5th+hour+Indus+Valley+Civilization

 Introduction- Austin B. The Indus Valley Civilization was a “Bronze Age civilization” and existed from about 3300-1300 B.C. It existed in almost all of present-day Pakistan, the very western part of India, the very southwestern part of Iran, and the middle/south part of Afghanistan. The Indus River basin was a major landform of the civilization. The present-day region it is centered around is the Punjab region. The “mature phase” of this civilization is the “Harappan Civilization”, because one of the major cities in the civilization is Harappa. There were three different phases of the Harappan (Indus Valley) Civilization: Early Harappan, Mature Harappan, and Late Harappan. There were many different reasons why each phase was different from the two others. (Wikipedia, 1984-2010)

 This is a map of where the Indus Valley Civilization existed. (Wikipedia, August 2005)

Writing and Recording- Austin B. The people of the Ancient Indus Valley Civilization used pictographs to display ideas or thoughts. Pictographs consist of pictures of something (in the case below, a bull) and the some writing (symbols). Usually, the writing is no more than four or five characters in length. There are over 400 different symbols that are used in their writing. Because of these inscriptions, many people may think that the Indus Valley Civilization is a literate society, but some archaeologists have found some pieces of information that support that the Indus Valley Civilization is not a linguistic society. Whether they were a linguistic society or not is still unknown. (Farmer, Steve; Sproat, Richard; Witzel, Michael, 2004)

 This is a picture of a stone tablet displaying a bull with pictographic writing. It was found at the archaeological site of Mohenjo-Daro. The tablet was from Harappan civilization, which from 2500 to 1700 B.C. (J.M. Kenoyer, 2010)

Art and Architecture- Austin B. Different types of sculptures, seals, pottery, and gold jewelry have been found at archeological dig sites in places where the Indus Valley Civilization used to be. A number of gold and stone figurines of girls in dancing poses show somewhat how people in the Ancient Indus Valley Civilization used to dance. Also, some figurines depicted cows, bears, monkeys, and dogs, showing that there were probably animals like that back in the Indus Valley region. Necklaces, bangles, and other ornaments were a few of the other things from Harappan sites and some of these crafts are still practiced in the subcontinent today. (J.M. Kenoyer, 1997)

 This is a picture of a bronze "Dancing girl" statue. It was found in 1926 in a house in Mohenjo-Daro. (Jen, 2009)

Cities- Jake N. In their day the cities of Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa were likely the crown jewels of the Indus Valley, this two “tremendous” cities were both over three miles in diameter and were likely the twin capitals of the Indus Civilization. Like many of the other cities in the Indus Valley these grand cities were set up in a grid with large rectangular city blocks, much larger then blocks in today’s cities. All the houses in the city were built of standard oven fired clay blocks and most houses featured some kind of plumbing system with chutes, baths, and drains that led into large below ground public sewers. Another common feature of these ancient cities included the massive hilltop structures they were built around, these structures are believed to either be temples or fortresses. Most cities also had large storehouses of food some capable of sustaining populations of several thousand inhabitants. (Ellis and Esler, 1997)  <span style="display: block; font-family: 'times new roman',times,serif;">These are the ruins of the ancient city of Mohenjo-Daro, at the top of the picture you can see the "Hilltop structure". (Mitch, 2009)

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Public Works- Jake N.
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">The cities of the Indus Valley did not have the many monuments and public structures that are typical with many ancient civilizations but they did exel in one thing, their sewers. The people of the Indus Valley laid out very sofisticated city plans with large city blocks and uniform building materials, but perhaps the most interisting part about their cities was their amazingly modern sewer system which featured water drains that led beneath the streets that carried waste away from toliet chutes and baths. (Ellis and Esler, 1997)

<span style="display: block; font-family: 'times new roman',times,serif;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">This large drainage pit was the end of the line for the sewer chutes in the Indus city of Mohenjo-Daro. (Pinto, 2010)

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Central Government- Jake N.
<span style="display: block; font-family: 'times new roman',times,serif;">Evidence shows that the Indus Valley Civilization was lead by a strong centralized government probably lead by a Preist-king with several wealthy families ruling the individual cities. This government regulated taxes, food supplies, standard measurement systems, and city planning. Each ruling family is believed to have its own seal to represent their power, most seals featured an animal and text. However there is one seal that has been found more then any other, this is the Unicorn seal. Many experts believe that the unicorn seal was the symbol of the central government which was believed to be located in the grand city of Mohenjo-Daro, where the seal was first found. (Ellis and Esler, 1997), (Pinto, 2010)

<span style="display: block; font-family: 'times new roman',times,serif;"> <span style="display: block; font-family: 'times new roman',times,serif;">This is the Unicorn Seal that is believed to be the symbol of the central government. (Pinto, 2010)

