Indus valley civilizations Essay

The Indus Valley civilization is an ancient civilization that prospered along the Indus River and Ghaggar-Hakra River in present day Pakistan and India. The Indus valley civilization is sometimes called the Harappan Civilization in reference to the first excavated city called Harappa. The Indus Valley civilization was discovered in the 1920s. The existence of the Indus Civilization is only proved by excavations and maybe some Sumerian writings, e. g. The Mehulan, which is said to correspond with Indus Valley civilization. The Indus Valley Civilization extended from Balochistan to Gujarat, with an upward reach to Punjab from east of the river Jhelum to Rupar on the upper Sutlej. Coastal settlements extended from Sutkagan Dor in Western Baluchistan to Lothal in Gujarat. Besides the western states of India, the Indus Valley Civilization encompassed most of Pakistan. An Indus Valley site has been found on the Oxus River at Shortughai in northern Afghanistan, at Sutkagen dor (Western Baluchistan, Pakistan), at Mandu on the Beas River near Jammu, and at Alamgirpur on the Hindon River, only 28 km from Delhi. Indus Valley sites have been found most often on rivers, but also on lakes, the ancient sea-coast and on islands. There is no documentary evidence that the Indus civilization really existed. What is known of it is the archeological evidence. The assumption that a civilization once existed and prospered in that valley is based on what was found there at the at the excavation sites. It is a well known fact, through out history, ancient Civilizations always started along the banks of rivers or water bodies. Archeologists create theories out of their findings. Most of the artifacts found on archeological sites are explained away with out any substantial recorded facts to back their explanations. The discovery of the Indus valley civilization proves that indeed there has been some human presence around there but the question is: is the Indus valley civilization exactly what we are being told it is today? Are the facts acceptable for scholarly pursuits? It has being recorded that the Indus valley civilization had elements of urbanism such as advanced sewerage systems, dockyards, warehouses, granaries such as we have today. One could clearly conclude from these facts that a great form of civilization indeed existed which might be the basis of what we have today. The lack of authoritative and verifiable written materials on the Indus civilization makes it very difficult to study. This is because the proof of it does not exist in writing in the first place so that at least they can serve as other sources for referencing when in doubt. Good scholarly conclusions can only be drawn from authentic facts which can be proven over time and this is not a very strong point of the Indus civilization.