Indus Valley Civilisation

Read about key features¹ of the Indus Valley civilisation.

Examine the geographical setting² and natural features of the Indus Valley and how the environment³ influenced the civilisation.

Study the excavations⁴ at the ancient city of Mohenjodaro. Examine the many terracotta figurines⁵ from Harappa and read how they have been interpreted. Take the Indus Challenge on types of pottery.⁶

Harappa and Mohenjodaro

Examine Harappa in 3-D⁹ based on excavations at the site. Take a virtual tour¹⁰ of Mohenjodaro, one of the largest Bronze Age cities in the world.

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Examine images of important sites in Mohenjodaro (‘Mound of the Dead’). Read pages in an archaeologist’s notebook¹³ about objects found at Mohenjodaro.

Study the trade products¹⁴ exchanged between inhabitants in the valley and the highland. Learn about the Indus Valley’s agricultural base¹⁵.

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

Read about how the Indus Valley civilisation declined¹⁶, including the decline of writing.

The Aryans and the Vedic period

A wave of Indo-Aryan migration¹⁷ followed the decline of the Indus Valley civilisation. Explore the cultural change¹⁸s 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 period¹⁹.

Find out how the varnas²⁰ 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 Vedas²³, one of the sacred texts of Hinduism. Explore scripts²⁴ used in ancient India—Indus, Brahmi and Kharosthi.