Answer each question with no more than 3 words or a number

The Indus Valley Civilization

So what is a civilization? Well, diagnosing a civilization is a little like diagnosing an illness. If you have four or more of the following symptoms, you might be a civilization.

• Surplus Production. Once one person can make enough food to feed several people, it becomes possible to build a (1)______________, another symptom of civilization.
• It also leads to the specialization of labor, which in turn leads to (2)______________.
• Civilizations are also usually associated with social stratification, centralized government, shared values, generally in the form of (3)______________, and writing.
• And at least in the early days, they were almost always associated with (4)______________. Because they’re flat, they’re well watered, and when they flood, they deposit (5)______________.

The Indus Valley Civilization was located in the flood plain of the Indus and Sarawati rivers, and it was about the best place in the world to have an ancient civilization because the rivers flooded very reliably (6)______________ a year.

We know the Indus Valley Civilization flourished around 3000 BCE and they were trading with the Mesopotamians as early as (7)______________ BCE. We also know that it was the largest of the ancient civilizations. Archaeologists have discovered more than (8)______________ sites.

Everything we know about the Indus Valley Civilization comes from archaeology, because while they did use (9)______________, we don’t know how to read it.

So here’s what we know, they had amazing cities. Harappa and Mohenjo Daro are the best known, with dense, multi-story homes constructed out of uniformly sized (10)______________ along perpendicular streets. This means they must have had some form of government and (11)______________, but we don’t know what gave this government its authority.

Cities were oriented to catch the (12)______________ and provide a natural form of air conditioning.  And they were clean. Most homes were connected to a centralized (13)______________ system that used gravity to carry waste and water out of the city in big sewer ditches that ran under the main avenues, a plumbing system that would have been the envy of many 18th century European cities.

In Mohenjo Daro, the largest public building was not a temple or a palace, but a public bath, which historians call the (14)______________. We don’t know what the great bath was used for, but since later Indian culture placed a huge emphasis on (15)______________, which is the basis for the caste system, some historians have speculated that the bath might have been like a giant baptismal pool.

Also, they traded. One of the coolest things that the Indus Valley Civilization produced were (16)______________used as identification markers on goods and clay tablets. These seals contained the writing that we still can’t decipher, and a number of fantastic designs, many featuring animals and (17)______________. How do these seals let us know that they traded? Well, because we found them in Mesopotamia, not the Indus Valley. Plus, archaeologists have found stuff like bronze in the Indus Valley that is not native to the region. So what did they trade? (18)______________.

But here’s the most amazing thing about the Indus Valley people. They were (19)______________. Despite archaeologists finding 1500 sites, they have found very little evidence of warfare, and almost no (20)______________.

So what happened to these people? Sometime around 1750 BCE, the Indus Valley Civilization declined until it faded into obscurity. Why? Historians have three theories.

• One: (21)______________!  Turns out to be a terrible military strategy not to have any weapons, and its possible people from the Indus Valley were completely overrun by people from the Caucasus.
• Two: (22)______________ Disaster! It’s possible they brought about their own end by destroying their environment.
• Three: The most interesting theory is that a massive (23)______________ changed the course of the rivers so much that a lot of the tributaries dried up.  Without adequate water supplies for irrigation, the cities couldn’t sustain themselves, so people literally picked up and headed for greener pastures.

#2—Crash Course World History

The Indus Valley Civilization

So what is a civilization? Well, diagnosing a civilization is a little like diagnosing an illness. If you have four or more of the following symptoms, you might be a civilization.

• Surplus Production. Once one person can make enough food to feed several people, it becomes possible to build a (1)city, another symptom of civilization.
• It also leads to the specialization of labor, which in turn leads to (2)trade.
• Civilizations are also usually associated with social stratification, centralized government, shared values, generally in the form of (3) religion, and writing.
• And at least in the early days, they were almost always associated with (4)rivers /river valleys. Because they’re flat, they’re well watered, and when they flood, they deposit (5)(nutrient-rich) silt.

The Indus Valley Civilization was located in the flood plain of the Indus and Sarawati rivers, and it was about the best place in the world to have an ancient civilization because the rivers flooded very reliably (6)twice a year.

We know the Indus Valley Civilization flourished around 3000 BCE and they were trading with the Mesopotamians as early as (7)3500 BCE. We also know that it was the largest of the ancient civilizations. Archaeologists have discovered more than (8)1500 sites.

Everything we know about the Indus Valley Civilization comes from archaeology, because while they did use (9)written language, we don’t know how to read it.

So here’s what we know, they had amazing cities. Harappa and Mohenjo Daro are the best known, with dense, multi-story homes constructed out of uniformly sized (10)bricks along perpendicular streets. This means they must have had some form of government and (11)zoning, but we don’t know what gave this government its authority.

Cities were oriented to catch the (12)wind and provide a natural form of air conditioning.  And they were clean. Most homes were connected to a centralized (13)drainage system that used gravity to carry waste and water out of the city in big sewer ditches that ran under the main avenues, a plumbing system that would have been the envy of many 18th century European cities.

In Mohenjo Daro, the largest public building was not a temple or a palace, but a public bath, which historians call the (14)Great Bath. We don’t know what the great bath was used for, but since later Indian culture placed a huge emphasis on (15)ritual purity, which is the basis for the caste system, some historians have speculated that the bath might have been like a giant baptismal pool.

Also, they traded. One of the coolest things that the Indus Valley Civilization produced were (16)seals used as identification markers on goods and clay tablets. These seals contained the writing that we still can’t decipher, and a number of fantastic designs, many featuring animals and (17)monsters. How do these seals let us know that they traded? Well, because we found them in Mesopotamia, not the Indus Valley. Plus, archaeologists have found stuff like bronze in the Indus Valley that is not native to the region. So what did they trade? (18)cotton cloth.

But here’s the most amazing thing about the Indus Valley people. They were (19)peaceful. Despite archaeologists finding 1500 sites, they have found very little evidence of warfare, and almost no (20)weapons.

So what happened to these people? Sometime around 1750 BCE, the Indus Valley Civilization declined until it faded into obscurity. Why? Historians have three theories.

• One: (21)Conquest!  Turns out to be a terrible military strategy not to have any weapons, and its possible people from the Indus Valley were completely overrun by people from the Caucasus.
• Two: (22)environmental Disaster! It’s possible they brought about their own end by destroying their environment.
• Three: The most interesting theory is that a massive (23)earthquake changed the course of the rivers so much that a lot of the tributaries dried up.  Without adequate water supplies for irrigation, the cities couldn’t sustain themselves, so people literally picked up and headed for greener pastures.