2500-1000 BC Bronze Age and Indus

Around 2600-2500 BC developing regional cultures of western Pakistan to northern India coalesced into a single entity, known today as the Indus Civilisation. This covered a vast area – over 1,000,000 square kilometres – and had satellite settlements as far away as northern Afghanistan and the Gulf.

The rise of the Indus saw the appearance of the first cities in South Asia, although the socio-political organisation of the society that built them remains unclear: no clear examples have been found of the palaces, temples or elite burials which traditionally indicate hierarchical societies. Steatite seals, engraved with an un-deciphered script, have been recovered from Indus sites, perhaps suggesting a level of bureaucracy. Craft production was particularly developed in the Indus, and many objects were manufactured from a whole range of materials, including stone, shell, ceramic and metal. Indus goods have been found as far away as Mesopotamia.

Towards the end of this period the Indus reverted back to a series of regional cultures and the cities were largely abandoned in favour of smaller villages. This ‘collapse’ cannot be explained by any single factor or event, but it seems likely that climate change and the desiccation of a major river system played a part.