Sabrina Long Schuler 2nd pd.

Chapter 1 Outline

8.18.12

Civilization an ambiguous term often used to denote more complex societies but sometimes used by anthropologists to describe any group of people sharing a set of cultural traits Traits that act as indicators of civilization: o Cities as administrative centers o A political system based on control of a defined territory rather than kinship connections o Many people engaged in specialized, non-food-producing activities o Status distinctions based largely on accumulation of substantial wealth by some groups o Monumental building o A system for keeping permanent records o Long-distance trade o Major advances in science and the arts Earliest societies with these traits developed in the floodplains of great rivers: o Tigris and Euphrates in Iraq o Yellow River in China o Indus in Pakistan o Nile in Egypt Periodic flooding deposited fertile soil and provided water for agriculture, but also threatened lives and property, so people had to come together to create new technologies and forms of political and social organization Before Civilization Culture socially transmitted patterns of action and expression. Material culture refers to physical objects, such as dwellings, clothing, tools, technology, and crafts. Culture also includes nonmaterial objects, such as arts, beliefs, knowledge, and languages Evidence of early humans creative abilities first came to light in 1940 near Lascaux, France when youths stumbled onto a huge underground cavern with walls covered with paintings of animals In human communities, cultural developments are passed on over time History the study of past events and changes in the development, transmission, and transformation of cultural practices The first recognizable cultural activity, tool making, first appeared around 2 million years ago. They had stone tools, as well as tools made from bone, skin, wood, and other materials that survive poorly. This so called Stone Age was separated into 2 main subdivisions o Paleolithic (Old Stone Age) from 2 million to 10,000 years ago Associated with the evolution of humans o Neolithic (New Stone Age) followed associated with ancient origins of agriculture Foragers people who support themselves by hunting wild animals and gathering wild edible plants and insects (hunter-gatherers) Would have derived most of their diets from eating plants; meat reserved for special occasions Women mostly gathered plants, with older women being the most knowledgeable & productive o B/C they were stronger, men hunted, especially for large animals Humans may have been using fire to cook food as early as 1.5 million years ago, but only from about 12,500 years ago is there hard evidence of cooking (clay cooking pots)

Hunter-gatherers probably lived in small bands (big enough to divide responsibility for food collection, but small enough they dont run out of food) that were mobile in order to follow migrating animals and to take advantage of seasonally ripening plants in different places o Thus, their shelters werent very elaborate. Usually took advantage of natural shelters, caves. Sometimes had huts made out of branches, stones, leaves, skins, etc. (large shelters sometimes found on rivers, where fish were available year round) In early times, HGs probably wore animal skin cloaks as clothing, but around 70,000 years ago humans began to wear close-fitting garments Even though accidents, erratic weather, and disease probably took a heavy toll on HGs, day-to-day existence was probably not particularly hard or unpleasant, with the work only taking 3-5 hours a day. This would have a left a great deal of time for artistic endeavors, tool making, and social life. Non-stone technologies, art, and religion the foundations of science, art, and religion were built during the Stone Age. Survival required that people have extensive knowledge about their environment; which foods were safe, habits of game animals, etc. People also learned how to use plant & animal parts for clothing, building materials, dyes, etc. o There is abundant evidence of early painting and drawing cave paintings of wild animals hunted for food (many people believe they were meant to record hunting scenes or formed part of magical and religious rites to ensure successful hunting) o Other theories suggest that cave and rock art represent concerns with fertility, efforts to educate the young, or elaborate methods for time-keeping o Sites of deliberate human burials from about 100,000 years ago (buried with stone implements, food, clothing, and red-ochre powder) suggest ancestor rituals and possible belief in the afterlife

