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Ancient India: Highly Advanced
The
people who lived in the Indus Valley in ancient times had
many of what we would call modern ideas:
- They planned their
cities. Remains found at Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro suggest
that the cities were laid out in grids, with straight
streets. This is important because other people living at
the time in different parts of the world didn't do
this.
- The houses they lived
in were mostly the same in size and shape. Each one had
walls surrounding a courtyard, with its own well and
bathroom. Pipes led to sewers.
- Each city had its own
storage area for food. The people grew all kinds of
different crops, including wheat, peas, and dates; and
they stored the food in the town granary, for everyone to
eat.
 Mohenjo-Daro
had its own central bath, with several surrounding
buildings. This setup resembles the Roman bath, which
came much later.- Scientists have found
bowls of bronze and silver among the remains of these two
great cities. Neither of these metals was available
nearby. This suggests that the ancient Indians traded
with civilizations far away.
- Lastly, archaeologists
have found absolutely no evidence of an empire in this
area. Other civilizations at that time had kings (Egypt)
and emperors (Mesopotamia). But in the Indus Valley, it
appears, everyone lived together in harmony.
The
more we look, the more we find out about these ancient
people. We still don't know, however, why
they disappeared.
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