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SAI INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL
                                                 STD VI- HISTORY
                                 CH 4 – The Beginnings of Indian Civilization
                                                        NOTES


               Sub topic 3 -Town Planning and Water Management

               Important Terms:

                   ❖ Fortification: A massive wall surrounding a settlement or city, generally
                       for protective purposes.
                   ❖ Elite: Here, the word refers to the higher layers of the society,

                       such as rulers, officials, administrators, and often priests.

                   ❖ Reservoir: A large natural or artificial place where water is

                       stored.

               The larger Harappan cities were built according to precise plans.

                   ❖ Grid pattern streets, oriented to cardinal directions.
                   ❖ Fortifications, division into upper (elite) and lower towns.
                   ❖ Use of bricks (stone in Dholavira).

                   ❖ Structures like warehouses and the Great Bath (for rituals in Mohenjo-
                       daro).

                   ❖  Later on, other major cities, such as Dholavira (in Gujarat), Rakhigarhi (in
                       Haryana), Ganweriwala (in the Cholistan desert of Pakistan), and
                       hundreds of smaller sites (such as Lothal in Gujarat), were discovered.


               Water Management

               The Harappans gave much importance to water management and cleanliness.


                   ❖  Separate areas for bathing in their homes;
                   ❖ These were connected to a larger network of drains

                   ❖ Sophisticated drainage systems under streets.
                   ❖ Brick-lined wells, reservoirs (Dholavira had six large ones).

                   ❖ Water conservation (water harvesting) and distribution were priorities.
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