Indus Valley Civilization
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[[Image:Mohenjodaro Sindh.jpeg|thumb|310px|Excavated ruins of [[Mohenjo-daro]], [[Pakistan]].]]
{{South Asian history|BC=1}}
The '''Indus Valley Civilization''' (c. 3000–1500 BCE, Mature period 2600–1900 BCE), abbreviated '''IVC''', was an ancient [[civilization]] that flourished in the [[Indus River]] valley of present day [[Pakistan]]. Primarily centred in the [[Sindh]] and [[Punjab (Pakistan)|Punjab]] provinces of [[Pakistan]], extending westward into [[Balochistan (Pakistan)|Balochistan]] province, [[Afghanistan]] and a small part of western [[India]]. Other remains of the IVC can also be found in present-day [[Afghanistan]], [[Turkmenistan]] and [[Iran]]. The mature phase of this civilization is technically known as the '''Harappan Civilization''', after the first of its cities to be excavated, [[Harappa]]. Excavation of IVC sites has been ongoing since the 1920s, with important breakthroughs occurring as recently as 1999.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/334517.stm |title='Earliest writing' found |publisher=BBC News |1999-05-04}}</ref>
The civilization is sometimes referred to as the '''Indus Ghaggar-Hakra civilization'''<ref>{{cite book |last=Ching |first=Francis D. K. |coauthors=Jarzombek, Mark;Prakash, Vikramaditya |year=2006 |title=A Global History of Architecture |location=Hoboken, N.J. |publisher=J. Wiley & Sons |isbn=0471268925 |pages=pp. 28–32}}</ref> or the '''Indus-Sarasvati civilization'''. The appellation ''Indus-Sarasvati'' is based on the possible identification of the Ghaggar-Hakra River with the [[Sarasvati River]] mentioned in the [[Rig Veda]],<ref>{{wikiref |id=McIntosh-2001 |text=McIntosh 2001, p.24}}</ref> but this usage is disputed on linguistic and geographical grounds.<ref>{{cite book |last=Ratnagar |first=Shereen |year=2006 |title=Trading Encounters: From the Euphrates to the Indus in the Bronze Age |publisher=Oxford University Press, India |isbn=019568088X}}</ref>
==Historical context==
The IVC has been tentatively identified with the [[toponym]] [[Meluhha]] known from Sumerian records. It has been compared in particular with the civilizations of [[Elam]] (also in the context of the [[Elamo-Dravidian]] hypothesis) and with [[Minoan Crete]] (because of such isolated cultural parallels such as the ubiquitous [[goddess worship]] and depictions of [[bull-leaping]]).<ref>{{cite book |first=H. |last=Mode |title=Indische Frühkulturen und ihre Beziehungen zum Westen |location=Basel |year=1944}}</ref> The mature (Harappan) phase of the IVC is contemporary to the [[Early Bronze Age|Early]] to [[Middle Bronze Age]] in the [[Ancient Near East]], in particular the [[Old Elamite period]], [[Early Dynastic Period of Sumer|Early Dynastic]] to [[Third Dynasty of Ur|Ur III]] [[Mesopotamia]], Prepalatial [[Minoan Crete]] and [[Old Kingdom]] to [[First Intermediate Period of Egypt|First Intermediate Period]] [[Ancient Egypt|Egypt]].
The language of the IVC has not yet been determined. [[Proto-Dravidian]],<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |title=Indus civilization |year=2007 |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |accessdate=2007-02-16 |url=http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9042359}}</ref><ref name="parpola">{{cite book |last=Parpola |first=Asko |year=1994 |title=Deciphering the Indus Script |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=0521430798}}</ref> [[Proto-Indo-Iranian]], [[Munda languages|Proto-Munda]], the prefixing Para-Munda and a "Language X" or "[[Nihali language|lost phylum]]" have been proposed as the language.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Witzel |first=Michael |authorlink=Michael E. J. Witzel |year=1999 |title=Substrate Languages in Old Indo-Aryan ({{IAST|Ṛgvedic}}, Middle and Late Vedic) |journal=Electronic Journal of Vedic Studies |volume=5 |issue=1 |url=http://www.ejvs.laurasianacademy.com/ejvs0501/ejvs0501article.pdf}}</ref>
==Discovery and excavation==
The ruins of [[Harrappa]] were first described in 1842 by Charles Masson in his ''Narrative of Various Journeys in Baluchistan, Afghanistan and the Panjab'', where locals talked of an ancient city extending "thirteen [[kos (measure)|cosses]]" (about 25 miles), but no archaeological interest would attach to this for nearly a century.<ref name=masson>{{cite book |last=Masson |first=Charles |year=1842 |title=Narrative of Various Journeys in Balochistan, Afghanistan and the Panjab; including a residence in those countries from 1826 to 1838 |location=London |publisher=Richard Bentley |chapterurl=http://www.harappa.com/har/masson310.html |chapter=Chapter 2: Haripah |pages=p. 472 |quote=A long march preceded our arrival at Haripah, through jangal of the closest description.... When I joined the camp I found it in front of the village and ruinous brick castle. Behind us was a large circular mound, or eminence, and to the west was an irregular rocky height, crowned with the remains of buildings, in fragments of walls, with niches, after the eastern manner.... Tradition affirms the existence here of a city, so considerable that it extended to Chicha Watni, thirteen cosses distant, and that it was destroyed by a particular visitation of Providence, brought down by the lust and crimes of the sovereign.}} Note that the [[kos (measure)|coss]], a measure of distance used from [[Vedic]] to [[Mughal]] times, is approximately 2 miles.</ref>
In 1856, British engineers John and William Brunton were laying the [[History of rail transport in India|East Indian Railway Company]] line connecting the cities of [[Karachi]] and [[Lahore]]. John wrote: "I was much exercised in my mind how we were to get ballast for the line of the railway." They were told of an ancient ruined city near the lines, called Brahminabad. Visiting the city, he found it full of hard well-burnt bricks, and "convinced that there was a grand quarry for the ballast I wanted", the city of Brahminabad was reduced to ballast.<ref name=davreau>{{cite book |chapter=Indus Valley |author=Davreau, Robert |title=World's Last Mysteries |editor=Reader's Digest |year=1976}}</ref> A few months later, further north, John's brother William Brunton's "section of the line ran near another ruined city, bricks from which had already been used by villagers in the nearby village of Harappa at the same site. These bricks now provided ballast along 93 miles of the railroad track running from Karachi to Lahore."<ref name=davreau/>
In 1872–75 Alexander Cunningham published the first Harappan seal (with an erroneous identification as Brahmi letters).<ref> Cunningham, A., 1875. Archaeological Survey of India, Report for the Year 1872-73, 5: 105-8 and pl. 32-3. Calcutta: Archaeological Survey of India.</ref> It was half a century later, in 1912, that more Harappan seals were discovered by J. Fleet, prompting an excavation campaign under [[John Marshall (archaeologist)|Sir John Hubert Marshall]] in 1921–22 and resulting in the discovery of the hitherto unknown civilization at Harappa by Sir John Marshall, Rai Bahadur Daya Ram Sahni and Madho Sarup Vats, and at [[Mohenjo-daro]] by Rakhal Das Banerjee, E. J. H. MacKay, and Sir John Marshall. By 1931, much of Mohenjo-Daro had been excavated, but excavations continued, such as that led by [[Mortimer Wheeler|Sir Mortimer Wheeler]], director of the [[Archaeological Survey of India]] in 1944. Among other archaeologists who worked on IVC sites before the partition of the subcontinent in 1947 were [[Ahmad Hasan Dani]], [[B. B. Lal|Brij Basi Lal]], Nani Gopal Majumdar, and Sir Marc [[Aurel Stein]].
