UPSC Prelims Exam: Must Know Facts about Indus Valley Civilization Part II

UPSC Exam: Must Know Facts about Indus Valley Civilization.

The second in a series of articles, this article continues the discussion on the great Indus Valley Civilization, whose existence was not even known until the twentieth century. It should be given its rightful place among the other three great ancient civilizations namely, the Mesopotamian, Egyptian and the Chinese civilizations.

Fact# 6: The Indus Valley Civilization could be the Meluhha mentioned by Mesopotamian scribes

• The Mesopotamian (Sumerian) scribes in the Middle Bronze Age refer frequently to a place they call Meluhha. Meluhha was a prominent trading partner of the Sumerians and they imported timber and ebony in high volumes.
• Sesame oil and luxury items like lapis lazuli were also imported from Meluhha, which was in all probability, the Indus Valley Civilization.

Fact# 7: Archaeologists first thought that they had stumbled upon cities of children

• When the cities of Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro were first discovered, a large number of toys including dice, whistles and marbles were found.
• This led the archaeologists to think that the majority of the inhabitants of those cities were children!

Fact# 8: The British used 4000-year old bricks from the Indus Valley Civilization to lay down 93 miles of railway track

• In 1856, when the British were building the East Indian Railway Company line from Karachi to Lahore, they faced a shortage of bricks.
• They took bricks from the nearby village of Harappa where they found bricks from a ‘ruined city’.
• These 4000-year old bricks were used for the railway track stretching to 93 miles (150 km).

Fact# 9: World’s first planned cities were found in the Indus Valley Civilization

• The cities of the civilization were planned in grid patterns with streets crossing at right angles.
• These marvels of urban planning were thousands of years older than the period of Hippodamus of Miletus, considered the ‘father of European urban planning’.

Fact# 10: The cities were not chaotic despite being densely populated

• The Indus Valley Civilization was a highly sophisticated civilization with a much-organised way of living.
• Despite being densely populated, the cities were not chaotic, unlike contemporary cities of Mesopotamia or Egypt.

Also, Read |  Indus Valley Civilization – Part 1 Indus Valley Civilization – Part 3

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