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 WELL
which is lower in S
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.