The Indus Valley Civilization

From the year 2600 BC to 1900 BC, a major civil culture, known as the Indus River Valley Civilization, made it to its climax in a region now known as South Asia. The Indus Valley Civilization was an enormous civilization that consisted of over 1000 individual varying settlements. The settlements of the Indus Valley Civilization spread through what is now all of Pakistan, sections of Afghanistan, and some parts of India. When archaeologists attempted to investigate the civilization, one key aspect that was never resolved was its mysterious disappearance. Over the years, many different debates or viewpoints arose as to why the Indus Valley Civilization vanished. Even though the exact explanation for the disappearance of the ancient Indus Civilization
is unknown, many arguments or theories exists that explain the unknown. One view on the disappearance of the ancient civilization involves the nomadic people known as the Aryans. The Aryans were tough people that followed a religion influenced by a god that commands for conquest as well as warfare. Since the Aryans were very fierce, violent, and war-like, many associate the mysterious disappearance as a conquest of the Aryans. Researchers believe that the conquest of the Indus people occurred as the Aryans began to move south in many waves focused on the conquest of villages. Others also associate the Aryans with the cause for the vanishing of the ancient civilization, but in a different way. Others believe that as the Aryans brought their war-like culture to the Indus River Valley, their culture blended with the culture of the already existing indigenous people. As a result, the blending of the two cultures created a new culture that was more contemplative, known today as Indian culture. Another debate that exists about the mysterious vanishing of the civilization involves a Great Depression after several natural obstacles. Some researchers believe that during the Indus Valley Civilization, some areas experienced a change in rainfall, which became antagonistic towards the Indus people. Aside from the rainfall, massive earthquakes also affected the civilization by changing the routes of the nearby rivers. This eventually provoked the Indus civilization to move, which caused a Great Depression as successful centers turned into ghost towns. Also, some believe that as the Indus people moved eastward due to many environmental difficulties, their cities regained their success. Their urban centers began to return to their prosperous state, but as time progressed, their centers went on a quick decline, due to many conflicting factors, like the lack of proper sanitation and an explosion of farming societies. Soon the Indus people left their urban lifestyle behind and preferred the old farming lifestyle. As more and more people followed the old farming lifestyle, the Indus River Valley soon vanished. Lastly, another argument that remains when it comes to the Indus River Valley Civilization enigma associates the environment found in the region as the cause of the mystery.
Some scholars debate that the actual cause for the mystery in the Indus Valley is environmental stress, like climatic change. According to evidence cited with the ancient civilization, the Indus Valley Civilization necessitated a wet environment to supply all the materials needed for the society to grow and prosper. After a millennium, the wet environment in the Indus Valley shifted to a drier environment, which pushed the ancient civilization into a downfall. In fact, researchers believe that the dry conditions began in a period in the second millennium BCE. Other evidence that supports the viewpoint of environmental stress as the cause, includes the shifts in the routes of many rivers that served as main water sources. The changes in the routes occurred mainly because of tectonic forces acting on the surface of the Earth, like earthquakes. Once the old routes of the shifted rivers dried out, the result would include many issues and obstacles for the people settled near the area. Some of the issues faced by the Indus people include, the loss of arable land, the decline in food production, the relinquishment of successful cities, the movement of populations away from the valley, and the rivalry for limited resources. Altogether, if the natural events stated above acted on the Indus Valley Civilization,
it’s a possibility that environmental force could have potentially caused the mystery. Overall, whether it was the Aryans, a Great Depression, or ecological forces, the mystery of the disappearance of the Indus River Valley Civilization will remain unsolved and unexplained until further technology and research is presented.
Maybe the answer is hidden within the unique writing system of the Indus script, but until a team deciphers the scripts, many reasonable debates concentrate around the puzzling ancient Indus Civilization and give excellent and comprehensive evidence that greatly supports their
argument.