Agricultural Revolutions (Neolithic Revolution) the change from food gathering to food production that occurred between ca. 8000 and 2000 BCE Not a single event but a gradual series of separate transformations in different parts of the world One of greatest turning points in history b/c it fostered a rapid increase in population and greatly altered humans relationship to nature The process may have began when forager bands returned to the same areas year after year and deliberately scattered seeds of desirable plants in locations where they would thrive, while also removing harmful plants/competing plants such as weeds o Eventually, these families would have wanted to settle permanently by their fields The presence of new, specialized tools alerted archaeologists to a food production revolution polished stone heads to work the soil, stone mortars to mash grain, etc. Farmers also developed the method of using fire to get rid of unwanted undergrowth (trees and shrubs ashes = fertilizer) Middle East Wheat and Barley - The first transition from HG to agriculture occurred in the Middle East. By 8000 BCE humans had domesticated certain wild grasses into the grains now known as emmer wheat and barley They also discovered that by alternating the cultivation of grains and pulses (plants yielding edible seeds such as lentils and peas), they could keep soil more fertile Women, the principal gatherers of wild plant foods probably played a major role in the transition to agriculture, but the work of clearing the fields would have fallen to men Plants domesticated in the Middle East spread to Greece as early as 6000 BCE and to central Europe and along the Danube River shortly after 4000 BCE. Early farmers in Europe and elsewhere practiced shifting cultivation, also known as swidden agriculture; after a few growing seasons, the fields are left fallow (abandoned to natural vegetation) to restore soil fertility while the farmers clear new fields nearby

African, Asian, and American crops wheat and barley couldnt spread farther south b/c the climate in Africa was unsuited to their growth. Instead, separate Agricultural Revolutions took place in Saharan and sub-Saharan Africa almost as early as in the Middle East. During a particularly wet season in 8000 BCE, people in the eastern Sahara began to cultivate sorghum. They also eventually domesticated pearl millet, sesame, black-eyed peas, etc. o People in the rain forests of equatorial West Africa grew yams and rice The kind of rice eaten in most places today, which thrives in warm and wet conditions, was first domesticated in southern China, the northern half of Southeast Asia, or northern India (5000 BCE ish). In India several pulses (plants w/ edible seeds) were cultivated around 2000 BCE with rice In the Americas, people were domesticating crops by about 5000 BCE; maize in Mexico, beans and squash in Mesoamerica, etc. As long as their climates permitted, other farming communities in the Americas adopted these crops, along with tomatoes and peppers Animal domestication the domestication of animals also occurred around the same time The first domesticated animal was the dog, possibly tamed to help early hunters in Siberia track game, but animals initially domesticated to provide meat were later exploited for energy, milk, and fiber In the Middle East, sheep and goats were domesticated, with their tameness being inherited from generation to generation o Selective breeding for desirable characteristics, such as long wooly coats or high milk production eventually led to different breeds of sheep, goats, cattle, and pigs Donkeys in northern Africa, one-humped camels in Arabia, two-humped camels in Central Asia, water buffalo in China, etc. Once cattle were tame enough, they helped plow fields, and another way they helped the growth of agriculture was that animal droppings provided valuable fertilizer However, very few animals in the Americas became domesticated, and domesticated animals from the Eastern Hemisphere could not reach the Americas w/o the land bridge o Domesticated llamas provided transport and wool, while guinea pigs, dogs, and turkeys provided meat, but hunting was still the most important meat source in the Americas Pastoralism in the more arid (unfertile) areas of Africa and Central Asia, pastoralism, a way of life dependent on large herds, predominated. They moved their herds to new pastures and watering places throughout the year and were almost as mobile as foragers (sometimes planted crops/bartered for food) Agriculture and Ecological Crisis most experts believe that climate change was the greatest stimulus that drove people to abandon HG in favor of agriculture or pastoralism Food shortages of wild food or wetter climates couldve reduced supplies of game and wild grains In the drier parts of the world where wild food was still abundant, people didnt take up agriculture Australia (foraging), Americas (hunting bison, fishing) The adoption of food production all over the world greatly increased the world population Life in Neolithic Communities & the Spread of Agriculture it is believed that farmers actually lived harder lives than HGs. They had to work much longer and harder to clear and cultivate land, guide herds to pastures, and protect them from predators. Even though early farmers were less likely to starve b/c of food reserves, their diets were generally less varied and less nutritious than those of foragers, and farmers were usually shorter and lived shorter life spans b/c of diseases (water contaminate by human waste, disease-bearing vermin, and diseases from domesticated animals) It seems that farmers displaced foragers by gradual infiltration rather than conquest; as populations rose, farmers who lived far from their new village would have had to form new

