Task A – Read information about Indus River Valley Civilization
Indus Valley Civilization - Background
1. Settlement
Indus Valley remnants (refer to appendices for detailed maps) have been discovered as
far south as Bombay, in Maharashtra, India, to the Himalayas and northern Afghanistan in the
north. The westernmost sites are on the Arabian Sea coast in Baluchistan, Pakistan adjacent to
the Iranian border. A thousand miles to the east in India, Harappan settlements have been found
beyond Delhi in Uttar Pradesh State. Discoveries in the southern Gujarat State suggest a coastal
network spanning hundreds of miles.
Indus Valley culture seems to have moved from west to east, with sites towards central
and southern India flourishing after the original settlements in Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro had
declined.
2. Important Sites
Harappa was an Indus Valley urban center. It lies in Punjab Province, Pakistan, on an old
bed of the River Ravi. It provides the first clues to the ancient Indus Valley, and is often called
the Harappan civilization.
Mohenjo-Daro is probably the best known Indus Valley site. It is in Sindh, Pakistan, next to the
Indus. Here the Great Bath, uniform buildings and weights, hidden drains and other hallmarks of
the civilization were discovered in the 1920’s. Dholavira has some of the best preserved
architecture, located on Khadir Beit, an island in the Great Rann of Kutch in Gujarat, India. A
tantalizing signboard with Indus script has also been discovered, here. Lothal is northof the Gulf
of Cambay in Gujarat, India, near the Sabarmati River and the Arabian Sea. A bead factory and
Mesopotamian seal, or imprint, have been found here, evidence of interaction between the two,
great ancient civilizations.Rakhigarhi is a recently discovered, still unexcavated city in Haryana,
India. It is as large as Harappa, Mohenjodaro and Ganweriwala. Ganweriwala is in Punjab,
Pakistan near the Indian border. It was discovered in the 1970’s, and at 80 hectares is as large as
Mohenjodaro. Ganweriwala may have been the urban center of a third Indus Valley region
covering copper-rich Rajasthan. Chanudarho, 80 miles south of Mohenjo-Daro in Sindh was a
manufacturing center. Various tool, shell, bone and seal-making facilities which involved writing
were found. Sutkagen Dor in Baluchistan, next to Iran, is the westernmost known Harappan site.
It is thought to have once been on a navigable inlet of the Arabian Sea. Sutkagen Dor would
have been on the trade route from Lothal in Gujarat to Mesopotamia. All these sites flourished
between 3000 and 2000 B.C., if not earlier. There are probably many more important Indus
Valley sites. Some may have been lost or destroyed by shifting river paths. Others may be buried
under modern towns. What does seem clear is that the important sites were commercial centers.
They are on rivers or near the coast. Various specialized manufacturing facilities suggest that
they were heavily involved in trade with each other and with locales far outside the region.
3. Urban Development
The emergence of the Indus Valley civilization is as remarkable as was its relatively stable
existence for nearly one thousand years. The cities were well planned and were built with baked
bricks all of equal size. The streets were laid at right angles to one another, with an elaborate
system of covered drains. There was a fairly clear division in localities as houses were earmarked
for the upper and lower strata of society. There were public buildings, the most famous being the
Great Bath at Mohenjodaro and the vast granaries. Production of several metals such as copper,
bronze, lead and tin was undertaken as evidenced by the remnants of furnaces. The discovery of
kilns to make bricks support the fact that burnt bricks were used extensively in domestic and
public buildings.
4. Occupations
Evidence points to the use of domesticated animals, including camels, goats, water buffalo and
various fowl. The Harappans cultivated wheat, barley, peas and sesames, and were probably the
first to grow, and make clothes from, cotton. Trade appears to have been a major activity at the
Indus Valley and the sheer quantity of seals discovered suggest that each merchant or mercantile
family owned its own seal. These personal seals are in various quadrangular shapes and sizes,
each with a human, or an animal, figure carved on it. Discoveries suggest that the Harappan
civilization had extensive trade relations with neighboring regions in India and with distant lands
in the Persian Gulf and in Sumer (Iraq).
5. Society and Religion
The Harappan society was divided according to occupations, suggesting the existence of an
organized government. The figures of deities on seals indicate that the Harappans worshipped
gods and goddesses in male and female forms with evolved rituals and ceremonies. No
monumental sculpture survives, but a large number of human figurines have been discovered,
including a steatite bust of a man thought to be a priest, and a striking bronze dancing girl.
Countless terra-cotta statues of a “Mother Goddess” have been discovered, suggesting that she
was worshipped in nearly every home.
6. Decline of the Indus Valley Civilization
Research is currently being conducted in India and Pakistan hopes to answer questions
concerning invaders and the drying up of river beds. The first promising written script
interpretations have been made. Radiocarbon chronologies are proving very useful.
Satellite imaging is exposing old trade routes.
The decline of the civilization has been attributed to several factors. Among these, are:
•Changes in the climate leading to an increase of arid land and lower agricultural output, thereby
forcing the evacuation of inhabitants to more productive regions.
•Increase in population, excessive deforestation, and a decline in agriculture, may have created
economic problems leading to the gradual decay of the culture.
•Frequent floods may have led to the devastation of the city.
•The invasion of the Aryan people, and their customs, slowly eliminated the traditions and
culture of the Indus Valley civilization.
There are also the well-known accounts in the Rig Veda of northern or Aryan people driving an
indigenous Dravidian people into south India. The existence of the Brahui tribe in Baluchistan, to
the west of the Indus, who speak a Dravidian language like South Indian Tamil, suggests that a
migration of people or culture did occur. Yet it is unclear whether the ancient Harappans would
have been Aryans or Dravidians.
Task B – Day in the life of an Indus River Valley citizen, Journal entry.
Pretend you are living in one of the Ancient Indus River Valley cities during the time period of the
civilization. Write a 1 page journal entry about your daily life as a citizen of one of the Indus River Valley
cities. Include at least 6 details; one from each section of the reading.