Bronze Age[edit]

Main article: Indus Valley Civilisation

"Priest King" of Indus Valley Civilisation
The Bronze Age in the Indian subcontinent began around 3300 BCE with the early I
ndus Valley Civilisation. It was centred on the Indus River and its tributaries
which extended into the Ghaggar-Hakra River valley,[14] the Ganges-Yamuna Doab,[
22] Gujarat,[23] and southeastern Afghanistan.[24]
The civilisation is primarily located in modern-day India (Gujarat, Haryana, Pun
jab and Rajasthan provinces) and Pakistan (Sindh, Punjab, and Balochistan provin
ces). Historically part of Ancient India, it is one of the world's earliest urba
n civilisations, along with Mesopotamia and Ancient Egypt.[25] Inhabitants of th
e ancient Indus river valley, the Harappans, developed new techniques in metallu
rgy and handicraft (carneol products, seal carving), and produced copper, bronze
, lead, and tin.
The Mature Indus civilisation flourished from about 2600 to 1900 BCE, marking th
e beginning of urban civilisation on the subcontinent. The civilisation included
urban centres such as Dholavira, Kalibangan, Ropar, Rakhigarhi, and Lothal in m
odern-day India, and Harappa, Ganeriwala, and Mohenjo-daro in modern-day Pakista
n. The civilisation is noted for its cities built of brick, roadside drainage sy
stem, and multistoried houses.
During the late period of this civilisation, signs of a gradual decline began to
emerge, and by around 1700 BCE, most of the cities were abandoned. However, the
Indus Valley Civilisation did not disappear suddenly, and some elements of the
Indus Civilization may have survived, especially in the smaller villages and iso
lated farms.
Vedic period (1750 BCE - 500 BCE)[edit]
Scheme of Indo-European migrations from ca. 4000 to 1000 BCE according to the Ku
rgan hypothesis.[note 1]
Archaeological cultures associated with Indo-Iranian migrations (after EIEC).[no
te 2]
A map of North India in the late Vedic period.
Main articles: Indo-Aryans, Indo-Aryan migration, Vedic period, Vedic Civilisati
on and Historical Vedic religion
See also: Proto-Indo-Europeans, Proto-Indo-European religion, Indo-Iranians and
Proto-Indo-Iranian religion
The Vedic period is characterised by Indo-Aryan culture associated with the text
s of Vedas, sacred to Hindus, which were orally composed in Vedic Sanskrit. The
Vedas are some of the oldest extant texts in India.[26] The Vedic period, lastin
g from about 1750 to 500 BCE,[27][28] contributed the foundations of Hinduism an
d other cultural aspects of Indian subcontinent. In terms of culture, many regio
ns of the subcontinent transitioned from the Chalcolithic to the Iron Age in thi
s period.[29]