Indus Valley Civilisation

(Source: NCERT Textbooks)

 Measuring Time:

 

In history, a major event is taken as the beginning of an 'era'.

Gregorian Calendar is the most popular Calander.

 ‘AD’ is an abbreviation for a Latin phrase that refers to the years after Jesus’ birth.

Now it is called as CE which stands for Common Era.

BC (Before Christ) is now known as BCE (Before Common Era)

A period of 10 years is called a 'Decade'

A period of 100 years is called a  Century

The present century 21st century CE, which runs from 2001 to 2100

A period of 1000 years is a Millenium

Ice Age - The last Ice Age lasted from over 100,000 (one lakh) years ago to around 12,000 

                years ago.  Extremely cold climate.

The Ṛig Veda is India’s most ancient text. It gives the northwest region of the Subcontinent the name ‘Sapta Sindhava’, that is, the ‘land of the seven rivers.

The name 'Hind' was first used by the Persians.

The Greeks named the region as Indoi or Indike.

The Chinese called this region as Yintu or Yindu.

The Chinese Scholar, Xuanzang(Hiuen Tsang / Hsuan Tsang) travelled to India in 7the CE

Indian Civilization:

The most ancient civilisation of India, known variously as the Harappan, Indus or Indus-Sarasvatī Civilisation, was indeed remarkable in many ways. ... [It showed how] a well-balanced community lives — in which the differences between the rich and the poor are not glaring. ... In essence, the Harappan societal scenario was not that of ‘exploitation’, but of mutual ‘accommodation’.

                                                                                   - B B Lal

What is a Civilization?

Civilization is an advanced stage of Human Societies.

It should have the following characteristics:

• Government and Administration
• Urbanism
• Crafts
• Trade
• Literature work
• Cultural Ideas
• Agriculture

Examples for different civilizations:

Mesopotamia, Egyptian, Indus Valley(Harappan Civilization) etc.

HARAPPAN CIVILISATION

From about 3500 BCE.

HARAPPAN CITY                                       MODERN DAY REGION

  Dholavira                                                         Punjab

  Harappa                                                           Gujarat

  Kalibangan                                                       Sindh

 Mohenjo-daro                                                   Haryana

 Rakhigarhi                                                        Rajasthan