Following the [[British Raj|partition of British India]], the bulk of the archaeological finds were inherited by [[Pakistan]] where most of the IVC was based, and excavations from this time include those led by Sir Mortimer Wheeler in 1949, archaeological adviser to the Government of Pakistan. Outposts of the Indus Valley civilization were excavated as far west as [[Sutkagan Dor]] in [[Balochistan (Pakistan)|Baluchistan]], as far north as at Shortugai on the Amudarya or [[Oxus River]] in current [[Afghanistan]].
==Periodisation==
{{main|Periodization of the Indus Valley Civilization}}
The mature phase of the Harappan civilization lasted from c. 2600 to 1900 BCE. With the inclusion of the predecessor and successor cultures—Early Harappan and Late Harappan, respectively—the entire Indus Valley Civilization may be taken to have lasted from the 33rd to the 14th centuries BCE. Two terms are employed for the periodization of the IVC: ''Phases'' and ''Eras''.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Kenoyer |first=Jonathan Mark |title=The Indus Valley tradition of Pakistan and Western India |journal=Journal of World Prehistory |year=1991 |volume=5 |pages=1–64 |doi=10.1007/BF00978474}}</ref><ref>{{wikiref |id=Shaffer-1992 |text=Shaffer 1992, I:441-464, II:425-446.}}</ref> The Early Harappan, Mature Harappan, and Late Harappan phases are also called the Regionalisation, Integration, and Localisation eras, respectively, with the Regionalization era reaching back to the Neolithic [[Mehrgarh]] II period. "Discoveries at Mehrgarh changed the entire concept of the Indus civilization," according to [[Ahmad Hasan Dani]], professor emeritus at [[Quaid-e-Azam University]], [[Islamabad]]. "There we have the whole sequence, right from the beginning of settled village life."<ref>{{cite journal |last=Chandler |first=Graham |year=1999 |month=September/October |url=http://www.saudiaramcoworld.com/issue/199905/traders.of.the.plain.htm |title=Traders of the Plain |journal=Saudi Aramco World |pages=34–42}}</ref>
{|class="wikitable"
|-
!Date range (BCE)
!Phase
!Era
|-
|5500-3300
|[[Mehrgarh]] II-VI ([[Pottery Neolithic]])
|rowspan=4 |Regionalisation Era
|-
!3300-2600
!Early Harappan ([[Early Bronze Age]])
|-
|3300-2800
|Harappan 1 (Ravi Phase)
|-
|2800-2600
|Harappan 2 (Kot Diji Phase, Nausharo I, Mehrgarh VII)
|-
!2600-1900
!Mature Harappan ([[Middle Bronze Age]])
|rowspan=4 |Integration Era
|-
|2600-2450
|Harappan 3A (Nausharo II)
|-
|2450-2200
|Harappan 3B
|-
|2200-1900
|Harappan 3C
|-
!1900-1300
!Late Harappan ([[Cemetery H]], [[Late Bronze Age]])
|rowspan=3 |Localisation Era
|-
|1900-1700
|Harappan 4
|-
|1700-1300
|Harappan 5
|-
|}
==Geography==
[[Image:IVC Map.png|thumb|250px|Extent and major sites of the Indus Valley Civilization. The shaded area does not include recent excavations such as [[Rupar]], [[Balakot]], Shortughai in [[Afghanistan]], Manda in [[Jammu]], etc. See [http://pubweb.cc.u-tokai.ac.jp/indus/english/map.html] for a more detailed map.]]
The Indus Valley Civilization encompassed most of [[Pakistan]], extending from [[Balochistan (region)|Balochistan]] to [[Sindh]], with an upward reach to Punjab from east of the [[Jhelum River]] to [[Rupar]] on the upper [[Sutlej]]; recently, Indus sites have been discovered in Pakistan's northwestern Frontier Province as well. Other IVC colonies can be found in [[Afghanistan]] while smaller isolated colonies can be found as far away as [[Turkmenistan]] and in [[Gujurat]]. Coastal settlements extended from [[Sutkagan Dor]]<ref>{{cite journal |last=Dales |first=George F. |year=1962 |title=Harappan Outposts on the Makran Coast |journal=Antiquity |volume=36 |issue=142 |pages=86}}</ref> in Western Baluchistan to [[Lothal]]<ref>{{cite book |first=Shikaripura Ranganatha |last=Rao |authorlink=Shikaripura Ranganatha Rao |year=1973 |title=Lothal and the Indus civilization |location=London |publisher=Asia Publishing House |isbn=0210222786}}</ref> in [[Gujarat]]. An Indus Valley site has been found on the [[Oxus]] River at Shortughai in northern Afghanistan,<ref>{{wikiref |id=Kenoyer-1998 |text=Kenoyer 1998, p. 96}}</ref> in the [[Gomal River]] valley in northwestern Pakistan,<ref>{{cite journal |authorlink=Ahmad Hasan Dani |last=Dani |first=Ahmad Hassan |year=1970-1971 |title=Excavations in the Gomal Valley |journal=Ancient Pakistan |issue=5 |pages=1–177}}</ref> at Manda on the [[Beas River]] near [[Jammu]],<ref>{{cite book |last=Joshi |first=J. P. |coauthors=Bala, M. |year=1982 |chapter=Manda: A Harappan site in Jammu and Kashmir |editor=Possehl, Gregory L. (ed.) |title=Harappan Civilization: A recent perspective |location=New Delhi |publisher=Oxford University Press |pages=185-95}}</ref> India, and at Alamgirpur on the Hindon River, only 28 km from [[Delhi]].<ref>{{Cite book |title=Indian Archaeology, A Review (1958-1959) |chapter=Excavations at Alamgirpur |location=Delhi |publisher=Archaeol. Surv. India |pages=pp. 51-52 |editor=A. Ghosh}}<!-- Needs clarification --></ref> Indus Valley sites have been found most often on rivers, but also on the ancient seacoast,<ref>{{cite book |last=Ray |first=Himanshu Prabha |year=2003 |title=The Archaeology of Seafaring in Ancient South Asia |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=0521011094 |pages=95}}</ref> for example, Balakot,<ref>{{cite book |last=Dales |first=George F. |year=1979 |chapter=The Balakot Project: summary of four years excavations in Pakistan |title=South Asian Archaeology 1977 |editor=Maurizio Taddei (ed.) |pages=241–274 |location=Naples |publisher=Seminario di Studi Asiatici Series Minor 6. Instituto Universitario Orientate}}</ref> and on islands, for example, [[Dholavira]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Bisht |first=R. S. |year=1989 |chapter=A new model of the Harappan town planning as revealed at Dholavira in Kutch: a surface study of its plan and architecture |title=History and Archaeology |editor=Chatterjee, Bhaskar (ed.) |location=New Delhi |publisher=Ramanand Vidya Bhawan |pages=379–408 |isbn=8185205469}}</ref>
There is evidence of dry river beds overlapping with the [[Hakra]] channel in [[Pakistan]] and the seasonal [[Ghaggar River]] in [[India]]. Many Indus Valley (or ''Harappan'') sites have been discovered along the Ghaggar-Hakra beds.<ref name="possehl">{{cite journal |last=Possehl |first=Gregory L. |year=1990 |url=http://arjournals.annualreviews.org/toc/anthro/19/1 |title=Revolution in the Urban Revolution: The Emergence of Indus Urbanization |journal=Annual Reviews of Anthropology |issue=19 |pages=261–282 (Map on page 263) |doi=10.1146/annurev.an.19.100190.001401 |volume=19}}</ref> Among them are: Rupar, [[Rakhigarhi]], Sothi, [[Kalibangan]], and Ganwariwala.<ref>{{cite book |last=Mughal |first=M. R. 1982 |chapter=Recent archaeological research in the Cholistan desert |title=Harappan Civilization |editor=Possehl, Gregory L. (ed.) |pages=85-95 |location=Delhi |publisher=Oxford & IBH &
