In the floodplain of the Indus river valley, towns and cities have appeared over a vast area. Some of these are the largest in the world at this time. The history of this ancient civilization is very obscure, but it shows signs of having spread from a single centre, perhaps near the delta of the river Indus, across much of modern-day Pakistan and north western India. The towns and cities show a high degree of uniformity of layout and design. The cities contain what are thought to have been granaries, public baths – perhaps for ritual purposes – and sewage and drainage systems, the earliest known. In several of the cities the streets are laid out along a grid pattern – apparently the first case of town planning in history.
There is an active trade with the Middle East. There is also evidence of a written script, but this has as yet not been deciphered by modern scholars.
Related Timelines:
Timeline of World History
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