Category Great Civilizations

         We may think of dentistry to be a modern practice, but it is not so. The people of the Indus Valley civilization already had knowledge of dentistry! Archaeological evidence from Indus Valley sites shows the first evidence of drilling human teeth, in a living person.

          What is more important about these people is that, they were the first to measure length, mass, and time accurately.

          People were familiar with new techniques in metallurgy and produced brass, copper, bronze and ivory which were used to make ornaments, utensils, seals etc. The people of the Indus Valley civilization developed techniques and tools to measure length, weight and time with impressive accuracy. They used the same for commercial as well as building purpose.

          Engineering skills were at its heights, and this is clear from the construction of docks at Lothal. They evolved some new techniques in metallurgy and produced copper, bronze, led and tin. 

            A ‘planned city’ is a title which even today, in modern times, many of our cities fail to achieve. But you will be surprised to know that this was achieved by the Harappan cities of the Indus Valley civilization centuries ago.

            The cities of Harappa were well planned. Large areas were built with the bricks of the same size and weight. They used kilns to make bricks, and used burnt bricks in domestic and public buildings.

            The main feature of Harappan town planning was the granaries or store houses used to store grains. The great bath was the earliest public water tank, and the lower town was the place where common people lived. Harappan streets were straight and the cities were well known for the drains built on either side of the road. The houses were varied in size some had more than one storey. Houses were built on massive platforms to save them from seasonal floods.

            The excavations conducted here have revealed the advanced town planning that characterized the Harappan cities, built more than 4000 years ago. 

          Around 2500 BC, the people of the Indus Valley built huge cities including Mohenjodaro in the south and Harappa in the north.

          These cities were well planned. The buildings were constructed with mud-bricks. A proper drainage system and water storage system were some of the main features of these cities.

          Each city was divided into two areas. One area was where the people lived. Houses were arranged in rows along straight streets. Most houses had a well for water, in the courtyard and hygienic toilets.

          The city’s other half was a walled area containing huge public buildings like granaries, public halls, great bath etc. Near the granaries were threshing floors, where farmers from villages threshed their grains. The other important Indus Valley cities were Lothal, Dholavira, Sutkagendor, Surkotada and Banawali. 

          Do you know when the first urban settlement appeared in the history? It was during the Indus Valley civilization. The civilization at Mohenjodaro and Harappa grew up in the valley of the river Indus and this is why it is referred as the Indus valley civilization.

          It is considered to be one of the largest of the ancient civilizations of an urban nature. The town planning in the Indus valley civilization was very systematic. The city was the heart of Indus valley civilization.

          The Indus Valley Civilization began around 2500 BC, and ended up by 1900 BC. It mainly included the northwestern regions of South Asia, extending from what today is north-east Afghanistan to Pakistan, and northwest India. At its peak, the Indus Valley Civilization may have had a population of over five million. 

          Nebuchadnezzar II was a ruler of Babylonia. He expanded his empire while building the city of Babylon into a wonder of the ancient world.

           The city of Babylon was a wonder to the ancient world. One of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World ‘The Hanging Garden’, survived here. This garden was built by king

          Nebuchadnezzar, who ruled Babylonia. Nebuchadnezzar was the mighty king of the Babylonian empire between 605 and 562 BC. The hanging garden was believed to have been built for Nebuchadnezzar’s wife, as she missed the green hills and villages of her homeland. The garden was remarkable with its ascending series of tiered gardens that contained a wide variety of trees, shrubs, and vines.

           Nebuchadnezzar’s building projects also included surrounding his capital city with a 16 kilometres long double wall, with an elaborate entry called the Ishtar Gate. He also built a port on the Persian Gulf. Nebuchadnezzar also built a grand palace that came to be known as “the Marvel of the Mankind”.

          Hammurabi, the sixth king of the first dynasty of Babylonia, instituted one of the earliest known collections of laws.

          There were different sets of law in Ancient Babylon concerning religion, agriculture, administration and business. Hammurabi codified all these laws in simple form which became famous as the Code of Hammurabi.

          The Code of Hammurabi had four parts. They include laws about money, property, the family, and the rights of slaves. According to the law, a criminal had to be punished in a way that suited the crime. The famous phrase “an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth” originates from Hammurabi’s code. For instance, a murderer was awarded the death penalty. If a thief was caught stealing he had to return triple price of the same.

          Hammurabi’s laws were carved into a stele of black basalt rock. The code begins and ends with addresses to the gods. He stated specifically that the strong should not oppress the weak, and that widows or orphans should get justice.

          The Code of Hammurabi is important even today, for it reveals the way human rights were beginning to emerge in Babylonia, as Hammurabi sought to protect all classes of Babylonian society.