The Harappan civilization, which emerged in 3300 BC, is, for a variety of reasons, one of the most intriguing civilizations to have ever existed. It stretched along the Indus River Valley, from Pakistan to Afghanistan. This civilization, composed of a large number of small communities, was very technologically advanced and, in fact, included many of the characteristics of the society we have today. The Harappans were among the first to have a writing system, but historians have not yet been able to translate it. However, the society has left us numerous ruins, which provide a lot of information about it. (See Appendix 1A) Harappa, an Indus River Valley civilization whose written records we have not yet been able to translate, has nevertheless left some remains that help us understand urban planning, trade, lifestyle, agriculture and the mortality rate of society. remains left by Harappan society, archaeologists today are able to understand the urban planning of the civilization. The Indus River Valley Civilization extended for about 3000 km and probably more. In recent years, archaeologists have discovered a number of important structures dating back to around 2600 BC. These structures were made of burnt bricks. They give us clues about the material used for city planning. (See Appendix 1B) From such remains, archaeologists discovered that the houses and streets were arranged in a certain pattern, running from north to south and from east to west. Multi-story houses have been found, which indicates that the Harappan civilization had buildings very similar to some of ours. The houses were designed in such a way that each one faced a small alley, which means... middle of paper... giving an in-depth view of their society. The reason for the decline of civilization is not yet known, but there are some fascinating clues. Religious seals were used by the Harappan people, which early show exquisite carved figures of bulls, elephants and tigers. In a late period, however, these seals were made of clay rather than stone, and, instead of the beautiful animal figures that had appeared previously, they had only crude geometric carvings, a possible indication that the society was in decline. Historians are still unable to explain this definitively, but they understand that the seals were important and were used for political purposes as well as in religious rites. A mysterious society, the Harappans may have had no writings, but they certainly left behind fascinating remains, which suggests they may have been a great society.