The Indus Valley Civilization (3300-1700 BC, flourished 2600-1900 BC), was an ancient civilization that prosper in the Indus and Ghaggar-Hakra river valleys mainly in Pakistan and western India, enlarge westward into Balochistan. The mature phase of this civilization is known as the Harappan Civilization, after the first of its cities to be excavated, Harappa . An archeological exploration of Indus Valley Civilization sites has been ongoing since the 1920s.

The civilization is from time to time is said to as the Indus Ghaggar-Hakra civilization or the Indus-Saraswati civilization. The designation Indus-Saraswati is based on the possible identification of the Ghaggar-Hakra River with the Sarasvati River mentioned in the Rig Veda, but this usage is undecided.

The Indus Valley Civilization is a likely contender for a Proto-Dravidian culture. On the other hand, Proto-Munda, Proto-Indo-Iranian or a "lost phylum" are now and then suggested for the language of the Indus Valley Civilization however, the research leading to these suggestions is questioned by Krishnamurti.

The ruins of Harappa were first illustrated in 1842 by Charles Masson in his narrative of various journeys in Baluchistan , Afghanistan and the Panjab, where locals talked of an ancient city extending "thirteen cosses" or about 25 miles, but no archaeological interest would attach to this for nearly a century.