The washrooms in the homes of Mohenjo-Daro were typically small. The brick pavement floor was sloped toward a corner where the drain was situated. The room contained a simple latrine and a washing area.

Homes with a washroom on the upper floors were fitted with vertical terracotta pipes th...

Humanity has been vulnerable to rapidly spread illnesses because disease propagates more easily in concentrated populations without adequate sanitation.

Advances in sanitation have allowed people to live near one another in cities with less risk to their health, in particular, safe disposa...

Mohenjo-Daro’s advanced plumbing reminds us that progress is not steady or linear. Many people that lived thousands of years later coped with less hygienic conditions.

It was not until the 19th century that urban sanitation became widespread, causing a decrease in water-borne illnesses. Wh...