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The settlements within the Indus Valley had different kinds of homes depending on your social status. They also had walls that they used to divide the housing areas and religious buildings.

Within the Indus Valley, they had sewage systems below the cities, plumbing, and even trash systems. Most cities were laid out on a grid.

The planned cities tell us that the Indus Valley civilizations had an organized government, were able to work together, and make decisions well.

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Economic Life:

1. What were their major products for trade (agricultural products/pottery etc.)?

Items for trade included minerals, lead, copper, cedar wood, terracotta pots, gold, silver, metals, beads, flints, seashells, pearls, and colored gemstones (lapis lazuli and turquoise).

2. How did their geography affect their trade?

The many rivers in the area allowed for easy transportation. The Caspian Sea and other bodies of water surrounding the area allowed boats to ship goods to far-away civilizations. Wheeled transport was first used by these people to travel/trade across vast lands. Huge mountains presented obstacles for trading outside the region.

3. Who were their major trading partners? Evidence?

Harappans participated in maritime trade from Central Asia to the Middle East. Archaeologists have found a massive, dredged canal and a docking facility at the coastal city of Lothal, suggesting they used boats and watercrafts to trade. Historians know they traded with Mesopotamian civilizations because they have found Harappan trading seals and jewelry at archaeological sites in modern-day Iraq, Kuwait, and parts of Syria. They also traded with Persia and China.

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1. The Indus Valley is located on the left side of India and the side of Pakistan.

2. The Indus Valley emerged into a civilization between 2500-1700 BCE.

3. The writing or script that people in the Indus valley have is called logo-syllabic, where some express ideas or words while others represent sounds.

4. Around 2600 BC Indus Valley reached its peak.

5. Cities were abandoned around 1700 BC but historians believe that it started to fall about around 1900 BC. Became overpopulated and so houses were built on top of each other. People stopped maintaining their drains so everything became really disgusting.

1. Encyclopædia Britannica, inc. (n.d.). Indus Civilization. Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved February 4, 2022, from https://www.britannica.com/topic/Indus-civilization

Violatti, C. (2022, January 31). Indus script. World History Encyclopedia. Retrieved February 4, 2022, from https://www.worldhistory.org/Indus_Script/#:~:text=The%20Indus%20Script%20combined%20both,words%20while%20others%20represent%20sounds.

BBC. (2021, October 29). What happened to the Indus Civilisation? BBC Bitesize. Retrieved February 4, 2022, from https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/zxn3r82/articles/z8b987h#:~:text=Many%20historians%20believe%20the%20Indus,flood%20and%20change%20its%20direction.

Economic Life

Archeologists also found pottery, weaving tools, and metals which tell us that there was also trade of these things among other cities.

There were monsoons that affected cropping and gave lots of wind. Water has a big part of trading from boat and water crafts to transportation of these items.

The Indus Valley traded with different civilizations like Persia, Mesopotamia and China. Researchers have found that they traded with Iran and Afghanistan for minerals, exported lead and copper from India, and Imported jade from China.

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ALLLEN HENSEN1.he Indus Valley civilization covered most of what is today Pakistan and the Indian states of Gujarat, Rajasthan, Haryana, and Punjab. They used the environment like the Nile river to their advantage.

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ALLLEN HENSEN1.he Indus Valley civilization covered most of what is today Pakistan and the Indian states of Gujarat, Rajasthan, Haryana, and Punjab. They used the environment like the Nile river to their advantage.

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2.About 2500–1700 bce
3The Indus Script
4e civilization reached its peak around 2600 BC and it went into decline around 1900 BC.
5 They fell in 1900BC because of lack of food.
6https://www.harappa.com/answers/when-did-indus-valley-civilization-start#:~:text=The%20roots%20of%20the%20Indus,into%20decline%20around%201900%20BC.&text=It%20depends%20on%20what%20you,case%20around%203000%20cal%20BCE. , https://www.britannica.com/topic/Indus-civilization#:~:text=Indus%20civilization%2C%20also%20called%20Indus,into%20the%202nd%20millennium%20bce.
1.Major crops produced were wheat, barley, peas, lentils, linseed, and mustard seeds were sown in winter whereas millet, sesame and rice were grown in summer.
2.With the rivers surrounding their area, the land was fertile and they used to cultivate many crops
3  They traded with many different civilizations like Persia, Mesopotamia, and China. They were also known to trade in the Arabian Gulf region.

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Required:
1. Where is the Indus Valley Civilization located and what effect did the geographic setting have on the civilization that grew there?

The Indus Valley Civilization is located in and along the Indus River Valley and the coast near the river. This encapsulates modern India and Pakistan

1. When did the Indus Valley emerge as a civilization?

It is thought that the Indus Valley emerged as a civilization around 4200 BCE.

