Indus Valley Civilization

The Indus Valley Civilization, also called the Harappan Civilization, developed in South Asia during the Bronze Age. Its mature urban phase flourished around 2600–1900 BCE, across a large area covering parts of present-day Pakistan and northwestern India. Among its best-known cities were Harappa and Mohenjo-daro. These settlements reveal careful urban planning, with streets laid out in organized patterns and many houses equipped with wells, bathing areas and drainage systems.

Archaeologists have also found standardized bricks, pottery, weights and small stamp seals, suggesting well-developed craft production, trade and systems for managing goods. The civilization was not simply a collection of cities along the Indus River: important sites were spread across a much wider region. The Harappans farmed crops such as wheat and barley and raised animals, while communities in different regions exchanged raw materials and manufactured goods.

Evidence also shows long-distance trade with neighboring areas, including Mesopotamia. Their writing system appears on seals, pottery and other objects, but the inscriptions are generally short and the script has not yet been deciphered, so many aspects of their political organization, beliefs and language remain uncertain. From around 1900 BCE, the large urban centers declined and populations became more dispersed, although Harappan traditions continued in several regions for centuries.

Scholars do not attribute this transformation to a single proven cause. Changes in climate, river systems, economic networks and settlement patterns may all have played a role. The civilization left a lasting archaeological record of early urban life, technological skill and extensive regional connections.