<span style="display: block; font-family: 'times new roman',times,serif;">Job Specialization - Aditya V. <span style="display: block; font-family: 'times new roman',times,serif;">People had many tasks in the Indus Valley civilization, like farming and domesticating animals (elephants). Also, sculptures were created and depicted humans or gods. There were also construction workers who were the first ones to make large-scale use of fire-hardened bricks for construction. There were jewel crafters who cut jewels and sold them to other regions. Thus, different trades also made a good occupation for other people, giving different options for them. (Edwards, 2010) <span style="display: block; font-family: 'times new roman',times,serif;"> <span style="display: block; font-family: 'times new roman',times,serif;">People in the Indus valley may have tamed elephants. (Edwards, 2010) <span style="display: block; font-family: 'times new roman',times,serif;">

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Organized Religions - Aditya V.
<span style="display: block; font-family: 'times new roman',times,serif;">In the Indus River Valley, people had a religion based on the customs of two different groups - the Aryans and the people previously living in that area. They believed that one god, or Brahma, created everything, but he had different faces, that represented the different aspects of him. This was the early form of Hinduism. The //Vedas// were developed and inspired by Brahma, and were passed down from people to people. After this, Hindu society was divided into four groups: the Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas, and Shudras. (Toucan Valley Religions of the World, 2004) <span style="display: block; font-family: 'times new roman',times,serif;"> <span style="display: block; font-family: 'times new roman',times,serif;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">This is the Nataraja, one of the aspects of Brahma worshipped by Hindus. (Toucan Valley Religions of the World, 2004)

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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Social Classes - Aditya V.
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman,Times,serif;">The Indus Valley people were not divided into social classes (until later, when the caste system was developed). But there were different spots in society that one could fill, such as a trader, a priest, a farmer, an artisan, or a craftsman. Thus, a middle-class society was created. All of the people had a relatively equal say in their society until people decided that some classes should have more power than others. The need for labor workers created slaves. This led to the changing of rights and eventually the castes. (Hinduism Today, 2001)

<span style="display: block; font-family: 'times new roman',times,serif;">An illustration of the caste system. (Hinduism Today, 2001)

<span style="display: block; font-family: 'times new roman',times,serif;">Conclusion - Jake N. <span style="display: block; font-family: 'times new roman',times,serif;">In the end the Indus Valley Civilization began to decline in 1750 BC when scholars believe the natural resources that helped sustain the empire began to dwindle, the government began to cut back on its standers and the once great cities quickly dwindled. Things worsened when a massive natural disaster struck, likely a earthquake or a volcanic eruption. The empire finally collapsed in 1500 BC when the Nomadic Aryans, with their superior military technology, invaded and overran the empire. Almost all the records and evidence of the Indus Valley people was erased, all that is known today was passed down through the Aryan people. (Ellis and Elser, 1997)

<span style="display: block; font-family: 'times new roman',times,serif;"> <span style="display: block; font-family: 'times new roman',times,serif;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">The Aryans had superior military technology like the horse drawn chariot. (DiNoto, 2004)

<span style="display: block; font-family: 'times new roman',times,serif;">Works Cited
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Wikipedia, 1984-2010, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Civilt%C3%A0ValleIndoMappa.png
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Jen, 2009, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Dancing_girl.jpg
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Wikipedia, 1984-2010, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indus_Valley_Civilization
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Unknown, Oct. 2009, http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://kesslershand.files.wordpress.com/2009/10/indus-valley-2.jpg%3Fw%3D460%26h%3D450&imgrefurl=http://kesslershand.wordpress.com/&usg=__8GL46QGDWmPZafPfi7ZfhkXiQUE=&h=450&w=460&sz=40&hl=en&start=178&zoom=1&tbnid=lr4fbEw44q4mRM:&tbnh=136&tbnw=139&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dpictograph%2BIndus%2Bvalley%2Bcivilization%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26sa%3DN%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26biw%3D1251%26bih%3D755%26tbs%3Disch:10%2C4912&um=1&itbs=1&iact=rc&dur=475&ei=g1eWTKS8CcSmnAeaw-XqBw&oei=cVeWTOWxEJaQnweortidBw&esq=8&page=8&ndsp=25&ved=1t:429,r:19,s:178&tx=32&ty=40&biw=1251&bih=755
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Mitch, 2009, http://www.mitchellteachers.net/WorldHistory/IndiaUnit/UnlockingSecretsMohenjoDaro.html
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Ellis and Esler, 1997, Prentice Hall: World History--Connections To Today
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Pinto, 2010, http://brhectorshistoryworld.blogspot.com/2009/06/indus-valley.html
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Edwards, Mike. "Indus Civilization." National Geographic. June 2000: 108-131. SIRS Renaissance. Web. 20 Sep 2010.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Unknown. "Hinduism." Toucan Valley Religions of the World. Nov. 1 2004: n.p. SIRS Researcher. Web. 20 Sep 2010.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">DiNoto, 2004, http://shiftingdimensions.com/tarottales/charioteer2.htm
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Unknown. "Digging Dholavira." Hinduism Today. Jan./Feb. 2001: 44-46. SIRS Renaissance. Web. 20 Sep 2010.