A.I.1.S.}}</ref> According to J. G. Shaffer and D. A. Lichtenstein,<ref>{{cite book |last=Shaffer |first=Jim G. |authorlink=Jim G. Shaffer |coauthors=Lichtenstein, Diane A. |year=1989 |chapter=Ethnicity and Change in the Indus Valley Cultural Tradition |title=Old Problems and New Perspectives in the Archaeology of South Asia |series=Wisconsin Archaeological Reports 2 |pages=117–126}}</ref> the Harappan Civilization "is a fusion of the Bagor, Hakra, and Koti Dij traditions or 'ethnic groups' in the Ghaggar-Hakra valley on the borders of India and Pakistan."<ref name="possehl"/>
According to some archaeologists, over 500 Harappan sites have been discovered along the dried up river beds of the Ghaggar-Hakra River and its tributaries,<ref>{{wikiref |id=Gupta-1995 |text=Gupta 1995, p. 183}}</ref> in contrast to only about 100 along the [[Indus River|Indus]] and its tributaries;<ref>e.g. {{cite book |first=Virendra Nath |last=Misra |year=1992 |title=Indus Civilization, a special Number of the Eastern Anthropologist |pages=1–19}}</ref> consequently, in their opinion, the appellation ''Indus Ghaggar-Hakra civilisation'' or [[Sindhi Civilization|''Indus-Saraswati civilisation'']] is justified. However, these politically inspired arguments are disputed by other archaeologists who state that the Ghaggar-Hakra desert area has been left untouched by settlements and agriculture since the end of the Indus period and hence shows more sites than found in the alluvium of the Indus valley; second, that the number of Harappan sites along the Ghaggar-Hakra river beds have been exaggerated and that the Ghaggar-Hakra, when it existed, was a tributary of the Indus, so the new nomenclature is redundant.<ref>{{cite book |last=Ratnagar |first=Shereen |year=2006 |title=Understanding Harappa: Civilization in the Greater Indus Valley |location=New Delhi |publisher=Tulika Books |isbn=8189487027 |ref=Shereen-2006b}}</ref> "Harappan Civilization" remains the correct one, according to the common archaeological usage of naming a civilization after its first findspot.
==Origins==
{{seealso|Substratum in Vedic Sanskrit}}
There are several theories as to the origin of the Indus Valley civilization. The earliest hypothesis was that it was an early form of a [[Vedic]] and early Sanskrit civilization which would come to dominate most of South Asia, which was presumed to have been characterized by influence from [[Indo-European]] migrations. However, this theory began to be rejected when no signs of the traditional culture associated with the Vedas was uncovered in that of the Indus Valley. The absence of horses amongst the many realistic representations of animals was also considered significant, considering the importance of horses and chariots to the culture described in the [[Vedas]]. Detailed bone analysis has revealed that the horse itself was introduced to the subcontinent only at the beginning of the second millennium B.C., which contributes to the chronological problem with this theory.<ref>http://www.harappa.com/script/parpola6.html</ref><ref>http://www.sanskrit.org/www/Hindu%20Primer/induscivilization.html</ref> Finally, the concept of urban life which dominates the Indus Valley civilization is foreign to the more rural lifestyle which is described in the Vedas.<ref>http://www.harappa.com/script/danitext.html#1</ref>
The second theory, which is currently the most popular, was that the civilization was of [[proto-Dravidian]] origin.<ref>http://www.harappa.com/script/parpola0.html</ref> This theory was first proposed by researchers from Russia and Finland who attempted to show that Indus valley symbols could be derived from the Dravidian language group. Today, the [[Dravidian language]] family is concentrated mostly in [[southern India]] and northern [[Sri Lanka]], but pockets of it still remain throughout the rest of India and Pakistan (the [[Brahui language]]), which lends credence to the theory. Finnish Indologist [[Asko Parpola]] concludes that the uniformity of the Indus inscriptions precludes any possibility of widely different languages being used, and that an early form of Dravidian language must have been the language of the Indus people. However, the proto-Dravidian origin theory is far from being confirmed due to an emphasis on linguistic connection while evidence of a broader cultural connection remains to be found..<ref>http://www.harappa.com/script/danitext.html#1</ref>
==Early Harappan==
The Early Harappan Ravi Phase, named after the nearby [[Ravi River]], lasted from circa 3300 BCE until 2800 BCE. It is related to the Hakra Phase, identified in the Ghaggar-Hakra River Valley to the west, and predates the [[Kot Diji]] Phase (2800-2600 BCE, Harappan 2), named after a site in northern [[Sindh]], [[Pakistan]], near [[Mohenjo Daro]]. The earliest examples of the [[Indus script]] date from around 3000 BCE.<ref name="parpola"/>
The mature phase of earlier village cultures is represented by [[Rehman Dheri]] and [[Amri]] in Pakistan.<ref>{{cite book |last=Durrani |first=F. A. |year=1984 |chapter=Some Early Harappan sites in Gomal and Bannu Valleys |title=Frontiers of Indus Civilisation |editor=[[B. B. Lal|Lal, B. B.]] and [[S. P. Gupta|Gupta, S. P.]] |pages=505–510 |location=Delhi |publisher=Books & Books}}</ref> [[Kot Diji]] (Harappan 2) represents the phase leading up to Mature Harappan, with the citadel representing centralised authority and an increasingly urban quality of life. Another town of this stage was found at [[Kalibangan]] in India on the Hakra River.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Thapar |first=B. K. |year=1975 |title=Kalibangan: A Harappan Metropolis Beyond the Indus Valley |journal=Expedition |volume=17 |issue=2 |pages=19–32}}</ref>
Trade networks linked this culture with related regional cultures and distant sources of raw materials, including [[lapis lazuli]] and other materials for bead-making. Villagers had, by this time, domesticated numerous crops, including [[pea]]s, [[sesame seed]]s, [[date (fruit)|dates]] and [[cotton]], as well as various animals, including the [[Domestic buffalo|water buffalo]]. Early Harappan communities turned to large urban centres by 2600 BCE, from where the mature Harappan phase started.
