The River Valley Civilisations: Indus Valley Civilisation
ICSE Class 6 · History & Civics · Chapter 3
What this chapter covers
- What a civilisation is and why people settled near rivers
- How we know about the Indus people
- Origin and location: Harappa, Mohenjo-daro and Lothal
- Town planning: the Great Bath and the drains
- Society, occupations and trade
- Art, craft and religious beliefs
- Decline of the Indus Valley Civilisation
Key definitions
Farming was the most important occupation.
Key points
- A civilisation is a large, settled society with towns, trade, crafts and shared beliefs.
- The earliest civilisations grew near rivers because rivers gave water, fertile silt, food, transport and trade.
- We know about the Indus people from excavated sites and remains, because their script has not been read.
- The Indus Valley Civilisation flourished from about 2600 BCE to 1900 BCE and is also called the Harappan Civilisation.
- Harappa stands on the Ravi, Mohenjo-daro on the Indus, and Lothal near the Gulf of Khambhat.
- The cities had a citadel and a lower town, straight streets crossing at right angles, and houses of baked bricks.
- The covered drains and the Great Bath at Mohenjo-daro show great skill in town planning.
- Farming was the main occupation; crafts included pottery, weaving, metalwork and bead-making.
- Trade was carried on by barter, using standard weights and square seals.
- People probably worshipped a Mother Goddess, a male god on the Pashupati seal, trees and animals.
- The civilisation declined after about 1900 BCE, possibly because of floods, changing rivers, a drier climate and falling trade.
Questions answered
What is a civilisation?
A civilisation is a large and settled society with towns, organised ways of living, trade, crafts and shared beliefs.
Give two reasons why early people settled near rivers.
Rivers gave water for drinking and farming, and floods left fertile silt in which crops grew well. Rivers also made transport and trade easier.
Why is the Indus Valley Civilisation also called the Harappan Civilisation?
Harappa was the first site of this civilisation to be excavated, so the civilisation was named after it.
Name the river on which each site stands: Harappa, Mohenjo-daro.
Harappa stands on the Ravi, and Mohenjo-daro stands on the Indus.
Which site had a dockyard, and in which present-day state is it?
Lothal had a dockyard. It is in Gujarat.
Give two features of the drainage system of the Indus cities.
House drains joined a street drain, and the street drains were covered with bricks or stone slabs. Openings were left at regular places for cleaning.
What were seals, and how did traders use them?
Seals were small, flat pieces of stone with an animal picture and some script. Traders pressed them on wet clay to mark their goods.
Give two possible reasons for the decline of the Indus Valley Civilisation.
Repeated floods and the drying up or shifting of rivers. A drier climate and a fall in trade are other possible reasons.