In 1921, archaeologists discovered the ruins of a city called
. About 400 miles to the south, archaeologists found a
second ruined city called . Historians think as
many as 40,000 people may have lived there. It had large
avenues paved with brick, hundreds of one-room houses,
and apartment buildings several stories high with
and courtyards.
Harappan Culture
Indus Valley cities used precise and had
systems. Many houses had their own toilets. Historians
conclude that the Indus civilization must have had a strong
central . Ancient Harappans were skilled engineers
and craftworkers. in the Indus Valley may have
been the first to make cotton fibers into cloth. This kind of
specialization required a of food.
The Aryans
Aryans, people from central Asia who rode horses to herd
cattle and sheep, west into Europe and south into
India. Aryan means "noble one" in . The Aryans
brought the Sanskrit language to the Indus Valley and the
rest of the subcontinent.