Indus Valley Civilization
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Transcript Indus Valley Civilization
INDUS VALLEY
CIVILIZATION
2600 to 1900
BCE
MOHENJO-DARO
What can
this photo
tell us about
the Indus
Valley
Civilization?
CRASH COURSE: INDUS VALLEY
Watch John Green quickly explain the Indus Valley…
INDUS VALLEY GEOGRAPHY
INDUS VALLEY
The Indus Valley civilization flourished around 2,500 B.C.
in the western part of South Asia, in what today is Pakistan and
western India.
It is often referred to as Harappan Civilization after its first
discovered city, Harappa.
The nearby city of Mohenjo-Daro is the largest and most
familiar archaeological dig in this region .
It was not discovered until the 1920's. Most of its ruins, even
its major cities, remain to be excavated.
FILE THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION INTO
THE APPROPRIATE SPICE CATEGORY
INTRO TO SPICE CHARTS
MAP
CONCLUSIONS MADE ABOUT IVC
Mountains block cold air & give the area a warm climate
Indus carries a lot of silt and floods regularly twice a year.
Access to river water for irrigation allowed farmers to produce
two crops a year.
Monsoons = seasonal winds that af fect the climate and way of
life
Summer monsoons bring heavy rains, causing flooding that
helps the soil
People depended on monsoons to grow crops
Monsoons sometimes unpredictable
THE GATEWAY TO AN INDUS CIT Y
THE GRANARY AT HARAPPA
CONCLUSIONS MADE ABOUT IVC
Identically planned cities and construction suggests
a strong central government
High degree of standardization in city building and even in the
size of bricks
used a grid pattern
A fortress (citadel) built on a brick platform overlooked each
city – probably the center of government and religion
The settlement was thought to house roughly 5,000 people,
and had houses, a granary, baths, assembly halls and towers.
Peaceful people – few weapons found
VIEW OF THE CITADEL
CONCLUSIONS MADE ABOUT IVC
Houses were made of oven-baked bricks
-Each house had at least one bathroom
with plumbing to sewers
-Houses rose to several stories and
had enclosed courtyards
• Similarity in housing indicates little dif ferences between
social classes.
CONCLUSIONS MADE ABOUT IVC
Technological advancements included extensive irrigation
systems, the potter’s wheel, kiln -baked bricks, sophisticated
bronze metallurgy, and a system of writing.
CONCLUSIONS MADE ABOUT IVC
Extensive trade with the northwestern mountain areas, Iran,
Afghanistan, and artifacts found show that Indus and Sumer
(in Mesopotamia) traded
Trade = bronze and copper tools; jewelry out of gold, shells,
ivory; clay pots; woven cloth; silver containers
People had better access to metal; artisans used metal to
make utilitarian and luxury items
Majority of objects found hand been tools
JEWELS BROUGHT FROM MINES BY
TRADERS
CONCLUSIONS MADE ABOUT IVC
Had a system of writing, but has not yet been deciphered.
CONCLUSIONS MADE ABOUT IVC
• Size of settled region larger than Egypt or Mesopotamia.
• Religious objects and symbols clearly linked to Hinduism
CONCLUSIONS ABOUT IVC
All of what we know comes from physical archeological evidence.
THEORIES ABOUT THE END
The end of the Indus Valley Civilization around 1500BCE
Researchers believe that the decline of the Indus Valley
Civilization was due to breakdown caused by natural disasters
and ecological change
• Suggestions: Drying up of Hakra river, salinization, and
erosion.
• Urban centers collapsing meant the elite way of life, but its
probable peasants adapted and survived.
PARTNER WORK: EACH STUDENT
RECORD IN NOTEBOOK
How do you know that this archeological find is the remnants
of a river valley civilization and not just a Neolithic farming
village? Explain. (Hint: What makes a civilization a
civilization?)
Compare Indus Valley with Mesopotamia. What do these
places have in common? What are some dif ferences?
(Discuss 3 of each)
What don’t we know about the Indus Valley? What is missing
from the information we have that would fill in the gaps?
(Discuss at least 3 items)