The Indus Valley Civilization

Warm-up• On your paper, try to trace the following map

(as best as you can):– Identify the 7 major continents– Identify the 3 major oceans

Indus Valley Civilization

• Lasted from 3300-1300 B.C.– About 2,000 years

• Located in modern-day Pakistan and India along the Indus River– Today, Pakistan has over 200

million people (very crowded)

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)

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)

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

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

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

Mohenjo-Daro

• Large city with advanced technology• City divided into two parts:– Administrative (Government) and Religious Buildings– Lower City (Residential)

• Also had a granary and was protected by a citadel

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

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

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”

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