1. What type of writing did they have?

The Indus Valley people had shapes like tridents and plant-like pictures engraved in stone. These engravings do not match any other ancient language and thus have not yet been deciphered.

1. When was their peak/golden age?

This civilization reached its peak around 2150 BCE.

1. When/Why did they fall?

Climate change is thought to be the leading cause of the Indus River Valley Civilization’s decline. One other theory is that the relatively peaceful people of the Indus Valley were invaded by the Aryans from the north.

Economic Life:

1. What were their major products for trade (agricultural products/pottery etc.)

Major products for trade included gemstones, pearls, flints, beads, terracotta pots, gold and silver.

1. How did their geography affect their trade?

Geography allowed the Indus people to trade long distance, there is even evidence of trade with the Mesopotamians. The Indus River allowed for easy travel throughout the region but sailboats helped some traders travel to the Middle East.

1. Who were their major trading partners? Evidence?

The major trading partner of the Indus civilization was the Mesopotamians.

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Required:

1. The civilization was first identified in 1921 at Harappa in the Punjab region and then in 1922 at Mohenjo-daro (Mohenjodaro), near the Indus River in the Sindh (Sind) region. Both sites are in present-day Pakistan, in Punjab and Sindh provinces.

2.  About 2500 B.C, the communities became more unified culturally, and in some places people began laying out carefully planned cities.

3. The Indus Script combined both word signs and symbols with phonetic value. This type of writing system is known as "logo-syllabic", where some symbols express ideas or words while others represent sounds.

4. From 2600 BC to 1900 BC

5. Many historians believe the Indus civilization collapsed because of changes to the geography and climate of the area. Movements in the Earth's crust (the outside layer) might have caused the Indus river to flood and change its direction.

6. Sources:

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Indus-civilization/Craft-technology-and-artifacts

https://www.worldhistory.org/Indus_Script/#:~:text=The%20Indus%20Script%20combined%20both,words%20while%20others%20represent%20sounds

https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/zxn3r82/articles/z8b987h#:~:text=Many%20historians%20believe%20the%20Indus,flood%20and%20change%20its%20direction

http://indus-valley-civ.weebly.com/economy-and-trade.html#:~:text=Some%20goods%20that%20were%20traded,%2C%20flints%2C%20seashells%20and%20pearls

Individual: Economic life

1. Some goods that were traded were terracotta pots, beads, gold, silver, colored gems like turquoise and lapis lazuli, metals, flints, seashells and pearls.

2. They participated in a maritime (sea) trade network extending from Central Asia to the Middle East. The civilization's economy appears to have depended significantly on trade, which was facilitated by major advances in transport technology. The Indus Valley Civilization may have been the first to use wheeled transport, in the form of oxcarts that are identical to those seen throughout South Asia today. It also appears they built boats and watercraft, a claim supported by archaeological discoveries of a massive, dredged canal, and what is regarded as a docking facility at the coastal city of Lothal. Harappans also engaged in shell working, and shells used in their crafts have origins from as far away as the coast of modern-day Oman.

3. One of the ways historians know about the maritime trade network operating between the Indus Valley and Mesopotamian civilizations is the discovery of Harappan seals and jewelry at archaeological sites in regions of Mesopotamia, which includes most of modern day Iraq, Kuwait, and parts of Syria. Long distance sea trade over bodies of water,such as the Arabian Sea, Red Sea, and the Persian Gulf, may have become feasible with the development of plank watercraft that were each equipped with a single central mast supporting a sail of woven rushes or cloth.

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Settlements/Building

Within this civilization, the settlements and buildings were comfortable-sized flat-roofed homes that even included some of the first toilets in the world. These buildings were built from mainly fired brick, sun-dried mud-brick, and wood.

Some examples of sophisticated city planning within this civilization were their use of grid formation with their buildings, walls that protected them, water supply systems, and very smart drainage systems.

The planned cities of the Indus Valley suggest that they had a relatively strong government and it shows that these people lived very civilized and developed lives.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwimz-P13eT1AhXVPn0KHcBmD-QQFnoECBAQAw&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.khanacademy.org%2Fhumanities%2Fworld-history%2Fworld-history-beginnings%2Fancient-india%2Fa%2Fthe-indus-river-valley-civilizations&usg=AOvVaw35Wpfd7WkPdXThW_pyjZ-a

https://www.harappa.com/answers/when-did-indus-valley-civilization-start

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Innovations that were made in the Indus Valley Civilization include city planning, a stepwell, and rulers.

The bricks created in the Indus Valley differed from those made in other civilizations because they were oven baked and cut to size instead of being irregular sized and sun baked.

