Basic Facts about Indus Valley Civilization:
Indus Valley Civilization is the oldest civilization of the world along with the Mesopotamia Civilization in Iraq and Ancient Egypt Civilization.
Indus Valley Civilization is an ancient civilization that thrived along the course of Indus river in the North-Western part of the Indian subcontinent.
Indus Valley Civilization is Referred to as Harappan Civilization owing to the fact that this civilization was first discovered in 1921 at the modern site of Harappa situated in the Punjab province Punjab of current-day Pakistan.
Time Duration of Indus Valley Civilization: As revealed by Radio-Carbon this
civilization thrived during 2500-1750 B.C.
Its mature phase lay between 2200 B. C and 2000 B. C
Forms the part of the Proto History of India and belongs to the Bronze Age.
Population – the Mediterranean, Proto-Australoid, and Mongoloids.
The use of Gold, Silver, Copper and Bronze was there but the use of Iron was
completely unknown.
Indus valley civilization is one of the four earliest civilization of the world along with the Mesopotamian civilization along The Tigris and The Euphrates River, The Egyptian Civilization along The Nile River and The Chinese civilization along The Hwang Ho River
Nearly 1500 settlements or Harappan sites are known so far in the subcontinent. All settlements found in different phases:
Early Harappan Phase: 2900-2500 B.C
Middle or Mature Harappan Phase: 2500-2000 B.C
Late Harappan Phase: 2000-1700 B.C
The Early Harappan Phase is related to the Hakra Phase, identified in the
GhaggarHakra River Valley.
The earliest examples of the Indus script date back to 3000 BC. This phase stands
characterized by a centralized authority and an increasingly urban quality of life.
Trade networks had been established and there is also evidence of the cultivation of
crops. Peas, sesame seeds, dates, cotton, etc, were grown during that time.
Kot Diji represents the phase leading up to the Mature Harappan Phase.
By 2600 BC, the Indus Valley Civilization had entered into a mature stage.
First people in the world, who used cotton and baked bricks.
Did not engrave long inscriptions on stone or place papyrus scrolls in the tombs of
their dead
Brief inscriptions of their seals.
Archeology in the service of Indus culture:
The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) in its current form was founded in 1861 under British colonial administration by Sir Alexander Cunningham with the help of then Viceroy Lord Canning.
Alexander Cunningham was known as the father of Indian Archaeology. The head office of the Survey was located at the Railway Board building in Shimla.
In 1826 an English man Charles Masson visited a village named Harappa in Western Punjab (now in Pakistan). He noted the remarkably high walls and towers of a very old settlement. He believed that this city belonged to the times of Alexander the Great.
In 1872, a famous archaeologist Sir Alexander Cunningham came to this place. The people of the surrounding areas told him that the high mounds of Harappa were parts of a thousand-year-old city. It had been ruined because of the wickedness of its king.
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