New
New
Year 3

The mysteries of the Indus Valley civilisation

I can describe some of the mysteries that still remain about the Indus Valley Civilisation.

New
New
Year 3

The mysteries of the Indus Valley civilisation

I can describe some of the mysteries that still remain about the Indus Valley Civilisation.

Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Archaeologists do not understand everything about the Indus Valley civilisation because we cannot read their writing.
  2. There is no evidence of how these places were ruled or governed, but they were clearly very well organised.
  3. Their religion is a mystery to us, although they made lots of figurines that may have been offered to gods.
  4. There are pictures of figures with horns or controlling animals, which historians know other Asian people believed in.
  5. There are buildings that archaeologists thought were granaries, but now aren't sure because no grain has been found.

Common misconception

Pupils might think that it will never be possible to read the ancient Indus Valley civilisation script.

A new discovery similar to the Rosetta Stone could unlock the key to deciphering the writing and help to solve some of the mysteries!

Keywords

  • Mystery - a mystery is something that we aren't able to explain yet

  • Figurine - a small statue or model of a person is called a figurine

  • Granary - a granary is a large building used to store grain from the harvest

Pupils could create figurines of people or things important to them in their lives to help them understand why the ancient civilisations made their figurines.
Teacher tip

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2024), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

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6 Questions

Q1.
Historians can read the ancient writing of the people of the Indus Valley.
True
Correct answer: False
Q2.
A brownish-red mineral that was often used to make jewellery is called...
gold
Correct answer: carnelian
bronze
Q3.
The people of the Indus Valley made art from...
Correct answer: clay
Correct answer: metal
Correct answer: stone
Correct answer: gold
Q4.
When something is of great worth or value it is...
skill
Correct answer: precious
art
Q5.
Clay seals with animals and writing on them were...
very big
Correct answer: very small
Q6.
The people of the Indus Valley used things they could see around them as inspiration for their...
Correct Answer: art, painting, seals

6 Questions

Q1.
Something that we aren't able to explain yet is a...
granary
figurine
Correct answer: mystery
Q2.
Select the things we know about the Indus Valley civilisation.
what their religion was
Correct answer: that they had water systems
Correct answer: that they made bricks
what their writing says
Q3.
Match the discovery to what it tells us about the people of the Indus Valley civilisation.
Correct Answer:straight streets,they were good at organising cities

they were good at organising cities

Correct Answer:drains,they could flush away dirty water

they could flush away dirty water

Correct Answer:wells,they were able to use clean water

they were able to use clean water

Q4.
Which of these are still mysteries of the Indus Valley civilisation?
Correct answer: What the figurines were used for
Correct answer: What their writing says
Correct answer: Who was in charge
Correct answer: What their religion was
Q5.
Things like figurines and clay seals give us about the Indus Valley religion.
Correct Answer: clues, clue, a clue
Q6.
Granary circles are a mystery because…
they are made of bricks.
Correct answer: no grain has been found there.
they are circles.

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