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The
Indus Valley Civilization was a Bronze Age civilization
(3300–1300 BCE; mature period 2600–1900 BCE) in the northwestern
region of the Indian subcontinent,which consists of mainly what
is now Pakistan, and parts of India, Afghanistan and Iran.
Prospering around the Indus River basin, the civilization
extends to east into the Ghaggar-Hakra River valley and the
upper reaches of Ganges-Yamuna Doab ,it extends west to the
Makran coast of Balochistan, north to northeastern Afghanistan
and south to Daimabad in Maharashtra. The civilization was
extend over some 1,260,000 km², making it the largest known
ancient civilization.
The
Indus Valley Civilization is also known as the Harappan
Civilization, as the first of its cities to be unearthed was
situated at Harappa, excavated in the 1920s in the Punjab
province of British India (now in Pakistan). Excavation of
Harappan sites has been ongoing since 1920, with vital
breakthroughs taking place as recently as 1999. There were
earlier and later cultures, often called Early Harappan and Late
Harappan, in the same area of the Harappan Civilization. The
Harappan civilisation is sometimes called the Mature Harappan
culture to distinguish it from these cultures. Up to 1999, over
1,056 cities and settlements have been founded, out of which 96
have been excavated,mainly in the general region of the
Ghaggar-Hakra river and Indus river and its tributaries. The
major settlements were the urban centres of Harappa,
Mohenjo-daro, Dholavira, Ganeriwala in Cholistan and Rakhigarhi. |
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