Periods of Mohenjo-Daro

Important Terms:

Indus Valley Civilization: This is the civilization which builds at the bank of the Indus and Ghaggar-Hakra Rivers and their tributaries. This was a highly fertilize area. This whole civilization occupies around 1.5 million square kilometres of the area on the northwest side of the Indian continent. Mohenjo-Daro: The word Mohenjo-Daro is a Sindhi word. The meaning of this word is “Mound of the Dead“. Sir John Marshall first introduced this name. Civilization: The civilization word means a place where humans lived/live due to some advantages of that place. The advantage may include weather, source of water, etc. Aryan: Aryans are one of the Indo-European tribes. They came from present Iran & build a civilization on the north side of India. Some historians believe that invasion of Aryans is one of the major reasons for the destruction of Mohenjo-Daro....

History of Excavation in Mohenjo-Daro:

The probable existence of Mohenjo-Daro was first noted in the book “Narrative of Various Journeys in Balochistan, Afghanistan and the Punjab” by Charles Masson. But nobody pays attention to those writings. Later Alexander Cunningham established the Archaeological Society of India. He started discovering many important structures of ancient India like Sarnath, Sanchi Stupa, etc. On 1921 archaeologist Daya Ram Sahni first discovered Harappa city which was a part of the Indus Valley Civilization. Harappa was situated in the Punjab Pradesh of Pakistan. Later, on 1922 archaeologist Rakhaldas Bandyopadhyay also known as R.D. Banerjee discovered the Mohenjo-Daro site southwest of the Harappa site. The excavation was running from 1922 to 1930. During this period, many major excavations have been done in Mohenjo-Daro. These excavations made Mohenjo-Daro an important pillar of eastern civilization....

Periods of Mohenjo-Daro:

Pre-Mohenjo-Daro Period: During this period, people started living settled lives. They use to do agriculture mainly at this point. This period started in 3300 BCE. Early-Mohenjo-Daro Period: At this point, people started building urban civilization. They also created massive villages which tends to create a town in the future. This period is between 3300 BCE to 2500 BCE. Mature-Mohenjo-Daro Period: This is the pick point of the Mohenjo-Daro civilization. All the massive structures and improvements had been done at this point. Trading started in this time frame. This period is between 2500 BCE to 1900 BCE. Late-Mohenjo-Daro Period: In this period, the Mohenjo-Daro started declining. Civilization disappeared at this point. This period is between 1900 BCE to 1300 BCE....

Major Excavations in Mohenjo-Daro:

In excavations, many findings are important to note down. Some of them are related to the structure of the building, some of them are related to the planning of the city & some of them are craft findings. Let’s divide them into each groups....

Location of the Indus Valley Civilization & Mohenjo-Daro:

At present, Indus Valley Civilization is spread across India, Pakistan and Afghanistan. In the present day, a major part of this civilization spread in the various states of India i.e Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat, and Western Uttar Pradesh. Similarly, evidence of Indus Valley Civilisation is found in Sindh, Balochistan & Punjab Pradesh of Pakistan. Even some parts of Afghanistan were a part of the Indus Valley Civilisation. Shortugai and Mundigak were the cities which were discovered in Afghanistan. Though Shortugai was not considered the trading point still civilization was also built up there. The east end of this civilization extended up to Alamgirpur of Western Uttar Pradesh of India. The northern end of this civilization extended up to the Shortugai of Afghanistan. The southern end extended up to Daimabad of Maharashtra, India. And the western end extended up to the Sutkagendor of Makran coast of Pakistan....

Related Frequently Asked Questions and Solutions:

Q1: Explain the Probable Causes of Mohenjo-Daro was built at the bank of the Indus River....