settlements. This steady, nonviolent expansion wouldnt have provoked conflicts with foragers b/c they couldve just avoided the settlements or become farmers themselves Society and Religion the expanding farming communities were organized around kinship and marriage. Nuclear families (parents and their children) probably lived in separate households but felt kinship to all those related to them by descent from common ancestors These kinship units (known as lineages or clans) acted together to defend their common interests through land Some societies trace descent equally through both parents, but most are either patrilineal (trace descent through dad) or matrilineal (trace descent through mom) Kinship systems influenced early agricultural peoples outlook on the world, and burials of elders might have been elaborate ceremonies celebrating their descendants group solidarity A societys religious beliefs tend to be connected to nature and the nature of their food production/gathering. HG religions tended to focus on sacred groves, springs, and wild animals, whereas farming religions centered on Mother Earth, the source of all new life Megaliths structures and complexes of very large stones constructed for ceremonial and religious purposes in Neolithic times EX burial chambers for ancestors, a calendar circle, and pairs of upright stones in Egypt, and megalithic burial chambers in western and southern Europe all indicate ancestor rituals Jericho (west bank of the Jordan River) and atal Hyk (central Turkey) were two early agricultural towns that were more densely populated and more centers of trade and trade and specialized crafts than other smaller villages at the time These villages and the emergence of individuals engaged in crafts and other specialized occupations added to the workload of farmers; extra food had to be provided for nonfarmers (priests and artisans), and added labor was needed to build permanent houses, town walls, religious structures, megalithic monuments, etc. Jericho unusually large and elaborate settlement; had a massive stone wall for defense atal Hyk even larger, but had no defensive wall (house outer walls formed continuous outer barrier). Examples of wall paintings/art, religious shrines, and development of craftsmen are very evident here Summary: Climate change was probably the major reason for the switch from HG to farming Even though farming is often harder than HG, agriculturalists, b/c of their capacity to increase their population, expanded gradually and largely peacefully across much of the planet o In some places, pastoralism, dependence on herd animals, prevailed Megaliths and other monumental structures are products of the diverse religious beliefs and practices of Neolithic societies Mesopotamia MESOPOTAMIA AND THE FERTILE CRESCENT ARE NOT THE SAME THING but just because Mesopotamia isnt in the Fertile Crescent doesnt mean it isnt fertile!! Area was located in the plains alongside and between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers o It was very fertile and lies mostly within modern Iraq, but because the region lacks adequate rainfall, farming in hot, dry southern Mesopotamia depended on irrigation Artificial provision of water to crops o Farmers did not use the natural spring floods because they could be sudden, violent, or random and coming at the wrong time (crops could be swept away by floods) o Farmers thus had to develop canal systems

Barley was the main cereal plants, and to maintain nutrients in the soil, fields were left fallow every other years Date palms, reed plants, fish, sheep, goats, and donkeys all acted as food sources, sources of resources (wool, milk, wood), or transportation

Sumerians and Semites Sumerians the earliest people who dominated southern Mesopotamia through the end of the third millennium BCE. They were responsible for the creation of many fundamental elements of Mesopotamian culture, such as irrigation technology, cuneiform, and religious conceptions, taken over by their Semitic successors Semitic family of related languages long spoken across parts of western Asia and northern Africa. In antiquity these languages included Hebrew, Aramaic, and Phoenician. The most widespread modern member of the Semitic family is Arabic o It seems that people who spoke Semitic languages, Semites, lived in peace with the Sumerians, adopting their culture and sometimes achieving positions of power and wealth By 2000 BCE, the Semites had become politically dominant and the language Akkadian replaced Sumerian Cities, Kings, and Trade Most Mesopotamian cities were city-states; small independent states consisting of an urban center and the surrounding agricultural territory (a characteristic political form in early Mesopotamia, Archaic and Classical Greece, Phoenicia, and early Italy) o Mesopotamian city-states had farmers to produce food, as wall as urban residents that didnt engage in food production but specialized in crafts, making pottery, artwork, clothing, and weapons o Stretches of uncultivated land (swamp or desert) often separated city-states Canals and irrigation networks were quite complicated to operate and required leaders able to organize large numbers of people to work together o Public works, the harvest, the construction of walls and public buildings, and warfare also required similar coordination The centers of power in most cities were the temple and the palace of the king o Centrally located temples housed the cult of the deity or deities of that community, and the leading priests often played prominent political and economic roles In the third millennium BCE, kings emerged in Sumerian cities the king was typically portrayed as the deitys earthly representative (saw to upkeep of defenses, warding off attackers, etc.) o Priests and temples retained influence b/c of their wealth and religious mystique, but they gradually became dependent on the palace Some city-states became powerful enough to dominate others (EX. Sargon, ruler of the city of Akkad, became one of the first to unite many cities into one empire. They adopted the cuneiform of writing also) The Akkadian state fell around 2230 BCE, and the Sumerian culture and language became dominant again under the Third Dynasty of Ur The Third Dynasty of Ur was defeated by the Semitic Amorites, who founded a new city, Babylon Babylon the largest and most important city in Mesopotamia. It achieved particular eminence as the capital of the Amorite king Hammurabi in the 18th century BCE and the Neo-Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar in the 6th century BCE Hammurabi Amorite ruler of Babylon (1792-1750 BCE). He conquered many city-states in southern and northern Mesopotamia and is best known for a code of laws, inscribed on a black stone pillar, illustrating the principles to be used in legal cases (penalty usually death)

