2600 BC–-1900 · Asia · Trade
Harappa, Mohenjo-daro and related settlements formed one of the ancient world’s largest urban networks, with carefully planned streets, drainage, standardized weights and long-distance exchange across South Asia and the Persian Gulf.
Atlas dossier · Ancient WorldFree device narration · synchronized English captions · transcript available
Why it matters
Harappa, Mohenjo-daro and related settlements formed one of the ancient world’s largest urban networks, with carefully planned streets, drainage, standardized weights and long-distance exchange across South Asia and the Persian Gulf.
Indus Valley communities · craft workers · traders · farmers · archaeologists
The Indus civilization demonstrates that early urbanism, engineering and trade were not confined to the Nile and Mesopotamia, while its undeciphered writing preserves important historical questions.
Interpretation note
This dossier distinguishes the event’s basic chronology from later arguments about meaning, responsibility and legacy. When comparing religious, national, Indigenous or scholarly interpretations, consult the primary and institutional sources above alongside peer-reviewed historical work.
Elsewhere in the world
3100 BC–-1070 · AfricaAncient Egypt: Nile kingdoms and the New KingdomFor more than two millennia, Nile Valley kingdoms developed durable systems of agriculture, writing, taxation, religion, craft and state power. The New Kingdom extended Egyptian rule into Nubia and the eastern Mediterranean while leaving a vast architectural and textual record.
1000 BC–1500 · AfricaBantu-speaking migrations and African ironworking networksOver many centuries, Bantu-speaking communities spread languages, farming systems, ironworking knowledge and social institutions through central, eastern and southern Africa. The process was diverse, gradual and shaped by exchange with peoples already living in these regions.
1000 BC–-350 · AfricaKush and Nubian kingdomsNubian kingdoms south of Egypt developed powerful states, monumental cities and far-reaching trade; Kushite rulers governed Egypt as the Twenty-fifth Dynasty.