The Indus Valley Civilization — Harappa, Mohenjo-daro, and a Script Still Undeciphered

THREE PROMISES standing recite (MG-8 Living-Descendant + MG-9 Humanity-FIRST + MG-10 Resilience-FIRST); turn-and-talk on yesterday's exit-ticket or I-STILL-WONDER chart

• Display Three Promises posters
• Lead recite intentionally
• Quick I-STILL-WONDER scan

The Indus Valley Civilization (c. 3300-1300 BCE) was the LARGEST BRONZE-AGE CIVILIZATION BY GEOGRAPHIC EXTENT — covering ~1 million square kilometers across modern Pakistan + northwest India + parts of Afghanistan. Mature urban phase c. 2600-1900 BCE. Major cities: HARAPPA (Punjab, Pakistan — first excavated 1920s by Daya Ram Sahni and John Marshall) and MOHENJO-DARO (Sindh, Pakistan — meaning 'mound of the dead,' excavated by R.D. Banerji 1922). REMARKABLE FEATURES: (1) URBAN PLANNING — grid streets, standardized brick sizes across cities 500+ km apart suggesting centralized weights-and-measures, sophisticated DRAINAGE SYSTEMS in every home and along every street (more advanced than most Bronze Age civilizations); (2) THE GREAT BATH at Mohenjo-daro — large central pool (~12m x 7m x 2.4m deep) probably used for ritual bathing; (3) STANDARDIZED WEIGHTS AND MEASURES — same weight system used across the 1-million-sq-km civilization; (4) NO EVIDENCE of palaces or temples or royal burials — suggesting a different social organization than Mesopotamia or Egypt (egalitarian? merchant-elite? confederated?). THE INDUS SCRIPT remains UNDECIPHERED after 100+ years of attempts. ~400 known signs; ~4,000 inscriptions found mostly on small seals; very short texts (average ~5 signs per inscription); no bilingual key (no Indus equivalent of the Rosetta Stone). Some scholars argue it may not be a complete writing system at all but rather a symbolic notation. DECLINE: the Indus civilization declined gradually c. 1900-1300 BCE. Older theories of 'Aryan invasion' are largely discredited (Romila Thapar critique); current scholarship favors CLIMATE CHANGE (monsoon shifts) + RIVER COURSE SHIFTS (Sarasvati River drying) + GRADUAL TRANSITION rather than invasion. The VEDIC PERIOD (c. 1500-500 BCE) followed in the Ganges Valley with the Rigveda (oldest surviving Hindu sacred text) — but the relationship between Indus Valley civilization and Vedic-period peoples is still debated. Modern Pakistanis and Indians are LIVING DESCENDANTS; Harappa and Mohenjo-daro are UNESCO World Heritage Sites stewarded by Department of Archaeology Government of Pakistan + Archaeological Survey of India.

• Multiple-civilization comparison — not all civilizations developed kingship and royal monuments.

  model Grid streets + standardized bricks across cities 500+ km apart + sophisticated drainage in every home + no evidence of palaces or royal burials. This suggests a different (perhaps less hierarchical) social organization than Mesopotamia or Egypt.

  prompt What is unusual about Indus Valley urban planning?
• Honest about the limits of historical knowledge — some questions remain genuinely open.

  model No. After 100+ years it remains undeciphered. Inscriptions are very short (~5 signs average) and there is no bilingual key.

  prompt Is the Indus script deciphered?

• Locate Indus Valley on MG-3 — what modern countries?
• Name 2 features that make Indus urban planning remarkable.
• Why is the Indus script still undeciphered?

Apply MG-7 Source Card to an Indus seal (c. 2500-1900 BCE). Most Indus seals show animal motifs (humped bull, elephant, rhinoceros, tiger, unicorn-like creature) + 5-6 script characters. WHO/WHEN (Indus craftspeople c. 2500-1900 BCE) / CONTEXT (mature Harappan phase) / CORROBORATE (similar seals found at Mesopotamian sites confirming trade — Indus + Sumer trade documented) / CLOSE READ (animal motifs + undeciphered script) / LIVING DESCENDANTS (modern Pakistanis + Indians; UNESCO World Heritage Sites) / TRANSLATION + SILENCES (the script is UNDECIPHERED — the source-record has profound silences we must name honestly).

M-6-F-CUL-08-A Photograph

Photograph of the Great Bath at Mohenjo-daro (Sindh province, Pakistan, c. 2500-1900 BCE). Wide-angle showing the rectangular pool (~12m x 7m x 2.4m deep) with steps descending into it at both ends, surrounding brick walkway, and remains of pillared galleries on three sides. Caption: 'Great Bath at Mohenjo-daro, Sindh, Pakistan. UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1980. Stewarded by Department of Archaeology Government of Pakistan. Built with sophisticated waterproof construction using bitumen between brick layers — likely used for ritual bathing.' Style: clean archaeological photography.

• Label MG-3 with Harappa + Mohenjo-daro + modern Karachi + modern Islamabad + Indus River course

  scaffold Partial map labels
• Write a 3-sentence comparison: how does Mohenjo-daro urban planning differ from Mesopotamian Ur (or Egyptian Memphis)?

  scaffold MG-5 Comparative Civilization Matrix partial fill-in

M-6-F-CUL-08-B Photograph

Photograph of an Indus seal (c. 2500-1900 BCE, steatite, ~3 cm square, National Museum New Delhi or Karachi National Museum). Seal shows a humped zebu bull facing right with 5-6 Indus script characters in a row above. Reverse side shows a perforated boss for stringing. Caption: 'Indus seal, c. 2500-1900 BCE. Indus script remains UNDECIPHERED after 100+ years of attempts. ~4,000 inscriptions catalogued. MG-7 Source Card 6th move (SILENCES) example.' Style: clean museum-archaeology photography against neutral background.

MG-7 Interactive Physical / non-image

Ancient-World 6-Question Source Card — 8.5x11 laminated tool with 6 questions: (1) WHO made this source and WHEN? (sourcing); (2) WHAT was happening in this civilization at the time? (contextualization); (3) DOES this source agree or disagree with other sources from the same civilization or other civilizations? (corroboration); (4) WHAT does this source actually SAY (close reading); (5) WHO are the LIVING DESCENDANTS of this civilization today, and what do they say about this source? (NMAI-inspired 5th move); (6) WHO TRANSLATED this source from its ancient language? WHOSE INTERPRETATION are we reading? WHAT IS LIKELY MISSING from the source-record entirely (silences)? (World History Association-inspired 6th move). Scaffolded short-form for Lessons 3-7; full form for Lessons 11-21. Style: educator-tool, durable laminated card.

• Apply MG-7 6th move SILENCES: what is missing from the Indus source-record because the script is undeciphered?
• Who are the living descendants of Indus Valley civilization?

• Preview Lesson 9 (Shang and Zhou China)

• Find one image of the Great Bath at Mohenjo-daro. Write 3 sentences on what its existence tells us about Indus social organization.