India is a country in southern Asia, surrounded on three sides by the Indian Ocean

Pakistan is a country in southern Asia that shares a border with India

a valley is a flat area of land where a river flows between hills or mountains

soil is fertile when it is very good for growing lots of healthy plants

The Indus Valley

History

Archaeology and the Indus

Cities of the Indus Valley civilisation

Art in the Indus Valley Civilisation

The mysteries of the Indus Valley civilisation

What archaeologists have found out about the Indus Valley civilisation

In ‘The earliest civilisations: the Indus and the Shang’ pupils were encouraged to develop their understanding of the concept of civilisation. In ‘Iron Age Britain: what have historians learnt about Iron Age Britain?’ pupils are now invited to contrast their strong understanding of early civilisations with Iron Age Britain.

In ‘Sumer and other early civilisations: what made them similar?’ pupils encountered multiple early civilisations in overview in order to strengthen the concept of civilisation and to make connections between these. In ‘The earliest civilisations: the Indus and the Shang’ they are encouraged to develop their understanding of this concept even further. 

These units analyse the way in which archaeologists have found out about the Indus Valley Civilisation and the Shang dynasty. Whichever unit is chosen, pupils examine the archaeological record of an early civilisation and develop their knowledge of what claims are based on these remains.

The earliest civilisations: the Indus and the Shang

Harappa was the first Indus Valley civilisation site to be excavated

Mohenjo-Daro was the second Indus Valley civilisation site to be excavated

the people who lived in the Indus Valley in ancient times are known as the Indus Valley civilisation

the act of separating the parts of a crop that can be eaten from the parts that can't is called threshing

a seal is a decorated object that is pushed into a soft material like wet clay or wax in order to leave an imprint of its design

someone who buys and sells things is called a merchant

an artisan is someone very skilled at making things

art is the creation of things to be beautiful, using lots of skill

being able to do something very well from training or practice is called skill

when something is of great worth or value it is said to be precious

carnelian is a brownish-red mineral that is often used to make jewellery

a mystery is something that we aren't able to explain yet

a small statue or model of a person is called a figurine

a granary is a large building used to store grain from the harvest

people who dig in the ground for clues about people who lived in the past are archaeologists

a group of people who live together and follow the same ways of life and the same set of rules are a civilisation

Primary

Year 1

Year 2

Year 3

Year 4

Year 5

Year 6

Secondary

Year 7

Year 8

Year 9

Year 10

Year 11

Who we are

The earliest civilisations: the Indus and the Shang

The Indus Valley civilisation: What have archaeologists found out about it?

Choose a lesson (6)