The Culture of Sindh (Sindhi: سنڌ جي ثقافت,Urdu: سندھ کی ثقافت) has its roots in the Indus Valley Civilization. Sindh has been shaped by the largely desert region, the natural resources it had available, and continuous foreign influence. The Indus or Sindhu River that passes through the land, and the Arabian Sea (that defines its borders) also supported the seafaring traditions among the local people.[1] The local climate also reflects why the Sindhis have the language, folklore, traditions, customs and lifestyle that are so different from the neighboring regions.[2][3] The Sindhi culture is also practiced by the Sindhi diaspora.
The roots of Sindhi culture go back to the distant past. Archaeological research during 19th and 20th centuries showed the roots of social life, religion and culture of the people of the Sindh: their agricultural practices, traditional arts and crafts, customs and tradition and other parts of social life, going back to a mature Indus Valley Civilization of the third millennium BC. Recent researches have traced the Indus valley civilization to even earlier ancestry.[4]
Archaeological discoveries
Mohen-Jo-Daro
The excavations of Mohen-Jo-Daro have unfolded the city life of a civilization of people with values, a distinct identity and culture. Therefore, the first definition of the Sindhi culture emanates from that over the 7000-year-old Indus Valley Civilization. This is the pre-Aryan period, about 3,000 years BC., when the urban civilization in Sindh was at its peak.
In Sir Mortimer Wheeler's book, Civilization of the Indus Valley and Beyond, it is said that; "Civilization, in a minimum sense of the term, is the art of living in towns, with all that the condition implies in respect of social skills and disciplines." When people speak of Sindhi civilization, they have to concern themselves, mainly with the material and concrete side of human habitation of which Sindhi culture is the only essence called the superstructure.[original research?] The present day Sindh, along with the Northern part of the Indus Valley Civilization (around 3000 to 2500 BC) is located on its urban civilization.[5]
Ranikot Fort is also a landmark of the Indus valley civilization. It is the world's largest fort, with walls extending to 20 km. It has been called a "second Wall of China"[citation needed], and attracts many visitors.