Indus Valley Civilization

The Indus Valley Civilization was an ancient civilization located in what is Pakistan and northwest India today, on the fertile flood plain of the Indus River and its vicinity. Evidence of religious practices in this area date back approximately to 5500 BCE. Farming settlements began around 4000 BCE and around 3000 BCE there appeared the first signs of urbanization. By 2600 BCE, dozens of towns and cities had been established, and between 2500 and 2000 BCE the indus valley Civilization was at its peak.

Harappa and Mohenjo Daro 2500 - 2000 B.C.E.

•      Well planned towns

•      Main and smaller streets –  cut at right angle

•      Main streets – parallel

•      Straight and wide (about 30 feet) roads

•      Curved corners – easy passage for carts

•      Paved with baked bricks

The most unique objects were square seals made of stone and engraved with symbols and animal motifs.

Paintings and Writings

•      Painted designs on pottery, different types  of clay figurines, toys, seals and ornaments.

•      Trade and exchange of raw materials, finished goods, technological knowledge and food items like precious stones, copper, sea shells, stone tools, grain, wool and livestock.

•      A highly standardized system of weights was used to control trade and also probably for collecting taxes .

The Indus Script: Seals and Writing

•      Abstract or pictographic symbols that were engraved above the animals represent the Indus form writing. The presence of writing on seals, as well as on pottery and other objects, indicates that the Indus people had developed a system for recording the names of deities, or people or materials.

•      On the average, the inscriptions are very short, consisting of about seven symbols. Scholars have not yet been able to decipher these short inscriptions and will not be able to do so until some longer texts or bi-lingual inscriptions have been discovered.