 40 cms; far too large to be conveniently handled. The normal European brick in the 21st Century has dimensions of about 6 x 10 x 21 cm. It is designed to fit the hand of the bricklayer, and also be of a weight which he or she can lift and manipulate.
To be able to produce, to move, and to construct with these large bricks suggests a very well organised and efficient society. The number of bricks used in Harappa and Mohenjo Daro is enormous- so vast brickearth resources were required, and large amounts of fuel for firing. But it is the size of the large brick which causes questions. It is too big; it requires two people to handle it- particularly in the unfired state; great skill and dexterity would have been required. And to get satisfactory firing.. difficult.
Are the reports perhaps mistaken? The reported smaller Indus Valley brick at 7 x 14 x 28 cm is not that much larger than the standard European brick and would seem to have been a logical size for normal use. We need a brick measuring expedition to the Indus Valley to measure the bricks, and try
to locate the regions where they were produced.
