The Indus Valley civilization reveals much evidence to support the view that it is different from other archaic states in its lack of conspicuous consumption and indicators of high status. This evidence particularly includes burials, which prove that the Indus valley has no indicators of high status, and that the people take little with them to the grave indicating, as well as little belief in a materialistic afterlife, a lack of obvious consumption and waste. This differs from other archaic states such as Egypt and Mesopotamia with their elaborate graves-sites and tombs for royalty and upper class citizens. Another distinguishing feature of the prominent Indus Valley sites is the deficit of temples and other monuments. The only possible contradiction to this hypothesis is the evidence of the "Great bath", or "granary". However, in the absence of further knowledge and lacking an internationally accepted and authorised translation of the Indus Valley runic script, all accredited archaeological evidence points to a society practising conservative habits of consumption and putting little value on ostentatious displays of high status. .
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As well as in their burial sites, the Indus Valley civilization is extremely different from other archaic states such as those previously mentioned because there is little other archaeological evidence, as in, for instance, public buildings, to indicate that its citizens were heavy consumers and there are also no positive indicators to show that people of higher status were idealised or worshipped. The Indus Valley civilization has yet to give up many of its secrets to archaeologists, but to date almost nothing has been found to contradict these current assumptions. .
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To look for evidence of a society of modest consumption habits and what was apparently a "democratic" social outlook this essay will focus on the burials of the Indus valley in comparison to those of Mesopotamia and Egypt.
