A civilisation is an advanced stage of human society marked by some form of government and administration, urbanism with town-planning and drainage, a variety of crafts, internal and external trade, some form of writing, cultural ideas, and a productive agriculture. The earliest civilisation of the Indian Subcontinent grew in the northwest, watered by the Indus and the now-seasonal Sarasvatī (Ghaggar-Hakra) rivers. From about 3500 BCE villages grew into towns and, around 2600 BCE, into cities — the ‘First Urbanisation of India’. It is variously called the Indus, Harappan or Indus-Sarasvatī civilisation, named after Harappa, the first site excavated in 1920–21. Its cities, such as Harappa, Mohenjo-daro, Dholavira, Rakhigarhi and Lothal, were carefully planned with wide streets, fortifications, an upper and lower town, and brick houses of similar quality. Harappans excelled at water management — wells, drains and huge reservoirs, including the famous Great Bath of Mohenjo-daro. They grew barley, wheat, millets, pulses and cotton, domesticated animals, and carried on brisk trade using seals, carnelian beads and the dockyard at Lothal. Around 1900 BCE the cities declined, probably due to climate change and the drying of the Sarasvatī, and people returned to a rural life, though much culture and technology survived.
What makes a civilisationFrom village to city (First Urbanisation)Town-planning and water managementHarappan food, crafts and tradeDecline and survival of Harappan culture
Key terms
Civilisation
An advanced stage of human society with government, cities, crafts, trade, writing and productive agriculture.
Indus-Sarasvatī civilisation
India's oldest civilisation (about 2600–1900 BCE), also called Harappan, Indus or Sindhu-Sarasvatī.
Town-planning
The deliberate planning of cities with laid-out streets, drains and zones, seen in Harappan cities.
Great Bath
A large, carefully built, waterproofed tank at Mohenjo-daro, whose exact purpose is still debated.
Seal
A small carved object, usually of steatite, showing an animal and writing signs, used in Harappan trade.
Dockyard
A structure for receiving and sending boats; the huge basin at Lothal is believed to be one.
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