Ancient India: Highly Advanced

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The Mystery of the Harappan Disappearance
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The people who lived in the Indus Valley in ancient times had many of what we would call modern ideas:
  • They planned their cities. Remains found at Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro suggest that the cities were laid out in grids, with straight streets. This is important because other people living at the time in different parts of the world didn't do this.
  • The houses they lived in were mostly the same in size and shape. Each one had walls surrounding a courtyard, with its own well and bathroom. Pipes led to sewers.
  • Each city had its own storage area for food. The people grew all kinds of different crops, including wheat, peas, and dates; and they stored the food in the town granary, for everyone to eat.
  • Mohenjo-Daro had its own central bath, with several surrounding buildings. This setup resembles the Roman bath, which came much later.
  • Scientists have found bowls of bronze and silver among the remains of these two great cities. Neither of these metals was available nearby. This suggests that the ancient Indians traded with civilizations far away.
  • Lastly, archaeologists have found absolutely no evidence of an empire in this area. Other civilizations at that time had kings (Egypt) and emperors (Mesopotamia). But in the Indus Valley, it appears, everyone lived together in harmony.

The more we look, the more we find out about these ancient people. We still don't know, however, why they disappeared.

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David White