Hands-On Activity · Lesson 1.7
The Case File
The Indus Valley Civilization: Cities Without Kings?
You have been given scattered evidence from the Indus Valley. Your job is to sort what is proven from what is only guessed, and build the strongest case you can.
Sort, rank, explain, defend.
With no readable writing and no confirmed ruler, historians must be careful about what they claim. Each Evidence Card below is a statement. Decide whether the physical evidence proves it, or whether historians are still arguing about it.
Evidence Cards
Nine statements about the Indus Valley. Ask of each one: could an archaeologist dig this up and show it to you, or is it an explanation someone has guessed from the objects? Remember that no one can read the Indus script.
Drains Under the Streets
Covered drainage channels ran through Indus cities, and indoor toilets in homes were connected to that drainage network.
Rule by Council
The Indus cities were run by shared councils of leaders instead of a single king.
Seals Far From Home
Small carved Indus seals have been found in cities in Mesopotamia, far across the Arabian Sea and the Persian Gulf.
A Script That Speaks
The roughly four hundred symbols of the Indus script record an actual spoken language.
Same-Sized Bricks
Mud bricks from different Indus cities were made to the same fixed size and ratio.
Priests in Charge
A small group of priestly elites held power over the Indus cities and made the important decisions.
Upper Town, Lower Town
Harappa and Mohenjo-daro each had a walled upper citadel area and a separate lower section where people lived.
One Rulebook for Builders
One central authority set the building rules for the whole civilization and made every city follow them.
Cities on Their Own
Each Indus city was an independent city-state with its own leaders, not part of one larger kingdom.
The Indus Valley
The Indus cities grew on the floodplain of the Indus River, ringed by mountains, the Thar Desert, and the Arabian Sea.
Build the Case File.
Fill in each part on screen, or print the page and write by hand.
Proven or Debated?
Write each card's number and name in one column. Proven means physical evidence shows it. Debated means historians are still arguing about it.
Proven
Debated
Rank the Debated cards.
Start with the claim you find most convincing. Use only as many rows as you have Debated cards. Name one Proven card that supports or weakens each claim.
| Rank | Debated card # | A Proven card that supports or weakens it |
|---|---|---|
| 1 (most convincing) | ||
| 2 | ||
| 3 | ||
| 4 | ||
| 5 | ||
| 6 (least convincing) |
Explain your top-ranked claim.
Write one sentence. Use the word evidence in your answer.
Why do historians disagree about Indus Valley government?
Write two sentences. Use at least one vocabulary word, such as Indus script, seal, or urban planning, and compare to Egypt's pharaohs or Mesopotamia's lugals.
Record what you found.
Your Evidence Log entry and checklist are part of your lesson points.
Evidence Log
Accountability Checklist
Use today's vocabulary.
Use at least two of these words in your writing.
Indus Script
A system of writing found on Indus Valley seals and objects, made up of about 400 symbols, that no scholar has yet deciphered.
Standardized Brick
A mud brick made to the same fixed size and ratio across the entire Indus Valley civilization, suggesting shared building rules.
Urban Planning
The practice of deliberately organizing a city's layout, including its streets, drainage, and buildings, before or as it is built.
Granary
A large building used to store harvested grain, like the one found at Mohenjo-daro.
Seal
A small carved stone stamp, often decorated with animals and Indus script, that merchants pressed into clay to mark ownership of goods.