Chapter 5 Eastern River Valleys

Eastern River Valley Civilizations

River Valley civilizations were more isolated than Egypt & Mesopotamia Mountains Deserts Large bodies of water Did not trade with other parts of the world

Eastern River Valley civilizations became self sufficient: Able to take care of nearly all their own needs

Section 1 The Indus River Valley

Indus River Valley civilization: Present day Pakistan & India Settled by Harappans in 2500 B.C. Covered area of 1000 miles (from foothills of Himalayas to Indian Ocean Twice as large as Mesopotamia or Egypt

Harappans First civilization Not first people to settle area

Harappans life revolved around Indus River: Fertilized land / rich soil Built dikes and dams to control flooding Built irrigation system

Crops included: Barley, wheat, peas, melons, dates Fish from river Cotton

Cotton First to grow cotton First to spin cotton First to weave cotton into cloth First to dye with bright colors

River also influenced city construction: Built on raised mounds Mud from river used to make bricks Bricks were sometimes fired (baked) in kilns (ovens); this made bricks stronger

Mohenjo-Daro

Mohenjo-Daro Found by archeologist, R. D. Banerji in 1922 He found stone seals that led to excavation Began digging in 1924

Archeological findings confirmed ancient civilization…. Mohenjo-Daro thrived around 2500 B.C. Was southern center of widespread civilization

http://www.harappa.com/indus4/index.html

Harappa

Harappa Northern center of civilization 400 miles from Mohenjo-Daro

400 miles between Harappa & Mohenjo-Daro

Lothal Ruins of dockyard Suggest Indus Valley people used boats for transportation Could sail through Persian Gulf to Mesopotamia

City Construction of Mohenjo-Daro & Harappa Planned community: city built to a definite plan Hundreds of small buildings: homes & small shops

Laid out in a grid: (uniform network) Houses were two stories w/ courtyard Had bathrooms, wells and drains: drains carried waste and were cleaned regularly; this protected health

Each city had its own citadel (fortress): Mound 40 ft. high Surrounded by thick wall Inside was huge water tank called Great Bath Next to Bath was huge granary

70 other cities have been found covering an area more than three times the size of California

What happened to the Harappan civilization ?

Decline of Harappa: Possibility #1 Maybe… They used up natural resources…over farmed the land

Possibility #2 -city was rebuilt several Maybe… Cut down too many trees to fuel oven (deforestation) -without trees the floods swept away soil -city was rebuilt several times (each time it was built weaker)

Possibility #3 Maybe… Invaders attacked and killed all Harappans -skeletons of men, women, & children have been found unburied -all skeletons had evidence of some type of injury

http://www.harappa.com/har/har0.html

Evidence of Lost Civilizations Have found writings of the Harappans but hasn’t been translated No records of political history No royal tombs

Found jewelry made of gold and lapis lazuli (blue stone) Found weapons and tools of stone, bronze, copper Found stone seals

Stone Seals Pictures of animals (tigers, elephants, rhinoceri, crocodiles – suggest jungle) Lines of writing Small hole – necklace Found in Sumer May have been used to mark property

Found clay models of animals Rattles Dice Toy carts with movable wheels

This civilization began to change around 1700 B.C. 1200 B.C. – Aryans had taken over