Architecture & Engineering
Standardised weights and measures
c. 2600-1900 BCEIndus Valley CivilisationCubical chert weightsIndus region (India/Pakistan)
2,600 BCE
A precise binary/decimal system of standardised weights used across a huge region.
- Dated
- 2,600–1,900 BCE
- As scholars put it
- c. 2600-1900 BCE
- Originator
- Indus Valley Civilisation
- Source text
- Cubical chert weights
- Region
- Indus region (India/Pakistan)
- Discipline
- Architecture & Engineering
- Evidence
- Documented
- Confidence
- High
- Verification
- Reference-cited
Meanwhile in the West
Standardisation on this scale is otherwise a much later development.
Fair to say
The administrative system behind it is inferred, not textually recorded.
Path to modern innovation
Standardisation underpins trade and engineering.
Transmission
Indigenous metrological system.
References
- 1Indus archaeology
Further reading
Corrections and additional sources: edit IND-057 on GitHub.