indus civilization

Indus CivilizationMergarh, Political and Economic System,

Religion, Social System, System of Writing, Fall of Civilization

Fertile land along the rivers of Indus, Ganges and Brahmaputra in the north

Dry Deccan Plateau in central India Low mountain ranges called the Western

and Eastern Ghats on the either side of India facing the seas

3 Divisions of South Asia

Melting snow from Himalayas Heavy rains

◦ Silt deposit is left along the riverbanks after every flooding. The deposits make the land fertile and suitable for agriculture

Water source of Ganges, Indus and Brahmaputra

Pre-Indus Neolithic village Appeared in Baluchistan region (now

Pakistan) Sedentary (sitting or nonmigratory) Engaged in agriculture and raised sheep,

goats and oxen Painted pottery, baked bread and made

cereal Their houses were made of clay bricks like

the Sumerians

Mergarh

Archaeologists(1922) discovered the remains of one of the cities in the Indus River◦ Monumental buildings◦ Houses made of bricks◦ Clay seals

Political and Economic Systems

Two most important cities of the Indus civilization (Dravidians)

Economic Activities◦ Agriculture

Built irrigation systems, canals and dikes to control flooding of the Indus River

Products: wheat, barley, melon, dates and cotton

Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa

Economic Activities◦ Cotton was woven into cloth◦ Pottery, jewelry and tools

Sold in government bazaars Carried by Dravidian ships, traded with the regions in

the Arabian Sea and Persian Gulf

Continuation

2 main areas:◦ Citadel(the elevated fortress of the city)◦ Lower city proper

City

Found in the western region of the city, erected on the brick platform with a height or 40 feet or 12 meters and is surrounded by walls

Inside, will find a large granary for grains, a marketplace and public bath

Citadel

Has streets in a grid-pattern arrangement and with residential blocks of almost the same size Houses are made of baked bricks The roof is flat and often constructed against the street. Houses have one or more baths which is connected to the city’s underground plumbing system

Lower part of the City

Has streets in a grid-pattern arrangement and with residential blocks of almost the same size

Houses are made of baked bricks

The roof is flat and often constructed against the street.

Houses have one or more baths which is connected to the city’s underground plumbing system

Mohenjo-Daro

Excavated toys that indicates leisure and play

No weapons found imply absence of war and conflict

Dravidians have organized and centralized government

Dravidians had priest-kings as leaders They were able to construct public works

(irrigation, plumbing system and regular residential blocks)

Other facts

Dravidians worshipped gods and goddesses who represented forces of nature.

Animal and human-shaped statues were found. Ex. Bull

They worshiped a fertility goddess from whom all things sprung forth

Regilion

Social Stratification◦ Those who lived in the citadels may have been

members of the ruling class – priest-king and city officials

◦ The traders, artisans and farmers lived outside the citadel

◦ Farmers were tasked to build the dikes and canals for irrigations while the artisans made products out of bronze, silver, gold, copper, ivory, cotton and shells

Social System

Scholars believed that the traders were the first to use the Indus system of writing.

Clay seals with pictograms of products Evidence that there exist a trade between

Sumer and Indus

System of Writing

Dravidian traders and engineers had developed a uniform way of measuring and weighing things.

This is very evident in their same-sized residential blocks and grid-patterned streets.

Continuation

After 1000 years of prosperity, Indus civilization slowly decayed.

Around 1750BCE, there was a decline in their quality of life.

Pottery became courser in their texture before

Fall of Civilization

Caused by ecological factors such as deforestation, changes in flood occurrences and abrupt change in climate

New migrants came to the Indus valley in the later period◦ Nomadic groups from Northwestern Asia arrived

sometime 1500 BCE◦ Among them were the Aryans who crossed the

passes of Hindu Kush but not clearly whether they destroyed the Indus civilization

Theories of the Fall

The cities of Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa were slowly buried in mud.

Their legacy was recently excavated by archaeologists.

Continuation