India
The area now called India has been divided up in many ways in the past, but there is relatively little known of the area early on. The ancient history of the area was mostly compiled by the British in the 19th century. Different parts of the area had been invaded at different times by the Muslims, Macedonians, and the Aryans. The Indus began building settlements in present-day India and Pakistan as early as 8,000 years ago, making them one of the earliest civilizations. The Indus-Sarasvat cultural tradition probably represents the beginnings of the Indian civilization and it has been traced back to about 7,000 B.C. to Mehrgarh. According to Indian tradition, there was a great flood in 3,102 BC, and this date is often assumed to be the beginning of our present era, although there are indications of what occurred in India before this time. It would appear that the earliest large urban societies grew up along the Indus. These societies were later wiped out by floods that raised the ground level by ten meters covering what remains of this area. The Harappan period of 2,600-1,900 B.C. involved Indus writing, although it appears more properly named the Sarasvat writing since most of the settlements in this period were along the Sarasvat river and the Indian tradition associates Sarasvat with learning and literacy in its earliest phase. The Harappan culture may have invented the wheel
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