The Indus Valley Civilization basically can be regarded as the backbone of the present Indian civilization. It can be safely said that all progress India ever saw right from 500 BCE was all based upon the success of lifestyle from the Indus Valley Civilization. Though archaeologists date the civilization to have a timeline from 3300 BCE to 1300 BCE based on structures, they have left out the possibility that the civilization can be a few hundred years older because they kept modifying their structures.
The level of sophistication and expertise of the civilization which has been unearthed by archaeologists shows the inhabitants of the Valley were millennium ahead. With advancements in the fields of irrigation, civil engineering and even metallurgy, the civilization is known to have hosted a population of 5 million people.
The Life, culture and science of the Indus Valley suggested that it was a race far ahead of its time and maybe this is the reason why it did get wiped out within 2000 years of its inception. Though the civilization did stretch for hectares of land, it was Harappa that was first excavated and hence it is also called the Harappan Civilization.
The chronology of Harappa starts way back in 7700 BCE with settlements of the Pre Harappan, Early Harappan, Mature Harappan, Late Harappan and the Post Harappan civilization. It is the Mature Harappan civilization which is considered as the Indus Valley Civilization as it was the most advanced in lifestyle, science and technology.
Life in the Indus Valley Civilization
The advancements in structural engineering and the sophistication of organizational levels is
quiet suggestive of the life in the Harappan Civilization. The advancements in irrigation technology and the acres of farmlands are suggestive of the fact that most of the populace was made of farmers. But these farmers were quiet resourceful, as they even had multi level granaries at that time for storage.
Other major advancements were the fact that this civilization had road side drainage system much like we see these days. It can be safely said, that our drainage system was made based on the Indus valley counterpart's design. There are excavations which suggest that homes were equipped with flush toilets even! The cities were extremely well organized and houses and other buildings were made in clusters or blocks.
The Civilization also showed a common governance or authority for all cities. This was deduced from the fact that all forms of art and possible currency were similar or even identical for varying topographies.
Culture in the Indus Valley Civilization
The culture of the Harappan Civilization suggests that it was not quite different from contemporary culture. The fact that various coins and other sculpts made of bronze, silver and gold shows that they had various systems for measurement and manufacturing. The population is believed to be an expert race of Handicraft makers.
The gold and terracotta figurines of dancing girls are suggestive of the fact that the race had some form of pre dominant dance. It also suggests that the Craftsmen excelled in what they did. When the first terracotta dancing girl was unearthed, Sir John Marshall, the one who spearheaded the Harappa excavations was surprised. He initially thought some mistake had been made and that it was a modern day piece of art wrongly buried. But tests showed that the figurine was from that time!
Science in the Indus Valley Civilization
The very fact that major elements like gold, silver, bronze and tin had already been found shows that the Harappan Civilization had some serious advancement in the field of metallurgy. Not only were they able to mold the metals into figures and idols, but they were capable of creating alloys too.
The advancements in engineering like the water irrigation system, multi level buildings, water supply systems and even baked brick houses showed they were pioneers of civil engineering. We all know there is no engineering without mathematics and findings suggest the civilization did have mathematics!
The Indus Valley Civilization is believed to be the first population to crack the concept of time, mass and length and this is proved through the many excavations found in India.