2. Started about 2500
B.C
Located in the
north – western
region of Indian
subcontinent
3. The civilization is famous for its large and
well-planned cities
1,052 cities and settlements have been
found
Harappa and Mohenjo - Daro
4. Covered most of what is today Pakistan and the
Indian states of Gujarat, Rajasthan, Haryana, and
Punjab
The huge Indus river system waters a rich
agricultural landscape.
Indus plain is surrounded by high mountains,
desert and ocean, and at that time dense forest to
the east.
6. Farming settlements grow into large and sophisticated
urban centers
Communities were controlled by efficient governments
The urban planning included the world's first known
urban sanitation systems
Sewerage and Drainage systems were far in advance of
anything found in contemporary urban sites in the
Middle East.
They built dockyards, granaries, warehouses, brick
platforms, and protective walls “CITADELS”
8. The development of widespread irrigation systems
allowed the indigenous population to provide food for
themselves.
Domestication of animals also served as an important
tool for cultivation and as a source of food.
Natural borders consisted of mountains and the
Arabian Sea, sheltering the civilization from attack
and disease.
The economy depended greatly on trade
Bullock carts
10. Script has not been deciphered.
Over 400 distinct Indus symbols (some say 600) have
been found on seals, small tablets, or ceramic pots,
and on over a dozen other materials.
Hinduism - some Indus Valley seals show swastikas
- Mother Goddess ”Fertility”
Buddhism
12. First civilization in the world to develop precise
measurement and weighing equipment
The first to develop a system of uniform weights and
measures
The engineering skill of the Indus people was of a very
high order
13. Men worked within their designated caste social class
Caste system with four main classes
Brahmins (priests and the king)
Kshatriyas (warriors and aristocrats - rulers)
Vaishyas (cultivators, artisans, and merchants)
Shudras (peasants and serfs)
Women were valued because of their ability to
produce offspring and nurse