Topic 2: History and growth of human settlements during the ancient periods

Indus Civilization
Sources:
Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia

# Location of Indus Civilization:

 Indus Valley Civilization (2500bc-1700 B.C.), earliest known
civilization of South Asia, corresponding to the Bronze Age.
 The settlements belonging to this culture have been found
throughout the Indus River valley in Pakistan, westward along the
coast to the Iranian border, in India's north-western states as far
east as New Delhi, and on the Oxus River in northern Afghanistan.

# Chronology of Indus Civilization:

 3000 B.C.: Farming settlements appeared along the valley of the river Indus in what is now Pakistan
 2500 B.C.: High development of the Indus valley civilization
 2000 B.C.: Some Indus sites showed signs of decline
 1500 B.C.: The Aryan attack (an illustration of a scene from the Rig-Veda)

# Evolutions of Indus Civilization:

 Settlements were made of mud-brick buildings and separated by streets (Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa) are
dominated by large public buildings.
 The public buildings included colleges, temples, granaries, and palaces.
 The use of baked bricks and the industries of pottery and metal tool production helped to develop the
culture, which innovated town planning and the establishment of uniform standards of weights and
measures.
 The Indus Valley civilization extended with extensive trade networks, especially to the southeast.
 The city of Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa had examples of town life, with public buildings and households
equipped with bathrooms and plumbing.
 Mohenjo-Daro covered more than 80 hectares (200 acres) and consists of two
mounds separated by an unoccupied area.
 It was the major city and commercial centre during the Bronze Age and
the largest Indus Valley settlement.
 The small western mound or citadel had several public buildings, which
may have been surrounded by a wall. The buildings were used as
assembly hall, college, and public bath.
 The larger eastern mound consists of large blocks of brick buildings,
separated by streets and housing the inhabitants' residences and
workshops.
 Harappa city exhibited skill in town planning and in building structures,
including drainage systems.
 There were central storehouses, lines of workers’ dwellings, and
communal bathhouses which indicate the presence of a government
and a strictly controlled way of life.
 They use brick to line their wells and to build drainage systems.
 Most houses had indoor toilets.
 They invented a method of writing that consists of 500 characters.
 They invented a system of weights and measures in which lower
weights followed a binary (two-digit) system and higher weights follow a decimal (ten-digit) system.
 They also knew the measuring tools of length and time

Md. Sohel Rana

Chairman
Department of Urban & Regional Planning (URP)
Pabna University of Science and Technology (PUST)
Email: sohelrana1017051@gmail.com