o Hammurabis law code was considered an advancement b/c it was a fair system that was the same for all people of the same class (ex. If you and I are of the same social class, the same punishments will apply to us) The far reaching conquests of some states were probably motivated by the need for vital resources Trade and long-distance commerce: boats for river and sea trade, trading for wood, gold, silver, copper, tin, jewels, etc.

Mesopotamian Society The rise of cities means also the rise of social classes, with temple leaders and kings on top and slaves at the very bottom The Law Code of Hammurabi in 18th century Babylonia reflected three social divisions: (1) the free, landowning class, which included royalty, high-ranking officials, warriors, priests, merchants, and some artisans and shopkeepers, (2) the class of dependent farmers and artisans, whose legal attachment to royal, temple, or private estates made them the primary rural workforce and (3) the class of slaves, primarily employed in domestic service; housework o The lower your social class, the more severe your punishment usually Slavery was not as prevalent or fundamental as it would be later in Greece and Rome many slaves came from mountain tribes (captured in war or sold by slave traders), but others were people who sold themselves into slavery b/c they were unable to pay their debts o Slaves usually identified by a distinctive hairstyle o Slaves received compensation w/ commodities such as food and oil in proportion to their gender, age, and tasks There are few remnants from the daily lives of ordinary Mesopotamians, but written archaeological remains include written items produced by male scribes, which for the most part reflect elite male activities o Scribe in the governments of many ancient societies, a professional position reserved for men who had undergone the lengthy training required to be able to read and write using cuneiforms, hieroglyphics, or other early, cumbersome writing systems Women Women lost social standing and freedoms in societies where agriculture replaced HG, so bearing and raising children became the main job of most women, preventing them from acquiring other specialized skills of the artisan or scribe Women could own property, maintain control of their dowry, and even engage in trade Some worked as prostitutes, in textile factories, as bakers, or fortunetellers Those who stayed at home helped with farming, cooking, cleaning, fetching water, etc. Men could be polygamous, but women could not. Some women were simply dedicated to the service of a deity as gods bride, so the family wouldnt have to lose the dowry Gods, Priests, and Temples Sumerian gods embodied the forces of nature, and Semitic and Sumerian gods soon became about the same People imagined the gods as anthropomorphic like humans in form and conduct. It was thought that they had bodies and senses, enjoyed the worship and obedience of humanity, south nourishment from sacrifice, and were driven by lust, love, hate, anger, and envy Mesopotamians feared their gods because they believed them responsible for the natural disasters that occurred without warning in their environment Temples were very prevalent and important in ancient cities they had shrines, plazas, chapels, housing, dining facilities, offices for priests and other staff, etc.

The most visible part of temples was the ziggurat a massive, pyramidal stepped tower made of mud bricks. It is associated with religious complexes in ancient Mesopotamian cities, but its function is unknown Priests met the needs of every deity in a daily cycle of waking, bathing, dressing, feeding, moving around, entertaining, soothing, and revering Amulets small charms meant to protect the bearer from evil. Found frequently in archaeological excavations in Mesopotamia and Egypt, amulets reflect the religious practices of common people Anthropologists dont know much about the religious beliefs of the common people, but they did come together during great festivals, ex. the New Years festival

