What is the Indus Valley Civilization? Where did it flourish?

       The Indus Valley Civilization existed around five thousand years ago on the plains of the Indus River. It flourished in the Bronze Age. From about 2600 B.C. to 1700 BC, a vast number of settlements were built on the banks of the Indus River and the surrounding areas.

       These settlements cover a remarkable region, almost 1.3 million square kilometres of land, which is today part of Afghanistan, Pakistan and northwestern India. The Indus Valley Civilization was a great city civilization. In a city civilization, most of the people live in cities. They were artisans and traders, soldiers and administrators. Of course, there were also people living in villages who cultivated the land and raised cattle. The people in the cities got their grain and food from these villages. We must remember though, that the city civilization of the Indus valley developed from the village life of an earlier period. When the villages became too big, they needed a strong administration. They also began to produce excess grain, so that the people could devote themselves to other activities besides farming. This led to the growth of cities and city civilizations like that of the Indus Valley.

Picture Credit : Google