Indus Valley Civilisation

The Indus Valley Civilisation (3300-1300 BC) featured standardised baked-brick cities with grid-plan streets and covered drains—urban planning 3,000 years ahead of Europe's. At Mohenjo-daro, a public bath measured 12m by 7m, showcasing sanitation that outperforms #9 in sophistication. Its undeciphered script, found on 4,000+ artifacts, remains one of archaeology's great mysteries. This culture was faster than the average early civilisation in adopting standardised weights, with bricks in a 4:2:1 ratio used across 1,500 km. Compared to #5, its earlier timeline predates Chinese rise by 1,700 years.