Ans.
A sophisticated and technologically advanced urban
culture is evident in the Indus Valley Civilisation making them the first urban
centres in the region. The quality of municipal town planning suggests the
knowledge of urban planning and efficient municipal governments which placed a
high priority on hygiene, or, alternatively, accessibility to the means of religious
ritual.
As seen in Harappa, Mohenjo-Daro and the recently
partially excavated Rakhigarhi, this urban plan included the world's first
known urban sanitation systems: see hydraulic engineering of the Indus Valley
Civilisation. Within the city, individual homes or groups of homes obtained
water from wells. From a room that appears to have been set aside for bathing,
waste water was directed to covered drains, which lined the major streets.
Houses opened only to inner courtyards and smaller lanes. The house-building in
some villages in the region still resembles in some respects the house-building
of the Harappans.
The ancient Indus systems of sewerage and drainage
that were developed and used in cities throughout the Indus region were far
more advanced than any found in contemporary urban sites in the Middle East and
even more efficient than those in many areas of Pakistan and India today. The
advanced architecture of the Harappans is shown by their impressive dockyards,
granaries, warehouses, brick platforms, and protective walls. The massive walls
of Indus cities most likely protected the Harappans from floods and may have dissuaded
military conflicts.
The purpose of the citadel remains debated. In sharp
contrast to this civilisation's contemporaries, Mesopotamia and ancient Egypt,
no large monumental structures were built. There is no conclusive evidence of
palaces or temples—or of kings, armies, or priests. Some structures are thought
to have been granaries. Found at one city is an enormous well-built bath (the
"Great Bath"), which may have been a public bath. Although the
citadels were walled, it is far from clear that these structures were
defensive. They may have been built to divert flood waters.
Most city dwellers appear to have been traders or
artisans, who lived with others pursuing the same occupation in well-defined
neighbourhoods. Materials from distant regions were used in the cities for
constructing seals, beads and other objects. Among the artefacts discovered
were beautiful glazed faïence beads. Steatite seals have images of animals,
people (perhaps gods), and other types of inscriptions, including the yet
un-deciphered writing system of the Indus Valley Civilisation. Some of the
seals were used to stamp clay on trade goods and most probably had other uses
as well.
Although some houses were larger than others, Indus
Civilisation cities were remarkable for their apparent, if relative,
egalitarianism. All the houses had access to water and drainage facilities.
This gives the impression of a society with relatively low wealth
concentration, though clear social levelling is seen in personal adornments. The prehistory of Indo-Iranian borderlands
shows a steady increase over time in the number and density of settlements. The
population increased in Indus plains because of hunting and gathering.
Toilets that used water were used in the Indus Valley
Civilization. The cities of Harappa and Mohenjo-daro had a flush toilet in
almost every house, attached to a sophisticated sewage system.