A moving and inspiring new study of Mohenjo-daro, Indus Valley’s largest city, revealed that it became more equal as it expanded into an urban center, challenging commonly held beliefs about power fueling inequality.

Just published in Antiquity, the study from the University of York proves that progress isn’t necessarily defined by the future, but can echo from the real past.

Situated in the Larkana District of Sindh, Pakistan, Mohenjo-daro is a premier UNESCO World Heritage site and one of the world’s earliest major cities, most famous for its groundbreaking urban planning rather than palaces and temples.  

“While ancient Egyptians were building pyramids for god-kings, and the Greeks were constructing massive palaces at Knossos, the people of the Indus were building something entirely different,” says lead author Dr. Adam Green.

Mohenjo-daro stands, as a shining star, in this display of wealth and power as an innovative city, because unlike their ancient contemporaries, they did not “succumb to temptation,” even, to make a Christian reference.

“Mohenjo-daro is often cited as being famous for what it doesn’t have, such as the absence of palaces for kings, gold-filled tombs, and no statues of rulers. But what it does have is so important,” continues Dr. Green in a press release.

A city that decided it could do it differently, naturally

Its economic growth did not trigger unbelonging or inequality, but the opposite: an egalitarian state in which everyone did. They improved the city, as a collective, rather than claiming money and power as a select few who construct large homes, political and religious centers.

They built instead sophisticated brick-lined drains and organized street layouts as if they all “scored big” as they expanded. “Wouldn’t it be cool if we…” City amenities were available to all, not a select few.

This Indus Valley civilization, in other words, might challenge the assumption that power corrupts, above all, as the Indus seals, used in business and trade, were sitting in ordinary homes, and not public buildings.

The analyses of houses found that the disparity between their sizes even narrowed as the ancient city reached maximum capacity, spanning three miles in circumference with a population of up to 40,000 residents.

“In fact, by its later years, the wealth gap in this massive urban center had dropped to levels typical of the first farming villages.”

The bigger they got, the fairer they became, even resembling the earliest communities. And when inequality appeared to be lowest, which was at its height, their productivity increased, challenging yet another commonly held belief that competition, division, and status are drivers of growth, innovation, and prosperity.

Progress = equality

Mohenjo-daro shows the modern world that a civilization can be advanced, extremely productive, and, if not a remarkable example of how a city can become the collective home that its citizens are building, improving, and benefiting from, such as better amenities and systems of functioning.

“It is quite an interesting lesson for modern societies, as the Indus civilisation demonstrates clearly that an urban society can be highly productive and inventive at scale, whilst also ensuring that resources and power are shared equitably. In fact, doing so may even have been essential to sustaining prosperity over the centuries.”

Word. Thank you, Mohenjo-daro.