The Monmouth College
Department of Classics
and the Western Illinois Society
of the Archaeological Institute of America

present

Recent Archaeological Work
on the Indus Valley Civilization

by

J. Mark Kenoyer

University of Wisconsin
Co-director and Field Director of the Harappa Archaeological Research Project in Pakistan

7:30 P.M.
October 2, 2002
Highlander Room
Stockdale Center
Monmouth College
Monmouth, Illinois
 

This illustrated lecture will present the most recent discoveries of the Indus Valley Civilization in Pakistan and western India. A special focus will be on the recent discoveries at the site of Harappa, Pakistan which have provided new evidence on the origins of writing and urbanism in the Indus Valley. Important topics will include the origins of agriculture and animal husbandry (7000 - 5000 BC), the emergence of village cultures and eventually towns (3300-2600 BC), and the urban expansion of the Indus or Harappan Period (2600-1900 BC). New discoveries on the development of writing, seals, and the use of standardized stone weights will be presented along with a discussion on Indus art, symbol and technology as well as the enigmatic undeciphered Indus script. The decline and reorganization of the Indus cities (1900-1300 BC) will also be discussed along with the gradual emergence of Indo-Aryan cultures in the northern subcontinent. Throughout the presentation the important contributions of the Indus culture to later civilizations in South Asia and other world regions will be highlighted.

For more information on the lecturer, see: http://department.monm.edu/classics/AIA/kenoyer_biography.htm

For additional readings on the Indus Valley Civilization, see
http://department.monm.edu/classics/AIA/indus_valley_civilization_biblio.htm

This material was posted on the web by Professor Thomas J. Sienkewicz of Monmouth College.
If you have any questions, you can contact him at toms@monm.edu.