Metallurgy is the science of mixing the properties of metal and producing it. The Indus Valley civilization created metal stamps and tools using metallurgy.

5 examples of technological advances includes the creation of a reliable sewage system, using seals to trade, creating standardized weights, gods and scripts, and planning out cities.

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What innovations were made in this civilization?

Some of the Innovations made in this civilization were creating decorative buttons and well-plane cities. Previously buttons were only used for practical purposes, but during 2000 B.C.E., Indus valley civilizations started using them for Decoration for their clothing.

How did the bricks created in the Indus Valley differ from other civilizations?

The bricks created for the Indus Valley were very uniform. This made the city look well planned. These bricks were baked in a kiln, giving them a rigid, more moisture resistant outside when compared to those that were sun-dried.

What is Metallurgy, and how does it related to the Indus Valley?

Metallurgy is the melting/purification of metals. The people of the Indus Valley used various metals to make utensils and other tools. They used copper, bronze, lead, gold, and silver.

Please include a minimum of 5 examples of technological advances.

1. Sanitization

2. The ruler

3. Standardized weights

4. New cooking methods used to cook grains

5. Innovation of seals used for trade

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Settlements/Building
- There were thought to be around 23,500 residents living in Harappa, one of the largest cities in the Indus River Valley Civilization, located in modern day Pakistan. People lived in flat clay sculpted houses with red sand/clay roofs. This city spanned around 370 acres and had religious centers located in the city. The city of Harappa is a good example as to how the settlements were during this time in the Indus Valley. Another main city was Mohenjo-daro, which had many of the same features as Harappa.
- Some examples of sophisticated city planning within the civilizations include protective walls, warehouses, dockyards, and granaries, or storehouse for grain. Walls protected the cities from floods and military problems in other cities. Granaries are some of the largest structures that are known to have been in the Indus Valley Civilization. One of the most known architectural advancements of the Indus Valley was the Great Bath, which was a large and public bathing and socialization area.
- The planned cities of the Indus Valley tell us that this civilization was advanced during for this time. The architecture in the area was superior to other civilizations, and was made prosperous by these buildings.
https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/world-history/world-history-beginnings/ancient-india/a/the-indus-river-valley-civilizations

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The Indus River Valley Civilization, 3300-1300 BCE, also known as the Harappan Civilization, extended from modern-day northeast Afghanistan to Pakistan and northwest India.

Important innovations of this civilization include standardized weights and measures, seal carving, and metallurgy with copper, bronze, lead, and tin.

Little is understood about the Indus script, and as a result, little is known about the Indus River Valley Civilization's institutions and systems of governance.

The civilization likely ended due to climate change and migration.

Geography and time-frame

In 1856, British colonial officials in India were busy monitoring the construction of a railway connecting the cities of Lahore and Karachi in modern-day Pakistan along the Indus River valley.

As they continued to work, some of the laborers discovered many fire-baked bricks lodged in the dry terrain. There were hundreds of thousands of fairly uniform bricks, which seemed to be quite old. Nonetheless, the workers used some of them to construct the road bed, unaware that they were using ancient artifacts. They soon found among the bricks stone artifacts made of soapstone, featuring intricate artistic markings.

Though they did not know it then, and though the first major excavations did not take place until the 1920s, these railway workers had happened upon the remnants of the Indus Valley Civilization, also known as the Harappan Civilization, after Harappa, the first of its sites to be excavated, in what was then the Punjab province of British India and is now in Pakistan. Initially, many archaeologists thought they had found ruins of the ancient Maurya Empire, a large empire which dominated ancient India between c. 322 and 185 BCE.

Before the excavation of these Harappan cities, scholars thought that Indian civilization had begun in the Ganges valley as Aryan immigrants from Persia and central Asia populated the region around 1250 BCE. The discovery of ancient Harappan cities unsettled that conception and moved the timeline back another 1500 years,situating the Indus Valley Civilization in an entirely different environmental context.

Scholars are still piecing together information about this mysterious civilization, but they have learned a great deal about it since its rediscovery. Its origins seem to lie in a settlement named Mehrgarh in the foothills of a mountain pass in modern-day Balochistan in western Pakistan. There is evidence of settlement in this area as early as 7000 BCE.

The Indus Valley Civilization is often separated into three phases: the Early Harappan Phase from 3300 to 2600 BCE, the Mature Harappan Phase from 2600 to 1900 BCE, and the Late Harappan Phase from 1900 to 1300 BCE.

At its peak, the Indus Valley Civilization may have had a population of over five million people. The Indus cities are noted for their urban planning, a technical and political process concerned with the use of land and design of the urban environment. They are also noted for their baked brick houses, elaborate drainage systems, water supply systems, and clusters of large, nonresidential buildings.

