Ancient Indian subcontinent

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Ancient Indian subcontinent refers to the Indian subcontinent through 322 BC. Indian civilization, which is one of the oldest civilization on Earth and the first in South Asia, first developed sizable urban communities along the Indus River Valley and its tributary system, centered in the area of contemporary Pakistan, in the 3rd millennium B.C.E. Two prominent cities at the core of Indus River Valley civilization-- Harappa and Mohenjo-daro-- excelled in urban planning, hydraulic engineering, and sophisticated sculptural renderings. Beginning about 1500 B.C.E. and continuing for centuries, several different groups of horse riding, cattle herding Indo-European peoples entered--sometimes "invaded"--and settled in the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, these newer settler societies contributed to the decline of Harappa and Mohenjo-daro, which eventually disappeared from history until the 19th century C.E. Archaeological research has yielded much new information during the past quarter century. The following series of links reveal just some of the riches of this earliest phase of life on the Indian subcontinent. They focus on Harappa and Mohenjo-daro. There you will find some exotic pictures of lost cities, and also maps, samples of Harappan writing, sculptures etc.