Technology and Science Writing was first found in temples in Uruk, and it is thought that it arose when people tried to keep track of property gains/losses Cuneiform a system of writing in which wedge-shaped symbols represented words or syllables. Originated in Mesopotamia and was used initially for Sumerian and Akkadian but was later adapted to represent other languages of western Asia. Because so many symbols had to be learned, literacy was confined to a relatively small group of administrators and scribes Wheeled carts, sled-like platforms dragged by cattle, boats and barges, and donkeys were all used to transport goods Bronze an alloy of copper with a small amount of tin (or sometimes arsenic) that is harder and more durable than copper alone. The term Bronze Age is applied to the era the dates of which vary in different parts of the world when bronze was the primary metal for tools an weapons. The demand for bronze helped created long-distance networks of trade o Mesopotamians became skilled in metallurgy, creating bronze Clay was wisely available and used to make storage vessels, pottery, dishes, etc. Warfare early military forces were nonprofessional militias of able-bodied men called up when needed. The powerful states of later millennia employed armies of well-trained and well-paid fulltime soldiers (used horse drawn chariots and siege machinery) Mesopotamians created a base-60 number system in which numbers were expressed as fractions or multiples of 60 (this is the origin of the seconds and minutes we used today) Also began to study stars and planets - astronomy Egypt Gift of the Nile The Nile Rivers runs northward through Egypt, creating a fertile area along the banks where most of the population lives. The rest of the country is inhospitable desert Because the river flows from south to north, the southern part of Egypt is upper Egypt, and the northern part is lower Egypt Unlike the Tigris and Euphrates, the Nile floods around the same time each year, creating a reliable environment for grain agriculture o The ebb and flow of successful and failed regimes seems to be linked to the Niles flooding Egypt had many natural resources; papyrus reeds to make sails, ropes, and paper, wild animals, birds, and fish, building stone, clay, copper, turquoise, & gold could all be found in Egypt (no salt) Divine Kingship Egypt was unified from north to south early in its history kingship Historians classify Egyptian history with a system of thirty dynasties (Old, Middle, and New Kingdoms punctuated by Intermediate Periods of political fragmentation and decline) Pharaoh the central figure in the ancient Egyptian state. Believed to be an earthly manifestation of the gods, he used his absolute power to maintain the safety and prosperity of Egypt

Maat Egyptian term for the concept of divine created and maintained order in the universe. Reflecting the ancient Egyptians belief in an essentially beneficent world, the divine ruler (pharaoh) was the earthly guarantor of this order Pharaoh was supposed to be a god sent to earth to maintain maat When kings died, massive resources were poured into their tombs and funeral rites, in order to ensure the well-being of their spirits on their way to rejoin the gods (in pyramids) Pyramid a large, triangular stone monument, used in Egypt and Nubia as a burial place for the king. The largest pyramids, erected during the Old Kingdom near Memphis with stone tools and compulsory labor, reflect the Egyptian belief that the proper and spectacular burial of the divine ruler would guarantee the continued prosperity of the land o Did not use machinery other than simple levers, pulleys, and rollers Memphis the capital of Old Kingdom Egypt, near the Head of the Nile Delta. Early rulers were interred in the nearby pyramids

Administration and Communication Thebes capital city of Egypt and home of the ruling dynasties during the Middle and New Kingdoms. Amon, patron deity of Thebes, became one of the chief gods of Egypt. Monarchs were buried across the river (West Bank) in the Valley of the Kings Bureaucrats collected taxes from the people; these taxes support the palace, bureaucracy, and army, as well as the construction and maintenance of public works Government maintained a monopoly over key sectors of the economy and long-distance trade Hieroglyphics a system of writing in which picture symbols represented sounds, syllables, words, or concepts. It was used for official and monumental inscriptions in ancient Egypt. Because of the long period of study required to master this system, literacy in hieroglyphics was confined to a relatively small group of scribes and administrators. Cursive symbol-forms were developed for rapid composition on other media, such as papyrus o Papyrus a reed that grows along the banks of the Nile River in Egypt. From it was produced a coarse, paper-like writing medium used by the Egyptians and many other peoples in the ancient Mediterranean and Middle East The king often appointed officials and promoted them based on ability and accomplishment During the Old and Middle Kingdoms, Egypts foreign policy was basically isolationist all foreigners were enemies o Egypts interests abroad focused more on maintaining access to valuable resources than on acquiring new territory they traded with many other countries, especially for goods from the south The People of Egypt The people of Egypt ranged from dark-skinned (related to people form sub-Saharan Africa) people to lighter-skinned people (related to populations of North Africa and Western Asia) There was no formal class structure; (1) at the top were the king and high-ranking officials (2) in the middle were lower-level officials, local leaders, priests and other professionals, artists, and well-to-do farmers (3) at the bottom were peasants, who made up most of the population Peasants lived in rural villages and engaged in grain agriculture, as well as maintained and extended the irrigation network. Villagers shared tools, work animals, and storage facilities during peak agricultural times. They also had to contribute taxes and sometimes labor to the state Women women seem to have been respected and more or less equal to men. o They could own property, will their property, and inherit property o Marriage, usually monogamous, was not confirmed by any legal or religious ceremony, so either party could divorce at any time o In general, women had more legal rights and social rights than women in Mesopotamia

