South Region

• Harappa and other cities didn't have a ruler as there are no evidences of palaces or kings
• The town of Harappa was along the Ravi river, one of the 5 rivers in Punjab of Pakistan
• The area where the Indus Valley civilization flourished was large
• Many houses had drainage systems, wells, bathing rooms, and toilets with drains connected to a system of drains built alongside the streets
• The roads and streets in Harappan cities and villages were enclosed by fortifications with gateways
• The city was divided into 2 parts: the citadel in the upper portion of the western part and the lower town on the eastern side
• Social division in Harappan society

  • Rich
  • Poor
• The Indus Valley civilization was dated

  7000 BCE
• Harappa's prosperity was anchored on agriculture and was practiced with a wide scale of hundreds of rural settlements and networks of canals for irrigation
• The Indus civilization was able to produce for thousands of residents who were not in agriculture, possibly attributing to the invention of the plow and other technologies
• The citadel was erected on high platforms out of mud and bricks, containing the granary for storage of crops and the Great Bath for ritual bathing
• The biggest city of the Indus Valley civilization was Mohenjo-Daro which was 250 hectares
• Sewerage and drainage in the Indus Valley civilization were more advanced than Mesopotamia
• Houses were built with mud bricks, most had 2 stories while the wealthy had 7 rooms
• There was no particular religion in the Indus Valley civilization, but Great Baths or big swimming pools signified the practice of purification rites
• Many houses had a strong concern for hygiene, related to the practice of ritual purity which Hindus today practice along the Ganges river
• Clay seals and figurines in the Indus Valley civilization depicted many animals but mostly unicorns
• Clay figures of mother goddess were common, symbolizing a male deity believed to be a prototype of Shiva and a symbol of fertility
• Harappans were experts in craftsmanship, crafting beads, ornaments, bowls, ladles, weapons, tools, and more
• The Harappans traded with many other civilizations using bullock-driven carts and small boats
• The Harappans found ways to measure length, weight, and mass
• Their art included ostrich egg shell engravings, cave paintings, masks, dancing, painting, and music as part of their culture
• The Indus Valley civilization had numerous scripts and symbols on tiny seals, figurines, and potteries which served as their way of writing
• Many seals and potteries represented figures of sacred trees especially the pial tree which is regarded as a celestial plant and believed to have divine spirits which was associated later with the founder of buddhism.