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Cities of the Harappan Civilization

The Harappan Civilization, also known as the Indus Valley Civilization, was a Bronze Age civilization that emerged in the third millennium BCE and flourished in the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent until the mid-second millennium BCE. The civilization is named after the site of Harappa, one of the largest and most well-known cities of the period, but there were other urban centers that shared similar features of planning, architecture, and material culture. Some of the cities of the Harappan Civilization are:

1. Harappa

Harappa is located in present-day Pakistan, near the Ravi River, and was first excavated in the 1920s and 1930s by British archaeologists. The city covered an area of about 150 hectares and had a planned layout with a fortified citadel, a lower town, and a granary complex. The houses were made of baked bricks and featured private wells, bathrooms, and drainage systems. The city also had public buildings, such as a Great Bath, a marketplace, and a cemetery.

2. Mohenjo-Daro

Mohenjo-Daro is another major city of the Harappan Civilization, located in present-day Pakistan, near the Indus River. The city was excavated in the 1920s and 1930s by Indian archaeologists and revealed a similar layout and architecture to Harappa, with a citadel, a lower town, and a granary complex. The city also had a Great Bath, a large public space with water channels and steps, and a large number of small, standardized seals made of steatite, which are considered to have been used for trade and administration.

3. Dholavira

Dholavira is a smaller but well-planned city of the Harappan Civilization, located in present-day India, in the Rann of Kutch. The city covers an area of about 100 hectares and has a unique water management system, with a series of interconnected reservoirs, canals, and check dams. The city also has a citadel, a lower town, and a large stadium or assembly hall, as well as evidence of craft specialization, such as pottery, metalwork, and bead making.

Other cities of the Harappan Civilization include Ganeriwala, Kalibangan, Rakhigarhi, and Lothal, which show variations in their layouts, sizes, and functions, but share a common culture and technology. The decline of the Harappan Civilization is still debated, but it is generally attributed to a combination of environmental factors, such as climate change, and socio-political changes, such as the emergence of new elites or the spread of pastoralism.