INDUS

VALLEY
CIVILIZATION

SUBMITTED BY: AMMARA MAHMOOD

24-FEB-2020
SUBMITTED TO: MAM SARAH MIR
The Indus Valley Civilization was a bronze age society extending from modern north-east
Afghanistan to Pakistan and north-west India. This civilization was the most widespread
of the three early civilizations of the ancient world, along with ancient Egypt and
Mesopotamia. Sir John Marshall led an excavation campaign in 1921-22, during which he
discovered the ruins of the city of Harappa. By 1931, the Mohenjo Daro site had been
mostly excavated. By 1999 over 1,056 cities and settlements of the Indus Valley
Civilization were located. Harappa and Mohenjo Daro were the two major cities of this
civilization. The remains of the cities indicate well-ordered wastewater drainage, trash
collection systems, public granaries and baths. Most people were artisans and
merchants. This civilization developed the first accurate system of standardized weights
and measures. Harappans created sculpture, seals, pottery and jewelry from materials
such as terracotta, metal and stone. Some stone figurines found during excavations were
“the priest king” and the “dancing girl”. The terracotta seals had cows, bears, monkeys
and dogs on them along with their script. The Indus script remains indecipherable
without any comparable symbols. About the religions its widely suggested that they
worshipped a goddess who symbolized fertility. IVS seemed to have lack any palace or
temple and they also did not have any huge statue or monument. The IVS began to
decline around 1800 BCE. One theory suggested that a nomadic, Indo-European tribe,
called the Aryans invaded and conquered the IVS. Others believe that this civilization
was collapsed by climate change or the east ward shift of monsoon may have reduced
the water supply, forcing Harappans of Indus River Valley to migrate and establish
smaller villages. By around 1700 BCE, most of the Indus Valley Civilization cities had been
abandoned.

The statue of the “Priest King” from Mohenjo Daro is one of the famous artifacts. It is
made of white, low fired steatite whose dimensions are 17.5 cm in height and 11cm in
width. The is a ribbon headband with circular ornament and similar is present on the
upper right arm. The hair is fully combed back and
there is no bun present. The left shoulder is covered
with a cloak decorated with trefoil, double circle and
single circle designs that were originally filled with red
pigment. The large crack in the face is the result of
weathering or it may be due to original firing of this
object.

WORD COUNT: 400

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INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION

References

The Indus River Valley Civilizations | Boundless World History. (n.d.). Retrieved from

https://courses.lumenlearning.com/boundless-worldhistory/chapter/the-indus-river-valley-

civilizations/

"Priest King," Mohenjo-daro. (1995). Retrieved from https://www.harappa.com/slide/priest-king-

mohenjo-daro

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