Indus

Discovering

PRESENTED BY: Noor Osman, Dania Dafallah, Reem

SUPERVISOR: RAHIQ SALIH
Hassan, Doaa Osman,
 Content
introduction
religion and beliefs
rituals
cultures
types of buildings
plans and 3d pictures
famous buildings
 introduction
The Indus Valley Civilization(IVC), also known as the Indus Civilization was a
Bronze Age civilisation in the northwestern regions of South Asia, lasting from
3300 BCE to 1300 BCE, and in its mature form from 2600 BCE to 1900 BCE.
Together with ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia, it was one of three early
civilisations of the Near East and South Asia, and of the three, the most
widespread.
 Body

Timeline
Characteristics of Indus civilization

1 . Baked brick houses 2 . Elaborated drainage 3 . Water supply

system system


4 . Cluster of large
non-residential
buildings

5 . New techniques of handicrafts and metallurgy

Religion and Rituals
The exact belief system of the Indus Valley Civilization is difficult to define
because the written language has not yet been deciphered, and there were no
direct successors, nor colonialists, to interpret and record prevailing beliefs.
Furthermore, the civilization left behind little physical evidence of their
beliefs, and that evidence that has been unearthed is open to a wide range of interpretation.
Despite the fact that no temples have been found dating back to the Indus
Valley Civilization, the religion is said to have believed in the otherworld as
well as in gods and goddesses. In 1931, John Marshall identified a number of
prominent features of the Indus religion, namely the Great Mother Goddess
(female sexuality is deeply ingrained in Indus religion and ideology), a Great
Male God and veneration of animals. Also among the important depictions are
the symbolic representation of the phallus (linga), and the importance of bath
and water in religious practice.

 the Pashupati Seal is also known as the Proto-Siva Seal

Mahayogi Seal. The seal symbolises the seated figure of
Pashupati, which is the reincarnation of the lord of animals, the
Hindu god Shiva. The seated human figure has three heads. This
interpretation of the deity on the seal has been explained as the
deity having a horned headdress and is surrounded by animals,
representing the horns. On the seal, the human figure of
Pashupati is surrounded by four wild animals which are a tiger,
an Indian rhinoceros, a water buffalo, and an elephant. Beneath
the dais, curved two deer are looking backwards such that their
curved horns join at the centre. This is known for having the
most complicated designs among the thousands of seals found
in the Indus Valley Civilization. The seal was found in the
Southern Portion of Mohenjo-Daro excavation site in 1928
Religious Beliefs pf Indus People
• Along with male and female deities, the Indus people most likely worshipped Mother Goddess.
• They worshipped a father God who was likely a founder of the race and a prototype of Siva as the
Lord of the Animals.
• They were familiar with some type of yoga and meditation.
• They believed in some form of tree of life, portrayed on seals as a Pipal or
Acacia tree, protected by a guardian spirit against an evil power signified by
a tiger.
• The guardian spirit is shown in seals as a bull, a serpent, a goat, a legendary
creature, or an animal.
• They worshipped fertility symbols like round stones and perforated stones,
which predated the worship of Siva and Parvathi in the form Sivalinga.
• They might have believed in magical rites, charms, and amulets, as well as
ghosts and demons.
• They typically cremated the dead and left certain artefacts as offerings for
their afterlives.
• The great bath of Mohenjo-Daro, or the much larger one discovered recently
at the Dholavira site in Kutch, was most likely a prototype temple ponds, or sacred tank,
found in ancient temples of southern India, where people might have taken purification
baths or collectively participated in some kind of ritual bath on important occasions.
• The presence of baths and the presence of animals in the Indus seals imply that they may
have utilised water and animals in sacrifice rituals as offerings or for expiation and
ceremonial cleaning.
• Archaeologists have discovered no structures resembling temples, palaces, or monuments.
 More pictures...........

