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The Indus River Valley Guided Notes
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In 1920 a professor discovered the remains of the _________________________ civilization, the key site in the
Indus civilization. At the same time another professor was excavating the remains of a giant city called
______________________________________. Early Asian civilizations were always ____________________________.
The Indus River originates in the __________________ mountains and flows through ____________________________.
It is __________km long. It’s valley was home to a flourishing civilization. For a long time, archaeologists didn’t have a
good image of this area, and when first discovered it was believed that they had found cities for ___________________.
Some of the things they found within the city were, _______________________________________________________,
this led them to believe that the city was for juveniles. Many years before Christ, approximately _________ years,
settlers began building a civilization around the Indus River. There were __________ people in the area of a square
kilometer.
The city is extremely advanced; the layout is a picture perfect example of city planning at its best. It has streets
that cross at right angles, residential blocks, and community areas. The entire city has a complex
_______________________ system, that helped to regulate the flow of water in and out of the city. It had 80
_________________________, and every house had a tiled bathroom with a ______________. The city had what we
consider to be modern day technology in regards to water; one of the first examples of public works.
The cities that were built had been dug down, all the way to the _________________________. For a long time
archaeologists had no idea what the deep pits in the cities were used for; was it used for a defense system, or an
underground dwelling? Dhalo Vera was surrounded on all sides by precious _______________________. The city had a
population of ________________, and covered approximately 20 hectares. The city had many, granaries,
_________________, and __________________________ but its wealth came from the ______________ and
______________ trade. It took archaeologists some time to figure out how the resevoirs surrounding the city were
filled and kept full. Today there is very little fresh water for the cities that exist, they must rely on a couple of wells filled
with brackish (slightly salty) water. But the civilization grew up, in 2000BC, because it knew how to manage _________.
Today, the people respect the __________________ and worship them as a godsend; but how did the people of
the Indus manage to tame the devastating rising waters almost 5000 years ago? In the river beds surround Dhalo Vera,
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archaeologists found stone structures; these were the remains of __________ built to control the flow of the water. The
people changed the course of _____________; they allowed for the many pools and resevoirs to be filled during the
flood season. They also used the height of the land; the upper city was located about ________ higher than the lower
city; this way water could flow into the upper city and then flow downward. The stored water made it possible to
_______________ the fields for most of the year. Water had both physical and spiritual purposes in the Indus River
Valley, however today, Dhalo Vera is no longer in the path of any river.
Civilizations grew up along rivers; however today all of the ancient runes are located in the middle of hot, sandy
deserts. A river once flowed through this region, the _____________________, and it has long since disappeared
leaving small clues behind. _________ years ago, a powerful earthquake changed the course of the river; it shifted
further ________ toward the Ganges basin.
Records have been kept on old pieces of ____________ which show that cotton was once cultivated in this
region. The rivers made it very, very fertile, and peasants grew ________ and ________________. A diverse agriculture
fed the cities and kept them prosperous. The cities were growing, and within city walls the artisans were able to
___________ their skills; and every city had it’s craftsman quarter. With trade ________________ and ______________
spread. New tools began to emerge which would then make the cities even more advanced. Cornelian is a very sturdy
material and inhabitants of the river valley were able to master the making of _______________, _______________,
and _______________; they also excelled in _________________. They mastered the art of working with hard metals
such as ________________ and _________________. The level of production within the city made it seem as if they
were on the verge of an industrial era, something that would not happen for many more centuries.
As trade began to grow, the people of the Indus had enough insight to mark their goods with
_________________ or _________________; however their favorite method was seals made of a material that hardens
when heated; the merchants would wear them around their _____________. Long distance trade led the people to
form alliances and invent the idea of the ________________. They would even seal the contracts using stone cylinders;
more than ________ of these seals have been found. Symbols of writing have been found all over but the Indus Script
has yet to find it’s ___________________, and we are still unable to decipher the language.