Indus River Valley
- 1. Indus River Valley Civilization (Harappa) By Kayla Delaney, Molly Huffaker Lewis Oliver, and Maeve Russell http://www.lehladakh.net/indus_sindhu_.jpg
- 2. Beginnings of Civilization • Farming began around 6500 B.C. at Mehrgarh, a village settlement in the hills west of the Indus Valley • Main crops (wheat and barley) grown initially to supplement hunting and gathering • Already had extensive trade networks – Revealed by burial goods of turquoise and lapis lazuli from Central Asia and Afghanistan
- 3. Indus River Valley • Consisted of to large cities, Harappa and Mohenjodaro • Lasted ~26001900 BCE • 50,000 mi2 • Extended from the Arabian sea to the Himalayas and New Delhi • Grew wheat, barely, Vield peas, mustard, sesame,cotton • Domesticated dogs, cats, cattle, pigs, camels, and buffalo
- 4. Achievements • Created wheels for both pottery and transportation • Pictograph writing system • Stone stamps (seals) to show ownership • Walls surrounding city to prevent Vlooding • Toilets made out of bricks • Bull driven carts • Barbed hooks,lines and nets for Vishing http://www.exoticindiaart.com/artimages/indus_sm.jpg
- 5. Religion • No temples found • Terracotta Vigurines found for sacriVicial purposes • Discrete cemeteries and burial grounds • Human Vigurines in yoga position with ornaments and headdresses symbolize fertility god
- 6. Religion continued • Geometric symbols show beliefs in cosmology • Narrative seals found on burials under sacred “bo tree” • “Shiva seals” show a man seated in yoga position surrounded by animals represent religious Vigure, Shiva
- 7. Art • Artisans used bronze, gold, silver, terracotta, glazed ceramics, and semiprecious stones • Art found on vessels, seals, and amulets • Seals found with animal motifs • Art used for personal possession http://img.tfd.com/thumb/9/9d/Dancing_girl_mohenjodaro.jpg
- 8. Architecture • Private houses with central space surrounded by living and storage rooms • Interior protected by walls and entryway • Large houses surrounded by smaller houses might have been for extended family http://spiffykiffy.files.wordpress.com/2009/02/gateway-at-harappa1.jpg • Circular brick wells with wedge shaped bricks
- 9. Architecture continued • Large public structures with multiple entrances • City had grid pattern with streets and buildings facing cardinal directions • Buildings built out of mud bricks coated with http://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/ancient/images/ sw/mohenjo-daro-ruins-285685-sw.jpg plaster on a platform
- 10. Government • Autocratic government necessary for the valley’s large scale building projects – Needed the capacity to organize and supervise large numbers of laborers • Existence of a strong ruling class indicated by the presence of large and wellfortiVied citadels in each city • Rigid and uniform ordering of culture http://www.astronomy.pomona.edu/archeo/india/temple.p61.GIF
- 11. Government continued • Society dominated by a powerful priestly class – Main coordinators of fortress construction and defense preparation – May have overseen handicraft production and supervised both regional and long distance trade • Priests had impressive control over the city – Were intermediaries between the city populace and a number of gods and goddesses
- 12. Economic Life • Traded with Afghanistan, South India, and Iran • Imported gold, silver, copper, turquoise and other semiprecious stones • Used seals to show ownership of products traded http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2009/08/27/gallery/indus-script-540x540.jpg
- 13. Relationships with Surrounding Peoples • Traded with People of India, Afghanistan, and Iran • Seals of Harappan civilization found in places as far away as Mesopotamia http://www.freewebs.com/a1sap/bull.jpg
- 14. Theories Regarding the Civilzation’s Demise (2000 1800 B.C.) 1. Gradual environmental changed caused by agricultural disaster, overpopulation and exploitation of resources 2. Tectonic plate activity caused Vlooding and drying of Sarawti River 3. Warfare 4. Epidemic disease
- 15. After the Demise • After 1800 B.C., people living in the region returned to dwelling in smaller, more scattered settlements • No settlements on the scale of the Indus cities existed in South Asia for the next 1000 years • Pirak one of the largest settlements – Flourished around 1500 B.C. – Large for the period, but less than one quarter of the size of the major Indus Valley cities – Thought to be agriculturally prosperous because of its large houses and grain storage silos
- 16. Works Cited Indus River Valley Government. 24 Feb. 2010. <http://www.kidsnewsroom.org/elmer/infoCentral/frameset/civilizations india/gov/index.html>. Indus Valley. 24 Feb. 2010. <http://www.history‐world.org/indus_valley.htm>. Indus Valley Civilization. 24 Feb. 2010. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indus_Valley_Civilization>. Scarre, Chris. Timelines of the Ancient World: A Visual Chronology from the Origins of Life to A.D. 1500. New York: Dorling Kindersley, 1993. Print.