The Indus River Valley Civilization

Systems of Specialization

In the beginning of the Indus River Valley Civilization, most people farmed, however, when farming techniques became better, less people needed to farm, and more jobs were available. Some of the occupations besides farming were weaving, pottery, metal working, jewelry making, stone cutting, and trading. Clay seals were very popular in the Indus River Valley Civilization. The seals depicted elephants, water buffalo, and tigers. The most common animal found on these clay seals was the unicorn. Due to the large amounts of clay seals found, there must have been a large amount of potters and artists. The larger Ancient Indus River Valley cities were trading centers, and they traded their seals with Afghanistan, Iran, Babylonia, Egypt, and even Mesopotamia. They also traded around the Mediterranean with large one masted boats. The Ancient Indus River Valley people kept and domesticated many animals including oxen, buffaloes, goats, sheep, pigs, donkeys, cows, and chicken. They also planted cotton and a wide variety of other plants according to the flood cycles of the Indus River. Another important industry was bead making. The people living in the Indus River Valley were very skilled at jewelry making. The jewelry they made could be made of shell, bone, or clay. The pottery that has been

Structured Government

There were three social classes in The Ancient Indus River Valley Civilization. The highest was the ruling class made up of the priests and some of the most successful merchants. The middle-class citizens were the less successful merchants, and the artisans. The lowest social group was the labor class that included farmers. The cities of the Ancient Indus River Valley Civilization were controlled and governed by the high-class priests and merchants. The priests acted as speakers for the gods to keep absolute control over the cities. The rulers didn’t have monuments and buildings built to honor them; they showed their power with fine seals and beautiful jewelry.

While most ancient cities simply evolved from small villages, there were two Ancient Indus River Valley cities that seem to have been carefully planned. These two cities are Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro. Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro are both similar in layout and size. The larger cities such as Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro had straight avenues that were thirty feet wide, although the smaller paths wound around the city. Every city had a large building that was used as a public grain storage unit. Whenever cities were destroyed by floods, they were simply built back on top of the old one. Each new city seems to have built less skillfully than the last. The government regulated trade