The Indus Valley Civilisation (IVC), also known as the Harappan Civilisation, was a major early civilisation, existing from 3300–1300 BCE. It covered much of modern-day Pakistan and northwest India, as well as possessing at least one trading colony in northeast Afghanistan. Over 1400 Indus Valley civilisation sites have been discovered, of which 925 sites are in India and 475 in Pakistan. Only 40 sites on the Indus valley had been discovered in the pre-Partition era by archaeologists. The most widely known Indus Valley sites are Mohenjo-daro and Harappa; Mohenjo-daro is located in modern-day Sindh, while Harappa is in Pakistani Punjab. in British India, around 1,100 (80%) sites are located on the plains between the rivers Ganges and Indus. The oldest-known site of the Indus Valley Civilization, Bhirrana, and the largest site, Rakhigarhi, are located in the Indian state of Haryana. More than 90% of the inscribed objects and seals that were discovered were found at ancient urban centres along the Indus river in Pakistan, mainly in Harappa and Mohenjo-daro. More than 50 IVC burial sites have been found, including at Rakhigarhi (first site with genetic testing), Mohenjo-Daro, Harappa, Farmana, Kalibangan, Lothal, Dholavira, Mehrgarh, Banawali, Alamgirpur and Chanhudaro.

List of Indus Valley sites

Context of IVC sites and cultures

Wider context of the IVC includes the following: