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The Indus Valley Civilization

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The Indus valley civilizations was an intriguing and sophisticated ancient culture and also a major contributor in the development of what later came to be known as “Hinduism” . The civilization was founded “accidentally” in the 19th century when the British engineers were searching for ballast for a railway line in north-western India (which is now modern day Pakistan) and found the remains of what seemed to be an ancient city which was only known only to locals until then. In the early 20th century, when other similar sites were uncovered, archaeologists realized the significance of the discovery, which turned out to be one of the most prospering civilizations of the ancient world. It is called The Indus Valley Civilization because most of its settlements are situated along the banks of the Indus River .The largest and most important of this civilization were its two prospering cities known as Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa. These names are of post–Indus origin as they were given with reference to the towns built much later on the ruins of these ancient cities. During their prosperous period,, Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa had a population of around 40-50 thousand, which was a lot by ancient standards. Both of these cities were highly organized and strategically planned, and displayed remarkably similar features during their excavation. Given the structure of the cities, archaeologists suggest that there may have been a central authority for code enforcement and the Harappan

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