Brahmaputra River
Deccan Plateau
Eastern and Western Ghats
Ganga (Ganges) River
Himalaya Mountains
Hindu Kush Mountains
Indus River
Thar Desert
Sarasvati River In the 1990's, satellite pictures revealed an ancient, dried riverbed located in India's present-day Thar Desert. Geologists have identified this riverbed as the route of the ancient Sarasvati River. The Sarasvati lay east of the Indus River and generally followed the same course, originating in the Himalaya mountains and emptying into the Arabian Sea. Geologists believe that the Sarasvati River dried up around 1900 B.C.E. Over time, the once fertile area around the Sarasvati River dried up around 1900 B.C.E. Over time, the once fertile area around the Sarasvati evolved into the dry, hot desert that exists today.
Indus-Sarasvati Settlements Early Indian agricultural settlements arose in the Indus-Sarasvati river region at least as far back as 6500 B.C.E. Like many other ancient peoples, the early Indians settled by rivers. They settled primarily on the banks of the Sarasvati River as well as along the banks of the Indus. These rivers provided the ancient Indians with plenty of water, and the land near the rivers was fertile and excellent for growing crops.
Trade The rivers also provided the Indians with a convenient way to travel and trade among themselves and with other civilizations. Archeologists have found artifacts from the Indus-Sarasvati civilization - such as carved seals - in Mesopotamia's Sumer. These discoveries have led scholars to believe that the early Indians traded with Mesopotamia, possibly by traveling in ships down the Indus and Sarasvati rivers to the Arabian Sea and then west to Sumer and other locations.
After the Sarasvati River dried up around 1900 B. C. E After the Sarasvati River dried up around 1900 B.C.E., the Indus-Sarasvati Indians moved to more habitable areas, such as the fertile banks of the Ganga river further east. Archeological evidence shows, however, that people settled by the Ganga River as far back as 5000 B.C.E.
Ganges River plain