4· Indus Valley Civilisation

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About 4,500 years ago, a great civilisation flourished

along the river Indus. Mohenjo-daro and Hara ppa, now
in Pakistan, were probably the main cities of this
civilisation. Among the other sites unea rthed .later are
Rupar in Punjab, Kalibangan in Rajast~an, an~ Lothal,
Rangpur, Dholavira and Rojdi in GuJ~at_- Smee the
remains found at all these sites are very similar to those
found at Harappa and Mohenjo-daro, they are believed
J • Kalibangan
Mohen10-daro
. ( / ·•.- ·/ / to belong to one single civili satio n-the Indu s Valley
Chanhu·daro • ..,
Civilisation or Harappan Civilisation.
Amri• •
I. .
\ Plann ed Cities
N D A
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• Dholavira The Indus valley cities were well-plann ed. We know this
from the excavations at Mohenjo-daro and Hara ppa.
These two cities can be divid ed broad ly into two
Present external boundary of
parts -the citadel and the lower town.
India shown thus: _ , _ ___ _

The citadel The cities had a raised part called the citadel.
The citadel had massive walls , and its height provided protection
against floods. Impo rtant
structures like public baths, granaries and the town hall were situa
ted in the citadel.

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 1nd us Valley Civilisation 23

The Great Bath at Mohenjo-daro

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~ho"·s ho" · good the Indus peopl e were "' ~ ... ~ . r· 1'-1.
at engineering and plann ing. The inner ,, ~
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w,ills \\·ere trc~ted .to preve nt seepage. ~-
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Stairs desce nding mto the bath were
used fo r cleaning it. There were even
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changing rooms aroun d the bath.
The grana ry at Mohenjo-daro was
the larges t buildi ng of the city. In ''
Harappa, there were as many as six
granaries. Near these granaries, there
were circular brick platforms mean t for
threshing grain. Grains found in cracks
on the threshing floors show that the The Great Bath at Molrenjo-daro was probably used 011 religious ocrnsio11s.
Harappans grew whea t and barley.
bly hall, a praye r
Mohenjo-daro also had a large hall which may have been used as an assem
hall or for cultural show s.
merchants, craftsmen
Lower town Outsi de the citadel was the lower town, inhabited by petty
gular blocks by wide
and labourers. The main part of the lower town was divided into rectan
of brick houses and the
roads cutting each other at right angles. Here one can see the remains
of lamp posts have been
drainage system. The cities proba bly had street lights because remains
discovered along the roads.
were made of baked
House s In the lower town, houses were one or two storeys high. They
or more rooms with
bricks, and were built along narro w straight lanes. Every house had two
house had a well.
small windo ws, a bathr oom, a kitchen and a courtyard. Almost every
n and the bathr oom
Drainage system The house s had very good drainage systems. The kitche
main road.
had drains connected to the covered main drain runni ng alongside the

Life of the People

Occupations
The Indus people had many different
occupations. There were farmers, weavers,
potters, metalworkers, toy-makers, jewellers,
stonecutters and traders.
Farming The Indus farmers grew whea t,
barley, gram, peas, maize and millets. T~ey
were the first to grow cotton in India. They
used ploug hs and sickles, and different
methods of irrigation. They domesticated
many animals including oxen, buffaloes,
goats, sheep, pigs, asses and camels.
Pot-making The people were skilled in the use
of the potter 's wheel. Pots were made with fine
clay and then glazed and decorated.
 History and Civics for Class 6
. ul ture Making terracotta (burnt
Toy-makmg and sc P . d statuettes was a ma1·or
f of aroma1s an
clay) toys, 1gures b r of playthings, like miniature
industry. A larg~ num e e squirrels and a toy bullock
carts, dice, marbleS, mat ' ull of a string, have been
whose head moves at~ :s~at of a bearded shawl-clad
excavated. Statue~e~ sukill f the Indus craftsmen.
man show the artistic s 0
. A piece of woven cloth
Spinning and weaving · dl d th
unearthed at Mohenjo-daro, clay s~m es an e
WI -clad man are evidences that the
statuette of a sha d ·
people were skilled in the art of spinning an weaving.
Metal-casting The Indus people produced tools and
weapons of copper and bronze. The bro~e statuette of
a dancing girl shows their mastery m the art of
bronze-casting.
Building industry The building industry provided
Copper pot employment to a large number of peo~le.
Brick-making was an important craft. Many kilns
(large ovens) for baking bricks have been found. The
bricks were more or less of uniform size, following a
fixed standard.
Seal-making More than 2,000 seals have been
excavated from different sites. This shows that
seal-making was an important craft. Most seals are
square or rectangular tablets, usually made of steatite
(soft soapstone). Most of them have short inscriptions
and the impression of a bull, buffalo, tiger, goat,
rhinoceros or an elephant. Some seals show a male god.
Some have a hump at the back, which has a hole in it.
Was a string passed through the hole to tie the seal
round the neck, wrist or a goods container? Is the
inscription just the owner's name? We do not know, as
nobody has been able to decipher the Indus script.
I 'Arrowhead
Bronze dancing girl

Hump at the
back of a seal
Seals

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 Indus Valley Civilisatio n 25

