MOHENJO DARO AND HARAPPA LAB

MOHENJO DARO AND HARAPPA were the two greatest cities in a massive empire larger than Egypt, Mesopotamia or China. Yet, even with its vastness and wealth, it was lost to history until the 1920's.  Still today, most of the ruins of the Indus River cities have not been excavated and its script has not been deciphered.

The Indus Valley cities flourished between 2600 and 1700 BCE. and shows evidence of sophisticated trade with other areas.   Consider this map of the trade routes for Harappa (note the extent of the cities that were related. What does this tell you?) The cities had similarities because of their trade and interaction but retained many differences in artistic styles, symbols, technologies and social organization. These differences are attributed to the to the fact that each civilization evolved from local cultures which have roots extending back to the earliest Neolithic farming and pastoral communities, dating in Pakistan and India to around 6500 B. C.

The cities were very well-planned with wide streets, wells in large private houses and public wells for less wealthy neighborhoods, drains and reservoirs for fresh water. In Harappa there was an entrance into the city through a gate onto a street connecting two sections of the city. In this gate was a great drain used to take waste water out of the city.

The site of Mohenjo-Daro in Pakistan, is the largest and most extensively excavated Indus city in Pakistan. This city would have dominated the major trade routes and agricultural potential of the southern Indus plain, from around 2600-1900 BCE. 

One interesting fact about Mohenjo-Daro is the location of the river. The Indus river is currently situated to the east of the site, but in antiquity it may have been on the west and one channel of the river cuts through the site dividing the so-called "citadel" mound from the "lower town." What does this tell you about the nature of the river and the cities?

Questions

1. Locate the Indus Valley on the map.  Locate Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa.

2. Where was the Saraswti River? Where is this ancient river mentioned?

3. Based on this photo, what was the source of wealth for the people of the Indus? What evidence do you have that this is true?

4. Look at this picture. This is a neighborhood street in ancient Mohenjo-Daro. What does this picture tell you about the architecture and the city planning?

5. Read the caption to this picture. Does any of this sound familiar? What does the level of salinity of the plain suggest about the Indus River cities?

6. What does the note above, about Mohenjo-Daro and the river tell you? This is very important to the history of the city and the civilization. Consider also this picture. Why are the artifacts covered in salt?

7. Look at this picture. It shows a big street that separates two sections of the city. What does the street divide?

8. One of the most notable of the architectural sites in Indus Valley cities was the Great Bath. This was located near the temple area in Mohenjo-Daro. What do you suppose was the purpose of the Great Bath?

9. Look at this picture of a drain which leads from the great bath. What does this drain tell you about engineering in Mohenjo-Daro? Look at this drain from a house. How were this smaller drains made?

10. What was the purpose of the granary seen in this picture?  Look at this picture and take note of the structure of the granary.

11. Why would archaeologists think that this was the house of an important person?

12. Why were toilets a class marker?

13. This picture shows the walls of a house. Why were structures built on top of structures? This is important because it shows you a type of city planning you will see all through history, all over the world.

14. Why would there be one street like this and others like this? What is notable about the patterns of streets no matter the size?

15. This is an interesting picture. What does it tell you about the city's culture? Why were there bodies pitched in the alley?

15. Mohenjo-Daro was one city in a vast network of cities.  Look at the map and describe the extent of the trading network.

16. What does the discovery of a standard weight system tell you about the various cities in the area? (clue--They also used the same sized bricks)

17. What do the maps of trade (see above) tell you about trade in the area?