The Indus Valley Civilization began to decline around 1800 BCE. Archaeological evidence indicates that trade with Mesopotamia, located largely in modern Iraq, seemed to have ended. The advanced drainage systems and baths of the great cities were built over or blocked. Writing began to disappear, and the standardized weights and measures used for trade and taxation fell out of use.

Urban infrastructure and architecture

By 2600 BCE, small Early Harappan communities had developed into large urban centers. These cities include Harappa, Ganeriwala, and Mohenjo-daro in modern-day Pakistan and Dholavira, Kalibangan, Rakhigarhi, Rupar, and Lothal in modern-day India. In total, more than 1,052 cities and settlements have been found, mainly in the general region of the Indus River and its tributaries.

Mohenjo-daro is thought to have been built in the twenty-sixth century BCE; it became not only the largest city of the Indus Valley Civilization but one of the world's earliest major urban centers. Located west of the Indus River in the Larkana District, Mohenjo-daro was one of the most sophisticated cities of the period, with advanced engineering and urban planning.

Harappa was a fortified city in modern-day Pakistan that is believed to have been home to as many as 23,500 residents living in sculpted houses with flat roofs made of red sand and clay. The city spread over 150 hectares-370 acres-and had fortified administrative and religious centers of the same type used in Mohenjo-daro.

Both cities had similar organization and featured citadels, central areas in a city that were heavily fortified-protected with defensive military structures. Additionally, both cities were situated along the Indus River. This structure would have allowed those at the higher levels of the buildings in either city to look down the river and see into the distance.

The remains of the Indus Valley Civilization cities indicate remarkable organization; there were well-ordered wastewater drainage and trash collection systems and possibly even public baths and granaries, which are storehouses for grain. Most city-dwellers were artisans and merchants grouped together in distinct neighborhoods. The quality of urban planning suggests efficient municipal governments that placed a high priority on hygiene or religious ritual.

Harappans demonstrated advanced architecture with dockyards, granaries, warehouses, brick platforms, and protective walls. These massive walls likely protected the Harappans from floods and may have deterred military conflicts. Unlike Mesopotamia and Ancient Egypt, the inhabitants of the Indus Valley Civilization did not build large, monumental structures. There is no conclusive evidence of palaces or temples-or even of kings, armies, or priests-and the largest structures may be granaries. The city of Mohenjo-daro contains the Great Bath, which may have been a large, public bathing and social area.

Innovation and exchange

The people of the Indus River Valley Civilization achieved many notable advances in technology, including great accuracy in their systems and tools for measuring length and mass. Fire-baked bricks-which were uniform in size and moisture-resistant-were important in building baths and sewage structures and are evidence that Harappans were among the first to develop a system of standardized weights and measures. The consistency of brick size across cities also suggests unity across the various urban areas, which is evidence of a broader civilization.

Harappa, Mohenjo-daro, and the recently partially-excavated Rakhigarhi demonstrate the world's first known urban sanitation systems. The ancient Indus systems of sewage and drainage developed and used in cities throughout the Indus region were far more advanced than any found in contemporary urban sites in the Middle East and even more efficient than those in many areas of Pakistan and India today. Individual homes drew water from wells, while wastewater was directed to covered drains on the main streets. Houses opened only to inner courtyards and smaller lanes, and even the smallest homes on the city outskirts were believed to have been connected to the system, further supporting the conclusion that cleanliness was a matter of great importance.

Harappans are known for seal carving- the cutting of patterns into the bottom face of a seal, a small, carved object used for stamping. They used these distinctive seals for the identification of property and to stamp clay on trade goods. Seals-decorated with animal figures, such as elephants, tigers, and water buffalos-have been one of the most commonly discovered artifacts in Indus Valley cities.

The Indus River Valley Civilization is considered a Bronze Age society; inhabitants of the ancient Indus River Valley developed new techniques in metallurgy -the science of working with copper, bronze, lead, and tin. Harappans also performed intricate handicraft using products made of the semi-precious gemstone Carnelian.

Evidence shows Harappans participated in a vast maritime-sea-trade network extending from Central Asia to the Middle East. The civilization's economy appears to have depended significantly on trade, which was facilitated by major advances in transport technology. The Harappan Civilization may have been the first to use wheeled transport, in the form of oxcarts that are identical to those seen throughout South Asia today. It also appears they built boats and watercraft-a claim supported by archaeological discoveries of a massive, dredged canal, and what is regarded as a docking facility at the coastal city of Lothal. Harappans also engaged in shellworking, and shells used in their crafts have origins from as far away as the coast of modern-day Oman.