==Mature Harappan==
By 2600 BCE, the Early Harappan communities had been turned into large urban centers. Such urban centers include [[Harappa]] and [[Mohenjo Daro]] in Pakistan and [[Lothal]] in India. . In total, over 1,052 cities and settlements have been found, mainly in the general region of the Indus Rivers and their tributaries.
===Cities===
[[Image:Mohenjo-daro Priesterkönig.jpeg|thumb|200px|right|So-called "Priest King" statue, [[Mohenjo-daro]], late [[Mature Harappan]] period, National Museum, Karachi, Pakistan]]
A sophisticated and technologically advanced urban culture is evident in the Indus Valley Civilization making them the first urban centres in the regiohn. The quality of [[municipal]] town planning suggests the knowledge of [[urban planning]] and efficient [[municipal government]]s which placed a high priority on [[hygiene]], or, alternately, accessibility to the means of religious ritual.
As seen in Harappa, Mohenjo-daro and the recently partially excavated [[Rakhigarhi]], this urban plan included the world's first urban [[sanitation]] systems. Within the city, individual homes or groups of homes obtained water from [[water well|well]]s. From a room that appears to have been set aside for bathing, [[wastewater|waste water]] was directed to covered drains, which lined the major streets. Houses opened only to inner [[courtyard]]s and smaller lanes. The house-building in some villages in the region still resembles in some respects the house-building of the Harappans.<ref>It has been noted that the courtyard pattern and techniques of flooring of Harappan houses has similarities to the way house-building is still done in some villages of the region. {{wikiref |id=Lal-2002 |text=Lal 2002, pp. 93–95}}</ref>
The ancient Indus systems of sewerage and drainage that were developed and used in cities throughout the Indus region were far more advanced than any found in contemporary urban sites in the [[Middle East]] and even more efficient than those in many areas of Pakistan and India today. The advanced architecture of the Harappans is shown by their impressive dockyards, [[granary|granaries]], warehouses, brick platforms and protective walls. The massive walls of Indus cities most likely protected the Harappans from floods and may have dissuaded military conflicts.{{Fact|date=May 2007}}
The purpose of the citadel remains debated. In sharp contrast to this civilization's contemporaries, [[Mesopotamia]] and [[Ancient Egypt]], no large monumental structures were built. There is no conclusive evidence of palaces or temples—or of kings, armies, or priests. Some structures are thought to have been granaries. Found at one city is an enormous well-built bath, which may have been a public bath. Although the citadels were walled, it is far from clear that these structures were defensive. They may have been built to divert flood waters.
Most city dwellers appear to have been traders or artisans, who lived with others pursuing the same occupation in well-defined neighborhoods. Materials from distant regions were used in the cities for constructing seals, beads and other objects. Among the [[artifact (archaeology)|artifact]]s discovered were beautiful glazed [[faïence]] beads. [[Steatite]] seals have images of animals, people (perhaps gods) and other types of inscriptions, including the yet un-deciphered writing system of the Indus Valley Civilization. Some of the seals were used to stamp clay on trade goods and most probably had other uses as well.
Although some houses were larger than others, Indus Civilization cities were remarkable for their apparent, if relative, [[egalitarianism]]. All the houses had access to water and drainage facilities. This gives the impression of a society with relatively low wealth concentration, though clear social leveling is seen in personal adornments.
===Science===
{{further|[[Indian mathematics#Harappan Mathematics (3300 - 1500 BCE)|Harappan mathematics]]}}
The people of the Indus Civilization achieved great accuracy in measuring length, mass, and time. They were among the first to develop a system of uniform weights and measures. Their measurements are said to be extremely precise; however, a comparison of available objects indicates large scale variation across the Indus territories. Their smallest division, which is marked on an ivory scale found in [[Lothal]], was approximately 1.704 [[millimeter|mm]], the smallest division ever recorded on a scale of the [[Bronze Age]]. Harappan engineers followed the decimal division of measurement for all practical purposes, including the measurement of mass as revealed by their [[hexahedron]] weights.
These [[chert]] weights were in a perfect ratio of 4:2:1 with weights of 0.05, 0.1, 0.2, 0.5, 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200, and 500 units, with each unit weighing approximately 28 grams, similar to the English [[Imperial units#Measures of weight and mass|Imperial ounce]] or Greek uncia, and smaller objects were weighed in similar ratios with the units of 0.871. However, as in other cultures, actual weights were not uniform throughout the area. The weights and measures later used in [[Kautilya]]'s ''[[Arthashastra]]'' (4th century BCE) are the same as those used in [[Lothal]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Sergent |first=Bernard |title=Genèse de l'Inde |year=1997 |pages=113 |language=French |isbn=2228891169}}</ref>
Unique Harappan inventions include an instrument which was used to measure whole sections of the horizon and the tidal [[Lock (water transport)|lock]]. In addition, Harappans evolved some new techniques in [[metallurgy]] and produced [[copper]], [[bronze]], [[lead]] and [[tin]]. The engineering skill of the Harappans was remarkable, especially in building docks after a careful study of tides, waves and currents. The function of the so-called "dock" at Lothal, however, is disputed.
