Economy life of Indus valley civilization ?

 The Harappan economy was based on irrigated surplus agriculture, cattle rearing, proficiency in various crafts and brisk trade, internal and external.

Agriculture: 

The Harappan economy was an agrarian economy. They exploited the fertile flood plains of the Indus basin to the maximum. They knew the art of ploughing, but they used wooden ploughs. The plough marks discovered at Kalibangan and the discovery of a terracotta plough model at Banwali bear evidence to it. There is no evidence to show that canal water irrigation was known to the Harappans. The most important reason for the fertility of the Indus basin seems to have been the annual inundation of the Indus River. The Harappans sowed seeds in the flood plains in November when the flood water receded to river and reaped the harvest of wheat and barley in the month of April before the advent of floods; Main crops were wheat and barley. Evidence for the cultivation of rice comes only from Lothal and Rangpur in Gujarat. No excavation has yet revealed evidence of sugarcane, though it is considered to have been in cultivation. Other crops included dates, mustard, sesamum, cotton and varieties of leguminous plants such as field peas. The Harappans were the first to grow cotton in the world. The Greeks, in the fourth century BCE observed it and called it Sindon, which is derived from Sindh. 

Industries: 

The Harappans also showed considerable interest in the development of industries. Various industries were flourished during this period. There is enough evidence to suggest the presence of specialized groups of artisans such as bronze smiths, gold smiths, brick makers, stone cutters, weavers, boat builders, terracotta manufacturers and others. Some of these crafts such as brick making must have been state controlled crafts. Bricks of various sizes and shapes were used by the Harappans for the construction of private and public buildings. Kilns of bricks are found in various Harappan sites. Charming and attractive pots were discovered in the excavations. They were in red, black and ochre-red in colour. They were decorated with birds, fish, animals, plants, trees etc. The seals are found in abundance in almost all the Harappan sites. They were generally made of steatite. They were either in square or rectangular in shape. These seals were highly artistic and possessed script. The script is pictographic in nature and character. Balakot of Baluchistan, Lothal and Chanhudaro were centres for shell working and bangle making. Lothal and Chanhudaro were also centres for the manufacture of beads of carnelian. Large number of terracotta objects were discovered through excavations conducted at different Harappan sites. Iron was not known to the Harappans.

 Trade and Commerce:

The very fact that the Harappan economy based on specialization shows that trade must have been the basis of economic activity. The Harappan cities did not possess the necessary raw materials and hence the Harappans had to maintain trade within the subcontinent and also outside the sub-continent. Further the Harappans for the distribution of their finished goods maintained trade links within and outside the sub-continent. Inter regional trade was carried on with Rajasthan, Saurashtra, Maharashtra, South India, parts of western Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. Foreign trade was mainly conducted with Mesopotamia or Sumeria (modern Iraq) and Bahrain. Main imports consisted of precious metals like gold (from Afghanistan, Persia and south India), Copper (Rajasthan, Baluchistan and Arabia), tin (from Afghanistan and Bihar) and several semi precious stones like lapis lazuli (Afghanistan), Turquoise (Persia), agate (Saurashtra), Jade (central Asia) and conch-shells (Saurashtra and Deccan). 

Main exports were several agricultural products such as wheat, barley, peas, oil seeds and a variety of finished products such as cotton goods, pottery, beads, shell and bone inlays, terracotta statues, ivory products etc., There is ample literary as well as archaeological evidence of trade links between the Sumerian and Indus people. The Sumerian texts refer to trade relations with Meluta, which was the ancient name given to the Indus region and they also speak of two intermediate stations called Dilmun (identified with Bahrain) and Makan (Makran coast). Sir Leonard holly conducted excavations in several Sumerian sites like Ur, Susa, Lagash and Tel Asmar. The discovery of some two dozen Harppan seals in the Sumerian sites clearly indicated that the Harappans maintained trade links with the Sumerians. The discovery of some cylindrical seals and few metal objects of Sumerian origin in the Harappan sites also attest the trade links between the Harappans and Sumerians. 

The Harappans had sea ports. Lothal, Surkotada, and Sutkagendor were actively engaged in the maritime trade with west Asia. The figure of ship on the seal at Mohenjodaro also supports the evidence of overseas trade and also the use of boats for that purpose. Bullock carts and pack oxen were employed for land transport. It is evident from the above discussion that the Harappans had sizable agricultural surplus, developed industries and flourishing internal and international trade. The balance of trade on the other hand was left in favour of Harappans.