Mohenjo-Daro

=**Mohenjo-Daro**=



Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa have been considered twin capitals of the civilization that developed in the Indus River valley. Thought to contain five thousand people, Mohenjo-Daro was about three miles in circumference and was dominated by a hilltop structure, whose function has not been deciphered. The city also included a warehouse for food storage. The well-fortified city was precisely planned with wide main streets and regular rectangular blocks. The people built houses of baked clay, each containing a small bathroom. The city contained complex plumbing systems, complete with underground sewers. An agricultural civilization, major crops included melon, barley, and wheat. Cotton may also have been developed for the use of its fiber in this area. Some merchants and traders inhabited the area, trading grain, copper, pearls, and ivory with peoples in the Arabian Sea and Persian Gulf. Mohenjo-Daro's unique writing system bears no resemblance to the cuneiform of Sumer. The people were probably polytheistic with a leading mother goddess and male god. Certain animals, especially cattle, were considered sacred. Remnants of a major flood, suggest that Mohenjo-Daro was destroyed by a natural re-routing of the Indus River, cutting connections between Mohenjo-Daro and the later civilizations of India.



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Created By: Becca Ellison September 1, 2008