Indus Valley Civilisation

Read about key features of the Indus Valley civilisation.

Examine the geographical setting and natural features of the Indus Valley and how the environment influenced the civilisation.

Study the excavations at the ancient city of Mohenjodaro. Examine the many terracotta figurines from Harappa and read how they have been interpreted. Take the Indus Challenge on types of pottery.

Harappa and Mohenjodaro

Examine Harappa in 3-D based on excavations at the site. Take a virtual tour of Mohenjodaro, one of the largest Bronze Age cities in the world.

Examine images of important sites in Mohenjodaro (‘Mound of the Dead’). Read pages in an archaeologist’s notebook about objects found at Mohenjodaro.

Study the trade products exchanged between inhabitants in the valley and the highland. Learn about the Indus Valley’s agricultural base.

Examine the beliefs, values and practices of the Harappan civilisation.

Read about how the Indus Valley civilisation declined, including the decline of writing.

The Aryans and the Vedic period

A wave of Indo-Aryan migration followed the decline of the Indus Valley civilisation. Explore the cultural changes that resulted from Indo-Aryan migration. The oral tradition of the semi-nomadic Aryans told stories of intertribal warfare and migrations.

Read about the Vedic period.

Find out how the varnas become the rigid social structure of the caste system in Vedic India.

Examine the beliefs, values and practices of the Aryans during the Vedic period.

Read about the Vedas, one of the sacred texts of Hinduism. Explore scripts used in ancient India—Indus, Brahmi and Kharosthi.