When people list great civilizations of the past, they’ll often list the Roman Empire, Ancient Egypt, the Maya, the Incas, the Vikings, Mongols, and so on. Rarely do you hear much about the Indus-Valley civilization, also known as the Harappan civilization.
From around 3300 BC to 1300 BC, the Harappan people were some of the most advanced people in the world. In fact, many of their innovations were not rediscovered again for many generations. They were an amazing people who did some remarkable things.
10. They Mastered Flush Toilets
Toilets have a long and awful history. Their use and innovations have had many ups and downs. What you can be assured of is that the toilet was 100% not invented by a man named Thomas Crapper, Europeans did spend a long time using chamber pots, and the Indus-Valley civilization, thousands of years ago, had toilets that could flush and some fairly advanced plumbing and sanitation that would not be seen again anywhere in the world for many years.
The level of sophistication that they employed was not seen again for over two thousand years when the Romans developed their own plumbing. Cities like Mohenjo-daro drew water from upwards of 700 wells. This provided homes with running water and even bathhouses throughout the town. All houses in the capital of Harappa had toilets connected to a public sewer system.
9. They Had Rudimentary Air Conditioning
Sanitation was far from the only advanced comfort of the Indus people. They had also developed an early and rudimentary form of air conditioning to keep themselves cool on those balmy days. Many homes had what were known as wind catchers installed.
Still used in Iran today, wind catchers are essentially large stone chimneys. These pillars would rise above homes and redirect any breezes down through stone chambers into the homes below. Research has shown that a wind catcher can reduce the temperature in a home by as much as 10 degrees Celsius. On a hot day, that could mean going from 104 degrees Fahrenheit, all the way down to 86 degrees. Still a warm day, but not nearly as stifling.
8. The Indus Script Remains Undeciphered
Although the Indus people are long gone, we still do have a few relics of their civilization. From unearthed remains of great cities, we have also discovered the Indus script. Like other ancient languages, this one seems to be made up of symbols that represent thoughts or ideas, but there is no consensus on how simple or complex they may be. Does the script represent a proper language? Or are the symbols just showing general ideas? No one can say for sure.
Thousands of inscriptions have been unearthed, and they are all typically very short. Most are four or five symbols long. Not a single one has ever been translated. No one can even agree if it evolved into another modern language, either. Those who claim to have descended from the Indus Valley people can and sometimes do violently oppose any research that suggests their language did not evolve from this undeciphered one. There have been threats made against researchers in the past.
Many scholars have tried to decipher the language over the years, but none of their attempts have been able to account for a full and reasonable translation. Some have been led to propose that the script is not a language at all. They believe the symbols are emblems and have general meanings, but not anything as precise and specific as a codified language.
7. They Really Liked Unicorns
Certain civilizations seemed to have been linked to certain mythological beasts in history; the kinds of creatures that we associated with the mythology of the people or the time. The minotaur is linked to Ancient Greece, and Chinese culture is replete with dragons. When you think of Ireland, you probably imagine leprechauns and fairies. For the Indus people, it was unicorns.
In many of the seals and symbols that have been uncovered in the area, unicorns are a common motif. They are the most common, in fact.
It has been speculated that the creature depicted in the Indus images is a nilgai. That’s a kind of Asian antelope that is also known as a blue cow. But in real life, those animals have two horns. So the ones depicted by the Indus people, with their single horn, are very possibly a mythological version of the same creature and therefore in the same boat as a unicorn.
The significance of the unicorn is not fully known. This is a result of the language issue. What any of the seals or inscriptions depicting unicorns say is still undecipherable, but since many of them also depict trees and plants, it may have something to do with harvests, farming, fertility, or associated themes. Until the script is deciphered, we’ll never know for sure.
6. They Invented Buttons
The button is one of the most ubiquitous and underappreciated things in the world. Everyone has buttons on coats and pants and sweaters, but rarely do we consider their origins. Like all things in the world, however, the button did have a beginning. That beginning was in the Indus Valley.
If you head back to around 2000 BC, the first buttons ever discovered were in the Indus Valley. Archaeologists discovered ones made from curved shells. They were used as ornaments on the clothing of people who were either wealthy or of an important social status. Essentially, it was a very old-school way to flex your social position and wealth.
Buttons were drilled, because they did have primitive drills at the time, and attached to clothing with thread. They were also applied in geometric patterns, so something more like rhinestones or sequins in terms of their function. As a fastener for clothes, it was not used for some years.
