• If you are citizen of an European Union member nation, you may not use this service unless you are at least 16 years old.

  • You already know Dokkio is an AI-powered assistant to organize & manage your digital files & messages. Very soon, Dokkio will support Outlook as well as One Drive. Check it out today!

View
 

Indus Valley Civilization

Page history last edited by Robert W. Maloy 1 month, 1 week ago

Indus Valley Civilization Khirsara Excavation Site

Topics on the Page

  

File:Indus (fleuve).png

History

 

Geography

 

Cities

 

Agriculture

 

Architecture

 

Art History

 

Hinduism

 

 

 

Cross-Links

 

 

 

History of the Indus Valley Civilization:

 

The Indus River Valley (or Harappan) civilization lasted for 2,000 years, from around 3300 BCE to 1300 BCE

 

  •  The civilization was centered in the Indus River Valley
  •  It extended from what is today northeast Afghanistan to Pakistan and northwest India.

 

Excavation of the Indus Valley Civilization

  • The Indus Valley Civilization was excavated in 1923

 

 

Lumen Learning: Overview of the Indus Valley Civilization

 

Geography:

 
The survival of the Indus Valley civilizations was directly linked to the geography of the land.

 

external image Indus_sarasvati.jpg

  • India's geography is harsh and contains many different extremes like deserts, mountains, forests, and jungles.

 

  • Although the difficult geographical conditions caused problems in the Indus Valley, it also aided in its development.

 

  • The Himalaya Mountain range served as a source of protection from nomadic raids and military invasions in from the north, while other mountain ranges provided similar protection in the west and east.

 

  • The water ways of the Indus Valley served as an excellent resource for trade and commerce with other civilizations.

 

  • Pictographic seals found in both the Indus Valley and Mesopotamia show the two civilizations had contact through trade.

 

Cities in the Indus Valley:
The Indus Valley contained mathematically planned cities that originated in the south and moved north.

 

  • Some of these cities contained as many as 30,000 inhabitants and were almost three miles in diameter.

 

  • The major cities had granaries, citadels, and even written languages. In the city of Mohenjodaro, a mile-long canal was built to connect the city to the sea.

 

 National Geographic: Mohenjo Daro 101  

 

 

  • This video gives an overview of the city of Mohenjo Daro 

 

 

Agriculture:

 
The ancient civilization was primarily an agrarian based society growing many grains such as barley and wheat.

 

  • The people also fished and possessed domesticated animals such as sheep, pigs, zebus (a type of cow), and water buffalo.

 

Example of Indus Valley Architecture 

 

 

Architecture:

 
The architecture found in the ancient cities usually consisted of single or double storied buildings made of back bricks with flat roofs.     

  • Many of the houses had courtyards with wells and some even had bathrooms with indoor toilets. [1]

 

 

e

 

 

 Art History:

 

Many of the discoveries left behind, including figurines and seals, tell about the society's beliefs and daily lives.

 

  • Many figurines showed that the people worshipped a Mother Goddess, as well as a Goddess of Earth, who helped grow plants and encourage fertility. 3

 

  • This then led to the status of women to be much higher in society and their roles to daily life was important. 4 

 

For more, go to Arts of the Indus Valley

 

 

 

Jar, Indus Valley

Hinduism:

 

 

Hinduism is widely believed to have originated from the Indus River valley.

 

  • The religious beliefs in certain goddesses may have influenced the origins of Hinduism.


  • Hinduism today is the oldest of the world's main religions, dating back more than 5,000 years. 

 

  • The principles of Hinduism and its philosophy likely began in the ancient civilization before the Aryans invaded and settled in the valley around 1600 BC.  

 

  • Hindu religion worships both gods and goddesses. Parvati is the mother of the elephant-headed god Ganesha, and the wife of Shiva, the god of destruction.

 

  • Due to the previous beliefs in goddesses in the valley civilization, several of the Hindu deities are women. The belief of goddesses may have influenced the belief of Hindu deities.

  

 

Read more on the origins of Hinduism at Learn Religions:

https://www.learnreligions.com/theories-about-the-origin-of-hinduism-1770375

 

Or, from the California State University:

https://home.csulb.edu/~cwallis/100/worldreligions/hinduism.html

 

 

 

 The Harappan Civilization

 

  • This video is super useful in getting an idea of the religion and traditions the people practiced. Religion always plays an important role in society and tells us a lot about what the people valued in life. The artifacts discovered show how connected they were to the earth as they were an agrarian society and used the geography around them to survive.

 

 

Learning Resources:

 

 Indus Valley Civilization: Crash Course World History 

  • Here is a video of John Green explaining the history of the Indus Valley Civilization

 

 Parvati at the Metropolitan Museum of Art

https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/39325  

 

 

 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        Four-armed Hindu god Vishnu

Comments (0)

You don't have permission to comment on this page.