History Alive!-Chapter 14
Unlocking the Secrets of Mohenjodaro
14.1 Introduction (p.133)


Mohenjodaro (means “place or hill of the dead”) was located in the Indus River
valley, in northern India
Many other towns were also clustered near the Sarasvati River → these
settlements became known as the Indus-Sarasvati civilization
o It is also called the Harappan civilization, after another city, Harappa
o The civilization flourished for 800 years, from about 2700 B.C.E. to 1900
B.C.E.
o The cities of Harappa and Mohenjodaro were the two great centers of this
civilization
 Archeologists found the ruins of Mohenjodaro in 1922 → they
discovered that the city had two main parts
 The first part was a raised area that was used as a citadel, or
fort; it was surrounded by a wall → in times of trouble,
people probably gathered in this area
 The second part was below the citadel and had many
houses and workshops → people probably lived here in
times of peace
14.2 The Mystery of Mohenjodaro (p.134-135)





From the city’s ruins, we can city that the city was carefully planned
To the west, the citadel (a fortress built to protect a city) rose up on a platform of
mud and brick
o Below the citadel, nine streets divided the lower city into blocks like those
of a modern city
Mohenjodaro was a large city →at one time, as many as 50,000 people may
have lived there
They had an advanced culture
One great mystery remains: What happened to this civilization?
o No one knows for sure
o After about 1900 B.C.E., the great cities of the Indus River valley
disappeared → Hostile invaders? Natural events? Indus River changed
course?
History Alive!-Chapter 14
14.3 Weights and Scale (p.135)

Inside the walls of Mohenjodaro’s citadel, several stone weights and a scale
were found near a large building
o Bits of grain (such as barley and wheat) were also found → archeologists
decided the building must have been a granary (a place to store grain)
o The flour may have been used for trading with other cities
o The scale and weights are interesting clues → they suggest that ancient
Indians might have used grain like money; perhaps the grain in the
citadel’s granary was collected as taxes
14.4 The Great Bath (p.136)



The most dramatic feature of Mohenjodaro’s citadel was the Great Bath, a pool
built of waterproofed brick
It seems certain that the people of Mohenjodaro used the pool to bathe
Some archeologists think that the Great Bath was also used for religious rituals →
they point out that bathing rituals are important in India’s major religion, Hinduism
14.5 Statue and Beads (p.137)



In the lower city, archeologists found a stone statue seven inches high → it shows
how men in Mohenjodaro might have looked and dressed
Beautiful stone beads in many shapes and colors have been found throughout
Mohenjodaro → women probably wore them
Beads were also made of clay and baked in hot ovens called kilns
14.6 Seals (p.137)

Small stone seals are among the most mysterious of Mohenjodaro’s artifacts
o They are carved with pictographs (pictures used to stand for objects,
sounds, or ideas) → more than 400 pictographs have been discovered,
but archeologists don’t know what most of them stand for
o No one knows how the seals were used, but scientists have made some
educated guesses
 Perhaps people wore them as charms to keep away evil
 They may have been pressed into wax to make a kind of tag →
merchants may have placed the wax tags on their goods to show
who owned them
History Alive!-Chapter 14
14.7 Sewer System (p.138)



A great achievement of Mohenjodaro was its sewer system (a network of pipes
that disposes of sewage, or waste water)
Mohenjodaro’s complex system of drains, pipes, wells, and bathrooms set the
city apart from other settlements of its time
The sewer system made it possible for both rich and poor to have bathrooms in
their homes
14.8 Homes (p.139)



Most of Mohenjodaro’s people lived in the lower city, which was three times the
size of the citadel
The houses had narrow windows on the second floor with screens made of hard
clay called terra-cotta or a see-through mineral called alabaster
Homes had from one to a dozen rooms → scientists believe that poorer people
lived in the smaller homes, while richer citizens lived in the larger ones
14.9 Games (p.140)


The people of Mohenjodaro enjoyed playing games
The game of chess was probably invented in India → An ancient Indian book
describes a war game played with dice and pieces called pawns
14.10 Clay Models (p.140-141)
 Archeologists have found small clay models all around Mohenjodaro → Most of
the models are made of terra cotta
 Description of model with two bulls attached to a yoke (p. 140-141)
14.11 Chapter Summary (141)
QUESTIONS:
1. Look at the map on page 134. How would you describe, using directional words,
the location of Mohenjodaro?
2. Why do you think women wore beautiful beaded jewelry?
History Alive!-Chapter 14
3. What were some ways Mohenjodaro was built in order to protect its people from
enemies?
4. Look at the clay model of the cart on page 140. What do you think this model
represents?
5. Why do you think archeologists thought the Great Bath was a pool?
6. What feature did Mohenjodaro have that other civilizations didn’t?
7. Look at the seals on page 137. What do you think they represent?
8. What is the difference between a home with 1 room compared to a home with
12?