Indus Valley Civilisation

Civilisations have developed in many places around the world. On the Eurasion continents, four 'ancient' civilisations have left significant and tangible evidence of their existence and sophistication: Egypt, Mesopotamia, Indus Valley and Shang. Of these four, Egypt is the most familiar and Mesopotamia, the oldest. Indus Valley (or Harappan) civilisation is located in South Asia across India and Pakistan.

 Although homo sapiens could have lived in South Asia around 70,000 years ago, organised communities like Mehrgarh, c7,000-3,000 BCE, and ‘Harappa and Mohenjodaro’, c3,300-1,300 BCE flourished around the River Indus region/Gangetic plain. The Harappans flourished mainly around the River Sind (Indus), which still flows through Pakistan, from the Himalayas to the Arabian Sea.

The Harappans were a sophisticated community with organised town planning and cultivated crops; they used a pictographic language (still undeciphered), and practiced a religious/belief system.