Indus Civilization was one of the oldest civilizations. It covers the area of 500,000 square miles, which spread in the six modern countries, i.e., Pakistan, India, Iran, Afghanistan, Russia and China. Its mature age is 2500 BC, whereas the early cultures were also present in 4000 BC. As the script of Indus civilization is yet undeciphered, the main source is the archeological remains. Out of 350 to 440 archaeological sites discovered so far, the main sites have been found on the bank of the river Indus or its tributaries. As mentioned above, Moenjodaro and Harappa were the main centers of this civilization and there was a distance of 350 miles between these two capitals. Harappa was the first place that was found through excavation in 1920 and for some time this civilization was known as ‘Harappan Civilization’. Archeologists who discovered the remains of Indus civilization were John Marshal, Mortimer Wheeler, Rakhal Das Banerji and Stuart Piggot. Later on, Jacqetta Hawkes, Ahmad Hassan Dani and Godon Childe worked a lot on these excavations.
There are several theories about the origin of Indus Civilization. The Indus people might have come from Mesopotamia as they had links with them. It was the time of decline of Mesopotamian Civilization. In the settlements at Indo-Iranian borders there was a concept of village society. So they might have come from northwestern borders (Iran). But all these are hypotheses and not established facts. The only fact is that the Indus people had trade relations with the people of both Mesopotamia and Iran.
This article was last updated on Monday, Jan 03, 2005
