Foundations of Civilization

2.  Started about 2500
B.C
 Located in the
north – western
region of Indian
subcontinent

3.  The civilization is famous for its large and
well-planned cities
 1,052 cities and settlements have been
found
 Harappa and Mohenjo - Daro

4.  Covered most of what is today Pakistan and the
Indian states of Gujarat, Rajasthan, Haryana, and
Punjab
 The huge Indus river system waters a rich
agricultural landscape.
 Indus plain is surrounded by high mountains,
desert and ocean, and at that time dense forest to
the east.

6.  Farming settlements grow into large and sophisticated
urban centers
 Communities were controlled by efficient governments
 The urban planning included the world's first known
urban sanitation systems
 Sewerage and Drainage systems were far in advance of
anything found in contemporary urban sites in the
Middle East.
 They built dockyards, granaries, warehouses, brick
platforms, and protective walls “CITADELS”

8.  The development of widespread irrigation systems
allowed the indigenous population to provide food for
themselves.
 Domestication of animals also served as an important
tool for cultivation and as a source of food.
 Natural borders consisted of mountains and the
Arabian Sea, sheltering the civilization from attack
and disease.
 The economy depended greatly on trade
 Bullock carts

10.  Script has not been deciphered.
 Over 400 distinct Indus symbols (some say 600) have
been found on seals, small tablets, or ceramic pots,
and on over a dozen other materials.
 Hinduism - some Indus Valley seals show swastikas
- Mother Goddess ”Fertility”
 Buddhism

11.  shells, ceramic
 glazed beads
 Pottery
 gold jewellery
 anatomically detailed figurines in terra-cotta, bronze,
and soapstone

12.  First civilization in the world to develop precise
measurement and weighing equipment
 The first to develop a system of uniform weights and
measures
 The engineering skill of the Indus people was of a very
high order

13.  Men worked within their designated caste social class
Caste system with four main classes
Brahmins (priests and the king)
Kshatriyas (warriors and aristocrats - rulers)
Vaishyas (cultivators, artisans, and merchants)
Shudras (peasants and serfs)
 Women were valued because of their ability to
produce offspring and nurse

14. REFERENCES
 http://www.rivervalleycivilizations.com/indus.php
 http://www.timemaps.com/civilization/Indus-Valley-
civilization