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Indus Valley Technological Advancements- Ali Bergstrom

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Indus Valley Technological Advancements- Ali Bergstrom

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Five technological advances made by the Indus Valley Civilization include seal carving, drainage systems, standardized weights, the invention of the ruler, and certain architectural advancements. According to historyten.com, the rulers were made from ivory and they helped make all of the fire baked bricks used to build these cities the same length. Crash Course World History mentions how cities were oriented to catch the wind, which provided a natural form of air conditioning. As for drainage systems, they allowed for indoor toilets. These holes dug from each house were connected to a centralized drainage system powered by gravity to carry waste and water out of the city. Kahnacademy.org states how these seals were likely used for trade, and thousands of them have been discovered in excavations.

Sources:
-Indus River Valley civilizations (article) | Khan Academy
-Top 10 inventions of Indus Valley Civilization (historyten.com)
-Indus Valley Civilization: Crash Course World History #2 - Bing video

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The people of Indus Valley were polytheistic they had multiple beliefs such as Buddhism which is the belief that everything will be reincarnated. In the religion Buddhism they worshiped three gods, Brahma the god who created the universe, Vinshnu who preserves the universe, Shiva the god who will destroy the universe . They also believed in Hinduism which is the belief of eternal life, Hinduism did not worship any gods they believed in the doctrines of samsara which is the continuous cycle of life, death, and reincarnation. Another religion worshiped was Jainism, Jainsim is a religion of self help where they try to escape the continuous cycle of life,death, and reincarnation. By eliminating all the karma in their body so they remain in a state of bliss where they are immortal. Two main gods that were worshiped during this time were Mother Goddess and Father God. Mother Goddess was a god of fertility and rebirth while Father God brought good harvest and safety from floods they would worship these gods in temples.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/jainism/ataglance/glance.shtml
-Ancient World History Book
https://www.history.com/topics/religion/hinduism#:~:text=Hindus%20believe%20in%20the%20doctrines,part%20of%20the%20supreme%20soul.

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This page covers the basics of Jainism at a glance.

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The people of the Indus Valley were polytheistic and had beliefs in  Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism. Hinduism is the belief in eternal life, Buddhism is the belief of rebirth, and Jainism is the belief of self help. Along with these beliefs, the peoples also put their faith towards the rulers who would rule in the name of gods. Two of those main gods were Mother Goddess and Shiva. Both Shiva and Mother Goddess symbolizes fertility and rebirth. They would also pray to a Father God to help with good harvest and safety from floods. They worshiped at temples and the “great bath” which is believed to be a part of their ceremonies.
Sources:
- Ancient World History Book
-https://www.hinduwebsite.com/history/indus.asp
-https://www.worldhistory.org/article/230/religious-developments-in-ancient-india/

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Writing- Anna Kardashyan

The people of the Indus Valley Civilization created a form of communication known as the Indus Script, in order to help them survive. The Indus Script, which includes around 400 signs, is a way of writing which combines abstract words and symbols to portray ideas or sounds. Because people in the Indus civilization wrote their ideas using pictures, symbols, signs and icons to convey messages, it is considered a pictograph style of writing. Indus Script was discovered by four thousand ancient objects that include inscribed seals, clay and stone tablets, stamps, important seals, tokens, currency coins, and more. We are currently unable to read Indus Script, and people are still trying to decipher it. There are methods that are being made that could possibly decode this ancient language in the future.

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

https://www.prdb.pk/article/mode-of-communication-in-the-indus-valley-civilization-4459

https://www.thehindu.com/society/history-and-culture/new-research-could-show-the-way-to-deciphering-indus-script/article28787527.ece

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Indus Valley Religious Beliefs- Brooklyn Bailey

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Indus Valley Religious Beliefs- Brooklyn Bailey

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We don’t know a lot about the Indus Valley(Harappan) religious beliefs. Historians believe that they worshipped a goddess who symbolized fertility. They were also believed to worship a male god named Pashupati.  The civilization didn’t have any temples, palaces, or any other sort of religious building, so it is hard to really know their actual beliefs. Scientists have found seals that have also been found in many other religions such as Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism. These seals have pictures of believed to be gods. This would make the Harappans polytheistic.

