The approximate period of Indus Valley Civilisation
appears to have flourished between 2000 to 1700 B.C.
The first known civilisation in India is called the
Indus Valley Civilisation because the important sites
which were excavated first are located in the valley of
Indus. The civiliasation appears to have spread over
Punjab, Sindh, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Baluchistan. The
most significant feature of the Indus Valley Civilisation
is burnt brick buildings. The “Great Bath” was found
in Mohen-jo-Daro. Mohen-jo-Daro is also known as
“Mound of the Dead”. The Indus people were probably
ruled by merchants. The script used by the Indus
Valley people has not yet been deciphered. The first
metal to be discovered and used for making tools was
copper. Iron was not known to the people of Indus
Valley Civilisation. Rice cultivation is associated with
the Harappan site of Lothal. Mohen-jo-Daro and
Harappa are not in India. According to the historians,
there were close commercial and cultural contacts
between Indus Valley and the Sumerian Civilisation.
The Indus Valley people had not learnt to domesticate
horses but those who lived in the Vedic age did make
use of the horse. Wheat was the staple food of the
Indus people. The Indus Valley people worshipped
Pasupathi. The Indus Valley people venerated the bull.
It was non-Aryan because it had a pictographic script.