Each Monday, this column turns a page in history to explore the discoveries, events and people that continue to affect the history being made today. Nowadays, if you need something, you go to the closest mall, shell out a few bucks and head home.
Thousands of years ago, the process wasn't nearly as simple. If you or someone in your town didn't grow it, herd it or make it, you needed to abandon that desire or else travel for it, sometimes over great distances.
For many towns, the effort of trade was too much. Those ancient towns make only rare appearances in our history books. When the first civilizations did begin trading with each other about five thousand years ago, however, many of them got rich…and fast. Trade was also a boon for human interaction, bringing cross-cultural contact to a whole new level.
When people first settled down into larger towns in Mesopotamia and Egypt, self-sufficiency — the idea that you had to produce absolutely everything that you wanted or needed — started to fade. A farmer could now trade grain for meat, or milk for a pot, at the local market, which was seldom too far away. Cities started to work the same way, realizing that they could acquire goods they didn't have at hand from other cities far away, where the climate and natural resources produced different things.
This longer-distance trade was slow and often dangerous, but was lucrative for the middlemen willing to make the journey. The first long-distance trade occurred between Mesopotamia and the Indus Valley in Pakistan around BC, historians believe. Long-distance trade in these early times was limited almost exclusively to luxury goods like spices, textiles and precious metals. Although the writing has not yet been deciphered, the evidence suggests they belonged to the same language system.
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Apparently, Mesopotamia's cuneiform system had some competition in the race for the world's first script. The discovery of the seals prompted archaeologists to dig further. Amazing urban architecture was soon uncovered across the valley and into the western plains. The findings clearly show that Harappan societies were well organized and very sanitary. For protection from seasonal floods and polluted waters, the settlements were built on giant platforms and elevated grounds. Upon these foundations, networks of streets were laid out in neat patterns of straight lines and right angles. The buildings along the roads were all constructed of bricks that were uniform in size.
The brick houses of all city dwellers were equipped with bathing areas supplied with water from neighborhood wells. Sophisticated drainage systems throughout the city carried dirty water and sewage outside of living spaces.
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Even the smallest houses on the edges of the towns were connected to the systems — cleanliness was obviously of utmost importance. No doubt, these cities were engineering masterpieces of their time. The remains of their walls yield clues about the culture that thrived in the Indus Valley. Clay figurines of goddesses, for example, are proof that religion was important.
Toys and games show that even in B. Pottery, textiles, and beads are evidence of skilled craftsmanship and thriving trade. It was this intensive devotion to craftsmanship and trade that allowed the Harappan culture to spread widely and prosper greatly. Each time goods were traded or neighbors entered the gates of the cities to barter, Indus culture was spread. Eventually, though, around B. E, this prosperity came to an end. The integrated cultural network collapsed, and the civilization became fragmented into smaller regional cultures.
Trade, writing, and seals all but disappeared from the area. Many believe that the decline of the Harappan civilization was a result of Aryan invasions from the north. This theory seems logical because the Aryans came to power in the Ganges Valley shortly after the Indus demise of the Indus Valley Civilization. Because there is little evidence of any type of invasion though, numerous historians claim that it was an environmental disaster that led to the civilization's demise.
They argue that changing river patterns disrupted the farming and trading systems and eventually led to irreparable flooding. Although the intricate details of the early Indus Valley culture might never be fully known, many pieces of the ancient puzzle have been discovered. The remains of the Indus Valley cities continue to be unearthed and interpreted today. With each new artifact, the history of early Indian civilization is strengthened and the legacy of this ingenious and diverse metropolis is made richer.
Report broken link. Ancient Civilizations 1. How Do We Know? Archaeologists and Their Artifacts b. Anthropologists and Their People c. Historians and Their Time d. Geographers and Their Space 2. Prehistoric Times a.
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Mummies e. Pyramids f.
Women of Ancient Egypt 4. The Early Middle East a. Life in Sumer b. Babylonia c. Hammurabi's Code: An Eye for an Eye d. Assyrians: Cavalry and Conquests e. Persian Empire f. Phoenicians: Sailing Away g. Hebrews and the Land of Milk and Honey h. Birth of Christianity i. Muhammad and the Faith of Islam 5. Ancient Greece a.
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Rise of City-States: Athens and Sparta b. Democracy Is Born c. Gods, Goddesses, and Heroes d. Greek Literature e. Art and Architecture f. Thinkers g.
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