Seal

Father God Acai Tree

 To sum up...
Indus Valley Civilization, which mainly happened during the
bronze age, from 3300 BCE to 1300 BCE, went through drastic
and unique changes as time passed on. Religion had one
significant impact on it, especially the domestication of
animals and plants, which left a great impact on civilization,
which leaves us with the vast and different religions
happening during that era. Especially since it covered a vast
area in Asia, there ought to be different ideologies and some
minor changes in religion to come throughout this era. From
the Neolithic religion that consisted of cults, rituals,
and religious concepts, the ideology of the domestication of
plants and animals, and its belief in nature, we saw the
connection to the other religions—the worship of Pashupati,
which is believed to be the reincarnation of God Shiva, lord of
animals. Then we see the worship of trees and snakes
 Types of Buildings 1. Dwelling houses
• Large blocks of houses
2, Public buildings
• Great Granary at Harappa
Indus buildings • Along the sides of streets • The Great Bath at Mohenjo-Daro
• The most important aspect of this infrastructure was it was • Double storied • The Assembly hall
made up of burnt bricks, those which are used in modern • Flat roofs
day constructions. the mud was shaped into bricks by the • Different sizes
use of wooden molds and then baked in kiln using fire.
• Backed bricks of good qualities
• Some houses had multiple stories and paved floors
• Average house (courtyard surrounded
• Indus homes had kitchens and bathrooms that had
by rooms)
excellent drainage system.
• People were skillful builders • Bathroom, kitchen ,well.
• Residential buildings , which were serviceable enough they Public buildings
consisted of on open terrace flanked by rooms. • Great Granary at Harappa
• The Great Bath at Mohenjo-Daro
• The Assembly hall
Indus city was divided into two parts
West Part( upper class)
• Also known as Citadel.
• The upper town was built
on a raised platform.
• Smaller than lower town.
• Public buildings such as
Great Bath wall was built
in the upper town.
East part ( lower class)
• Located on the lower
part of the town
• Larger than upper town
• Usually only had
residential buildings.
Indus
 Indus House Building
• Roofs were used to dry crops in the sun. The dried crops were
then placed in cool storage rooms in the house.
• Bathrooms had an advanced drainage system. Drains started
from houses and joined the main sewers, which carried the water
out of town. Almost every building had its own well. Cool water
was pulled up when needed.
• Outer walls of buildings had no windows. This helped prevent the
hot summer sun from heating the insides of the house.
• The bricks in houses were laid in an “ interlocking pattern”
intersecting at right angles< which made the walls strong
Town Planning
Indus people were the first to build planned cities with scientific drainage system.
• Main features:
• Cities( upper part “west part” for upper class) and (lower part “east part” for
common people)
• Main streets and smaller streets
• Main roads
• Cities were divided into rectangular grids and blocks
• Grid pattern
• Walled city (protection from floods)
• In-house wells
• Drainage system
• Granaries ( lagrest building at Mohenjo Daro)
• No temples
layout diagram
famous buildings
The remains of the Indus Valley Civilization cities indicate remarkable organization; there were well-ordered
wastewater drainage and trash collection systems and even public baths and granaries. Most city-dwellers were
artisans and merchants grouped together in distinct neighborhoods. The quality of urban planning suggests
efficient municipal governments that placed
a high priority on hygiene or religious ritual.
Harappans demonstrated advanced architecture with dockyards, granaries, warehouses, brick platforms, and
protective walls. These massive walls likely protected the Harappans from floods and may have deterred military
conflicts. Unlike Mesopotamia and Ancient Egypt, the inhabitants of the Indus Valley Civilization did not build
large, monumental structures. There is no conclusive evidence of palaces or temples—or even of kings, armies, or
priests—and the largest structures may be granaries. The city of Mohenjo-daro contains the Great Bath, which
may have been a large, public bathing and social area.
THE GREAT BATH
THE GREAT GRANARY
Granary is a brick structure with 45 mtr north-south and 45 mtr east-
west. It was found at Mohenjodaro at Harappa. It is called the Indus
Valley civilisation as it was the earliest site of civilization. The Great
Granary was the largest building discovered at Mohenjodaro. Granary
was built on a raised platform to protect it from flooding. It consists of
rows of circular brick platforms. It was built from threshing grains
because of remains like wheat and barley found in the floor’s crevices.
THE ASSEMBLY HALL
The Assembly Hall: An important feature of Mohen-jo-daro was its 24 square meters pillared hall. It
had five rows of pillars, with four pillars in each row. Kiln baked bricks were used to construct these
pillars. Probably, it was the Assembly Hall or the ruler's court. It is said that it also housed the
municipal office which had the charge of town planning and sanitation.
DRAINAGE SYSTEMS
The Drainage System; The Drainage System of the Indus Valley Civilization was far advanced. The
drains were covered with slabs. Water flowed from houses into the street drains. The street drains
had manholes at regular intervals. Housewives were expected to use pits in which heavier part of the
rubbish will settle down while only sewerage water was allowed to drain off. All soak pits and drains
were occasionally cleaned by workmen. In every house there was a well-constructed sink, and water
flowed from the sink into the underground sewers in the streets. This elaborate drainage system
shows that the Indus Valley people were fully conversant with the principles of health and
sanitation.
 CONCLUSION..
The indus valley people gave to the world its earliest cities, its town planning
Its architecture in stone and clay, and showed their concern for heath sanitation.
They built a scientific drainage system in their cities, there is enough evidence to show that
some of the early concepts of Hinduism are derived from this culture.
On the whole, the present civilization is a composite product resulting from a fusion of
several cultures where the contribution of the Indus Valley is of utmost importance
References
The Indus Civilization by Mortimer Wheeler, Sir
Mortimer Wheeler. [Google Scholar]

Smith, M.L. The archaeology of South Asian cities. J.

Archaeol. Res. 2006, 14, 97–142. [Google Scholar]
[CrossRef]
Samuel, G. The Indus Valley Civilization and Early Tibet;
Senri Ethnological Reports; National Museum of Ethnology:
Osaka, Japan, 2000; Volume 15, pp. 651–670. [Google Scholar]