Trade focused on importing raw materials to be used in Harappan city workshops, including minerals from Iran and Afghanistan, lead and copper from other parts of India, jade from China, and cedar wood floated down rivers from the Himalayas and Kashmir. Other trade goods included terracotta pots, gold, silver, metals, beads, flints for making tools, seashells, pearls, and colored gemstones, such as lapis lazuli and turquoise.

One of the ways historians know about the maritime trade network operating between the Harappan and Mesopotamian civilizations is the discovery of Harappan seals and jewelry at archaeological sites in regions of Mesopotamia, which includes most of modern-day Iraq, Kuwait, and parts of Syria. Long-distance sea trade over bodies of water-such as the Arabian Sea, Red Sea and the Persian Gulf-may have become feasible with the development of plank watercraft that were each equipped with a single central mast supporting a sail of woven rushes or cloth.

Historians have also made inferences about networks of exchange based on similarities between artifacts across civilizations. Between 4300 and 3200 BCE-part of the Chalcolithic period, also known as the Copper Age-ceramics from the Indus Valley Civilization area show similarities with southern Turkmenistan and northern Iran. During the Early Harappan period-about 3200 to 2600 BCE-there are cultural similarities in pottery, seals, figurines, and ornaments that document caravan trade with Central Asia and the Iranian plateau.

Religion, language, and culture

Little is known about Harappan religion and language. A collection of written texts on clay and stone tablets unearthed at Harappa-which have been carbon dated 3300-3200 BCE-contain trident-shaped, plant-like markings that appear to be written from right to left. There is considerable debate about whether it was an encoded language at all and whether it is related to Indo-European and South Indian language families. The Indus script remains indecipherable without any comparable symbols, and is thought to have evolved independently of the writing in Mesopotamia and Ancient Egypt. Researchers are using technological advances in computer science in order to attempt to decipher it.

The Harappan religion also remains a topic of speculation. It has been widely suggested that the Harappans worshipped a mother goddess who symbolized fertility. In contrast to Egyptian and Mesopotamian civilizations, the Indus Valley Civilization seems to have lacked any temples or palaces that would give clear evidence of religious rites or specific deities.

Many Indus Valley seals include the forms of animals; some depict the animals being carried in processions, while others show mythological creations like unicorns, leading scholars to speculate about the role of animals in Indus Valley religions. Interpretations of these animal motifs include signification of membership in a clan, elite class, or kin structure. One seal from Mohenjo-daro shows a half-human, half-buffalo monster attacking a tiger. This may be a reference to the Sumerian myth of a monster created by Aruru-the Sumerian earth and fertility goddess-to fight Gilgamesh, the hero of an ancient Mesopotamian epic poem. This is a further suggestion of international trade in Harappan culture.

Indus Valley excavation sites have revealed a number of distinct examples of the culture's art, including sculptures, seals, pottery, gold jewelry, and anatomically detailed figurines in terracotta, bronze, and steatite.

Among the various gold, terracotta, and stone figurines found was a figure of a priest-king displaying a beard and patterned robe. Another figurine in bronze, known as the Dancing Girl, is only 11 centimeters high and shows a female figure in a pose that suggests the presence of some choreographed dance form enjoyed by members of the civilization. Terracotta works also included cows, bears, monkeys, and dogs. In addition to figurines, the Indus River Valley people are believed to have created necklaces, bangles, and other ornaments.

Institutions and hierarchies

How was Harappan society organized, and what institutions functioned as centers of authority? Archaeological records provide no immediate answers regarding a center of authority or depictions of people in power in Harappan society, and there are few written records to consult. However, Harrapan artifacts display an extraordinary uniformity. Pottery, seals, weights, and bricks with standardized sizes and weights, suggest some form of authority and governance, though it is not clear what that form was exactly.

Over time, various theories have developed concerning Harappan systems of rule. One theory is that there was a single state encompassing all the communities of the civilization; this theory is supported by the similarity in artifacts, the evidence of planned settlements, the standardized ratio of brick size, and the apparent establishment of settlements near sources of raw material. Another theory posits that there was no single ruler, but rather a number of leaders representing each of the urban centers, including Mohenjo-daro, Harappa, and other communities. It seems likely that there was not one centralized and all-powerful state but that various classes and centers of power were integrated into a decentralized structure.

Written records gave historians a great deal of insight into the civilizations of ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt, but very few written materials have been discovered in the Indus valley. Though seal inscriptions do seem to have written information, scholars have not been able to decipher the Indus script. As a result, they have had considerable difficulty understanding the nature of the state and religious institutions of the Indus Valley Civilization. We know relatively little about their legal codes, procedures, and systems of governance.

