Harappa


 * Indus River Valley (Harappa)

//__Politics__//
-Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro were important centers of the Indus Valley civilization. They were known for having an impressive, organized, and regular layout -Indus Valley "civilization flourished around 4000-1000 B.C.E. -By 2500 B.C.E., communities were turned into urban centers - Unified government with extreme organization - No evidence of military activity - Sizes of Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro suggest that they served as capitals
 * Six urban centers discovered
 * Harappa, Mohenjo-Daro, Dicki, Gonorreala, Dokalingam, and Mangalore

__//Economy //__
-Agricultural economy produced food and cotton -These products were traded both domestically and with the peoples of Persia and Mesopotamia -This trade occurred by following the Arabian Sea coastline -Two large cities, Mohenjo-daro and Harappa

__//Religion //__
//"Difficult to interpret"// -Texts recovered yet not understood well enough to interpret significance -Bronze statues recovered believed to be a sort of idol -Fertility Cults -Theory that Harappan deities converted to Gods of the Hindu religion
 * Sacrifices to gods and goddesses of creation/procreation
 * Importance of Fertility to the Harappan people

=__//**Social ** //__=

-HOW ABOUT... CASTE SYSTEM!
=**__//Innovation //__**= -Had standardized weights and measurements -Had standardized brick sizes to maintain architectural styles -Cities were fortified with citadels -Granaries - large buildings to store grains

=__//Art //__=

-Strong tradition of representational art -Statues and figurines were prominent -Also illustrations carved into seals -Expertise in bronze, gold, and copper metallurgy made it possible -One of the only insights into Harappan Society, as the significance of the texts is unknown and undecipherable -Architecture included temples and normal city buildings, none as enormous as the Egyptian pyramids however -Two types of houses were apparent, both one room dwellings and two and three story houses with individual courtyards, wells, ovens, and private bathrooms which included toilets and showers that drained into a sewage system