Indus Valley Civilization
2600 BC · Ancient World
The Indus Valley Civilization was a Bronze Age civilization in the northwestern regions of South Asia that flourished approximately from 2600 BC to 1900 BC. One of the earliest urban cultures of the ancient world, it was contemporaneous with ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia. It featured advanced urban planning, sophisticated drainage systems, standardized weights and measures, and a writing system that remains undeciphered. Major urban centers included Harappa and Mohenjo-daro, discovered in the 1920s by archaeologists Daya Ram Sahni and R.D. Banerji respectively.
Key Figures
John MarshallRakhal Das BanerjiDaya Ram Sahni
Locations
Mohenjo-daroHarappa
Topics
empirearchaeologyIndiaBronze Ageancient civilizationsurban planning
Connected Events — 4 Connections
Mohenjo Daro was built as one of the two principal urban centers of the Indus Valley Civilization applying its standardized planning and drainage systems Mohenjo Daro
Harappan merchants traded with Mesopotamia via the Persian Gulf, as documented by Indus-style seals and weights found at Ur and other Sumerian sites. This commercial network collapsed with the Indus Valley decline around 1900 BCE, shortly before the First Dynasty of Babylon rose to consolidate Mesopotamian power First Dynasty of Babylon
Proto-cuneiform writing systems enabled the administrative complexity seen in Harappan standardized weights and urban planning Discovery of First Clay Tablets with Proto-Writing
Bronze metallurgy provided the tools and weapons that enabled Harappan craftsmen to create standardized artifacts across vast distances Bronze Age Begins
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