Indus Valley Civilization

Meaning of Aryan

means "noble one" in Sanskirt. The Aryans brought the Sanskirt language to the Indus Valley and the rest of the subcontinents. They also brought new religious ideas.

What stood beside the Citadel?

A large grain storehouse where the farmers of Mohenjo-Daro stored crops of barley and wheat. Also nearby was a pool-sized bath, which may have been used for religious ceremonies.

Mohenjo-Daro

A year after Harappa was uncovered, archaeologists uncovered a second ruined city. It was 400 miles south from Harappa. Largest city of the Indus Valley civilization. It was centrally located in the extensive floodplain of the Indus River. Little is known about the political institutions of Indus Valley communities, but the large-scale implies central planning..

2500 B.C.

Farming villages of the Indus Valley grew into huge cities. These cities had paved streets and city sewers.

Harappan Planned Cities

Harappan bricklayers used standard-size bricks. They were precisely measured unlike the irregular sized bricks used in Mesopotamia. They also pioneered ways to keep their city clean. Many houses had their own toilets, and the city had a sewer system complete with "manholes".

What was Mohenjo-Daro like?

It was a large city. Historians think as many as 40,000 people may have lived there. Streets crossed each other at right angles. Large avenues were paved with bricks. Side streets were narrower and most side streets were unpaved. Hundreds of one room brick houses lined the street. Some apartment buildings were several stories high and had balconies and courtyards.

What is the meaning of Mohenjo-Daro?

Means "Mound of the Dead" in Sanskirt, an ancient Indian language.

Ancient Asian Trade Centers

Merchants from the Indus Valley cities gathered ivory, copper, and beads from surrounding areas and sent these goods west to Mesopotamia to trade for textiles, oil and barley grain. In addition, Indian merchants wanted silver from cultures west of Mesopotamia.

Strong Central Government in Harappan & Mohenjo-Daro

Projects like this need central planning by a strong government. Since the city of Harappan had almost the same layout as Mohenjo-Daro - even though the 2 cities were 400 miles apart - historians conclude that the Indus civilization must have had a strong government.

Harappan's Specialized Skills

The ancient Harappans were skilled engineers and craftworkers. Archaeologist have uncovered man artifacts. Jewelers made elegant jewelry with gold, conch shells and gems. Skilled workers carved beautiful pictures into small square of stones. Potters decorated bowls, water jar and other pottery containers with colorful paintings. Metalworkers used copper to make fish hooks and razors. They also made elegant bronze statues. Weavers in the Indus Valley River may have been the first to make cotton fibers into cloth

Harappa

The ruins of the city discovered by archaeologists in 1921 located in the Indus Valley. It is named after the name of a nearby town. The whole Indus Valley is known as the Harappa.

Why were the cities of Indus Valley abandoned around 1600 B.C.?

There are several theories. 1. The decline may have been due to a war or to a natural disaster such as a flood or lack of rainfall. The lack of water would have made farming very difficult. 2. Some archaeologists think that the Indus River changed course after a natural disaster such as an earthquake. An earthquake may have caused floods that destroyed the region's largest cities or it may have caused the course of the river to change. Life went on in the Indus Valley but the Harappan civilization never recovered.

1500 B.C.

a new group called the Aryans emerged in the Indus Valley crossing the icy passes of the HINDU KUSH mountains. They rode horses to herd cattle and sheep.

Citadel

or strong fortress, stood at the west end of Mohenjo-Daro. The Citadel was surrounded by thick walls to protect it again enemies and floodwaters.

Aryans

people from Central Asia who migrated west into Europe and south into India

1600 B.C.

the great civilization had vanished. It lay unknown beneath great piles of earth until 1921 when archaeologists found the remains of one of its cities.

How were Harappan's like the people of Egypt and the Fertile Crescent?

they were like them because such specialization required a surplus of food. Excess crops were collected and kept in large storehouses. Like ancient Egypt, government workers collected a part of farmers' crops as a tax. This stored grain may have been redistributed later as payment to city workers or government employees.