Chapter 2: Early River Valley Civilizations 3500B.C. – 450 B.C. Section 3: Planned Cities on the Indus Aim: How did geography effect the Indus River Valley civilization?

Do Now: Answer the following question:  Look at the map of Ancient Indus to your right. Based on you knowledge of Mesopotamia and Egypt, what do these three civilizations have in common? Why?

India’s Geographic Features  Indian Subcontinent Subcontinent—landmass that includes India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh  Subcontinent: A large region that is part of a continent, but is separated from the rest of the content in some way.  World’s tallest mountain range separate it from the main land

India’s Geographic Features- Identification Indus River Ganges River Peninsula and/or Subcontinent

India’s Geographic Features: Himalayan Mountains  This peninsula is surrounded on the north by a huge mountain range, the Himalayan Mountains.  This has often limited India's contact with other cultures. This is known as cultural isolation.  You decide! How would isolation impact the people in Ancient Indus?

India’s Geographic Features Monsoons Seasonal winds—monsoons—dominate India’ climate Winter winds are dry; summer winds bring rain can cause flooding Environmental Challenges Floods along the Indus unpredictable; river can change course Rainfall unpredictable; could have droughts or floods

Civilization in the Indus River Valley Begins  About 2500 BC, about the time when the pyramids were rising in Egypt, the first Indian civilizations were forming in the Indus River Valley.  Little is known about these civilizations, but Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro were most likely twin capital cities.

Civilization Emerges on the Indus Earliest Arrivals About 7000 B.C., evidence of agriculture and domesticated animals By about 3200 B.C., people farming in villages along Indus River Planned Cities By 2500 B.C., people build cities of brick laid out on grid system Engineers create plumbing and sewage systems Indus Valley called Harappan civilization after Harappa, a city

 Each city was large in area and contained a large structure located on a hilltop.  Many believe these structures could have served as a fortress or even a temple. Civilization Emerges on the Indus

Harappan Planning City built on mud-brick platform to protect against flood waters Brick walls protect city and citadel—central buildings of the city Streets in grid system are 30 feet wide Lanes separate rows of house (which featured bathrooms) Civilization Emerges on the Indus

Complexity of the Cities  The most historically striking feature of these two cities were the way in which they were both well planned.  Each city was laid out in a grid pattern, the blocks similar to those seen in modern cities.  The homes seem to have been built with bricks and in a pattern repeated throughout the city. Civilization Emerges on the Indus

Harappan Culture Language Had writing systems of 400 symbols; but scientists can’t decipher it Culture Harappan cities appear uniform in culture; no great social divisions Animals important to the culture; toys suggest prosperity

Harappan Culture Role of Religion Priests closely linked to rulers Some religious artifacts reveals links to modern Hindu culture Artifact of Priest King Mohenjo-daro. What kind of social scientist would have found this artifact? Archeologist

Harappan Culture  Most of the people of the Indus valley were farmers. They were the first people to grow cotton and weave it into cloth.  There is early evidence of trade with other civilizations including Sumer.

Aryans Take over Indus Valley  Just like not much is known about the development of this region, not much is known about its decline.  For unknown reasons, around 1750 B.C. the Indus Valley began to decline. Then about 1500 B.C., nomadic warriors known as the Aryans conquered the Indus Valley.