A Group of Us at Dholavira, Gujarat, the Site of the 5th Largest Indus Valley City

This ancient civilization from India’s Indus Valley is amazing! It was a colossus, a power house of technology and commerce, and existed for almost a millennium without war! 

Really!!

Could this culture teach us something about prospering without war? 

The Indus Valley Civilization (IVC) was one of four Bronze Age River Cultures that flowered in the 3rd millennium BC, the other three being Egypt, Mesopotamia and China. Of the four, it is the latest one to be excavated and the least studied. From what we are learning about it today this giant civilization was unique and may change many of the strongly held beliefs about the emergence of man from nomadic to settled existence. 

There are many superlatives that can be used to describe this amazing ancient culture:

1. It was huge! The culture encompassed an area ranging from present day Afghanistan to Western India and had a population larger than the Egyptian and Mesopotamian empires combined. To date more than 1500 settlements, villages. hamlets, towns and cities have been discovered. See map above.

2. It was a power house of Technology and centuries ahead of its contemporaries! The IVC was characterized by extensive urbanization. From 2600 – 1900 BC, it acted as an integrated state with at least five large metropolises, far more advanced than any during that period. For example the tributary area serving Mohenjodaro, the largest city of the IVC, was larger than any ancient city until the emergence of Athens some two thousand years later! (For flyover video of Mohenjodaro click here) 

The civilization was technically advanced, a power house of sophisticated manufacturing and commerce, including international maritime trade. As part of its extensive urban networks it had developed state of the art civic facilities, such as granaries, sewage systems, stadiums, dams and reservoirs, gridwork of roads, planned townships, ports and docks. (Must see video of Dholavira, ancient Indus Valley Kutch city with engineered reservoirs -- click here).

3. The World’s First Republic? The IVC was unique in its political organization. It was the only one of the four ancient civilizations that did not have a central King of the realm. It seems to have evolved  a socio-political system of governance which was decentralized but was still able to integrate a very large state – a state with shared resources, standards, language and laws.

4. A Millennium of Peace? While Egypt, Mespotamia and China have continuous evidence (and aggrandizing) of war, the IVC has none. It seems that this large, developed state did not undergo any war for at least 700 years! This is so exceptional in human history as to still evoke incredulity and many have looked for evidence of conflict without success so far.

5. Distinctly South Asian. Unlike pharaonic Egypt and ancient Mesopotamia the IVC provides a continuity of culture with the modern inhabitants of South Asia. The art, cultural practices and even some of the technology from this period are still used in India/Pakistan. 

6. Language. The language of IVC is not yet deciphered. Owing to the importance of Indo-European languages in liguistics, IVC may shed key light on the relationship and emergence of language. The period in which IVC flourished is regarded by linguists as the main era of transmission of  the forerunners of the Indo-European languages between Europe and India. Also IVC is at the cross roads of the transmission regions.

7. Vedic Elements in the 3rd Millennium?  There are common elements between the Vedic culture and the Indus Valley Culture. There is much to be learned about what exactly the tie-ins were, but when this relationship becomes clearer we will get great insight into the emergence of Indic culture, history  and philosophy. 

The seal on the left (2600 BC) shows a person in a yogic position.

There is also a vast amount of literature and historical content in the ancient texts of India, such as the Rg Veda, which are as yet not tied to any archaeological sites or materials. It is tantalizing to anticipate a dig, such as was done for Troy, which will allow us to associate an excavated, historical civilization with cultures described in Indian ancient texts. This is becoming a controversial idea because many like the BJP would like to see”Hindu” roots in everything Indian.