The Indus Civilization c6.51

c6.51

No cemetery of contemporary Indus Valley date has yet been discovered at either Mohenjo-daro or Harappa, and if such cemeteries exist they must be buried below many feet of alluvium. Burial customs of ancient civilizations are not only of use to the excavator in that they provide him with a multitude of interesting and well-preserved objects on which to base his theories (amulets, for example, are always found in greater profusion in a cemetery than in a city site), but they also throw much light on the beliefs of the people concerning conditions in the next world. It is extremely unfortunate that nothing can be discovered with regard to the burial customs of the people of Mohenjo-daro and Harappa; and, for all that is known to the contrary, they may have had no belief in an after-life, though this is by no means likely.