Indus Valley Civilization - Rolf Gross

in use by around 5500 BCE. The Indus civilization grew out of this culture'stechnological base, as well as its geographic expansion into the alluvial plains of whatare now the provinces of Sindh and Punjab in contemporary Pakistan and NorthernIndia.By 4000 BCE, a distinctive, regional culture, called pre-Harappan, had emerged in thisarea. (It is called pre-Harappan because remains of this widespread culture are found inthe early strata of Indus civilization cities.) Trade networks linked this culture withrelated regional cultures and distant sources of raw materials, including lapis lazuli andother materials for bead-making. Villagers had, by this time, domesticated numerouscrops, including peas, sesame seeds, dates, and cotton, as well as a wide range ofdomestic animals, including the water buffalo, an animal that remains essential tointensive agricultural production throughout Asia today.The Indus civilization is still poorly understood. It seems to have died out around 1900BC without leaving an archeological trace. Its undeciphered writing system vanisheduntil Ashoka's introduction of a new, unrelated style of writing Pakrit (2nd cent BC).Among the Indus civilization's mysteries are fundamental questions, including itsmeans of subsistence and the causes for its sudden disappearance beginning around1900 BC (Vedic incursions?). We do not know what language the people spoke. We donot know what they called themselves.Mehrgarh, 7000BC - 2600BCMehrgarh is a neolithic site now seen as a precursor to the Indus Valley Civilization(3000 - 1600 BC).Early farming village in Mehrgarh, c. 7000 BC, with houses built of mud bricks.