Belief and Knowledge Egyptian religion was rooted in the landscape of the Nile valley & the vision of cosmic order it invoked; the consistency of their environment made them more positive than Mesopotamians o Because the of predictable floods and usually bounteous harvests, Egyptians believed that the natural world was a place of recurrent cycles and periodic renewal o Ra: sun god, Osiris: king of the Underworld The gods of ancient Egypt were diverse in origin and nature (some had animal heads, some were human) there must have been many oral stories and myths about the gods also o When a town became the capital of a ruling dynasty, the chief god of that town became prominent across the land Cult activities were carried out in the inner reaches of the temples, off limits to all but the priests who served the needs of the deity by attending to his/her statue Egyptians believed in the afterlife and made extensive preparations for safe passage to the next world and a comfortable existence once they arrived there many people thought that death was a journey beset with dangers The Egyptian Book of the Dead present in many excavated tombs, contained rituals and spells to protect the journeying sprit Obsession with afterlife led to great concern about the physical condition of the cadaver, which led to perfection of mummification techniques Mummy a body preserved by chemical processes or special natural circumstances, often in the belief that the deceased will need it again in the afterlife. In ancient Egypt the bodies of people who could afford mummification underwent a complex process of removing organs, filling body cavities, dehydrating the corpse with natron, and then wrapping the body with linen bandages and enclosing it in a wooden sarcophagus Common people were buried in simple pit graves, where as privileged classes had larger tombs, and kings had pyramids with sealed chambers The Egyptians, through study of the stars, also constructed the most accurate calendar in the world. Pyramids, temples, and other monumental buildings also required great engineering skills The Indus Valley Civilization Natural Environment Because of floods twice a year and flooding from melting snow in the mountains, the floodplain of the Indus River is very fertile, and farmers can actually plant and harvest 2 crops a year there Indus valley settlements go as far east as Delhi in northwest India and as far South as the delta where the Indus empties into the Arabian Sea o Overall area coverage much larger than the area of the Mesopotamian civilization Material Culture Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro the Indus Valleys two greatest cities Harappa site of one of the great cities of the Indus Valley civilization of the 3rd millennium BCE. It was located on the northwest frontier of the zone of cultivation (in modern Pakistan) and may have been a center for the acquisition of raw materials, such as metals and precious stones, from Afghanistan and Iran o Might have served as a gateway for procuring copper, tin, and precious stones Mohenjo-Daro largest of the cities of the Indus Valley civilization. It was centrally located in the extensive floodplain of the Indus River in contemporary Pakistan. Little is known about the political institutions of Indus Valley communities, but the large scale of construction at MohenjoDaro, the orderly grid of streets, and the standardization of building materials are evidence of central planning

High, thick brick walls surrounded each city, and they were both laid out with streets in rectangular grids Most people lived in smaller settlements There is a greater quantity of metal in the Indus Valley than in Mesopotamia and Egypt, and technology and metal objects in the Indus Valley are utilitarian tools and other everyday objects o However, more jewelry and decorative metal objects have been discovered in Mesopotamia and Egypt Indus Valley people showed skill in irrigation and used the potters wheel Archaeologists have discovered evidence of writing, but to this day nobody has been able to decipher the documents/writing The people of the Indus Valley had widespread trading contracts between eastern Iran and Afghanistan (metals and precious stones), western India (ore deposits), etc. They also had access to building stone and timber We know little about the political social, economic, and religious institutions of the Indus Valley

Transformation of the Indus Valley Civilization The Indus Valley cities were abandoned sometime after 1900 BCE It was once thought that invaders destroyed them, but it is now believed that the civilization suffered systems failure, a breakdown of the fragile interrelationship of political, social, and economic systems that sustained order and prosperity o Gradual ecological changes (drying up of Hakra river system) or natural disasters (earthquakes or flooding) could have caused the failure