Quickbytes Explanation
Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro
Question
What were Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro?
Reveal Answer
Answer
Major cities of the Indus Valley civilization.
Quick Explanation
Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro were two of the largest and best-known cities of the Indus civilization. Both flourished during the civilization's mature urban period and show similar traditions of brick construction, street planning, craft production, weights, seals, and water management. Neither can confidently be called the capital because the political structure of the civilization remains unknown.
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Two Major Indus Cities
Harappa, in present-day Pakistan’s Punjab region, and Mohenjo-Daro, farther south in Sindh, are among the best-studied urban centers of the Indus civilization.
Harappa gave archaeologists the term Harappan, which is often used as another name for the civilization. Mohenjo-Daro became famous for its extensive surviving streets, brick buildings, wells, drains, and the structure known as the Great Bath.
Shared Urban Traditions
The two cities were hundreds of kilometers apart, yet they shared striking features. Builders used standardized brick proportions, planners organized streets and neighborhoods, and craftspeople produced similar seals, weights, ornaments, and pottery styles.
Large but Not Alone
Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro were not the civilization’s only important centers. Archaeologists have identified other major sites, including Dholavira, Rakhigarhi, and Ganweriwala, along with hundreds of smaller settlements.
What We Still Do Not Know
Because the Indus inscriptions have not been conclusively deciphered, historians cannot read royal lists, tax records, or political narratives comparable to those available for some other ancient civilizations. We therefore do not know whether Harappa or Mohenjo-Daro served as a capital, whether different cities were politically independent, or how authority was organized across the region.