INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION Global History and Geography – 9 Dr. Afxendiou

The Ghats – not true mountains, the fluted edge of the Deccan Plateau

Indus Valley Civilization 2500 B.C. – 1500 B.C. Forgotten until the 19th Century when it was rediscovered by the British, while building railroads. Harappan Civilization – due to major city discovered first

The Indus Valley Civilization had contact with other civilizations by 2000 B.C.

Unicorn seal with writing writing not yet deciphered – the civilization still remains a mystery

2 Major Cities – Harappa and Mahenjo-Daro carefully planned – built on a grid with city blocks Houses had plumbing systems – sewers beneath the streets Had thick walls to protect from the river’s flooding Aerial view of Mahenjo-Daro

What we know comes from artifacts… Evidence of polytheistic religion First to cultivate cotton and weave the fibers into cloth Economy: people were mostly farmers Traditional economic system – based on farming and trade

The Decline and Disappearance Explanations – suggestions not certainties Ecological disaster due to cutting of too many trees Climate change – shifting monsoon patterns Volcanic eruption blocked the Indus and it flooded Mohenjo-Daro thus weakening the civilization Earthquake evidence Weakened by natural disasters, the civilization was overrun by invaders the ARYANS

Who are the Aryans? Light skinned invaders from the North They speak an Indo-European language They come through the Hindu Kush Mountains through the Khyber Pass Warlike people The predecessors of Hindu culture They built their civilization along the Ganges River Established the Caste System

Caste System ~1000 BC The divine order of four castes - “Varnas” Brahmins: the priests Kshatriyas: the warriors Vaisyas: merchants and peasants Sudras: non-Aryans – perhaps the captured indigenous peoples