Indus Valley Civilization
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- Indus cities like Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa were planned on a precise grid system.
2.Streets intersected at right angles with remarkable uniformity across cities.
3.Homes were built with standardized baked bricks.
4.Buildings were often multi-storied with flat roofs.
5.Cities had a centralized drainage system with covered drains.
6.Most houses had private wells and bathing areas.
7.Public buildings included granaries and the iconic Great Bath.
8.Some cities had protective walls, not for war, but likely flood control.
9.Lothal had a dockyard - possibly one of the world's first.
10. The city of Dholavira had an advanced water management system using reservoirs.
11.Mohenjo-Daro had one of the world's earliest known sewage systems.
12.Bathrooms and toilets were common in even modest homes.
13.Wastewater was channeled through covered brick drains to soak pits.
14.They used early forms of soap made from animal fats and ash.
15.Some buildings had underground furnaces for heating water.
16.Lothal had a grid of stormwater drains - rare in the ancient world.
17.Manholes and inspection covers were built into sewer lines.
18.They had understanding of flood protection through elevated platforms.
19.Their buildings were earthquake-resistant in design.
20.They used fired bricks instead of sun-dried ones - more durable.
21.The Indus script remains undeciphered to this day.
22.Over 4,000 artifacts with symbols and short inscriptions have been found.
23.Most inscriptions are very short - usually under five signs.
24.The script appears on seals, pottery, copper tablets, and tools.
25.There is no known bilingual text to help decode their language.
26.They traded with Mesopotamia via sea and land routes.
27.Mesopotamian texts mention trade with a land called 'Meluhha,' believed to be the Indus region.
28.Lothal functioned as a major port and trade center.
29.They used standardized stone weights for trade.
30.They crafted seals from steatite for authentication and trade.
31.Jewelry made of gold, silver, and semi-precious stones was common.
32.They exported ivory, cotton textiles, beads, and lapis lazuli.
33.They used bullock carts for inland transport.
34.Artisans specialized in bead-making, metallurgy, and pottery.
35.They were possibly the first to produce cotton on a large scale.
36.There's no evidence of a king, army, or centralized monarchy.
37.Their society may have been remarkably egalitarian.
38.They lived in well-organized cities without palaces or large temples.
39.They buried the dead with pots and ornaments, hinting at spiritual beliefs.
40.Toys, games, and figurines suggest a culturally rich and joyful society.
41.They worshipped natural elements and animal figures like the unicorn bull.
42.The 'Priest-King' statue reflects elite status but no royal evidence.
43.Terracotta figurines show signs of early goddess worship.
44.They domesticated animals like cattle, sheep, and water buffalo.
45.Dance and music may have been a part of their culture, as figurines suggest.
46.They left behind no decipherable written history or literature.
47.Their cities declined mysteriously around 1900 BCE.
48.Climate change and drying of rivers like the Sarasvati are possible causes.
49.The civilization covered over 1.5 million square kilometers - larger than Mesopotamia and Egypt combined.
50.Despite its size and advancement, the Indus Valley was forgotten until rediscovered in the 1920s.
