An engrossing site which allows students first-hand experience with various artifacts found at Harappa in the Indus River Valley in India. The site includes a virtual walk through the ancient city of Harappa.
Type of Material:
Lecture/presentation.
Recommended Uses:
To supplement a world civilization course and/or a course on India.
Technical Requirements:
Real Audio player.
Identify Major Learning Goals:
To inform students about one of the world's earliest civilizations. To inform students about the role of archaeology in explaining history. To teach students what an artifact is and how to interpret artifacts as part of the historical process.
Target Student Population:
High School and College.
Prerequisite Knowledge or Skills:
Basic computer skills. Some knowledge about the early history of India would be helpful.
Content Quality
Rating:
Strengths:
The site has visually stimulating content in a well-organized presentation. The site is maintained and updated by Professor Jonathan Mark Kenoyer of the University of Wisconsin, Madison. The content includes an introduction with slides, maps, and text explaining the importance of the mysterious Indus Valley civilization. The slide show, which follows, focuses on the following areas of study: ornaments, seals and writing, research and misconceptions about the Indus Valley, the Beginnings of Art, Symbol, and Technology, the urban character of the Indus Valley, City Organization, Environment and Subsistence, Utilitarian and Decorative Objects, the Indus Script, Harappan Religion and Belief Systems, Trade and Exchange, and the Legacy of the Indus Cities in Modern Pakistan and India. Most of the artifacts were unearthed between 1995 and 1998.
Concerns:
This site should be used in conjunction with www.harappa.com/har/har0.html, also developed by Dr. Kenoyer. This expanded site offers users more detailed information about the Indus River Valley Civilization. In fact, Around the Indus Valley in 90 Slides is actually a part of this expanded site. The expanded site includes the 90 Slides plus Harappa 3-D, A Unicorn Seal, Rohri Quarries, Indus Script, Harappa Walk, Mohenjo-daro, and explorers. The expanded site offers the pre-history and detail lacking in the 90 slides of the Indus River Valley.
Potential Effectiveness as a Teaching Tool
Rating:
Strengths:
There are learning materials on the site for use in the United Kingdom. The site has great potential and it would be helpful if the site developers offered more process in this category to compliment excellent content on this site and the expanded Harappa site. A creative educator can utilize the site very effectively.
Concerns:
A need to develop more learning objects and teaching tools for classroom use. The site offers littleeffort in interpreting the finds historically. The site was designed for archaeological purposes,
which sets its limitations.
Ease of Use for Both Students and Faculty
Rating:
Strengths:
The site is easy to navigate. Icons underneath each slide permit the user to go back and forth with each. The black background compliments the slides and text which are both centered on screen and enable the user to focus exclusively on selected bites of historical information. Real Audio player needed and downloads needed for the virual tour and Harappa 3-D. At the bottom of the screen are the numbers icons I to VIII, which permits easy movement back and forth from section to section.
Concerns:
The site has been much improved and added to over the last three years. It is much easier to use and manipulate.
Other Issues and Comments:
None.
Creative Commons:
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