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chapter 8 THe eaRlIeST cITIeS Of

THe INdIaN SUbcONTIeNT

As early man started producing food, he began to lead a semi-settled life. The first villages
were naturally set up in the fertile river-valleys. Then man learnt the use of metals,
like copper and Bronze. Better tools and fertile lands led to surplus production of food-
grains. So some people could leave food production and shift to other craft and trade. The
exchange of goods led to the growth of trade and trade centres. The trade centres where
a large number of people settled developed into cities.
Civilisation : The word ‘Civilisation’ comes from the Latin word ‘Civics’, meaning citizen. City
life requires administrative bodies, language, script and forms of organised worship and cultural
expression. The sum of such aspects of organised life in a society is called civilisation.

The earliest cities of the Indian subcontinent came up in the North-West in the region
drained by the river Indus and its tributaries. About 4500 years ago, a great civilisation
flourished in this region.
Indus Valley cIVIlIsatIon

In India, the first developed cities were found in the valley of
river Indus (also called Sindhu). So it was named Indus Valley
Civilisation. It is also called the Harappan Civilisation as
Harappa was the first site of this civilisation to be excavated.
The ancient civilisation included urban centres such as
Kalibangan, Dholavira, Rupar, Lothal, Rakhigarhi in modern
day India and Harappa, Ganweriwala, Mohenjodaro in modern
day Pakistan. Lothal was the only city with dockyard facility.
The Indus Valley Civilisation included most of Pakistan,
extending from Baluchistan to Sindh, and extending into Cities Found in Indus Valley Civilisation
modern day Indian states of Gujarat, Rajasthan,
Haryana and Punjab. The credit of the remarkable
discovery goes to Raibahadur Dayaram Sahni and The grid layout of the cities of the Indus
Rakhal Das Banerjee. In 1921, Raibahadur Dayaram Valley Civilisation along with their
advanced drainage system, has made
Sahni found a number of seals near the ruins of them the first truly planned cities in the
Harappa on the banks of the river Ravi. Rakhal Das world.
Banerjee discovered Mohenjodaro on the banks of
river Indus in 1922.
maIn features of tHe cIVIlIsatIon

Town Planning : Most of the cities of this civilisation were divided into two parts. The
Western part was built on a higher ground called the upper part or Citadel and the Eastern
part was called the Lower Town. The Citadel had high walls which provided protection
during the floods. It contained important buildings like the granary, large assembly halls,

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