Humans have been able to collect the recorded human history dating back to 5000 years. From Sumer in the Middle East to Olmecs in North America, each civilization was unique in its way and had its mystiques. However, over the years, archeologists have been able to decipher and find the mysteries of most of these civilizations except one: The Indus Valley Civilization. Discovered in the early 1920s, the ancient cities of Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa still baffle the minds of archeologists to this day. No one has ever cracked the enigma of this civilization yet, especially about its most advanced city: Mohenjo-Daro.
Before the 20th century, Mesopotamia, ancient Egypt, and eastern Asian civilizations were the only ancient civilization until Indian archaeological expert Rakhaldas Bandyopadhyay discovered the city of Mohenjo-Daro in 1922. The Historian was out on his search to find Buddhist relics when he saw this masterpiece of all ancient civilizations. The Indus Valley civilization had the most advanced cities among all the ancient civilizations discovered to this day. No one knows what the city of Mohenjo-Daro was initially named. Still, the Indian Archeological survey called it Moenjo Daro, which means “Mound of the Dead” in Sindhi, but was later changed to Mohenjo-Daro, which means “Mound of the Happy Voyagers.”
The City of Mohenjo-Daro had an urban planning system that might put most modern cities to shame. According to a German Archeologist, the baked bricks used in their housing and other structures resemble the bricks and material used in modern Germany. Mohenjo-Daro had drainage and sewerage that was better in many ways than many cities that exist today. They had well-built wells and in the middle of the town was a great bath which indicated their likeness for cleanliness. There are no temples, palaces, or monuments, so nobody knows who and what kind of a person was the head of the government. Archeologists believe that it was probably headed by some essential people chosen by the residents. The tools used were made of copper and stone, and seals and weights indicate that the city had a tightly controlled trade system.
The discoveries of fashionable jewelry and artifacts made of ivory, lapis, carnelian, and gold show that the city’s residents were prosperous. Around 700 wells throughout the city were built in a way that seems way ahead of its time. Each house had its bathing place and drainage system. The town contained dyeing facilities that show that they dyed cotton in various colors and used cosmetics in the form of cinnabar, vermillion, and collyrium. Throughout the city, the streets and sewerage systems were all brick-lined, showing that the city had enough resources to meet the needs of everyone. It’s not like there were no poor people, but even they had enough to eat.
The people of the Indus Valley civilization were not only good urban planners, but they were also expert farmers. They had appropriate irrigation systems for their crops and even grew rice. They also had a strong aptitude for metallurgy.
Several figurines were recovered from the city during the excavation, made of terracotta, steatite, and metal figurines. Many of these figurines show dancing girls, which might indicate that they had some traditional dance. A fascinating discovery is that of a bronze dancing girl and a bearded priest. It is called the Statue of the Priest-King. Many religious people believe that it is the statue of the Prophet Abraham, but archeologists do not believe in this theory because there is no evidence behind this claim.
One of the biggest mysteries of the city of Mohenjo-Daro yet to be solved is: Where did they all go? How did the most advanced civilization of its time vanish?
There are several theories around the riddle of the disappearance of the civilization, but none of them have provided proper archeological evidence against it.
During the city’s excavation, there were not many weapons found in the town, which indicates that they were peace-loving people. However, one of the theories suggests that the city was attacked and its people massacred. This comes from the discovery of 44 scattered skeletons on the streets of the town. The skeletons seem flattened to the ground and include a father, mother, and child holding hands. A lot of archeologists are confident that these people were murdered mercilessly by the Aryans. Still, some things suggest against the massacre. Firstly, all of the skeletons were found in Lower-Town, and none were found near the fortified Citadel. If they were indeed attacked and massacred, then the Citadel would have been the place where the city dwellers would have taken their last stand. Moreover, there is no proof that all these skeletons are from the same time.
A lot of historians believe that city might have been destroyed due to climate. One of the theories suggests that the movement of Earth’s crust might have caused the change in the direction of the Indus River, causing a possible flood. Constant flooding might also have caused the soil to become salty and infertile.
Moreover, some believe that the Ghagger and Hakra rivers might have dried up, and people abandoned them. All of these things might have caused starvation and diseases, and loss of control by the government. Some also believe that deforestation by man could have caused the destruction of this civilization too.
A lot of the skeletons that were discovered suggest that these people died of malaria. A disease like that in an ancient world without modern medicine could also have led to the collapse of civic order in the city.
The beginning of the decline of the Indus Valley civilization aligns with the rise of tensions in the political affairs of Mesopotamia. Mesopotamia was the city’s primary trade partner, which might have led to the collapse of the trade network of this ancient civilization. The lack of trade would have forced the traded to their villages to farm, which shows a little bit of survival, but the greatness that the Indus Valley civilization once possessed would never be reached again.
To this day, no one is sure about how the Indus Valley civilization got wiped out. Further excavation might solve this puzzle, but archeologists advise against it; mainly, because of the conditions of the soil and rising water levels, which might make it susceptible to weathering effects. The Indus people also had a pictorial and symbolic form of writing, but no one could decipher it even after a hundred attempts. Historians are yet to find something similar to a Rosetta stone in the valley, which might help decipher what all those symbols and pictures mean, but that has also halted because of lack of excavation. The Chair of the Technical Consultative Committee for Mohenjo Daro is trying to find new ways and technological advancements which might allow the archeologists to discover more about the city with the non-destructive investigation. The funding is already under process, which might help answer the puzzles of this formerly great civilization.
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