⚡ Quick Revision
Bullet-point summary for last-minute revision
🗓️ Key Dates & Timeline
- • c. 2600 BCE: Mature Harappan phase begins
- • c. 1900 BCE: Decline of Harappan civilization
- • 1920s: First excavations at Harappa and Mohenjo-daro
🏛️ Major Sites
- • Harappa: First discovered site, granaries found
- • Mohenjo-daro: Great Bath, largest Harappan city
- • Lothal: Dockyard for maritime trade
- • Dholavira: Water conservation system
- • Kalibangan: Ploughed fields evidence
🔑 Key Features
Urban Planning
Grid pattern, citadel + lower town, advanced drainage, standardized bricks
Economy
Agriculture (wheat, barley), craft production, extensive trade networks
Social Life
No evidence of extreme social hierarchy, specialized occupations, no monumental architecture
Material Culture
Pottery, seals, beads (carnelian, steatite), weights & measures, bronze tools
❓ Theories of Decline
- • Climate Change: Increased aridity
- • River Changes: Drying up of rivers or flooding
- • Ecological Factors: Deforestation, soil exhaustion
- • External Invasion: Debated, limited evidence