2200 1800 BC Ancient Indus Valley Harappan Terracotta Fertility Figurine with Child

The Indus civilization is also known as the Harappan Civilization, after its type site, Harappa, the first of its sites to be excavated early in the 20th century in what was then the Punjab province of British India and now in Pakistan.

The discovery of Harappa and soon afterward Mohenjo-Daro was the culmination of work beginning in 1861 with the founding of the Archaeological Survey of India during the British Raj.

There were however earlier, and later cultures often called Early Harappan and Late Harappan in the same area.

For this reason, the Harappan civilization is sometimes called the Mature Harappan to distinguish it from these other cultures.

By 2002, over 1,000 Mature Harappan cities and settlements had been reported, of which just under a hundred had been excavated.

However, there are only five major urban sites, Harappa, Mohenjo-Daro (UNESCO World Heritage Site), Dhaulagiri, Ganeriwala, and Rakhigarhi.

The early Harappan cultures were preceded by local Neolithic agricultural villages, from which the river plains were populated.

The Indus civilization is also known as the Harappan Civilization, after its type site, Harappa, the first of its sites to be excavated early in the 20th century in what was then the Punjab province of British India and now in Pakistan.

The discovery of Harappa and soon afterward Mohenjo-Daro was the culmination of work beginning in 1861 with the founding of the Archaeological Survey of India during the British Raj.

There were however earlier, and later cultures often called Early Harappan and Late Harappan in the same area.

For this reason, the Harappan civilization is sometimes called the Mature Harappan to distinguish it from these other cultures.

By Neolithic agricultural villages, from which the river plains were populated.