In 2001, archaeologists studying the remains of two men from [[Mehrgarh]], [[Pakistan]], made the discovery that the people of the Indus Valley Civilisation, from the early Harappan periods, had knowledge of proto-[[dentistry]]. Later, in April 2006, it was announced in the scientific journal ''[[Nature (journal)|Nature]]'' that the oldest (and first early Neolithic) evidence for the drilling of human teeth ''in vivo'' (i.e., in a living person) was found in Mehrgarh. Eleven drilled molar crowns from nine adults were discovered in a Neolithic graveyard in Mehrgarh that dates from 7,500-9,000 years ago. According to the authors, their discoveries point to a tradition of proto-dentistry in the early farming cultures of that region.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Coppa |first=A. |coauthors=et al. |year=2006 |url=http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v440/n7085/pdf/440755a.pdf |title=Early Neolithic tradition of dentistry: Flint tips were surprisingly effective for drilling tooth enamel in a prehistoric population |journal=Nature |volume=440 |date=[[2006-04-06]]}}</ref>
A [[touchstone]] bearing gold streaks was found in [[Banawali]], which was probably used for testing the purity of gold (such a technique is still used in some parts of India).<ref>{{cite book |last=Bisht |first=R. S. |year=1982 |chapter=Excavations at Banawali: 1974-77 |editor=Possehl, Gregory L. (ed.) |title=Harappan Civilization: A Contemporary Perspective |pages=113–124 |location=New Delhi |publisher=Oxford and IBH Publishing Co.}}</ref>
===Arts and culture===
[[Image:Dancing girl mohenjodaro.jpg|thumb|right|300px|The "dancing girl of Mohenjo Daro."]]
Various sculptures, seals, [[Indian Pottery|pottery]], gold jewelry and anatomically detailed figurines in [[terracotta]], bronze and steatite have been found at the excavation sites.
A number of gold, terra-cotta and stone figurines of girls in dancing poses reveal the presence of some [[dance]] form. Also, these terra-cotta figurines included cows, bears, monkeys, and dogs. [[John Marshall (archaeologist)|Sir John Marshall]] is known to have reacted with surprise when he saw the famous Indus bronze statuette of a slender-limbed dancing girl in Mohenjo-daro:
{{quote|… When I first saw them I found it difficult to believe that they were prehistoric; they seemed to completely upset all established ideas about early art, and culture.. Modeling such as this was unknown in the ancient world up to the Hellenistic age of Greece, and I thought, therefore, that some mistake must surely have been made; that these figures had found their way into levels some 3000 years older than those to which they properly belonged. … Now, in these statuettes, it is just this anatomical truth which is so startling; that makes us wonder whether, in this all-important matter, Greek artistry could possibly have been anticipated by the sculptors of a far-off age on the banks of the Indus.}}
<!-- Image with unknown copyright status removed: [[Image:Indusmale2.jpg|thumb|left|Seated male figure from Mohenjo-daro,Islamabad Museum]] -->
Many crafts "such as shell working, ceramics, and agate and glazed steatite bead making" were used in the making of necklaces, bangles, and other ornaments from all phases of Harappan sites and some of these crafts are still practiced in the subcontinent today.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Kenoyer |first=Jonathan Mark |authorlink=Jonathan Mark Kenoyer |year=1997 |title=Trade and Technology of the Indus Valley: New Insights from Harappa, Pakistan |journal=World Archaeology |issue=2: "High-Definition Archaeology: Threads Through the Past" |volume=29 |pages=262–280}}</ref> Some make-up and toiletry items (a special kind of combs (kakai), the use of [[collyrium]] and a special three-in-one toiletry gadget) that were found in Harappan contexts still have similar counterparts in modern India.<ref name="Lal 2002 82">{{wikiref |id=Lal-2002 |text=Lal 2002, p. 82}}</ref> Terracotta female figurines were found (ca. 2800-2600 BCE) which had red color applied to the "manga" (line of partition of the hair).<ref name="Lal 2002 82"/>
Seals have been found at [[Mohenjo-daro]] depicting a figure standing on its head, and another sitting cross-legged in what some call a yoga-like pose (see image, the so-called ''Pashupati'', below).
A harp-like instrument depicted on an Indus seal and two shell objects found at Lothal indicate the use of stringed musical instruments. The Harappans also made various toys and games, among them cubical dice (with one to six holes on the faces), which were found in sites like Mohenjo-Daro.<ref>{{wikiref |id=Lal-2002 |text=Lal 2002, p. 89}}</ref>
===Trade and transportation===
[[Image:Lothal conception.jpg|thumb|right|250px|An artistic conception of ancient [[Lothal]] ([[Archaeological Survey of India]]). [http://www.harappa.com/lothal/index.html] ]]
[[Image:Sokhta Koh.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Computer-aided reconstruction of Harappan coastal settlement at [[Sokhta Koh]] near [[Pasni City|Pasni]] on the westernmost outreaches of the civilization]]
{{Further|[[Lothal]] and [[Meluhha]]}}
The Indus civilization's economy appears to have depended significantly on [[trade]], which was facilitated by major advances in transport technology. These advances included [[bullock cart]]s that are identical to those seen throughout South Asia today, as well as boats. Most of these boats were probably small, flat-bottomed craft, perhaps driven by sail, similar to those one can see on the Indus River today; however, there is secondary evidence of sea-going craft. Archaeologists have discovered a massive, dredged canal and what they regard as a docking facility at the coastal city of [[Lothal]] in western India (Gujarat state). An extensive canal network, used for irrigation, has however also been discovered by H.-P. Francfort.
During 4300–3200 BCE of the [[chalcolithic]] period (copper age), the Indus Valley Civilization area shows ceramic similarities with southern [[Turkmenistan]] and northern [[Iran]] which suggest considerable mobility and trade. During the Early Harappan period (about 3200–2600 BCE), similarities in pottery, seals, figurines, ornaments, etc., document intensive caravan trade with [[Central Asia]] and the Iranian plateau.<ref>{{wikiref |id=Parpola-2005 |text=Parpola 2005, pp. 2–3}}</ref>
Judging from the dispersal of Indus civilisation artifacts, the trade networks, economically, integrated a huge area, including portions of [[Afghanistan]], the coastal regions of [[Iran|Persia]], northern and western India, and [[Mesopotamia]].
There was an extensive maritime trade network operating between the Harappan and Mesopotamian civilizations as early as the middle Harappan Phase, with much commerce being handled by "middlemen merchants from Dilmun" (modern [[Bahrain]] and [[Failaka]] located in the [[Persian Gulf]]).<ref>{{cite book |last=Neyland |first=R. S. |year=1992 |chapter=The seagoing vessels on Dilmun seals |editor=Keith, D.H.; Carrell, T.L. (eds.) |title=Underwater archaeology proceedings of the Society for Historical Archaeology Conference at Kingston, Jamaica 1992 |pages=68–74 |location=Tucson, AZ |publisher=Society for Historical Archaeology}}</ref> Such long-distance sea trade became feasible with the innovative development of plank-built watercraft, equipped with a single central mast supporting a sail of woven rushes or cloth.