-, :-tlG-.'. Trading thrived, and was conducted according

to a set of rules. The merchants used uniform weights
and measures.
There are many reasons to believe that overseas
trade existed. The remains of a dockyard have been
fo ~d at Lothal in Gujarat. A seal depicting a seagoing
ship has also been found. Mesopotamian records
Weights
mention Meluha, a name used for the Indus ports.
Moreover, Mesopotamian seals have been found in
Indus cities, and Indus seals in Mesopotamia.
Dress and Ornaments
Women wore a shawl around the shoulders and a short
skirt held at the waist by a girdle. Men wore a long,
loose unstitched garment. Both men and women
wore ornaments.
Religious Worship
The Indus people worshipped Nature in the form of
animals, birds and trees. For example, the humped bull,
the dove and the pipal tree were held sacred. A mother
goddess was also worshipped.
Seals bearing the three-headed figure of a male god
have been found. Some of them depict the god in a
yogic posture and surroun ded by animals. Shiva, or .
Pashupati, worship ped today, is probably a later
Ornaments
adaptati on of this male god. There are no temple
structures among the remains. Some scholars believe
that the Great Bath at Mohenjo-daro was used during
religious ceremonies.
The Indus people believed in life after death. They
buried their dead, often in huge burial urns, along with
food, ornamen ts and the articles used by them in their
daily life.

Decline of the Indus Civilisation

The Indus Valley Civilisation lasted from 2500 BC to
1500 BC approximately. The Mohenjo-daro excavation
reveals that the city was destroyed over and over again,
and was rebuilt at the same site nine times.
The exact causes of the decline of this great
civilisation are not known. lfis suggested that the cities
might have been destroye d by natural disasters like
earthquakes, floods or a change in the course of
the Indus.
 ~6 History and Civics for Class 6

Poittts to Remember
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'1 ll I d Mohenjo-daro and Harappa had
•\ Theci tiesofthe lndus ValleyCivilisationwerewe -p anne · . h d th G t B th
ci tadels. Important structures were within the citadel. Mohen1o-daro . a e reaTh a. : a
and dwelling houses. e cities
gra nary and a tovm hall. In the lower town, there were roa d s
had good drainage systems.
')I, Occupations: fa mling, pot-making, making of toys and statuettes, seal-making, spinning and
\\'ea\·ing, metal-casting, brick-making and trade
,;\ Overseas trade existed. This is proved by the dockyard at Lothal and a seal depicting a ship.
The lndus people had trade connections with Mesopotamia.
·•-}• The lndus people worshipped Nature in the form of animals, birds and trees. They also
worshipped a male god similar to Shiva of later times, and a mother goddess.
1.,. The Indus Valley Civilisation probably declined due to natural disasters.

A. Answer the following questions in one or two sentences. C. Fill in the blanks.
J. Name four important sites of the Indus 1. Possibly, the main cities of the Indus Valley
Valley Civilisation. Civilisation were ... . .and .... _
2. Why is the Indus civilisation also called the 2. The lndus people were the first to grow ..... in
Harappan Civilisation? India.
3. What historical information can we gather from 3...... and ..... were two metals used by the Indus
the sites of the granaries? people.
4. Prove with examples that Harappan craftsmen
4. The Indus people had overseas trade connections
were highly skilled. with .... _
5. What are the evidences that prove the skill of the
5. Excavations show that Mohenjo-daro was rebuilt
Harappans in the art of weaving? ... ..times.
6. How do we know that the Indus people carried
on overseas trade? D. Choose the correct option.
7. Explain how historians have concluded that the 1. The granaries were situated
Harappans believed in life after death. (a) in the lower town (b) in the citadel
8. What led to the decline of the Indus civilisation? (c) in courtyards (d) outside the town
2. The statue of the dancing girl is made of
B. Answer the following questions.
(a) soapstone (b) terracotta
1. Describe the following structures of
(c) bronze (d) clay
Mohenjo-daro and discuss their functions.
(a) The citadel (b) The Great Bath 3. A dockyard was discovered at
(a) Rojdi (b) Lothal
2. Describe the main features of the lower town of
an Indus city. (c) Dholavira (d) Rangpur

3. Write about agriculture and trade in the Indus 4. Ornaments were worn by
civilisation. (a) men (b) women
4. Describe a Harappan seal. What conclusions can (c) both men and women (d) the upper classes
be drawn from the study of seals? 5. The f ndus Valley Civilisation lasted for about
5. Write briefly about the religious beliefs of the (a) 2,000 years (b) 1,000 years
Indus people. (c) 500 years (d) 4,500 years
 27
Indus Valley Civilisation

ftf1ft Thmss to Do t4™

■ -----
• Make your own model of an excavation site by using a fish tank containin? layers of sand.
Place different objects at different levels, such that they are visible from the sides and the top.
The lowest layer will represent the oldest time period .
• Collect information about the archaeological excavation at Dholavira. Share your findings
with your classmates.

9ili3§ Arovn~ This Time ililii

• While the foundations of the Indus Valley Civilisation were being laid, the world' s first
libraries were being set up in Mesopotamia in 2500 BC. The texts included proverbs about
the trials of daily life, like this one: You can have a master, you can have a king, but a man to
be feared is the tax collector.
• The most famous ~egaliths in the world are the stones of Stonehenge irl Wiltshire, England.
These huge megaliths were set up in a circle around 1700 BC.