David Wang

Indus valley
Time frame
Arose almost as early as Mesopotamia and Egypt
Flourished from 2600 BCE to 1900 BCE
Some dispute on the origins and fate of the Indus valley ppl

Geography
Settled on fertile floodplain
More than 1 mil acres
Twice a yr the Indus riv. flooded its banks as much as 10 mi
Snow melting off the mountains in March and April
Monsoons in august
Farmers could plant and harvest 2 crops a year

Culture
-System of writing with 400+ signs
-Has not been deciphered
-Harappa – 3.5 mi with 35,000 ppl
-Mohenjo-daro another large early city
-Both cities had high brick walls (hostile forces)
-Streets laid out in rectangular grids (planning strong cent. Govt)
-Covered drainpipes carried away waste
-Organized structure of the city implies a strong central authority
-Most of the ppl lived in smaller settlements
-Lots of metal used in tools and other useful objects
-Wide spread trading contacts

Technology
- high technological capabilities
Irrigation
Potters wheel
Bricks
Worked with various metals
Understood how to manipulate the hardness of bronze to accommodate need
-not much is known about the political, social, economic and religious
- b.c. we cant read their stf

The End
- cities abandoned after 1900 BCE
- archaeologist believe the political and economic system broke down
- maybe caused by ecological changes
o Hakra river dried up
o Stalinization of the soil
o Loss of fertile soil and water would hurt urbanization