The Forgotten History Of The Ancient Indian Civilization — The Indus Valley Civilization

The first known urban culture on the Indian subcontinent is the Indus civilization, often known as the Indus valley civilization or the Harappan civilization. Although the southern sites may have persisted later into the second millennium BCE, the civilization’s nuclear dates appear to be between 2500 to 1700 BCE. The Indus civilization was the largest of the three early cultures in the world (the other two are those of Mesopotamia and Egypt).

THE STUDY OF THE INDUS VALEY CIVILIZATION

The civilization was initially discovered in 1921 at Harappa in the Punjab region, followed by Mohenjo-Daro (Mohenjodaro) in the Sindh (Sind) region, close to the Indus River. Both locations are in the current Pakistani provinces of Sindh and Punjab. In 1980, Mohenjo-remains Adaro’s were listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Later, remains of the civilization were discovered near the Arabian Sea coast, about 480 km west of Karachi, as far as Stokagendor in the southwestern province of Balochistan, Pakistan. Lopar (or Rupiah) in the eastern Punjab state of northwestern India lies at the foot of the Shimla Hills about 1,000 miles (1,600 km) northeast of Storgendor. Subsequent exploration established its presence south of the west coast of India, 500 miles (800 km) southeast of Karachi, to Kambat Bay (Kambay), and 30 miles (50 km) east of the Yamuna (Jumna) River basin. I was. km) north of Delhi. Thus, although both the Mesopotamian and Egyptian civilizations began slightly earlier, they are clearly the earliest and largest of the three civilizations in the world.

The Indus civilization is known to consist of two major cities, Harappa and Mohenjodaro, and more than 100 towns and villages. The two cities originally had a combined area of ​​about 1.6 square kilometers, but their remarkable size reflects their political concentration in either two large provinces or one large empire with separate capitals. suggesting that Harappa may also have taken over Mohenjo-Daro, which is known to have been devastated on numerous occasions by freak floods. The population is estimated at 23,500–35,000 in Harappa and 35,000–41,250 in Mohenjo-Daro. The Kathiawar peninsula and the southern regions of civilization beyond seem to be younger in origin than the major Indus ruins.

The Indus civilization used the Mesopota model of irrigated agriculture, skilled enough to take advantage of the vast and fertile Indus Valley, while at the same time controlling massive annual floods that fertilized and destroyed the villages of its neighbors or predecessors. clearly evolved from After a new civilization, undoubtedly well-fed and populated, finding a safe foothold on the plains and overcoming pressing problems, expansion along the sides of the Great Waterway was the inevitable result. Civilizations consisted primarily of agriculture, supplemented by an important but often elusive trade. Wheat and six-row barley were grown. Peas, mustard, sesame seeds, and some dates were found, along with some of the earliest known traces of cotton. Domesticated animals included dogs and cats, humpback and short-horned cattle, poultry, and possibly pigs, camels, and buffalo. Asian elephants were probably domesticated as well, with ivory used liberally.

SOCIETY AND POLITICAL SYSTEM OF THE INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION

Despite mounting archaeological evidence, the social and political structure of the Indus “state” remains a subject of speculation. The obvious craft specialization and local craft groupings in Mohenjo-Daro, along with the wide variation in house types and sizes, indicate a degree of social stratification. Trade is extensive and apparently well regulated, supplying imported raw materials for use in domestic production centers, distributing finished goods throughout the region, and establishing Harappan “colonies” in both Mesopotamia and Badakhshan. It almost certainly culminated in the establishment. The striking uniformity of weights and measures in the Indus countries, and perhaps the development of civic activity like the Great Breadbasket, implies widespread and powerful political and administrative control. Furthermore, the widespread appearance of Harappan inscriptions almost certainly indicates the use of a single lingua franca. However, in the absence of legible and interpretable inscriptions, it is inevitable that much less is known about these aspects of the Indus civilization than about those of modern Mesopotamia.

You May Also Like: Who Are Aryans According To Hinduism And Veda And What Is Aryan Invasion Theory?