While the Fertile Crescent was widely known for being one of the first and earliest civilizations developed, the world eventually saw other great civilizations that came to rise. However, just like the civilizations of the Fertile Crescent, some of these civilizations ended up ceasing to exist as a result from many different possible causes. One notable example of a once powerful civilization that came to a downfall is the Indus River Valley Civilization. One question that should be asked is: What was really the main cause of the disappearance of this once powerful civilization? Before giving an answer to this question, it is important to take into consideration how the settlers of the Indus River Valley accomplished the highest peaks of successes that they were able to reach. While consistency was seen within the basic and fundamental components during the development of this complex society, the most significant factors that shaped the Indus River Valley into an advanced and complex society was the development of highly advanced sustainable agriculture, which also became responsible for producing a sophisticated writing system along with a strong belief in religion that strongly emphasized morality as a means to keep the region unified.
Rice was seen as an important crop and main source of food for the Indus River Valley. It gave large amounts of specialization and also unified the different groups seen within the region with combined objectives (Lockard, 2011). However, the Indus River Valley primarily focused on other techniques and crops long before they expanded and focused on rice. During the times of early settlement, barley, wheat, and other crops were mainly used which all have been previously domesticated in the Fertile Crescent that eventually found its way spreading throughout the Indus River Valley through Iran. Indigenous species, such as sesame and humped cattle, also made its way into the Indus River Valley farming communities.