Sources:
https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/world-history/world-history-beginnings/ancient-india/a/the-indus-river-valley-civilizations

https://www.worldhistory.org/article/230/religious-developments-in-ancient-india/

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

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1. Their major products for trade were minerals, copper, jade, and cedarwood. Their main focus for trading was raw materials. Raw materials could be used in Harappan city workshops. Other trades included items used for clothing or crafts. That included terracotta pots, gold, silver, metals, beads, flints for making tools, seashells, pearls, and colored gemstones, such as lapis lazuli and turquoise.

2. Their geography affected their trade by traveling overseas. Since they were located right next to water they could use boats. Since boats were used it would make it easier to take back to their civilizations. There were also seaports found in the Harappan civilizations, some not even bound to their own territories. They built boats and watercraft which are supported by a massive dredged canal.

3. Their major trading partners were Iran and Afghanistan. They traded minerals with both Iran and Afghanistan for Harappan workshops. Their trades could greatly boost their economy. They traded lead and copper, copper gave them the ability to make many weapons. The Indus Valley traded gold and silver to their two main trading partners.

https://courses.lumenlearning.com/boundless-worldhistory/chapter/the-indus-river-valley-civilizations/

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/what-did-the-indus-valley-people-trade

http://indus-valley-civ.weebly.com/economy-and-trade.html

https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/world-history/world-history-beginnings/ancient-india/a/the-indus-river-valley-civilizations

https://www.harappa.com/blog/copper-harappan-age

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Settlements/Buildings - Faith H.

Briefly describe the type of settlements present within this civilization?

Indus Valley Civilization also known as the harappan was the earliest known urban culture of the Indian subcontinent. It dates back to about 2500-1700 BCE, but the sites might have lasted longer than those actual dates. They were also settled by river systems, which helped them. They also were very accurate in their systems and tools for measuring length and mass. There was also the first know sanitation system in pla   Some sophisticated city planning was the grid-like map system, plumbing, and the sewage. They city that they had built had very precise, strategic, and well thought out plans to make sure that their city was going to be the best in every way possible.

My three sources:

1. Ancient World History book

2. A site on google, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Indus-civilization

3. Crash Course video

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The Indus Valley Civilization used the Sanskrit language as a form of communication. The Sanskrit language is written in a logo syllabic way and inscriptions are based on the Sanskrit language. They used Indus script as a type of writing that was pictographic.  An example of it is a sign being displayed on a pottery surface that suggests the early development of the Indus script. The Indus script cannot be read to this day. Even after the mixed efforts of different people and the years of deciphering, no one can read it.

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

Writing System-

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

Can we read it?-

https://www.discovermagazine.com/planet-earth/why-we-still-cant-read-the-writing-of-the-ancient-indus-civilization

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Indus Valley Religious beliefs(Jay Bullock)

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Indus Valley Religious beliefs(Jay Bullock)

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The Indus Valley civilization was Polytheistic. Because we have not deciphered their language yet we will never know for sure if they believed in these religions, but from research Archaeologists think that they were influenced by hinduism, (the dominant religion of India that emphasizes dharma with its resulting ritual and social observances and often mystical contemplation and ascetic practices), The Indus people probably worshipped Mother Goddess, in addition to male and female deities. They were also believed to worship a Father god who could’ve been a prototype of Siva as the Lord of Animals. The Indus people were thought to be familiar with yoga and meditation. Researchers believe that they believed in other religions also but until we decipher their tablets we won’t know.

https://www.hinduwebsite.com/

https://en.wikipedia.org/

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At first the Indus Valley Civ. was made up of small farming villages, but around 2500 BC bigger cities began to emerge. The cities were planned out in grids, with houses and buildings made out of mud bricks. The cities were built on platforms to prevent flooding, and also surrounded by a mud brick wall. The main cities included Kalibangan, Mohenjo-Daro, and Harappa.
Some examples of sophisticated city planning in this civilization were the way the cities were laid out in neat grids, and the plumbing and sewage systems. Compared to the other ancient civilizations, the Indus Valley Civ. was very advanced in their city building and planning.

