Editing History of Pakistan (section)

===Indus Valley Civilisation===
{{Main|Indus Valley Civilisation}}
{{multiple image
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| header            = [[Indus Valley Civilization]]
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| image1            = Mohenjo-daro Priesterkönig.jpeg
| caption1          = The [[Priest-King (sculpture)|"Priest King"]] sculpture is carved from [[steatite]].
| image2            = Shiva Pashupati.jpg
| caption2          = The ''[[Pashupati seal]]''
| image3            = Dancing Girl of Mohenjo-daro.jpg
| caption3          = The [[Dancing Girl (Mohenjo-daro)|Dancing Girl]] of Mohenjo-daro
| image4            = Mohenjodaro Sindh.jpeg
| caption4          = Excavated ruins of the Great Bath at [[Mohenjo-daro]] in [[Sindh]]
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The [[Bronze Age]] in the [[Indus Valley]] began around 3300&nbsp;BCE with the Indus Valley Civilization.{{Sfn|Wright|2009|p=1}} Along with [[Ancient Egypt]] and [[Mesopotamia]], it was one of three early civilizations of the [[Old World]], and of the three the most widespread,{{Sfn|Wright|2009|ps=: Quote: "The Indus civilization is one of three in the 'Ancient East' that, along with [[Mesopotamia]] and [[Ancient Egypt|Pharonic Egypt]], was a cradle of early civilization in the Old World (Childe 1950).  Mesopotamia and Egypt were longer lived, but coexisted with Indus civilization during its florescence between 2600 and 1900 B.C.  Of the three, the Indus was the most expansive, extending from today's northeast Afghanistan to Pakistan and India."}} covering an area of 1.25&nbsp;million km<sup>2</sup>.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Blanc De La|first1=Paul|title=Indus Epigraphic Perspectives: Exploring Past Decipherment Attempts & Possible New Approaches 2013 Pg 11|url=http://www.ruor.uottawa.ca/bitstream/10393/26166/1/Leblanc_Paul_2013_thesis.pdf|website=University of Ottawa Research|publisher=University of Ottawa|access-date=11 August 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140904103021/http://ruor.uottawa.ca/bitstream/10393/26166/1/Leblanc_Paul_2013_thesis.pdf|archive-date=4 September 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref> It flourished in the basins of the [[Indus River]], in what is today the Pakistani provinces of [[Sindh]], [[Punjab, Pakistan|Punjab]] and [[Balochistan (Pakistan)|Balochistan]], and along a system of perennial, mostly monsoon-fed, rivers that once coursed in the vicinity of the seasonal [[Ghaggar-Hakra River]] in parts of [[Northwest India (pre-1947)|north-west India]].{{Sfn|Wright|2009|p=1}} At its peak, the civilization hosted a population of approximately 5 million spread across hundreds of settlements extending as far as the [[Arabian Sea]] to present-day southern and eastern [[Afghanistan]], and the [[Himalayas]].<ref name="feuerstein">{{cite book|last=Feuerstein|first=Georg|author2=Subhash Kak |author3=David Frawley |title=In search of the cradle of civilization: new light on ancient India|publisher=Quest Books|location=Wheaton, Illinois|year=1995|page=147|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kbx7q0gxyTcC|isbn=978-0-8356-0720-9}}</ref> Inhabitants of the ancient Indus river valley, the Harappans, developed new techniques in metallurgy and handicraft (carneol products, seal carving), and produced copper, bronze, lead, and tin.

The Mature Indus civilisation flourished from about 2600 to 1900&nbsp;BCE, marking the beginning of urban civilisation in the Indus Valley. The civilisation included urban centres such as [[Harappa]], [[Ganeriwala]] and [[Mohenjo-daro]] as well as an offshoot called the [[Kulli culture]] (2500–2000 BCE) in southern Balochistan and was noted for its cities built of brick, roadside drainage system, and multi-storeyed houses. It is thought to have had some kind of municipal organisation as well.

During the [[Late Harappan|late period]] of this civilisation, signs of a [[Late Harappan|gradual decline]] began to emerge, and by around 1700&nbsp;BCE, most of the cities were abandoned. However, the Indus Valley Civilisation did not disappear suddenly, and some elements of the Indus Civilisation may have survived. [[Aridification]] of this region during the 3rd millennium BCE may have been the initial spur for the urbanisation associated with the civilisation, but eventually also reduced the water supply enough to cause the civilisation's demise, and to scatter its population eastward. The civilization collapsed around 1700 BCE, though the reasons behind its fall are still unknown. Through the excavation of the Indus cities and analysis of town planning and seals, it has been inferred that the Civilization had high level of sophistication in its town planning, arts, crafts, and trade.<ref>P. Biagi and E. Starnini 2021 - Indus Civilization. In Smith, C. (ed.) Encyclopedia of Global Archaeology. Springer Nature, Switzerland: 1-26. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-51726-1_3491-1</ref>