Historians have made educated guesses about the nature of Harappan civilization from the available artifacts and physical structures. Some experts have theorized that the Indus Valley Civilization had no rulers as we understand them, that everyone enjoyed equal status. Some evidence in support of this conclusion is that most Harappan residents seem to have enjoyed relatively equal health and that there were not many elite burials, which archaeologists have discerned through mortuary analysis -the study of graves and deposits containing human remains.

However, this does not conclusively prove that Harappan society lacked any social hierarchy, and it could possibly be the result of other factors, like different beliefs about the afterlife. Some scholars point to varying house sizes and varied heights of structures to suggest that different social classes occupied different levels in the cities. Others identify items such as painted pottery, bangles, beaded ornaments, and even location within cities as indicators of wealth. A considerable degree of craft specialization also suggests some degree of socio-economic stratification.

It is widely believed that the Harappan civilization was a peaceful one that did not engage in any warfare, but there is not conclusive evidence to support this belief, and some archaeologists consider it a pervasive myth. Some scholars argue that Harappans were peaceful primarily because there were no natural enemies due to the geographic location of the major cities. Weapons have been found at sites, but there is debate as to whether they were used in conflict with other groups or as defense against wild animals.

The Indus Valley Civilization declined around 1800 BCE, and scholars debate which factors resulted in the civilization's demise. One theory suggested that a nomadic, Indo-European tribe called the Aryans invaded and conquered the Indus Valley Civilization, though more recent evidence tends to contradict this claim. Many scholars believe that the collapse of the Indus Valley Civilization was caused by climate change. Some experts believe the drying of the Saraswati River, which began around 1900 BCE, was the main cause for climate change, while others conclude that a great flood struck the area.

Various elements of the Indus Civilization are found in later cultures, suggesting the civilization did not disappear suddenly due to an invasion. Many scholars argue that changes in river patterns caused the large civilization to break up into smaller communities called late Harappan cultures.

Another disastrous change in the Harappan climate might have been eastward-moving monsoons, or winds that bring heavy rains. Monsoons can be both helpful and detrimental to a climate, depending on whether they support or destroy vegetation and agriculture.

By 1800 BCE, the Indus Valley climate grew cooler and drier, and a tectonic event may have diverted or disrupted river systems, which were the lifelines of the Indus Valley Civilization. The Harappans may have migrated toward the Ganges basin in the east, where they could have established villages and isolated farms. These small communities would not have been able to produce the same agricultural surpluses to support large cities. With the reduced production of goods, there would have been a decline in trade with Egypt and Mesopotamia. By around 1700 BCE, most of the Indus Valley Civilization cities had been abandoned.

What do you think?

Why was it important that the Harappans developed standardized weights and measures?

Do you think there is enough evidence to support the idea that Harappans were peaceful and enjoyed social equality?

How did the Indus Valley Civilization interact with the river networks in the region? Were there any detrimental effects of the location in such a dense river network?

What do you think is the most plausible explanation for the decline of this civilization?

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Indus River Valley civilizations (article) | Khan Academy

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Learn for free about math, art, computer programming, economics, physics, chemistry, biology, medicine, finance, history, and more. Khan Academy is a nonprofit with the mission of providing a free, world-class education for anyone, anywhere.

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1. The Indus Valley Civilization was located in what is not modern day Pakistan. Mountain ranges such as the Himalayas and the Hindu Kush mountains protected Indus Valley civilization from invasion for a long time. The Ganges and Indus rivers were predictable when the flooded. people could rely on when the rivers would flood so that they could plant their crops on time. Silt was distributed, which made for a very rich soil for plants to grow in. The surrounding geographic features provided safety and a the possibility for a food surplus.

2. Around 2500 B.C., cities in the Indus Valley began to pop up. Around 7000 B.C.E., civilizations began to really flourish. Trade increased and people began to create tools and build more houses in their cities.

3. The name for the writing of the people in the Indus Valley civilization is called Indus Script. Since we can't read it, we do not know what the people living in the Indus Valley called it.

4. Around 7000 B.C.E., the Indus Valley Civilizations began to flourish. Trade increased and people began to start producing a food surplus. This food surplus lead to a population increase.

5. According to archaeologists, around 1900 B.C., there was an earthquake that shifted the path of the Indus River. This caused people to move out of the Indus River Valley.

Works Cited

Green, Susan. "What Happened to the Indus Civilization." BBC UK [London], 4 Feb. 2019, p. 3. BBC, www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/zxn3r82/articles/z8b987h#:~:text=Many%20historians%20believe%20the%20Indus,flood%20and%20change%20its%20direction. Accessed 1 Jan. 2022.

