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The excavations re koonvealed that a civilization had existedin the valleys of the river Indus and its tributaries. Hence, this civilization came to be known as the Indus valley civilization.The first excavation was conducted in Harappa in the present Pakistan. It was led by Daya Ram Sahni. Sincethe first evidence for the Indus valley civilization was obtained from Harappa, this civilization is also known was the Harappan civilization.

The Harappan civilization stretched across the region ranging from the western part of Pakistan to Alamgirpur in Uttar Pradesh, and from Kashmir in the north to the Narmada valley in the south.The period of this civilization is generally placed between BCE 2700 and BCE 1700.
Houses were built along both sides of planned streets. They were of varying structures. Some houses had only one room, whereas others had more rooms, a courtyard and a well. Every house had a toilet. The drainage system was another feature of these cities. The waste water from the houses was let out into the drains. These drains were connected to the main drain of the street. The drains were built of burnt bricks and covered with stone slabs. Effective drainage systems existed even in small towns and villages. In Mohenjodaro a great tank, called the Great Bath, was discovered. It is an evidence for the architectural skill of the people of that period. It was built entirely with burnt bricks.
Granaries are significant among the ruins discovered from Harappa. They were big buildings with the facility to dry and store grains. The remains of wheat, barley, millet, sesame, pulses, etc. have been found here. Evidence of rice cultivation have been uncovered from Rangpur and Lothal in Gujarat. Cotton was cultivated. The urban folk depended on the villages for food and work. The villages were the major market for the urban products.
The agricultural fields in the villages were fertile.It is the alluvial soil deposited by the river Indus that made them fertile. In Kalibangan in Rajasthan farming was done by ploughing the land. The figures of ploughs made of clay were discovered from here. Canals were constructed for irrigation.In addition to agriculture, animal husbandry also existed. Plenty of animal bones have been unearthed from here. The figures of rhinoceros and elephants made of clay have also been found. They reared ox, goat,pig, and sheep.

The surplus agricultural products were stored in the granary. The grains collected in the form of revenue were also kept there. The grains thus stored were made available to the public. Such granaries are the evidence for the existence of an efficient administrative system.
The agricultural progress led to surplus production and storage of grains. Accurate weights and measures were used for exchanging the stored products. Weighing and measuring tools have been unearthed from here.

The inscriptions discovered from Mesopotamia mention their trade relation with Meluha. Historians opine that Meluha is probably Harappa. The Mesopotamian seals found from Harappa also provide evidence for this trade link.Lothal was one of the centres of maritime trade. The clay models of sailing ships obtained also prove their maritime trade link.

The seals widely found from the Indus valley sites were probably used for the purpose of trade. However, no evidence for the use of
coins has been found yet. They collected copper from the mines of Khetri in the present Rajastan and tin from the present Afghanistan and central Asia.Copper was mixed with tin to produce bronze. They made toolsband weapons using bronze. Since bronze was widely used in theHarappan civilization, it came to be known as Bronze Age civilization.

The seals, clay figures, utensils, ornaments, etc. dug out from Harappa bear witness to their craftsmanship. The ruins of kilns where pottery was produced have been widely dug out.Ornamental works were done on clay pots. Animal figures were moulded from clay. Figures of men, women, and carts have also been uncovered from here. Copper, bronze, and gold were used make ornaments. Evidence of centres where beads were made have been unearthed in Lothal. Bangles were made from clay, bronze, and tortoise shells. Though skilled at making handicrafts,the Harappans did not give importance to forging weapons. The artistic skill of the Harappans is reflected in the seals they made. The seals were made from clay and stones. The statuette of the dancing girl found from Mohenjodaro is also an example for their artistic skill. The diverse handicrafts hint at the existen of occupational groups.
The seals found from Harappa provide information about the then
belief systems. Clay figures of women have widely been discovered. They prove the existence of worshipping the mother goddess. Such worship existed in connection with fertility of the soil. Historians opine that the figures of men found from here are the early form of Siva (Proto Siva). They also worshipped animals and trees. The Great Bath unearthed in Mohenjodaro might have been used for religious ceremonieceremonies.
The Harappan civilization began to decline by BCE 1700. Several views prevail on the causes of its decline.

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Drainage system

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Indus River Valley Civilizations...in five minutes or less

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The kings of Egypt were known as 'Pharaoh'. The practice of preserving the body of the dead prevailed in Egypt. A corpse preserved thus is called a 'mummy'. Pyramids were tombs where the mummies were preserved. They remain as evidence for the excessive use of labour and wealth.

This civilization flourished in the valley of the river Nile. Agriculture was the backbone of this civilization. The Egyptians also engaged in weaving and production of glassware. They formed an art of writing. It is known as 'Hieroglyphics', which means 'sacred writing'. They used the leaves of the plant called papyrus for writing.

The Egyptians also attained amazing advancement in the field of science. They formulated a solar calendar. As per this calendar a year had 365 days. A year was divided into 12 months, of 30 days each. The remaining five days were set aside for celebrations. Their advancement in the field of Mathematics is also significant. They could calculate the area of triangles and rectangles. To determine time they made sundial, a clock that tells time by the shadow cast by the sun and water clock that works on water current. The Egyptians were also skilful in sculpture. It is evident from the sphinx, a statue with lion's body and human head.

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Introduction to Egyptian Civilisation | Class 6 History | iKen

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The Mesopotamian civilization flourished in the region where the modern Iraq is situated. Mesopotamia is the land between the rivers Euphrates and Tigris. These rivers originate from the Armenian mountains and merge with the Persian sea. The word Mesopotamia means the land between the rivers. Four different civilizations emerged and declined in Mesopotamia. They werethe Sumerian, the Babylonian, the Assyrian, and the Chaldean.

The fertile soil of Mesopotamia helped agricultural progress. It led to trade and the consequent growth of cities. Ur, Uruk, and Lagash were the major cities in ancient Mesopotamia. Cities were also trading centres. We have discussed the trade link between the people of Mesopotamia and the Indus valley. As trade developed, it became essential to record the accounts of the exchanged goods. It eventually led to the development of the art of writing. The Mesopotamian system of writing is called Cuneiform. The
script was wedge-shaped. They were written on the smooth surface of wet clay tablets. A sharp stylus was used for writing. The tablets were then baked in the sun. A huge collection of these tablets has been found here. Most of them were related to trade.  They achieved remarkable progress in the field of mathematics and astronomy. They formulated a calendar based on the movements of the moon. They divided a year into 12 months, a month into four weeks, and a day into 24 hours. They knew division, multiplication, and square root.
The construction of temples namely 'ziggurat' is the evidence of the amazing architectural skills of the ancient Mesopotamians. They were constructed in cities. They were built on artificial hillocks using bricks.

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Ziggurat

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Mesopotamian Civilization | Ancient History | History of Mesopotamia

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The Chinese civilization flourished in the valley of the river Hwang-Ho. Agriculture was the base of this civilization. They were also skilful in weaving, making pottery, and silk production. The art of writing existed in ancient China as well. The script was pictographic, not alphabetic. Later it developed into an ideographic script. Like ancient Mesopotamians and Egyptians, ancient Chinese too formulated a calendar in which a year consisted of
3651/2 days.