INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION
The Indus Valley Civilization was a cultural and political entity that flourished in the
northern region of the Indian subcontinent between approximately 7000 and 600 BCE. Its modern
name derives from its location in the valley of the Indus River, though it is also commonly referred
to as the Indus-Sarasvati Civilization and the Harappan Civilization. These latter designations
come from the Sarasvati River mentioned in Vedic sources, which flowed adjacent to the Indus
River, and the ancient city of Harappa in the region, the first site discovered in the modern era.
The civilization's chronological development can be divided into distinct phases: Pre-
Harappan (c. 7000-5500 BCE), Early Harappan (c. 5500-2800 BCE), Mature Harappan (c. 2800-
1900 BCE), Late Harappan (c. 1900-1500 BCE), and Post Harappan (c. 1500-600 BCE). At its
peak during the Mature Harappan period, the civilization covered more than 30 percent of the
present landmass of the Indian Subcontinent. Urban civilization first appeared in ancient India with
this remarkable society in the early third millennium BCE, making it contemporary with other
early civilizations in Mesopotamia and Ancient Egypt.
The two most prominent excavated cities of this culture are Harappa and Mohenjo-daro,
both located in modern-day Pakistan. Mohenjo-daro was founded around 2500 BCE,
approximately two miles from the Indus River, and at its largest point housed over forty thousand
people. The city was strategically built on elevated land and barricaded to prevent flooding,
demonstrating sophisticated environmental planning. Harappa, located in Punjab, Pakistan, was a
fortified city with an estimated population of about 23,500 people occupying an area of about 370
acres.
Notable Contributions
Urban planning and sanitation. Harappan cities were laid out on
strict grid plans, with major streets running north, south or east,
west. Houses were built of standardized baked bricks, many had
private bathrooms with drains, and nearly every street had an
underground sewage system. For example, Mohenjo-daro’s famous
“Great Bath” (a large public pool with steps and drain outlets)
highlights their advanced hydraulic engineering. Overall, their city
planning and sanitation (flush toilets, covered drains, public baths,
etc.) were far more sophisticated than in most contemporary cultures
Standardized measurements. The Harappans invented a precise
system of weights and measures. Their rectangular bricks and stone
weight cubes followed a strict modular ratio, and road widths even
conformed to a common unit. This standardization – unheard of
before – facilitated uniform construction and fair trade across the
empire
Writing system. The Indus people developed their own script (the
Indus Script) – a set of hundreds of unique symbols seen on seals,
pottery, and other artifacts. Although this script remains undeciphered,
its existence shows the Harappans had an original form of writing for
accounting, administration, or ritual use. (This script is one of the
earliest writing systems in South Asia.)
Why did the Indus Valley CivilizationfFail?
The Indus Valley Civilization began its decline around 1900 BCE and had vanished completely by
approximately 1300 BCE. The civilization's disappearance around the mid-2nd millennium BCE represents
one of archaeology's greatest mysteries, as the exact causes remain unclear despite extensive
research. Several theories attempt to explain this decline, though none provide a definitive answer to why
such a sophisticated and widespread civilization collapsed.
Environmental factors likely played a significant role in the civilization's downfall. Some scholars
propose that environmental disasters, including climate change and the drying up of river systems like the
Ghaggar-Hakra River, may have disrupted the agricultural foundation upon which the cities depended. The
Ghaggar-Hakra river, which once flowed on the western side of many Harappan settlements, has since dried
up completely, potentially depriving these urban centers of crucial water resources.
Overpopulation and resource depletion represent another possible factor in the civilization's
decline. As cities like Mohenjo-daro grew to house tens of thousands of inhabitants, the strain on local
resources and agricultural systems may have become unsustainable. Additionally, trade interruptions could
have severely impacted the economy of a civilization that relied heavily on long-distance commerce for
prosperity
The arrival of new peoples, specifically the Aryan tribes who began infiltrating northern India from
central Asia around 1500 BCE, may have contributed to the final dissolution of Harappan urban
centers. These Indo-European speaking pastoral peoples brought different cultural practices and
technologies, potentially disrupting the established Harappan social and economic systems.
REFERENCES
British Museum. (n.d.). Indus Valley. In The British
Museum. https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/galleries/indus-valley
National Geographic Society. (2023). Indus Valley Civilization. In National
Geographic. https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/indus-valley-civilization/
Law, R. W. (2011). Inter-regional interaction and urbanism in the ancient Indus Valley: A geologic
provenience study of Harappa’s rock and mineral assemblage. World Archaeology, 43(3), 371–
400. https://doi.org/10.1080/00438243.2011.605844
Parpola, A. (1994). Deciphering the Indus Script. Cambridge Archaeological Journal, 4(1), 75–
100. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0959774300000991
