Indus Valley Civilization Achievements

Secret Society

Contributions

Advanced Cities

While many of the civilizations during the Indus time were made simply of huts with thatched roofs, the Indus people were able to create highly advanced, urban cities with wide, straight streets in a grid pattern, and the first effective sewage system. Mohenjo-Daro also is famous for its "Great Bath," the earliest public water tank in the entire world. Each city had great walls protecting it and contained market areas for buying and selling goods. Besides selling to locals, citizens also developed trade connections with Mesopotamia, Persia, western India, and modern-day Afghanistan. Citizens were known to have wheeled carts and travel in boats as far as the Persian Gulf.

When Harappa and other cities was excavated, archaeologists were astonished to find that the entire civilization rarely used writing. Even after much searching, historians know nothing of kings or queens, literature, battles, taxes, social classes, or culture. In rare cases that written work has been found, the script remains undecipherable to this day.

Instead, archaeologists rely on the numerous seals that have appeared on clay tablets and the cultural pottery to learn information about this mysterious civilization.

Although living 4500 years ago, the Indus people contributed greatly to their society and were able to develop advanced cities and governments. They were the largest civilization until the Persia Empire and were among the first to create a system of uniform weights and measures. They also had a huge trade network that ran from Mesopotamia to northern and central India, and they created a highly productive method of growing and storing weat and barley. In fact, several huge granaries have been uncovered in multiple cities, including the famous "Great Granary" at Mohenjo-Daro.

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