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

The {{ }} River begins in the Himalayan mountains and ends in the Arabian Sea.

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

soil that is very good for growing lots of healthy plants

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

a country in southern Asia that shares a border with India

Match the word to the correct definition.

The first evidence from the Indus Valley civilisation was found at…

The land surrounding the River Indus is very…

In the Indus Valley around 8000 years ago, historians think that people started to….

The Indus Valley civilisation probably started around {{ }} years ago.

The region between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers was known as…

when humans live together in large groups in a very organised way

people buying or selling items they need or want

Which of the following is the correct definition for ‘civilisation’?

A type of ancient {{ }} invented in Sumer was called cuneiform.

The areas around the Tigris and the Euphrates rivers were bad for growing crops.

They moved around and did not settle in one place.

Select all the similarities between the ancient civilisations of the Egyptians, Sumerians and the Indus Valley.

The ancient civilisations of the Egyptians, Sumerians and the Indus Valley existed around {{ }} years ago.

Starter Quiz

The region between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers was known as…