The Indus Valley Civilisation

Indus:
Valley: The low land between two mountains or hills, which
often has a river flowing through it.

Civilisation:
Introduction
 4500 years ago, a great civilisation flourished along the
river indus. Harappa & Mohen-Jodaro now in Pakistan
were probably the main cities of this civilisation. Among
the other sites unearthned later are Rupar In Punjab,
Kalibangan In Rajasthan, And Lothal In Rangpur, Dholavira
and Rojdi in Gujrat.The remains found at all these sites are
very similar to those found at Harappa And Mohen-
Jodaro,So they are believed to belong to one single
civilisation-The Indus Valley Civilisation or Harappan
Civilisation.
Planned Cities
 Indus Valley cities were well planned. We know this from
excavations at Mohen-Jodaro and Harappa.

Planned Cities

Citadel Lower Town

The cities had a raised part called the Citadel.

 The Citadel had massive walls and provided protection

against floods. Public baths,graneries, and the town hall
were situated in the citadel.

The Great Bath

  It was at Mohen-Jodaro. The inner walls were treated to
prevent seepage. Stairs descending into the bath were
used for cleaning it. There Were Even changing rooms
around the bath .

Granary
 It was the largest building in Mohen-Jodaro. There were 6
Granaries. Grains found in cracks on the threshing floors
show that the Harappans grew wheat and barley.

Mohen-Jodaro had large hall which may have been used as an

assembly hall, a prayer hall or for cultural shows.

Lower Town
 Outside the citadel was the lower town inhabited by petty
merchants,craftsmen and labourers. Here one can see the
remains of brick houses and the drainage system. The
cities probably had street lights because remains of lamp
posts have been discovered along the roads.

Houses
  In the lower town, the houses were one or two storeys
high. They were made of baked bricks,and werebuilt along
narrow straight lines. Almost every house had a well.

Drainage System
 The houses had very good drainage systems. The kitchen
and the bathroom had drains connected to the covered
main drain running alongside the main road.

Life Of The People

Occupations

A persons regular work or profession.

 The Indus people had many different occupations. There

were farmers, weavers, potters, metalworkers, toymakers,
jewelers, stonecutters and traders.

Farming
 The act or process of working the ground, planting seeds, and
growing edible plants.

 The Indus farmers grew wheat, barley, gram, peas, maize

and millets. They were first to grow cotton in India.
 They domesticated many animals including oxen buffaloes,
goats, sheep, pigs, donkeys and camels.

Pot-making

The process and the products of forming vessels and other

objects with clay and other raw materials, which are fired at
high temperature to give them a hard and durable form.

 The people were skilled in the use of the potter’s wheel.

Pots were made with fine clay and then glazed and
decorated.
Toy-making and sculpture:

The work of The art of making

figures from
a toymaker
stone,clay,etc.

 Making terracotta(burnt clay)Toys, figures of animals and

statuettes was a major industry. A large number of
playthings, like miniature carts, dice, marbles, maze,
squirrels and a toy bullock have been excavated.

Spinning and Weaving

The process of The process of taking threads
Making thread and making them to cloth .
Out of a raw Fiber.

 A piece of woven cloth unearthed at Mohen-Jodaro, clay

spindles and the statuette of a shawl-clad man are
evidences that the people were skilled in the art of
spinning and weaving.

Metal-Casting

A process in which hot liquid metal is poured into a mold that

contains a hollow cutout or cavity of the desired finished shape.

 The Indus people produced tools and weapons of copper

and bronze. The bronze statuette of a dancing girl
shows their art of mastery in the art of bronze casting.

Building Industry
Erecting a building such as home or business.

 The building industry provided employment to a large

number of people. Brick-Making was an important craft.
Many kilns (Large Ovens) for baking bricks have been
found.

Seal-making

One that makes seals as an occupation.

 More than 2000 seals have been excavated from different
sites. This shows that seal-making was an important craft.
Most seals are square or rectangular.

Trade
 The buying or selling of goods or services between people or
countries.

 Trading thrived (successfully conducted) and was

conducted according to a set of rules. The merchants used
uniform weights and measures. There are many reasons to
believe that overseas trade existed. The remains of a
dockyard(where ships stop) have been found at Lothal In
Gujrat.

Dress and Ornaments

A piece
A piece of clothing
of clothing
Jewellery that we wear
wornworn
by a girl
byora girl or
a women
a women
 Women wore a shawl around the shoulders and a short
skirt held at the waist by a girdle. Men wore a long, loose
unstitched garment. Both men and women wore
ornaments.
 Religious Worship

Things that are If you worship a god,

connected with you show respect to
religion or with one the god.
particular religion

 The Indus people worshipped nature in the form of

animals, birds and trees. For example, the Humped bull,
the dove and the pipal tree were held sacred. A mother
goddess was also worshipped .
 The Indus people believed in life after death. They buried
their dead, often in huge burial urns, along with food,
ornaments and the articles used by them in their daily
life.

Decline Of The Indus Valley Civilisation

 The Indus Valley Civilisation lasted from 2500 BC to 1500
BC approximately. The Mohen-Jodaro excavation reveals
that the city was destroyed over and over again, and was
rebuilt at the same site nine(9) times.
 The exact causes are not known. It is suggested that the
cities might have been destroyed by natural disasters like
earthquakes, floods or a change in the cource of the
Indus.