1. Indus River Valley Civilization
City life and Civilization:
Harappa & Mohenjo-Daro
3,300-1,700 BCE

2. Ancient River Valley Civilizations

3. Comparative Timeline

5. Indus River Valley
Harappan culture existed along the Indus River in what is now Pakistan.
The cities of Harappa & Mohenjo-Daro were important centers of the Indus valley civilization.
The cities were part of larger socioeconomic networks and interacted with other peoples and cultures.

6. Across Civilizations: Trading Networks & Routes
Neighboring
Settlements
Across Civilizations:
Trading Networks & Routes

7. Why would living near the Indus River make these settlements possible?
Think Egypt…
Think Mesopotamia…

8. Regional Trade

9. Imports and Exports Imports: gemstones, gold, silver, textiles
Agriculture: peas, sesame seeds, dates, & grains
Raw Materials: wood, cotton, livestock, copper, ivory, & shells
Finished goods: beads, ornaments, tools, & pottery
Methods: river boats, animal-pulled carts

10. Terraced Fields for Agriculture

11. Jewelry for Export

12. More Jewelry!

13. Pottery for Export

14. Harappan Socioeconoimc Integration
By 2500 BCE, small communities became cities (integration).
In total, over 1,052 cities and settlements have been found.
Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro were the largest cities.

15. Indus Valley Integration

16. (Review!)Characteristics of Civilization
Cities (dense populations)
Centralized Government (Leaders and laws)
Job specialization
Social Classes
Organized religion
Art/architecture (how did they use art?)
Writing System
Public Works (streets, defense & irrigation systems)

17. Based on what you have learned so far…..
Was the ancient Indus River Valley a true “Civilization”?
Discuss & Explain!

18. Problems with Evaluating the IRV:
We do NOT have important information:
Their language remains undeciphered
No tax records or literature
No record of religious beliefs and rituals
No names of kings, grand palaces, large temples, or ornate tombs
No warrior class or monuments to military conquests
Little evidence of divided social classes

19. Indus Writing
The origins of Indus writing can now be traced to c. 3,300-2,800 BCE at Harappa.
Some inscriptions were made on the bottom of pottery.
This inscription appears to be three plant symbols.

20. Ancient Indus: Why no Translation?

21. The IRV had major cities with sophisticated infrastructure
BUT!
The IRV had major cities
with
sophisticated infrastructure

22. Mohenjo-Daro & Harappa
The cities had:
secure walls,
good plumbing,
indoor plumbing, sewers, and drainage systems
public squares and gathering places.
Mohenjo-Daro & Harappa had more than 35,000 residents.
The cities serviced more than 1,000 other towns and villages in the region.

24. Note the high walls and use of mud bricks.
Mohenjo-Daro
Note the high walls and use of mud bricks.

25. The Great Bath What Purpose did it serve?
12 meters high, 7 meters wide, 2.4 meters deep

26. The Great Bath The "great bath" is the earliest public water tank.
Two staircases lead down into the tank from the north and south.
At the foot of the stairs is a small ledge with a brick edging that extends the entire width of the pool.
Archaeologists believe it was for ritualistic services.

27. Streets & Alleyways
At Mohenjo- Daro streets and alleyways led to private neighborhoods.

28. An Artist’s Conception of Harappa

29. Wells
Private wells were rebuilt over many generations for large households and neighborhoods.
This well stands like a chimney because the surrounding earth has been removed by excavation.

30. Bathing Areas
Public bathing areas may also have been used for washing clothes as is common in many traditional cities in Pakistan and India today.

31. Granary: What was it for?
This "granary" in Harappa is a brick structure that was built on a massive foundation over 45 meters north-south and 45 meters east-west.

32. Harappan Workshops
Large quantities of manufacturing debris have been found in this area indicating the presence of workshops for making beads, ornaments, pottery, & tools.

33. Harappa’s Layout

34. Choose a prompt & write! OR
The Indus River Valley amounts to a true civilization because…. OR
2. The Indus River Valley does NOT amount to a true civilization because…
Prepare a well developed paragraph with a completed topic sentence AND evidence.