Several coastal settlements like Sotkagen-dor (astride Dasht River, north of Jiwani), [[Sokhta Koh]] (astride Shadi River, north of [[Pasni City|Pasni]]) and Balakot (near Sonmiani) in Pakistan along with Lothal in India testify to their role as Harappan trading outposts. Shallow harbors located at the estuary of rivers opening into the sea allowed brisk maritime trade with Mesopotamian cities.
===Agriculture===
Some post-1980 studies indicate that food production was largely indigenous to the Indus Valley. It is known that the people of [[Mehrgarh]] used domesticated [[wheat]]s and [[barley]],<ref>{{cite journal |last=Jarrige |first=J.-F. |year=1986 |title=Excavations at Mehrgarh-Nausharo |journal=Pakistan Archaeology |volume=10 |issue=22 |pages=63–131}}</ref> and the major cultivated cereal crop was naked six-row barley, a crop derived from two-row barley (see Shaffer and Liechtenstein 1995, 1999). Archaeologist [[Jim G. Shaffer]] (1999: 245) writes that the Mehrgarh site "demonstrates that food production was an indigenous South Asian phenomenon" and that the data support interpretation of "the prehistoric urbanization and complex social organization in South Asia as based on indigenous, but not isolated, cultural developments." Others, such as Dorian Fuller, however, indicate that it took some 2000 years before Middle Eastern wheat was acclimatised to South Asian conditions.
{{contradict}} <!-- The article above claims this civilization did indeed use irrigation. -->
{{POV|date=December 2007}}
Indus civilization agriculture must have been highly productive; after all, it was capable of generating surpluses sufficient to support tens of thousands of urban residents who were not primarily engaged in agriculture. It relied on the considerable technological achievements of the pre-Harappan culture, including the [[plough]]. Still, very little is known about the farmers who supported the cities or their agricultural methods. Some of them undoubtedly made use of the fertile [[alluvial]] soil left by rivers after the flood season, but this simple method of agriculture is not thought to be productive enough to support cities. There is no evidence of irrigation, but such evidence could have been obliterated by repeated, catastrophic floods.{{Facts|date=August 2007}}
The Indus civilization appears to contradict the [[hydraulic despotism]] hypothesis of the origin of urban civilization and the [[state]]. According to this hypothesis, all early, large-scale civilizations arose as a by-product of irrigation systems capable of generating massive [[agriculture|agricultural]] surpluses. {{Facts|date=August 2007}}
It is often assumed that intensive agricultural production requires [[dam]]s and [[canal]]s. This assumption is easily refuted. Throughout Asia, rice farmers produce significant agricultural surpluses from terraced, hillside [[rice paddy|rice paddies]], which result not from slavery but rather the accumulated labor of many generations of people. Instead of building canals, Indus civilization people may have built water diversion schemes, which—like [[terrace agriculture]]—can be elaborated by generations of small-scale labor investments. Such canals have, however, been found in northwestern India (Francfort). It should be noted that in only the easternmost section of the Indus Civilisation, people could build their lives around the [[monsoon]], a weather pattern in which the bulk of a year's rainfall occurs in a four-month period; others had to depend on the seasonal flooding of rivers caused by snow melt at high elevations.{{Facts|date=August 2007}}
They domesticated animals like [[Zebu|cattle]], [[tame bear|bear]]s, [[wild boar|wild pig]]s, [[pariah dog|dog]]s, [[Wild Asian Water Buffalo|water buffalo]], [[War elephant|elephant]]s, [[monkey]]s, [[dromedary]], [[chicken]]s, [[goats]], [[cats]], and [[sheep]].
===Writing or symbol system===
{{main|Indus script}}
[[Image:The'Ten Indus Scripts' discavered near the northen gateway of the citadel,Dholavira.JPG|thumb|Ten Indus characters discovered near the northern gate of [[Dholavira]], c. 2000 BCE]]
Well over 400 distinct Indus symbols (some say 600)<ref> Wells, B. An Introduction to Indus Writing. Early Sites Research Society (West) Monograph Series, 2, Independence MO 1999</ref> have been found on [[seal (device)|seals]], small tablets, or ceramic pots and over a dozen other materials, including a "signboard" that apparently once hung over the gate of the inner citadel of the Indus city of Dholavira. Typical [[Indus inscriptions]] are no more than four or five characters in length, most of which (aside from the Dholavira "signboard") are exquisitely tiny; the longest on a single surface, which is less than 1 inch (2.54 cm) square, is 17 signs long; the longest on any object (found on three different faces of a mass-produced object) has a length of 26 symbols.
While the Indus Valley Civilization is often characterized as a literate society on the evidence of these inscriptions, this description has been challenged on linguistic and archaeological grounds: it has been pointed out that the brevity of the inscriptions is unparalleled in any known premodern literate society. Based partly on this evidence, a controversial paper by Farmer, Sproat, and Witzel (2004)<ref>{{cite paper |author=Farmer, Steve; Sproat, Richard; Witzel, Michael |url=http://www.safarmer.com/fsw2.pdf |title=The Collapse of the Indus-Script Thesis: The Myth of a Literate Harappan Civilization}}</ref> argues that the Indus system did not encode language, but was instead similar to a variety of non-linguistic sign systems used extensively in the Near East and other societies. Others have claimed on occasion that the symbols were exclusively used for economic transactions, but this claim leaves unexplained the appearance of Indus symbols on many ritual objects, many of which were mass-produced in [[Molding (process)|molds]]. No parallels to these mass-produced inscriptions are known in any other early ancient civilizations.<ref>These and other issues are addressed in {{wikiref |id=Parpola-2005 |text=Parpola 2005}}</ref>
Photos of many of the thousands of extant inscriptions are published in the ''Corpus of Indus Seals and Inscriptions'' (1987, 1991), edited by A. Parpola and his colleagues. Publication of a final third volume, which will reportedly republish photos taken in the 1920s and 1930s of hundreds of lost or stolen inscriptions, along with many discovered in the last few decades, has been announced for several years, but has not yet found its way into print. For now, researchers must supplement the materials in the ''Corpus'' by study of the tiny photos in the excavation reports of Marshall (1931), Mackay (1938, 1943), Wheeler (1947), or reproductions in more recent scattered sources.
===Religion===
[[Image:Pashupati.gif|thumb|200px||The Pashupati seal.]]
