N.K. Chauhan 
The Indus Valley Civilization was established around 3300 BC, it flourished between 2600 BC and 1900 BC (Mature Indus Valley Civilization) and started to decline around 1900 BC and disappeared around 1400 BC.
The source of knowledge about Harappan culture is - Archaeological excavations.
In 1912, Harappan seals with then unknown symbols were discovered by J. Fleet.
In the 1920s, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) carried out excavations in the Indus valley wherein the ruins of the two old cities, viz. Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa were unearthed.
In 1924, John Marshall, Director-General of the ASI, announced the discovery of a new civilisation (Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa) in the Indus valley to the world.
The first archaeologist who excavated Harappa, but could not recognize its significance, was - A. Cunningham.
Archaeologists have discovered usage of copper, bronze, tin, silver and gold.
It was the first time that silver was extracted and used in Indus valley Civilisation.
Iron was not known to the Harappan people.
The pottery found at Harappa is of the light red or brown colour, excepting some specimens which are black.
Idol workship in India can be traced to the period of Pre-Aryans.
The people of Harappa seemed to have worshipped the Mother Goddess and Shiva Pashupati.
Cow, camel, horse, and lion were not depicted on seals.
Unicorn (bull) was the animal most commonly represented on the seals.
In fact, horse was an animal that was unknown to the Harappan Civilization.
| Site | Excavated by |
|---|---|
| Harappa | Daya Ram Sahni in 1921 |
| Mohenjo-Daro (Mound of Dead) | R.D. Banerjee in 1922 |
| Sutkagendor | Stein in 1929 |
| Chanhudaro | N.G. Majumdar (1931), J.H. Mackay (1935-36) |
| Amri | N.G. Majumdar in 1935 |
| Kalibangan | Ghose in 1953 |
| Lothal | R. Rao in 1953 |
| Surkotada | J.P. Joshi in 1964 |
| Banawali | R.S. Bisht in 1974 |
| Dholavira | R.S Bisht in 1985 |
| Kot Diji | Fazal Ahmed in 1953 |
| Rangpur | Rangnath Rao in 1953-54 |
| Ropar | Yagyadat Sharma in 1953-56 |
| Alamgirpur | Yagyadat Sharma in 1956 |
| Sotkah | George Dale in 1962 |
| Burzahom | De Terra in 1939, T.N. and Khazanchi 1960-71 |
It was the first civilization to cultivate cotton and agriculture was the most important occupation.
No structures like temples or palaces have been found.
| Site | Province/State | Country | Excavations/Findings |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alamgirpur | Uttar Pradesh | India | Impression of cloth on trough |
| Balu | Haryana | India | Earliest evidence of garlic, several plant remains |
| Banawali | Haryana | India | Barley, terracotta figure of plough |
| Dholavira | Gujarat | India | chariot driven by a nude human, number of reservoirs, advanced water management, rock-cut architecture, site is divided in three parts |
| Hulas | Uttar Pradesh | India | - |
| Kalibangan | Rajasthan, Ghaggar river | India | earliest ploughed agricultural field, a horned deity, bones of camel |
| Lothal | Gujarat, Bhogava river | India | port city, bead making factory, dockyard, ivory scale, button seal, fire altars, painted jar, earliest cultivation of rice (1800 BC) |
| Manda | Jammu & Kashmir | India | northernmost Harappan site in Himalayan foothills. |
| Mandi | Uttar Pradesh | India | - |
| Rakhigarhi | Haryana | India | largest site, terrecotta wheels, toys, figurines, pottery, large site, partially excavated. |
| Rangpur | Saurashtra, Gujarat | India | Seaport |
| Rojdi | Gujarat | India | - |
| Sanauli | Uttar Pradesh | India | burial site with 125 burials found |
| Shikarpur | Gujarat | India | Food habit details of Harappans |
| Sothi | Uttar Pradesh | India | - |
| Surkotada | Gujarat | India | Bones of a horse (only site) |
| Chanhudaro | Sindh | Pakistan | Bead making factory, use of lipstick, only Indus site without a citadel |
| Harappa | Punjab, Ravi River | Pakistan | Granaries, coffin burial, lot of artifacts, first town |
| Kot Diji | Sindh | Pakistan | - |
| Mehrgarh | Balochistan | Pakistan | Earliest agricultural community (7000-5000 BC) |
| Mohenjo-Daro | Sindh | Pakistan | Great Bath (the biggest bath ghat), remains of wells, Great granary, Bronze dancing girl, Bull seal, Pashupati seal, a piece of woven cloth |
| Pirak | Balochistan | Pakistan | - |
| Padri | Gujarat | India | - |
| Ropar | Punjab, Satluj river | India | - |
| Daimabad | Maharashtra | India | bronze chariot |
| Dadheri | Punjab | India | - |
