The cities were located about 644 kilometers, or 400 miles, from one another and were similar in layout. Elected officials or other elites may have acted as rulers.
The Harappan cities did not have palaces or temples, and there is no evidence they were ruled by kings and queens. The cities had an estimated population of around 40,000 each.
In the United States' New York City, Central Park alone has an area of 1.3 square miles. Both cities cover less than 2.6 square kilometers, or one square mile. As a result, most of what is known about Harappans comes from the ruins of their two largest cities: Harappa and Mohenjo-daro. Harappans built their civilization along the flood plain of the Indus River.Īlthough the Harappans had a written language, scholars today cannot decipher the Indus script. The Harappan civilization was located in South Asia, in what is now Pakistan and northwest India. At the same time, the civilizations of ancient Mesopotamia, Egypt, and China were also thriving. Also known as the Harappan civilization, the Indus Valley civilization was one of the world's earliest urban civilizations. The Indus Valley civilization was around from about 3300–1700 B.C.E., roughly 5,320 to 3,720 years ago. Using modern technology, scientific explorers have discovered some answers. Looking at one example of an early civilization, the Indus Valley Civilization, offers insights about early urban life.Īncient Urban Community in Modern-Day India and Pakistan So, what was life like in the earliest cities created by humankind? For centuries, archaeologists and historians have studied this subject. These cities were unlike modern cities but still organized places meant for many people to live together peacefully. Humans have lived in cities for around 5,000 years.