tell the 5 interesting facts about Indus Valley Civilization
Answers
10. They were way ahead of their times
Indus valley civilization was extremely sophisticated and technically advanced culture. If you look at the cities that they built, they were amazing and mesmerizing, particularly if you look at Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro.
They were concerned about their hygiene, and perhaps they had the world’s first sanitation system. Moreover, their homes were connected to a centralized drainage system to carry waste and this kind of system based on gravity became the pinnacle for 18th century Europe. The sewage and drainage system back in the days are even way ahead of some of the contemporary urban cities in the middle east, and way more efficient than the drainage systems in most of South Asia, including India and Pakistan.
This shows that there were perhaps some government making complex decisions to govern the city in a well-planned manner. There was no monarchy system in place, but there were different rulers of different states.
9. The Great Bath
Unlike the most ancient Egypt and Mesopotamian culture where the biggest structures were monuments or temples, Indus valley civilization had a public bath in Mohenjo-Daro that was the largest in structure. It is even named “The Great Bath”.
It was 11m by 7m in an area with a depth of 2.5m. There were two wide staircases that served as an entrance to the pool. At the end of the bath, there is a hole from where the water drains. All of the walls were made out of finely fitted bricks and mud laid with gypsum plaster, and thus, the floors and walls were water-tight.
The exact purpose of the bath is still in debate. But many believe that it was used for rituals, like the ones that still prevalent among the Hindus, Jains, and Buddhists. They might have the belief that water can purify and renew their souls.
8. Great Craftmanship skills
The engineering skills of Indus valley people is one of the best even considered to what we have today. They developed modern techniques in metallurgy back in the days, and produced elements like copper, bronze, tin, and lead. They even made different sculptures, potteries, gold jewelry, anatomically detailed figures, which have been discovered by archaeologists. Considering those discoveries, they had mastered shell working, ceramics, agate and satellite bead making. If you see the Harappan culture, you will also notice that they were into necklaces and bangles, the designs of which seem to be still in fashion in the modern era. Their methods of craftsmanship are still in practice today. The most intricate ones are those of dancing figures of females with cylindrical limbs made out of terracotta, as the historians claim that it should have been impossible to be made during the 3000 BCE.
7. They used seals as an identifier
Indus valley civilization even traded goods with Mesopotamia and Egypt back in those days, and historians consider that they might have even used wheel transport for trading. However, they produced seals used to identify goods and clay tablets.
They were engraved with words written in their own language, and we cannot still deco de the language yet. The seals consist of a lot of creatures, animals, people, or perhaps even gods. The most famous one amongst them is the Pashupati seal, where a three-headed man with Buffalo horn on his middle head sits between a tiger and a bull. Many believe that it is the earliest depiction of Lord Shiva, who is also regarded as the Lord of animals. And the person doing the meditation seems to be doing meditation or could be practising Yoga.
6. They were the first to make buttons and step-well
If we think that they were the first to make buttons and step-wells, then it might not sound that interesting today. But if we consider their times, these certainly are great inventions of Indus Valley civilization. The rate of innovation in those times were definitely way-way slower than what we have had since the industrial revolution.
They used buttons for ornaments, and they made it out of seashells. Some of the buttons were even carved into different geographic shapes, with a hole pierced in between so that they could attach a thread to it. The oldest button that was discovered in Mohenjo-Daro is said to be around 5000 years old.
There are pieces of evidence of stepwell too if we look at some sites in Mohenjo-Daro. It could have had religious values, and it could also explain why Buddhists and Jains have used step-wells in their structures that still stand in the modern times.
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