Sources:
Ancient World History; Patterns of Interaction

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1.) The Indus Valley Civilization had four main settlements: Harappa, Mohenjo-Daro, Lothal, and Kalibangan. Harappa was an especially prominent settlement, known for its good city planning. Its cities were strategically built on mud brick platforms to protect it from flooding, and broad brick wall about three and a half miles long surrounded it. Mohenjo-Daro, discovered one year after Harappa, was once the largest city of the Indus Civilization. It was extremely advanced and nearly every house had a bathroom and toilet, which no other civilization had until the 19th and 20th centuries.

2.) The Indus peoples were very minimalistic compared to the Egyptians, and instead of building extravagant pyramids, they worked on practical things. The streets were laid out in a grid pattern, so it would have been clean and easy to navigate. The houses were also specifically designed to protect from noise, odor, and thieves. In addition to these things, the cities of the Indus civilization had elaborate plumbing systems, and, like mentioned before, almost all homes had a bathroom and toilet. These innovative designs made life much more convenient for the Indus people.

https://en.unesco.org/silkroad/knowledge-bank/indus-civilization#:~:text=The%20civilizations%20of%20the%20Indus,and%20Kalibangan%20in%20western%20India.

https://www.britannica.com/place/Mohenjo-daro

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohenjo-daro

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People in the Indus Valley communicated with Indus Script. It was a form of writing where some symbols meant sounds and others meant ideas or words. Though many have tried, the Indus script has not been translated. The writing has been found on seals but those only contained 5 - 26 words which is not enough to find patterns and translate. Writing was also found on pottery, bones, ivory, bronze, shells, and more. In addition, no bilingual text has been found to compare the script to. However, some historians believe there was no language and they were simply symbols meant to decorate.

https://www.worldhistory.org/Indus_Script/ https://indusrivervalleycivilizationwhap.weebly.com/writing.html

https://www.discovermagazine.com/planet-earth/why-we-still-cant-read-the-writing-of-the-ancient-indus-civilization

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Most were built of fired brick and sun-dried mud-brick and wooden superstructures. These buildings were usually raised off the ground or on top of man made hills.The people of the Indus Valley Civilization did not build large, monumental structures, which was odd.They did that to fight off the floods from the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. One last way they used architecture was putting big stone or brick walls to protect the city from invaders.

The most remarkable achievement of The Indus Valley people was because of how sophisticated their city planning was. It was so sophisticated because they laid out their city on a precise grid system. Another reason was because they had a fortified area called a Citadel, which contained the major buildings of the city. A final way their city was so sophisticated was because they created very advanced plumbing and sewage systems.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harappan_architecture

https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/world-history/world-history-beginnings/ancient-india/a/the-indus-river-valley-civilizations

https://www.dkfindout.com/us/history/indus-valley-civilization/houses-in-indus-cities/

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In the Indus Valley they used Indus scripts as a form of communication. They wrote their writings though pictures. A common animal throughout the scripts is a seal as a role of religion. These scripts have been written on clay and stone tablets around Harappa. The Indus Valley script has not yet been translated to a language we can understand.

Sources

https://teachingthewriterlylife.wordpress.com/2017/02/07/history-of-writing-indus-civilization/

https://www.worldhistory.org/Indus_Script/

https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/world-history/world-history-beginnings/ancient-india/a/the-indus-river-valley-civilizations

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Indus Valley Project - Economic Life // Rylan Forth

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Indus Valley Project - Economic Life // Rylan Forth

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Economic Life

By Rylan Forth

Their connection and utilization with their rivers heavily influenced major trading and transportation routes for them. They were also able to trade with rather distanced people, such as the Mesopotamians. This civilization would typically trade with hand made goods, cotton cloths, certain crops,  and other such goods. In return, they received jewelry, metals, flint, sea shells, gold, silver, and much more. They were so reliant on the aspect of trade that they would not only just use rivers for trade, they would also cross mountains and forests if necessary. The Indus Valley Civilization ended up being one of the largest trading areas due to how successful their soil, technology, and produce were during that time.
Credits

https://www.historydiscussion.net/history-of-india/indus-valley-civilisation/economy-of-the-indus-civilization-india-history/7057

https://theindusvalleyciv.weebly.com/economic-system.html

http://indus-valley-civ.weebly.com/economy-and-trade.html#:~:text=Rare%20and%20special%20foods%2C%20materials,and%20good%20produce%20was%20high.&text=The%20Indus%20people%20were%20greatly%20reliant%20on%20trade.