{{see|Prehistoric religion |History of Hinduism}}
In view of the large number of figurines<ref>Photos: http://www.harappa.com/figurines/index.html</ref> found in the Indus valley, it has been widely suggested that the Harappan people worshipped a [[Mother goddess]] symbolizing fertility. However, this view has been disputed by S. Clark.<ref>{{Cite paper |first=Sharri R. |last=Clark |title=The social lives of figurines: recontextualizing the third millennium BC terracotta figurines from Harappa, Pakistan. |publisher=Harvard PhD |date=2007}}</ref>
Some Indus valley seals show [[swastika]]s which are found in later religions and mythologies, especially in [[Indian religion]]s such as [[Hinduism]]. The earliest evidence for elements of [[Hinduism]] are present before and during the [[early Harappan]] period<!--Full ref please - ref name=nikhilupa3to8>{{Harvnb|Nikhilananda|1990|pp=3–8}}</ref><ref>{{Harvnb|Coulson|1992}}</ref--><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hindunet.org/vedas/rigveda/|title=Rigveda|work=The Hindu Universe|publisher=HinduNet Inc|accessdate=2007-06-25}}</ref><ref
name=History>{{Cite web |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/hinduism/history/history_1.shtml |title=Hindu History}} The BBC names a bath and phallic symbols of the [[Harappan civilization]] as features of the "Prehistoric religion (3000-1000<small>BCE</small>)".</ref>. Phallic symbols claimed to be the Hindu [[Siva lingam]] have been found in the Harappan remains.<ref>{{wikiref |id=Basham-1967 |text=Basham 1967}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | title = Plants of life, plants of death | author = Frederick J. Simoons | year = 1998 | page = 363}}</ref>
Many Indus valley seals show animals. One famous seal that shows a figure seated in a [[yoga]] posture and surrounded by animals, contrasted to [[Pashupati]] (Lord of cattle), and has been claimed to be a proto-Shiva figure <ref>{{cite book | title = The Making of India: A Historical Survey | author = Ranbir Vohra | publisher = M.E. Sharpe | date = 2000 | page = 15}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | title = Ancient Indian Civilization | author = Grigoriĭ Maksimovich Bongard-Levin | publisher = Arnold-Heinemann | date = 1985 | page = 45}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | title = Essential Hinduism | author = Steven Rosen, Graham M. Schweig | publisher = Greenwood Publishing Group | date = 2006| page = 45}}</ref>.
In the earlier phases of their culture, the Harappans buried their dead; however, later, especially in the [[Cemetery H culture]] of the late Harrapan period, they also [[cremation|cremated]] their dead and buried the ashes in burial urns, a transition notably also alluded to in the [[Rigveda]], where the forefathers "both cremated (''agnidagdhá-'') and uncremated (''ánagnidagdha-'')" are invoked ([[RV 10]].15.14).
==Late Harappan==
{{main|Late Harappan}}
Around 1800 BCE, signs of a gradual decline began to emerge, and by around 1700 BCE, most of the cities were abandoned. However, the Indus Valley Civilization did not disappear suddenly, and many elements of the Indus Civilization can be found in later cultures. Current archaeological data suggests that material culture classified as Late Harappan may have persisted until at least c. 1000-900 BCE and was partially contemporaneous with the [[Painted Grey Ware]] culture.<ref name="Spodek">{{cite book |last=Shaffer |first=Jim |year=1993 |chapter=Reurbanization: The eastern Punjab and beyond |title=Urban Form and Meaning in South Asia: The Shaping of Cities from Prehistoric to Precolonial Times |editor=Spodek, Howard; Srinivasan, Doris M.}}</ref> Archaeologists have emphasised that, just as in most areas of the world, there was a continuous series of cultural developments. These link "the so-called two major phases of urbanisation in South Asia".<ref name="Spodek"/>
[[Image:Triseal.jpg|thumb|260px|left|Indus tablets. The first one shows a [[Swastika]]]]
A possible natural reason for the IVC's decline is connected with [[climate change]] that is also signaled for the neighboring areas of the Middle East: The Indus valley climate grew significantly cooler and drier from about 1800 BCE, linked to a general weakening of the [[monsoon]] at that time. Alternatively, a crucial factor may have been the disappearance of substantial portions of the [[Ghaggar Hakra river]] system. A [[tectonics|tectonic]] event may have diverted the system's sources toward the [[Ganges Plain]], though there is complete uncertainty about the date of this event as most settlements inside Ghaggar-Hakra river beds have not yet been dated. Although this particular factor is speculative, and not generally accepted, the decline of the IVC, as with any other civilization, will have been due to a combination of various reasons.{{Fact|date=August 2007}} New geological research is now being conducted by a group led by [[Peter Clift]], from the [[University of Aberdeen]], to investigate how the courses of rivers have changed in this region since 8000 years ago in order to test whether climate or river reorganizations are responsible for the decline of the Harappan. A 2004 paper indicated that the isotopes of the Ghaggar-Hakra system do not come from the Himalayan glaciers, and were rain-fed instead, contradicting a Harappan time mighty "Sarasvati' river.<ref>{{cite journal |first=Jayant K. |last=Tripathi |coauthors=Tripathi, K.; Bock, Barbara; Rajamani, V. & Eisenhauer, A. |title=Is River Ghaggar, Saraswati? Geochemical Constraints |journal=Current Science |volume=87 |issue=8 |date=2004-10-25 |url=http://www.ias.ac.in/currsci/oct252004/1141.pdf}}</ref>
===Legacy===
In the aftermath of the Indus Civilization's collapse, regional cultures emerged, to varying degrees showing the influence of the Indus Civilization. In the formerly great city of Harappa, burials have been found that correspond to a regional culture called the [[Cemetery H culture]]. At the same time, the [[Ochre Coloured Pottery culture]] expanded from [[Rajasthan]] into the [[Gangetic Plain]]. The Cemetery H culture has the earliest evidence for [[cremation]], a practice dominant in Hinduism until today.