Violatti, Cristian. "Indus Script." World History, edited by Cristian Violatti, World History USA, 5 June 2015, www.worldhistory.org/Indus_Script/#:~:text=The%20Indus%20Script%20combined%20both,words%20while%20others%20represent%20sounds. Accessed 3 Feb. 2022.

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What innovations were made in this civilization?

Some innovations that were made were standardized weights and measures, seal carving, and experimenting with metals
such as with copper, bronze, lead, and tin. Other things they did were invent an AC system, sewer system, and wells.

How did the bricks created in the Indus Valley differ from other civilizations? The bricks created in the Indus Valley were made with a 4:2:1 dimension ratio made of
soil, clay, and water.

What is Metallurgy and how does it related to the Indus Valley? Metallurgy is science and technology revolving around metals. The people of these civilizations experimented with different kinds of metal, including them in art

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1. Around 2500 B.C., civilizations popped up in the Indus River Valley. These people had very organized streets and planned out living spaces. These people had forms of identification and symbols that depicted gods. Indus valley people did not fight, as there were not many weapons that were found in the city. Types of pottery, beads, and textiles were all symbols of trade and craftsmanship.
2. The Indus valley religion is polytheistic. It is a mix of Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism. Seals depicted more than one god and a few animals.
3. Many historians believe that the Indus Valley civilization ended because of an earthquake that shifted the course of the Indus river. This caused crops to dry out and people to leave.
https://www.ushistory.org/civ/8a.asp
http://indus-valley-civ.weebly.com/religion-and-culture.html#:~:text=The%20Indus%20Valley%20religion%20is,be%20the%20tree%20of%20life.

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Aryans probably used the Khyber Pass to cross the mountains during their Indian invasion. Located in present day Pakistan, the pass is about 16 yards wide at its narrowest point.

The phrase "early civilizations" usually conjures up images of Egypt and Mesopotamia, and their pyramids, mummies, and golden tombs.

But in the 1920s, a huge discovery in South Asia proved that Egypt and Mesopotamia were not the only "early civilizations." In the vast Indus River plains (located in what is today Pakistan and western India), under layers of land and mounds of dirt, archaeologists discovered the remains of a 4,600 year-old city. A thriving, urban civilization had existed at the same time as Egyptian and Mesopotamian states - in an area twice each of their sizes.

The people of this Indus Valley civilization did not build massive monuments like their contemporaries, nor did they bury riches among their dead in golden tombs. There were no mummies, no emperors, and no violent wars or bloody battles in their territory.

Remarkably, the lack of all these is what makes the Indus Valley civilization so exciting and unique. While others civilizations were devoting huge amounts of time and resources to the rich, the supernatural, and the dead, Indus Valley inhabitants were taking a practical approach to supporting the common, secular, living people. Sure, they believed in an afterlife and employed a system of social divisions. But they also believed resources were more valuable in circulation among the living than on display or buried underground.

The "Great Bath" of Mohenjo-Daro is the earliest known public water tank of the ancient world. Most scholars believe that this tank would have been used in conjunction with religious ceremonies.

Amazingly, the Indus Valley civilization appears to have been a peaceful one. Very few weapons have been found and no evidence of an army has been discovered.

Excavated human bones reveal no signs of violence, and building remains show no indication of battle. All evidence points to a preference for peace and success in achieving it.

So how did such a practical and peaceful civilization become so successful?

The Twin Cities

Seals such as these were used by merchants in the Harappan civilization. Many experts believe that they signified names.

The ruins of two ancient cities, Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro (both in modern-day Pakistan), and the remnants of many other settlements, have revealed great clues to this mystery. Harappa was, in fact, such a rich discovery that the Indus Valley Civilization is also called the Harappan civilization.

The first artifact uncovered in Harappa was a unique stone seal carved with a unicorn and an inscription. Similar seals with different animal symbols and writings have since been found throughout the region. Although the writing has not yet been deciphered, the evidence suggests they belonged to the same language system. Apparently, Mesopotamia's cuneiform system had some competition in the race for the world's first script.

The discovery of the seals prompted archaeologists to dig further. Amazing urban architecture was soon uncovered across the valley and into the western plains. The findings clearly show that Harappan societies were well organized and very sanitary.

This copy of the Rig Veda was written after the Vedic Age. The Aryans had no form of writing at the time they invaded India. Instead, these religious scripts would have been memorized and passed down orally by Brahman priests.

For protection from seasonal floods and polluted waters, the settlements were built on giant platforms and elevated grounds. Upon these foundations, networks of streets were laid out in neat patterns of straight lines and right angles. The buildings along the roads were all constructed of bricks that were uniform in size.

