Essays on Indus Valley Civilization

c. 3300 – c. 1300 BCE

Indus civilization, Harappan civilization

The Indus Valley Civilisation was a Bronze Age civilisation in the northwestern regions of South Asia. It was one of the earliest and the most widespread civilisations of the Near East and South Asia.

Mehrgarh (Neolithic mountain site) is one of the earliest sites with evidence of farming and herding in South Asia. It gave new insights on the emergence of the Indus Valley Civilisation.

The Early Harappan Ravi Phase, lasted from c. 3300 BCE until 2800 BCE , it was named after the nearby Ravi River. The phase started when farmers from the mountains moved between their mountain homes and the lowland river valleys. Communities turned to large urban centres by 2600 BCE, that started the mature Harappan phase.

Mature Harappan Period lasted from c. 2600 BCE until 1900 BCE. In total, more than 1,000 cities and settlements of this period have been found in the region of the Indus and Ghaggar-Hakra Rivers. The people achieved great accuracy in measuring length, mass, and time during this phase. Various sculptures, bronze vessels, pottery, gold jewellery and many other have been found at excavation sites.

Late Harappan Period, lasted from c. 1900 BCE until 1300 BCE. At the start of the period, started a gradual decline, and around 1700 BCE most of the cities had been abandoned. Examinated human skeletons has demonstrated that the Indus Civilisation ended due to an increase in inter-personal violence and in infectious diseases like leprosy and tuberculosis. The decline of Harappa drove people eastward.

The inhabitants of the Indus Valley civilisation migrated towards the Himalayan foothills of Ganga-Yamuna basin. Many elements of the Indus Civilisation appear in later cultures of those regions.