Prehistory and the Indus Valley
The first era covers farming at Mehrgarh from about 7000 BCE through the rise and decline of the Indus Valley cities. Mohenjo-daro and Harappa, both in modern Pakistan, were planned brick settlements with drainage, granaries and a script that remains undeciphered. The period closes as the cities are abandoned between 1900 and 1300 BCE.
- Period
- 7000 BCE to 1300 BCE
- Focus
- Mehrgarh to Mohenjo-daro
Last updated
| Period | 7000 BCE to 1300 BCE[1] |
|---|---|
| Focus | Mehrgarh to Mohenjo-daro[1] |
Prehistory and the Indus Valley: overview
The first era covers farming at Mehrgarh from about 7000 BCE through the rise and decline of the Indus Valley cities. Mohenjo-daro and Harappa, both in modern Pakistan, were planned brick settlements with drainage, granaries and a script that remains undeciphered. The period closes as the cities are abandoned between 1900 and 1300 BCE.
Timeline
- -7000
Mehrgarh farming settlement
One of the earliest known farming villages in South Asia, in present-day Balochistan.
- -2600
Mature Harappan phase
Mohenjo-daro and Harappa reach their planned urban form.
- -1900
Urban decline begins
The large Indus cities are gradually abandoned.
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era
- Vedic and Achaemenid period
1500 BCE — Vedic period begins
Between the Indus cities and Alexander, the north-west shifts to pastoral and early Vedic society, then to imperial administration. Taxila and the Gandhara plain become the eastern edge of the Achaemenid Persian empire, paying tribute and adopting Aramaic script, which later shaped Kharosthi writing across the region.
Sources
- [1]Archaeological Ruins at Moenjodaro — UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Accessed 2026-08-30.
- [2]Mehrgarh, Neolithic site — UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Accessed 2026-08-30.
- [3]Indus civilization — Encyclopaedia Britannica. Accessed 2026-08-30.