Indus

• The Indus Valley Civilization (IVC) was a Bronze

Age civilization (3300–1300 BCE; mature period 2600–1900 BCE) .
• This civilization was centred mostly in the western part of
the Indian Subcontinent and which flourished around the Indus
river basin.
• A sophisticated and technologically advanced urban culture is
evident in the Indus Valley Civilization making them the first urban
centers in the region.
• Various sculptures, seals, pottery, gold jewelry and anatomically
detailed figurines in terracotta, bronze and steatite have been found at
excavation sites.
• The people of the Indus Civilization achieved great accuracy in
measuring length, mass, and time.
• They were among the first to develop a system of uniform weights
and measures.
• Primarily centered along the Indus and the Punjab region, the
civilization extended into the Ghaggar-Hakra River valley and the Ganges-
Yamuna Doab.
• The mature phase of this civilization is known as
the Harappan Civilization, as the first of its cities to be unearthed was
the one at Harappa.
• The mature phase of the Harappan civilization lasted from c. 2600
to 1900 BCE.
• Excavation of sites have been ongoing since 1920, with important
breakthroughs occurring as recently as 1999 Mohenjo-Daro, a UNESCO
.

World Heritage Site, is another well-known IVC archeological site.

• According to some archaeologists, over 500 Harappan sites have
been discovered along the dried up river beds of the Ghaggar-
Hakra River and its tributaries.
• The Harappan language is not directly attested and its affiliation is
unknown
• The ruins of Harrappa were first described in 1842 by Charles
Masson in his “Narrative of Various Journeys in Balochistan,
Afghanistan and the Punjab”.
• The Indus civilization's economy appears to have depended
significantly on trade, which was facilitated by major advances in
transport technology.
• Well over 400 distinct Indus symbols (some say 600) have been
found on seals, small tablets, or ceramic pots and over a dozen other
materials, including a "signboard".
• In view of the large number of figurines found in the Indus valley, it
has been widely suggested that the Harappan people worshipped
a Mother goddess symbolizing fertility.
• In the aftermath of the Indus Civilization's collapse, regional
cultures emerged, to varying degrees showing the influence of the
Indus Civilization.
• In the formerly great city of Harappa, burials have been found that
correspond to a regional culture called the Cemetery H culture.
• At the same time, the Ochre Coloured Pottery culture expanded
from Rajasthan into the Gangetic Plain.
• The Cemetery H culture has the earliest evidence for cremation, a
practice dominant in Hinduism until today.
• The civilization is sometimes referred to as the Indus Ghaggar-
Hakra civilization or the Indus-Sarasvati civilization by Hindutva groups.