5. They May Have Invented Dice Games
Any fan of tabletop gaming likely has a collection of dice that they use and are oddly proud of. Fans of craps or Yahtzee probably have a few extra dice around the house as well. The Indus Valley may have been where all of that started.
Excavations of the city of Harappa turned up a six-sided cubical die. It had dots on every side from one to six and looked for all the world like any die you would find in a modern board game. The only difference is how the dots are laid out. On a modern die, opposite sides always add up to 7. So the 6 dots are opposite the 1, the 5 is opposite 2, and the 4 is opposite 3. On the Indus die, 1 is opposite 2, 3 is opposite 4, and so on. Many additional dice were found in the city of Mohenjo-daro.
The dice seemed to have been used in pairs, and examples found together were precisely the same size. That means they were clearly designed with some skill and effort.
4. They Had the World’s Oldest Public Pool
There are over 300,000 public pools in the US alone. People just really dig swimming and they’ll take it any way they can get it. This is definitely not unique to modern times. The Indus Valley city of Mohenjo-daro was home to the world’s oldest public pool.
Known as the Great Bath, the pool dates back around 5,000 years. It wouldn’t be all that impressive by modern standards, the pool only measured about 39 feet by 23 feet. It was also under eight feet deep. The fact they could have constructed a waterproof tank to hold it was impressive on its own, but so is the fact it’s been extremely well preserved after all this time.
Today the pool is a World Heritage Site, but it’s still not fully known what the purpose of the pool may have been. Of course, it could have just been for leisure time swimming, but it’s part of a larger citadel. The pool may have had a purpose in religious ceremonies of some kind. It’s possible the building was even a home for priests who used the bath.
3. They Had Advanced Dentistry
Few people are more hated in the modern world than the dentist. We all need to go to a dentist at one time or another, we all understand the importance, and they never seem to be all that cruel or malicious. Nonetheless, people hate them. The dentist is an objectionable experience that makes you feel awkward and judged and often results in mild discomfort at best and pain at worst. Now try to imagine the very first dentists in the Indus Valley civilization and how well-regarded they must have been.
The dental drill, the most feared of all dental tools, was an innovation of the Indus Valley. They could drill holes in beads and buttons, and this technology was carried over to the science of dentistry. The drill itself would have been a primitive bow drill and the dentist was likely a bead craftsman.
Eleven teeth belonging to nine individuals dating back somewhere between 7,500 and 9,000 years show evidence of drilling. Because of the wear on the teeth and the drill holes archaeologists were able to determine that the teeth were not drilled after death, this was a procedure done to a living patient who continued to use their teeth afterward.
Whether the procedure helped fix any cavities or whether they had any kind of effective anesthetic is not known.
2. Their Disappearance is a Mystery
One of the most incredible things about the Indus Valley Civilization is the fact that it ended and no one knows why. Most great civilizations leave behind a good deal of historical evidence and records of their rise and fall. This didn’t happen for the Indus people.
It wasn’t until 1920 that the city of Harappa was first uncovered and we began to learn about the civilization and its incredible advancements. And while we know how long they lasted in the world from about 3300 BC to 1300 BC, what caused the end of such a remarkable civilization is obscured.
There are plenty of guesses as to what happened, of course. There is evidence that space was becoming an increasing concern. Homes were built on top of homes. Trade routes to Mesopotamia were likely suffering as well, thanks to upheaval in that part of the world.
Other possibilities include war or natural disaster. One of the most widely accepted beliefs is that a changing world is what brought an end to the civilization. Climate and geography both changed over the years. The Indus River may have changed course and led to extensive flooding. Since the river was life not just in terms of providing water but also trade, it would have been devastating.
Other rivers may have dried up at the same time and that cou;d have led to widespread disease and famine. The people of the Indus Valley would have had to migrate elsewhere or die.
1. They Had No Weapons or Army
One of the theories about how the Indus Valley Civilization disappeared is that they were invaded by a foreign army. This idea is generally not accepted, and the archaeological evidence found so far does back this up. As near as we can figure, the Indus people did not have an army.
There seems to be no evidence of a standing army in the entire civilization. No weapons were left behind, no armor, and no real signs of major conflict at all. The only depiction of battle that has been found in imagery shows a mythological scene with a goat-horned person with a tiger’s body.
While there did seem to be levels of wealth or notoriety in the Indus society, there was no King or royalty above the other people. There were no palaces, nor were there images of kings or emperors that we know of.
The society seems to have been one of widespread equality. There were no poor slums and opulent homes, all living places looked nearly identical. All citizens seemed to have the same opportunities and the same levels of comfort. It’s no wonder many modern thinkers have likened it to a Utopia.