Indus Valley Civilisation

• Indus Valley Civilisation (IVC) — one of the world's oldest urban civilisations (~2500–1900 BCE).
• Major sites: Harappa, Mohenjo-daro, Dholavira, Lothal, Kalibangan.
• City planning features: grid layout, drainage, granaries, Great Bath.
• Economy: farming, trade, craft.
• Decline theories.

Overview

Major sites

City planning

• Grid layout — streets at right angles (like a modern planned city).
• Covered drainage — brick-lined underground drains in every house; far ahead of contemporary civilisations.
• Two-storey brick houses — standardised baked bricks; ratio 1:2:4 (height:width:length).
• Great Bath (Mohenjo-daro) — large public pool (12 m × 7 m); possibly used for ritual bathing.
• Granaries — large brick structures for storing grain; evidence of surplus economy and trade.
• Citadel + Lower town — upper area for rulers/rituals; lower area for common people.

Economy

• Agriculture: wheat, barley, cotton (earliest known cotton cultivation), peas.
• Trade: with Mesopotamia (modern Iraq) — seals found in both regions.
• Crafts: pottery, bead-making, bronze tools, terracotta figurines.
• Weights & measures: standardised weights (cuboid) — evidence of regulated trade.

Decline (c. 1900 BCE)

Theories:

• Climate change / prolonged drought.
• Flooding of rivers.
• Aryan invasion (now largely discredited).
• Earthquake / tectonic activity diverting rivers.
• Most accepted: gradual decline due to climate change and weakening trade networks.

• What is another name for the Indus Valley Civilisation? Why?
• Name four major sites and one unique feature of each.
• What made Harappan town planning remarkable?
• What does the Great Bath suggest about Harappan society?
• Why do we know so little about Harappan religion and language?

Open the Practice tab for graded questions on the Indus Valley Civilisation.