The Indus Valley Civlilization
An overall summary of the Indus Valley Civilization and its development, culture, and decline.
Articles focused on topics of anthropological or socio-cultural significance including family dynamics, gender, social relations, religion, daily life, ideologies and social stratification in the ancient Indus Valley civilization.
The Harappa Project 1986-1989: New Investigation at an Ancient Indus City
The long-term objectives of this research focus on developing a better understanding of the cultural, economic and social history of Harappa as a discrete urban phenomenon and also its role in the development and life of the Indus Civilization as a whole.
Ideology and Legitimation in the Indus State as revealed through Symbolic Objects
Archaeologically preserved symbols in the form of artifacts and architecture are the primary category of data available to scholars studying the development of early state level society in South Asia.
A Peaceful Realm? Trauma and social differentiation at Harappa
An analysis of a skeletal collection from Harappa contradicts the dehumanizing, unrealistic myth of the Indus Civilization as an exceptionally peaceful prehistoric urban civilization.
The ‘High-West: Low-East’ Dichotomy of Indus Cities: A Dravidian Paradigm
A fascinating, well-documented article on Indus city layouts and linguistic paradigms.
Beginnings of Indian Astronomy with Reference to a Parallel Development in China
An impressive paper by one of the Indus script's most important interpreters and theorists looks at the origins of astronomy in the subcontinent.
Aspects of Palace Life at Mohenjo-Daro
This article examines the social implications associated with historical architecture. The presence of centralized "palaces" suggests a social stratification including an elite class.
On the Development of Indus Technical Virtuosity and Its Relation to Social Structure
This paper focusses on "the distinctive Indus characteristic of inventing and diffusing elaborated techniques for the production of small, valuable objects, especially ornaments."
Ornament Styles of the Indus Valley Tradition
A brief discussion of the methodologies needed for the study of Indus ornaments is presented along with examples of how Indus artisans combined precious metals, stone beads, shell and faience to form elaborate ornaments.
‘We are inheritors of a rural civilisation’: rural complexity and the ceramic economy in the Indus Civilisation in northwest India
The relationship between ancient Indus centers - which we know best and consider a hallmark of the civilization - and the vast rural "hinterland" that surrounded them is the subject of this lucid paper.