The Indus Valley Civilization

Indus Valley Civilization Lasted from 3300 BCE BCE – About 2,000 years Question #1 & #2

Indus Valley Civilization Located in modern-day Pakistan and India along the Indus River – Today, Pakistan has over 200 million people (very crowded) Question #3 & #4

Indus Valley Civilization At its peak, the civilization had a population of around 5 million Geographically, the largest ancient civilization in the world (covered the most area) Question #5

Cities of the Indus Valley Over 1,000 cities and settlements have been discovered Mohenjo-Daro – The most developed and sophisticated city of the Indus River Harrapa – Had about 25,000 people (very large for its time) Question #6

Ancient ruins of Harrapa

Agriculture Farming along the Indus River led to a steady food source – Led to a surplus in agriculture – This led to the formation of cities People domesticated crops to grow and farm animals – Peas, dates, and cotton Question #7

Advancements in Technology Cities used advanced engineering systems to create a water supply and sanitation systems – Created the world’s first flush toilets and sewer system – Created drainage systems to prevent flooding City streets were based on a grid system Question #8

Harrapa Archaeologist discovered the city in 1921 in Pakistan The town grew because of the harvesting of grains A granary is a large building used for storing grain. One was located in the center of Harrapa The granary was protected by a citadel, a large protective wall Question #9

Mohenjo-Daro Large city with advanced technology City divided into two parts: – Administrative (Downtown) : Government and Religious Buildings – Lower City (Residential): Houses where the people lived Also had a granary and was protected by a citadel Question #10

Mohenjo-Daro Evidence suggests that Mohenjo-Daro suffered damage from major floods, caused by the Indus River – Created dams and drainage systems to prevent floods – They developed irrigation systems to get water to crops Question #11

Decline By 1900 BCE, the civilization began to decline Deforestation caused the fertile soil to turn to desert – Not enough food could be produced for the population, so people began to abandon the cities In 1500 BCE, Mohenjo-Daro was raided and destroyed Question #12

Marking Property Seals were used to mark property, evidence of a written language The people of the Indus Valley created their own seals to put on their property – Today we still use seals on important documents State seal of North Carolina. Esse Quam Videri: “To be rather than seem” Question #13

Make Your Own Seal On the back of your interactive notes, create your own seal which you would use to mark your possessions Include symbols that are important to you – This could be an animal, letters, logos and anything else that is special to you