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The Indus Valley civilization was made up of 3 main cities, Harappa, Ganeriwala, and Mohenjo-daro. There have also been over 1000 settlements discovered. These cities and settlements were very sophisticated for its day and are known to be one of the first urban cultures on the Indian subcontinent. During the time of this civilization several technological advances were developed. Some of these were plumbing, money, and housing. In the case of plumbing the Indus valley was the first to have a sewage system and well in each home. With housing all the homes were constructed into a multistory complex made of brick with windows in placement so wind could enter and work as AC. Besides how their cities looked they also came up with a sort of branding emblem for traded goods. All of these things help contribute to the sophistication of one of the most well known civilizations in history.
https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/world-history/world-history-beginnings/ancient-india/a/the-indus-river-valley-civilizations

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

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n7ndRwqJYDM

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Indus Valley Civilization Economic Life. - ruby moser

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Indus Valley Civilization Economic Life. - ruby moser

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Trade was very important for the people of the Indus Valley civilization. Their major product for trade was cotton; nobody else knew how to grow cotton at the time so it was incredibly valuable. They also had little tags used as stamps to go on things they traded with others. The geography of their region was a major part in trade. The rivers gave easy transportation access to everywhere else. Their major trading partners included Mesopotamia, Afghanistan, Persia, and China. Things they would get from trading with other regions include pots, beads and gems, silver, gold, various metals, flint, shells, and pearls.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indus_Valley_Civilisation

https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/world-history/world-history-beginnings/ancient-india/a/the-indus-river-valley-civilizations

https://www.penn.museum/sites/expedition/shipping-and-maritime-trade-of-the-indus-people/

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The Indus Valley’s form of communication was the Darvidian language, which is also used in the Indian Peninsula. In addition their form of writing were Indus Scripts, which were clay tablets with pictographs and were written from right to left. Some tablets were single characters, but some were up to 20 characters, this shows how difficult this form of writing is. This form of writing has not been deciphered, even though scientists have attempted to use advanced technologies to decode the Indus Scripts, they failed. There are more than 500 different signs used in the Indus Scripts, some are made up of multiple signs, which makes it a whole lot harder to decipher.
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Indus-civilization#ref348130

https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/world-history/world-history-beginnings/ancient-india/a/the-indus-river-valley-civilizations

Ancient World History Patterns Of Interactions

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Religious Beliefs

The Indus Valley Civilization was polytheistic (believing in more than one god). Some believed in Hinduism(Indian worship; eternal life), some in Buddhism( belief in Buddha's), and others in Jainism( religion in self-help).  There are many things with seals on them that point to two gods in particular including Shiva and Rudra as the main Gods worshipped. They worshiped at temples and the “great bath” is also believed to have been used for ceremonies in their religions. They also prayed to a ‘Father God’ who they thought to watch over all of them and that started and helped their lands.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion_of_the_Indus_Valley_Civilization

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https://www.worldhistory.org/article/230/religious-developments-in-ancient-india/

https://www.hinduwebsite.com/history/indus.asp

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The economic life of the Indus Valley Civilization was thriving, beginning as early as 2600 BC. Some of the major products used in their trade were gold, silver, brightly colored cotton cloth, copper, wood, precious stones, and handcrafted jewelry. The Indus River was a great form of transportation by providing a link to the sea, helping them to reach places such as Mesopotamia. Their significant trading partners were Afghanistan, Persia, Mesopotamia, and those in the Deccan Plateau. In conclusion, the Indus Valley Civilization had a thriving economy, and were able to obtain a wide variety of goods with the geographic help of having a link to the sea.

(all information from page 48 in the Ancient World History textbook)