Contains basic knowledge about The Indus Valley Civilization, Mohen-Jo-Daro, Harappa, Art, Culture, Living, Sanitation, Proper Architecture. Hope you like it .
2. INTRODUCTION
Indus Valley Civilization was a Bronze Age civilization
(3300-1300 BCE mature period 2600-1900 BCE)
located in western region of South Africa & spread
over what are now Pakistan , northwest India &
eastern Afghanistan.
4. WHAT SHOULD PEOPLE KNOW ABOUT
INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION.
The Indus is the longest river in Pakistan. The
Indus river begins in the Himalaya Mountains, and
flow nearly 3,000 kilometer to the Arabian Sea.
In the Sanskrit language of Ancient India, the Indus
was called the Sindhu. A valley is a physical
feature. It’s the land shaped by a river. The Indus
Valley was shaped by the Indus river.
5. WAY OF LIFE
An Indus city was made of mud-bricks building. It
had wall and roads.
Water was very important to Indus people, so the
builders started by digging wells and laying drains
Some cities had a citadel high on mound. In the
citadel were bigger buildings. Most Indus people
did not live in cities at all. Perhaps 9 out of 10
people were farmers and traders who lived in small
village.
6. TOWN PLANNING
The excavation of the ruins
showed a remarkable skill in
town planning. The main
street and roads were set in
line, it intersected at right
angels, dividing the city into
squares or rectangular
blocks. Some building has
lamp post and well and a
proper drainage system
which goes into river.
7. DRAINAGE SYSTEM
Drainage System of Indus Valley
Civilization was far advance .
The drains were covered with
slabs. Waters flowed from
houses into the street drains In
every house there was a well
constructed sink & the water
flow from the sink to
underground sewers in the
streets. This elaborates
drainage system shows that the
Indus valley people were fully
conversant and with the
principle of health and
sanitation.
8. HOUSES
The houses were of different
sizes varying from a palatial
building to the one with two
small rooms. House has a
well, a bathroom, a covered
drain, Building is made of
burnt brick which have been
preserved for this day.
Houses are build in a open
courtyard & some houses are
double story . Houses was
cool inside thick wall keep
the area cool.
9. GREAT GRANARY
Another larger building in the
city was The Great Granary
which was made about 45
meters long and 15 m wide.
Its meant to store food
grains. Its had lines of
circular brick platform for
pounding grains. There were
barrack like quarters for
workmen. The granary also
had small halls and corridors.
10. GREAT BATH
One of the largest building was The
Great Bath measuring by 180
feet by 108 feet. The bathing
pool,39 feet long, 28 feet wide,
8 feet depth was in the center of
quadrangle, surrounded with
verandahs, rooms, and
galleries. A flight of steps led to
the pool. The wall of pool was
made of burnt brick laid on
edge, which made the pool
watertight. The Great Bath
reflected the engineering genius
of those ancient days.
11. THE ASSEMBLY HALL
An important feature of
Mohen-Jo-Daro was its 24
sqmts pillared hall. It had five
row of pillar, with four pillar
each row, Kiln baked bricks
were used to construct these
pillars. Probably, it was the
Assembly hall the ruler’s
court. It is said that it also
housed the municipal office
which had the charge of town
planning and sanitation
12. MOHEN-JO-DARO
Mohan-Jo-Daro or “ Mound of the Dead is an
ancient Indus Valley Civilization city that
flourished between 2600 & 1900 BCE. It was
one of the first world and ancient Indian cities.
The site was discovered in the 1920s and lies in
Pakistan’s Sindh provision. Only a handful of
archeologists have excavated here, described in
the introduction and illustrated essay Mohen-jo-
Daro = An Ancient Indus Valley Metropolis.
14. DISCOVERY & MAJOR EXCAVATION
Mohen-Jo-Daro was discovered in 1922 by
R.D Banerji, an officer of the Archaeological
Survey of India, two years after major
excavation had begun at Harappa, some 590
km to the north. Large scale excavation were
carried out at the site under the direction of
John Marshall K.N Dikshit, Ernest Macaky
and numerous other directors through the
1930s.
15. DISCOVERY OF HARAPPA
Sir John Marshall was the
first person to use the term “
Indus civilization “. The Indus
or the Harappa Civilization
belongs to the Chalcolithic or
Bronze Age since the objects
of copper and stone were
found at the various sites of
this civilizations. Nearly 1400
Harappa sites are known so
far in the subcontinents
The belong to early mature
and
late phase of the Harappa
culture . But the number of the
sites belonging to the mature
phase is limited and of them
only half a dozen can be
regarded as cities.
16. TIMELINE OF INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION
5000 BCE -1500 BCE : The
Indus Valley (for Harappa)
Civilization
5000 BCE : Evidence of
religious practice in Indus Valley
4000 BCE : Farming
settlements are established in ht
Indus Valley Civilization
3000 BCE – 2600 BCE : The
rise of the great Indian cities of
Mohen-Jo-Daro & Harappa
3000 BCE – First signs of
urbanization in Indus Valley
2600 BCE dozens of towns &
cites were established
2500 BCE- Earliest use of the
Indus Script
1500 BCE_ The Aryans –
nomadic northern from central
Asia begin to migrate into the
Indus Valley.
1000 BCE – The Aryans expand
into the Ganges Valley Of India
530 BCE- Persia conquers the
Indus Valley
17. ART
The Harappans sculptures revealed a high degree of
workmanship. Figures of men & women, animals & birds made of
terracotta and the carvings on the seals shows the degree of
proficiency attained by the sculptor. The figure of a dancing girl
from Mohen-Jo-Daro made of bronze is remarkable for its
workmanship.
The pottery from Harappa is another specimen of the fine arts of
the Indus people. The pots and jars were painted with various
design and colors. Painted pottery is of better quality. The pictorial
motifs consisted of geometrical patterns like horizontal lines,
circles, leaves, plants & tress. One some pottery pieces we find
figures of fishes & pecock.
18. ART- DANCING GIRL
Its right hand rest on the
hips, while the left arm,
covered with bangles,
hang loosely in a relaxed
posture. Two stone from
Harappa, one representing
the back view of a man
and the other of a dancer
are also specimens of their
sculpture.