INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION

Challenges:
 GRESASAW of the Indus Valley
Civilization
 What are the similarities of among the 3
ancient civilizations?
 Are there similarities between our way of
life now and the way of life of the Indus
Valley Civilization?
IMPORTANT REMINDER!!!
 While Africa takes pride for having
produced one ancient civilization which is
that of Egypt’s Nile Valley, Asia takes pride
for having produced not just 1 but 3
ANCIENT CIVILIZATIONS (CRADLES
OF CIVILIZATION). This means that Asia
is the BIGGEST birthplace of OLDEST
CULTURES OF HUMANS.
WHERE IN ASIA IS THE
THIRD ANCIENT
CIVILIZATION?
INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION
 LOCATION: NORTHWESTERN INDIA
QUESTIONS:
 When did the Indus Valley Civilization
began?
 Answer: 2700 B.C.E.
 What are the name of the rivers of the
valley where the civilization rose up?
 Answer: Indus and Ganges Rivers
 Were there small villages existing before
the Indus Valley Civilization?
 Answer:Yes
Mergarh
 Existed during the Neolithic Period
 Around 3500 BCE
 somewhere west of the Indus River
(Baluchistan, now part of Pakistan)
 The people in Mergarh engaged in
agriculture, sheep raising and making
cereals.
 Their houses were made of clay bricks.
MORE QUESTIONS
 Which country/countries now
occupies/occupy the area of the Indus Valley
civilization?
 Answer: Part of it is now in India and part is
in Pakistan (remember that Pakistan used to
be part of India as Bangladesh used to be
part of Pakistan).
 Of the five excavated cities, which two more
interesting ancient cities were excavated to
prove Indus valley civilization?
MOHENJO-DARO AND HARAPPA
Believed to be created by the Dravidians
Mohenjo-Daro
 The city had two planned areas:
 (1) At the western end of the site is
an area known as the Citadel. This
area of the city was built on top of a
mound of bricks almost 12 metres
high. A large staircase ran up the side
of this mound.
 Several large buildings and structures
on the Citadel mound suggest that
this area may have been used for
public gatherings, religious
activities or important
administrative activities.
 In the citadel, there you find the rice
granary, marketplace and public bath.
 (2) The city proper WELLS
which is lower in
elevation where the
house are the same and
built against the
street.
 The streets are done in
grid pattern.

PUBLIC BATHS

ROADS
Unique feature of the Indus Valley
Civilization
 The structure of the houses has one or
more toilets or toilet connected to a
centralized system.
 Underground sewer pipes are said to be
planned and organized by a centralized
government .
HARAPPA

Crafts’
Quarters
Harappa’s granary and wells
Harappan Pictogram/Writing
 Still undeciphered
 Incomplete
information about
the Indus Valley
Civilization
History of Indus Valley Civilization
 Began around 2700 BCE
 Harappa was established around 3300
BCE.
 Farming and agriculture became the main
economic activity due to scarce metal
resources.
 Trading with the Sumerian civilization
could have progressed along the shores of
the Arabian Sea and the Persian Gulf.
 History of the Indus Valley
Civilization
 Most artifacts unearthed
were toys indicating that
the Dravidians liked
entertainment and loved
to play
 For a while,
archaeologists thought
that the cities of the
Indus Valley Civilization
were populated by
children
 Their disappearance
remains a mystery due
to no traces of war were
evident
The lives of the people in Mohenjo-
Daro and Harappa:
 1) AGRICULTURE was their main economic
activity.
 2) They had irrigation systems.
 3) They had pottery and jewelry making.
 4) Houses were made of clay bricks.
 5) Their leaders were priest-kings.
 6) Their religion was animism and polytheism.
They worshipped many gods some of which were
animals like the very revered BULL.
 7) Their social classes were the ruling class who
lived inside the citadels; the farmers and traders
lived outside citadels.
Possible Causes of Disappearance:
 Famine, hunger, drought
 Ecological factors/Natural disasters (flood,
typhoon, earthquake, volcanic eruption,
etc.)
 Plagues
 Invasions by another civilization like the
Aryans
 The saddest ending...
THE INDUS VALLEY
CIVILIZATION WAS
ABANDONED AND BURIED
IN MUD.