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Harappa
Harappa was an ancient city located in today's Pakistan.
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It was part of the
Indus Valley Civilization that begun
around 2900 or 2500 BC, depending on whom you
ask.
Check the
Stone Age Timeline
to see this event in its context.
Image Above
The ruins of a
neighborhood of artisans in the ancient city of
Harappa, eastern Pakistan.
© Paul Almasy/Corbis |
Harappa was one of the two major cities in the Indus Valley.
The other major city was
Mohenjo-Daro.
Here are Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro on a
map:
Map Location of
Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro
California State University,
Los Angeles
Harappa Archaeology
In 1921, and led by
Sir John Marshall,
excavations begun.
Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro are located approx. 400 miles or 644
kilometers apart.
Harappa and
Mohenjo-Daro, Indus Valley
California State University,
Los Angeles
And here's a map of the Indus Valley
Civilization, which, by the way, was the third of the three earliest
known civilizations.
First, there
were the people who stomped the grounds of
Mesopotamia,
second, the
culture which developed in
Egypt, and
third, the
society that arose in the
Indus
Valley neighborhood.
The map:
Indus Valley
Civilization - Map
Orchard Park Central School
District
The heyday of the Harappa population was
over around the year 1700 BC, maybe a little bit later.
What Was the Indus Civilization
Up
to?
Their language can be placed in the
family tree of the Dravidian languages.
These people knew how to
farm, how to domesticate their animals, and how to import gold and
precious stones. Hence, we can also safely assume that they knew how
to put their ladies in a good mood.
And according to page 87 of David
Waltner-Toews' gripping page turner, The Origin of Feces,
Flush
toilets were available in many houses in the
ancient cities in the Indus Valley between
2500 and 1500 BCE, among the Romans a
thousand years later, and, at least by the
eighteenth century, in northern parts of
Europe.
The Indus Civilization left many things behind.
Dice, for example. Here are some of the items
archaeologists found on location:
Today, you are welcome to visit the National
Museum of India and to examine its large Harappan Civilization collection.
"This
collection includes pottery, seals, tablets,
weights and measures, jewellery, terracotta
figurines, toys, etc.
"It also has
copper tools from Harappan sites like axes,
chisels, knives, etc. About 3,800 objects
have been displayed in the modernized
Harappan Gallery from the National Museum
collection.
"This Gallery
also has 1,025 excavated artifacts belonging
to the Indian Harappan site of the
Archaeological Survey of India collection."
And here is modern Pakistan on a map:
Map of Pakistan
U.S. Department of State
More History
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