{
  "author": "ChronologiaOS editorial guides",
  "date": "2026-10-09",
  "department": "Cities & Civilizations",
  "department_id": "CITIES",
  "epistemic_label": "Source guide",
  "epistemic_status": "SOURCE_GUIDE",
  "period": "2600\u20131900 BCE",
  "place": "Indus and Ghaggar-Hakra basins, Pakistan and India",
  "public_sources": [
    {
      "publisher": "Cambridge University Press",
      "title": "The Archaeology of South Asia \u2014 Chapter 6: An Era of Integration",
      "type": "Scholarly monograph",
      "url": "https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/abs/archaeology-of-south-asia/an-era-of-integration/00DC42FB267DC54A977FD0EDFB9D3B47"
    },
    {
      "publisher": "Harappa Archaeological Research Project / Harappa.com",
      "title": "Introduction to the Beas Research \u2014 Chronological Sequence based on Artifact Categories and Radiocarbon Dates at Harappa",
      "type": "Reference database",
      "url": "https://www.harappa.com/beas/chronology"
    }
  ],
  "publication_state": "PUBLIC",
  "read_time": "3 min read",
  "sections": [
    {
      "body": "Coningham and Young's chapter 'An Era of Integration' frames the Mature Harappan or Indus civilization at about 2600 to 1900 BCE, a period of planned cities, shared weights and seals, and long-distance exchange across the Indus and Ghaggar-Hakra systems.",
      "heading": "Start with the phase",
      "source": 0
    },
    {
      "body": "The Harappa Archaeological Research Project publishes a chronological sequence built from artifact categories and radiocarbon dates at the site of Harappa. Without a king list or dated inscriptions, this kind of stratigraphic and radiocarbon sequence is what holds the period together.",
      "heading": "Dates from the ground up",
      "source": 1
    },
    {
      "body": "Distinguish a chapter-level synthesis from a site-level sequence. The first tells you how the period is framed; the second tells you how one place was dated. A strong claim about the whole civilization needs both.",
      "heading": "Try the research habit"
    },
    {
      "body": "What would you expect to change in the dates if a new radiocarbon series came from a different city? Think about which claims are site-specific and which are regional.",
      "heading": "A question to carry forward"
    }
  ],
  "short_title": "How do you date a city without a king list?",
  "slug": "indus-cities-an-era-of-integration",
  "summary": "Explore the Mature Harappan phase of the Indus civilization and see how archaeologists build a chronology from artifact sequences and radiocarbon dates rather than royal names.",
  "tags": [
    "Indus",
    "Harappa",
    "Radiocarbon",
    "Cities"
  ],
  "title": "The Indus cities: an era of integration."
}