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

UPSC Exam: Must Know Facts about Indus Valley Civilization.

The Indus Valley Civilization, also known as Harappan Civilization was truly a great one in terms of the area and also the level of sophistication seen in their cities and towns. It is also an important subject of study for historians, indologists and of course, UPSC IAS aspirants. We bring you a series of articles on the Indus Valley Civilization listing out a few must-know facts about it.  This article is the third in the series.

Fact# 11: They had advanced sanitation systems

• People of the Indus Valley Civilization knew about and implemented channelling of water and the disposal of waste water way before any other ancient civilization did.
• Even the Romans built aqueducts thousands of years later.

Fact# 12: The largest city was Mohenjo-Daro

• Mohenjo-Daro measuring an area of about 300 hectares was the largest city.
• Mohenjo-Daro might have had a 40000-strong population.
• Allahdino was the smallest site in the Indus Valley Civilization.

Fact# 13: The oldest Indus Valley settlement was established around 7000 B.C.

• Mehrgarh is the oldest known settlement dating back to around 7000 B.C.
• It began during the Pre-Harappan period.
• Mehrgarh was a farming village.

Fact# 14: The cities and towns of the Indus Valley Civilization were standardised

• Apart from being well-planned and having excellent drainage systems, the Harappan cities and towns were also standardised.
• Almost all the places excavated are seen as having a similar structure and pattern.
• Even the bricks of the houses had similar dimensions!

Fact# 15: Harappan towns had an interesting rectangular grid pattern

• The Indus Valley cities and towns had a rectangular grid pattern.
• The main streets were along the North-South direction and the secondary streets were along the East-West direction.
• The streets intersected at right angles. This precise pattern is believed to be owing to religious or astronomical beliefs.

Also Read | Indus Valley Civilization – Part 2   Indus Valley Civilization – Part 4

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