Indus Valley Civilizations

Indus River Valley Civilization 3500-1500 BCE

Two City States and many smaller villages
Harappa
Mohenjo-daro
Both had
centrally planned cities
city walls
Public buildings
grainaries
toilets, wells, drainage system
brick lined sewers in the streets

Politics
City states
Governed by Priest Kings
The Indus Valley script has never been translated
so we know very little about their lifestyle or belief system beyond what architecture
tells us

Indus Valley Civilization Economy

Agricultural
cotton and food crops

Industry = textiles
Irrigation Canals
Craft workers made beautiful clay figurines
Made jewels from gold, silver and copper.

Social/Religion
Polytheist nature gods; fertility goddess important
Priests/kings in villages had high importance
Some merchants but mostly farmers

Decline of the Indus Valley Civilizations

Repeated Floods caused the course of the Indus River to shift away from the cities
The Indus Valley script has never been translated so we know very little about their
lifestyle
or belief system beyond what architecture tells us
New cultural group called Aryans migrate/invade and merge with the Indus Valley
peoples

The Indus Valley civilization was started in 3300 BC. The Dravidians were native people that
established the civilization. Present day Pakistan and Northwest India is where Indus Valley was
once located. They had amazing accuracy in measuring distance, mass, and time. Indoor plumbing
was first introduced by the Indus Valley civilization.

Indus Valley Origins

Indus Valley started by a nomadic tribe call the Dravidians. They crossed over the Himalayas and
settled down near modern day Karachi. A very important part of the culture was cities. They were
among the first civilizations to build large cities. Some of the first cities they built were Harappa and
Mojen-Daro. They were the first people to use pottery. Pottery was a great item they used to trade

with people; it helped them get rich. They also grew many crops that they traded, such as: wheat,
barley, rice, ragi, jowar, and cotton. They raised lots of animals too like; cattle, buffalo, sheep, goats
and chickens. Camels, elephants, horses, and donkeys were used as transportation.

Indus Plumbing
Indoor plumbing was first invented by the Indus Valley civilization. Baths were very common and
used daily. The floors in their houses were made of bricks laid on their sides to make a water proof
platform. The baths were also used for religious services and bathing rituals. Public baths were the
most common. People would most commonly bathe standing up and pouring pitchers of water onto
themselves, much like a shower. A small hole would be at the bottom so the water could pour out
and into the streets. They would place a brick in front on the whole and it would make a bath in their
home. Toilets could only be afforded by the wealthy. Poor people used urns or sump pots. The rich
toilets were basically stacked bricks with a hole in the middle with a drain leading out. If the
plumbing was on the second floor then terracotta pipes were used to bring the waste water down to
the streets. Limestone was used to make sure there werent any leaks in any of the plumbing
systems. Plumbing was used for comfort and to make life easier on people.

Indus System of Measurement

Measurement was a huge part of their achievements. They could very accurately measure weight,
distance, and time. They were one of the first people to develop a system of measurement. Their
measurements were so accurate that they even had one that was equal to 1.704 mm. A weight
chart was created much similar to an once, the chart consisted of: 0.05, 0.1, 0.2, 0.5, 1, 2, 5, 10,
20, 50, 100, 200, and 500 units, each unit equaling about 28 grams. Since they were so good at
measurements they were able to build great buildings, have straight streets, and line bricks up
perfectly the same size and weight.