The brick houses of all city dwellers were equipped with bathing areas supplied with water from neighborhood wells. Sophisticated drainage systems throughout the city carried dirty water and sewage outside of living spaces. Even the smallest houses on the edges of the towns were connected to the systems - cleanliness was obviously of utmost importance.

The Fall of Harappan Culture

No doubt, these cities were engineering masterpieces of their time. The remains of their walls yield clues about the culture that thrived in the Indus Valley. Clay figurines of goddesses, for example, are proof that religion was important. Toys and games show that even in 3000 B.C.E., kids - and maybe even adults - liked to play. Pottery, textiles, and beads are evidence of skilled craftsmanship and thriving trade.

The swastika was a sacred symbol for the Aryans signifying prosperity. The word comes from the Sanskrit for "good fortune." Hitler borrowed the symbol, changed the angle and direction of the arms, and used it to represent the Nazis.

It was this intensive devotion to craftsmanship and trade that allowed the Harappan culture to spread widely and prosper greatly. Each time goods were traded or neighbors entered the gates of the cities to barter, Indus culture was spread.

Eventually, though, around 1900 B.C.E, this prosperity came to an end. The integrated cultural network collapsed, and the civilization became fragmented into smaller regional cultures. Trade, writing, and seals all but disappeared from the area.

Many believe that the decline of the Harappan civilization was a result of Aryan invasions from the north. This theory seems logical because the Aryans came to power in the Ganges Valley shortly after the Indus demise of the Indus Valley Civilization. Because there is little evidence of any type of invasion though, numerous historians claim that it was an environmental disaster that led to the civilization's demise. They argue that changing river patterns disrupted the farming and trading systems and eventually led to irreparable flooding.

Although the intricate details of the early Indus Valley culture might never be fully known, many pieces of the ancient puzzle have been discovered. The remains of the Indus Valley cities continue to be unearthed and interpreted today. With each new artifact, the history of early Indian civilization is strengthened and the legacy of this ingenious and diverse metropolis is made richer.

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Early Civilization in the Indus Valley [ushistory.org]

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Aryans probably used the Khyber Pass to cross the mountains during their Indian invasion. Located in present day Pakistan, the pass is about 16 yards wide at its narrowest point. The phrase "early civilizations" usually conjures up images of Egypt and Mesopotamia, and their pyramids, mummies, and golden tombs.

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By: Thomas Tabinor

1. In 1921, the civilization was first identified at Harappa in the Punjab region. One year later in 1922, it was discovered in Mohenjo-daro, in the Sindh region near the Indus River.

2. The Indus Calley started to develop its two cities in roughly 3,000 BCE.

3. The type of writing used was called Indus Script. Similar to Sand Script. This is one of the earliest forms of writing and we have not been able to decipher it yet.

4. Around 2600 BC to 1900 BC

5. Scientists first guess was an earthquake that shifted the river away from the civilization, this caused people to move away from there to a place where there was water and more fertile land.

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Indus-civilization

https://www.worldhistory.org/Indus_Valley_Civilization

Technology

They used to build their buildings out of brick, this was the first large-scale bricklaying of its time. They functioned by the 4:2:1 rule as far as their dimensions. They also started to mine common earth metals in the Indus valley such as lead, copper, tin, and bronze. This was used for constructing tools which allowed them to construct other tools. People also made bronze and copper containers. They made weights out of lead and small plates, along with gold and silver jewelry that was very complicated. The pottery technologies were also very advanced sense they primarily used this material.

http://indus-valley-civ.weebly.com/building-and-technology.html

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The Indus Vally Civilization had flat roofed houses with little furniture with plumbing. They had large cities consisting of high population numbers.

The Indus Valley Civilization had advanced plumbing, a sewage system, and a grid like map system.

The planned cities of the Indus Valley Civilizations demonstrated they had an advanced and strong government.

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Culture

1.They built many stamps and had planned cities with sewage systems/ animals have importance to them with their seals depicting animals such as elephants or hybrids of many animals/ they built figurines out of terracotta, bronze, and steatite

2.They seemed to worship a mother of the world goddess and didn’t have many temples, In Mohenjo daro there was something known as the great bath which scientist think to be a place to be baptized.

3.Historians believe that the Indus river valley civilizations ended because of climate change and the shifting of rivers.

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Economic Life

Some of the Indus Valleys trades were cotton textiles along with different types of beads and copper tools.

The geography of The Indus Valley affected the trade as many metals and harder materials were hard to come by so they had to trade for them.

One of their major trading partners was Mesopotamia because Mesopotamia has many rich materials and their trade tablets have evidence of a city that is similar to the Indus Valley Civilization.