Indus valley civilization

The Indus valley civilization, like other ancient cultures, was based on farming. Each year during the rainy months the Indus River flooded the surrounding plain. When the floodwaters receded, they left behind a layer of rich soil, called silt. The fertility of the soil allowed people to grow food and other crops with a minimum of labor and tools.

The Indus people developed an irrigation system to water their crops during the dry part of the year. They dug canals to carry water from rivers to the fields. They built wells to access water underground. They used dams to redirect water from overflowing rivers to smaller streams or canals. They also built large tanks to store water for when it was needed most.

Farmers of the Indus valley grew wheat, barley, rice, sesame, dates, melons, and peas. They were among the first people to cultivate cotton, which was used to make textiles. Raw cotton was brought to the cities, where it was spun, woven, and dyed.

The Indus people raised cattle, sheep, goats, pigs, camels, and chickens. They also kept dogs and cats. They may have even captured and tamed elephants.

Success in agriculture led to the development of settlements in the Indus valley. People no longer had to move from place to place searching for plant foods to gather and animals to hunt. The steady food supply provided by farming allowed people to form villages, towns, and eventually cities. Mohenjo-daro, the largest city, may have had more than 40,000 residents. Most of the hundreds of sites found by archaeologists were much smaller.

Mohenjo-daro and Harappa, the second largest city, each measured about 3 miles (5 kilometers) around. They had similar layouts. Each had a citadel, or fortress, to the west and a larger “lower city” to the east. The citadel stood on a raised platform and was protected by a massive defensive wall made of brick. The buildings of the citadel included meeting halls and granaries (storehouses for grain). The most striking building of Mohenjo-daro was the Great Bath, which was probably used during religious ceremonies.

The lower city was the residential area. The streets were laid out in a grid pattern, making Indus cities much easier to navigate than the mazelike cities of Mesopotamia. Houses varied greatly in size. The smallest houses had just a single room, but the largest had many rooms surrounding one or more courtyards. In many cases brick stairways led to what must have been upper stories or flat roofs. Alongside the houses were a variety of workplaces, including the shops of metalworkers, potters, shell workers, and bead makers.

City planners of the Indus valley did some of their best work in designing water systems. Almost all the larger houses had private wells to supply water, and most houses had bathrooms with toilets and bathing areas. Pipes carried wastewater from homes to covered drains that ran along the sides of roads. From there the wastewater was directed out of the city. At the time this drain and sewer system was one of the most advanced in the world.

The people of the Indus valley used mainly copper and bronze to make tools and utensils. They made flat axes, chisels, knives, spears, arrowheads, saws, and razors. They hammered sheets of copper and bronze to form containers for cooking and holding food and drinks. They also made vases and other vessels of silver and lead. Gold, the rarest metal, was used only for small objects such as beads and pendants. Stone was worked to make blades.

The culture of the Indus valley was similar from city to city and town to town. This tells archaeologists that people must have kept in contact with each other across great distances. They probably traveled from place to place over land and on the rivers. On land they used wheeled carts pulled by cattle or camels. For river travel they built boats.

The Indus people also traveled by land and sea to foreign lands for the purpose of trade. Settlements on the coast, such as Lothal, seem to have served as ports. The cities and empires of Mesopotamia were steady trading partners. Among the goods exported to Mesopotamia were timber, ivory, gold, pearls, lapis lazuli (a blue gemstone), and probably cotton textiles. In return, the Indus people received silver, tin, woolen textiles, and grains and other foods. They probably traded with villages in neighboring regions to get raw materials, such as copper and lead, for their industries.

The people of the Indus valley civilization were skilled sculptors. They worked with stone, bronze, and terra-cotta (clay). The most famous sculpture is a bronze figure of a dancing girl that was found in Mohenjo-daro. But by far the most common works of art are terra-cotta figurines. Most of them are standing females wearing a lot of jewelry, but a few are standing males. These figurines probably represent gods and goddesses. Other terra-cotta artifacts—such as animals and carts—seem to be toys.

Among the other specialties of Indus artists were jewelry and pottery. Both women and men wore jewelry, and artists crafted beautiful necklaces, bangles, pendants, and earrings. Jewelry typically featured beads made from stone, shell, ivory, or the reddish-brown stone called carnelian. Much of the Indus valley pottery was plain, but some was elaborately decorated with leaf designs and geometric patterns.

Some of the finest examples of Indus artistry are found on the small carved stones known as seals. Merchants used them to mark their goods. Most seals were square pieces of steatite (a soft stone) that measured two inches (five centimeters) on each side. On this small surface, artists carved detailed scenes along with symbols from the Indus script. The scenes usually included animals, such as bulls, elephants, bison, rhinoceroses, and tigers. Some seals have human figures that are thought to be gods.

Not much is known for sure about the society and government of the Indus valley civilization. There are signs, however, that people were divided into social classes. Houses varied greatly in size, suggesting differences in wealth among residents. It appears that people who specialized in different crafts lived together in city neighborhoods. And ownership of some goods, such as bangles and beads, was a sign of social status. Only the wealthy and powerful could afford items made with the rarest materials, such as gold and silver.

Unlike ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia, the Indus valley shows no evidence of kings or queens. There are no great palaces, monuments, or royal tombs. However, a number of clues suggest that some authority held political and economic control over a wide area.

The best evidence for a central government is the uniformity, or similarity, in culture throughout the civilization. Mohenjo-daro, Harappa, and other cities had similar layouts, even when separated by hundreds of miles. That level of organization would’ve required an authority that oversaw city planning. The use of standard weights and measures and the similarity of seals throughout the Indus lands also suggest strong government control. Some scholars think that Mohenjo-daro and Harappa were twin capitals and that priest-kings ruled. But a lot more research needs to be done to understand the Indus government.

The religion of the Indus valley people is also not known with certainty. There’s no solid evidence of places of worship, though Mohenjo-daro has a number of buildings that may have been temples. The Great Bath at Mohenjo-daro may have been used for ritual bathing.

The art of the Indus people offers insight into their religious beliefs. In particular, scholars have studied the terra-cotta figures and the scenes shown on seals. They assume that there was a Great God and a Great Mother. The Great God resembles the later Hindu god Shiva, and the Great Mother is similar to Shiva’s wife Parvati. Animals, including the bull, the buffalo, the tiger, and the elephant, were important religious symbols.

Many burial sites have been found, indicating belief in an afterlife. The number of household goods buried with a body suggest the hope that the individual would later need them.