==See also==
*[[Sokhta Koh]] - A coastal Harappan settlement
*[[Meluhha]] - a place name used in [[Mesopotamia]] which may have referred to the Indus Civilization
*[[Synoptic table of the principal old world prehistoric cultures]]
*[[Brahui language]] - a language sometimes linked to that of the (southern) Indus Civilization
*[[Gola dhoro]]
== Notes ==
{{reflist|2}}
== Bibliography==
{{Refbegin}}
*{{cite book |last=[[Bridget Allchin|Allchin, Bridget]] |year=1997 |title=Origins of a Civilization: The Prehistory and Early Archaeology of South Asia |location=New York |publisher=Viking}}
*{{cite book |last=[[F. Raymond Allchin|Allchin, Raymond]] (ed.) |year=1995 |title=The Archaeology of Early Historic South Asia: The Emergence of Cities and States |location=New York |publisher=Cambridge University Press}}
*{{cite book |last=Aronovsky |first=Ilona |coauthors=Gopinath, Sujata |year=2005 |title=The Indus Valley |location=Chicago |publisher=Heinemann}}
*{{cite book |last=Basham |first=A. L. |title=The Wonder That Was India |publisher=Sidgwick & Jackson |location=London |year=1967 |pages=11-14}}
*{{cite book |first=D. K. |last=Chakrabarti |year=2004 |title=Indus Civilization Sites in India: New Discoveries |publisher=Marg Publications |location=Mumbai |isbn=81-85026-63-7}}
*{{cite book |authorlink=Ahmad Hasan Dani |last=Dani |first=Ahmad Hassan |title=Short History of Pakistan (Book 1) |year=1984 |publisher=University of Karachi}}
*{{cite book |authorlink=Ahmad Hasan Dani |last=Dani |first=Ahmad Hassan |coauthors=Mohen, J-P. (eds.) |year=1996 |title=History of Humanity, Volume III, From the Third Millennium to the Seventh Century BC |location=New York/Paris |publisher=Routledge/UNESCO |isbn=0415093066}}
*{{cite book |first=S. P. |last=Gupta |authorlink=S. P. Gupta |year=1996 |title=The Indus-Saraswati Civilization: Origins, Problems and Issues |isbn=81-85268-46-0}}
*{{cite book |first=S. P. (ed.) |last=Gupta |authorlink=S. P. Gupta |year=1995 |title=The lost Sarasvati and the Indus Civilisation |publisher=Kusumanjali Prakashan |location=Jodhpur}}
*{{cite journal |last=Kathiroli |coauthors=et al. |year=2004 |title=Recent Marine Archaeological Finds in Khambhat, Gujarat |journal=Journal of Indian Ocean Archaeology |issue=1 |pages=141–149}}
*{{cite book |authorlink=Jonathan Mark Kenoyer |last=Kenoyer |first=Jonathan Mark |year=1998 |title=Ancient cities of the Indus Valley Civilisation |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=0-19-577940-1}}
*{{cite journal |authorlink=Jonathan Mark Kenoyer |last=Kenoyer |first=Jonathan Mark |title=The Indus Valley tradition of Pakistan and Western India |journal=Journal of World Prehistory |year=1991 |volume=5 |pages=1–64 |doi=10.1007/BF00978474}}
*{{cite book |authorlink=Jonathan Mark Kenoyer |last=Kenoyer |first=Jonathan Mark |coauthors=Heuston, Kimberly |year=2005 |title=The Ancient South Asian World |location=Oxford/New York |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=0195174224}}
*{{cite book |last=Kirkpatrick |first=Naida |year=2002 |title=The Indus Valley |location=Chicago |publisher=Heinemann}}
*{{cite book |first=Nayanjot (ed.) |last=Lahiri |year=2000 |title=The Decline and Fall of the Indus Civilisation |isbn=81-7530-034-5}}
*{{cite book |first=B. B. |last=Lal |authorlink=B. B. Lal |year=1998 |title=India 1947-1997: New Light on the Indus Civilization |isbn=81-7305-129-1}}
*{{cite book |first=B. B. |last=Lal |authorlink=B. B. Lal |year=1997 |title=The Earliest Civilisation of South Asia (Rise, Maturity and Decline)}}
*{{cite book |first=B. B. |last=Lal |authorlink=B. B. Lal |year=2002 |title=The Sarasvati flows on}}
*{{cite book |last=McIntosh |first=Jane |title=A Peaceful Realm: The Rise And Fall of the Indus Civilization |location=Boulder |publisher=Westview Press |year=2001 |isbn=0813335329}}
*{{cite book |authorlink=Mohammed Rafique Mughal |last=Mughal |first=Mohammad Rafique |year=1997 |title=Ancient Cholistan, Archaeology and Architecture |publisher=Ferozesons |isbn=9690013505}}
*<cite id="Reference-Parpola-2005" class="web">{{cite web |authorlink=Asko Parpola |last=Parpola |first=Asko |url=http://www.harappa.com/script/indusscript.pdf |title=Study of the Indus Script |date=[[2005-05-19]]}} (50th ICES Tokyo Session)</cite><!-- This element is used linked to from the inline references, please don't delete -->
*{{cite book |last=Possehl |first=Gregory |authorlink=Gregory Possehl |year=2002 |title=The Indus Civilisation |location=Walnut Creek |publisher=Alta Mira Press}}
*{{cite book |first=Shikaripura Ranganatha |last=Rao |authorlink=Shikaripura Ranganatha Rao |year=1991 |title=Dawn and Devolution of the Indus Civilisation |isbn=81-85179-74-3}}
*{{cite book |last=Shaffer |first=Jim G. |authorlink=Jim G. Shaffer |chapter=Cultural tradition and Palaeoethnicity in South Asian Archaeology |title=Indo-Aryans of Ancient South Asia |editor=George Erdosy (ed.) |year=1995 |isbn=3-11-014447-6}}
*{{cite book |last=Shaffer |first=Jim G. |authorlink=Jim G. Shaffer |chapter=Migration, Philology and South Asian Archaeology |title=Aryan and Non-Aryan in South Asia. |editor=Bronkhorst and Deshpande (eds.) |year=1999 |isbn=1-888789-04-2}}
*{{cite book |last=Shaffer |first=Jim G. |authorlink=Jim G. Shaffer |year=1992 |chapter=The Indus Valley, Baluchistan and Helmand Traditions: Neolithic Through Bronze Age |title=Chronologies in Old World Archaeology |edition=Second Edition |editor=R. W. Ehrich (ed.) |location=Chicago |publisher=University of Chicago Press}}
*{{cite journal |journal=Electronic Journal of Vedic Studies |authorlink=Michael Witzel |last=Witzel |first=Michael |title=The Languages of Harappa |month=February |year=2000 |url=http://www.people.fas.harvard.edu/~witzel/IndusLang.pdf}}
{{refend}}
==External links==
{{commonscat|Indus Valley Civilization}}
* [http://www.indohistory.com/indus_valley_civilization.html Indus Valley Civilization at www.indohistory.com]
* [http://www.harappa.com Harappa and Indus Valley Civilization at harappa.com]
* [http://pubweb.cc.u-tokai.ac.jp/indus/english/index.html An invitation to the Indus Civilization (Tokyo Metropolitan Museum)]
* [http://www.archaeologyonline.net/artifacts/harappa-mohenjodaro.html The Harappan Civilization]
* [http://www.upenn.edu/researchatpenn/article.php?674&soc Cache of Seal Impressions Discovered in Western India]
[[Category:History of Pakistan]]
[[Category:Civilizations]]
[[Category:Ancient peoples]]
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[[Category:Indus Valley Civilization|*]]
[[Category:Pre-Islamic heritage of Pakistan]]
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[[be:Індская цывілізацыя]]
[[cs:Harappská kultura]]
[[cy:Gwareiddiad Dyffryn Indus]]
[[da:Induskulturen]]
[[de:Indus-Kultur]]
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[[el:Πολιτισμός της κοιλάδας του Ινδού]]
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[[id:Peradaban Lembah Indus]]
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[[kn:ಸಿಂಧೂತಟದ ನಾಗರೀಕತೆ]]
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[[simple:Indus Valley Civilization]]
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