A new study suggests that economic inequality declined as the Bronze Age city of Mohenjo-daro developed, challenging the assumption that urbanisation inevitably led to greater social inequality.
Located in present-day Pakistan, Mohenjo-daro was a major urban centre of the Indus Civilisation (c. 2600–1900 BC), renowned for its planned streets, sophisticated drainage systems and public infrastructure.
In a study published in the journal Antiquity, researchers analysed residential architecture to investigate how wealth disparities changed during the city’s development.
Using archaeological records from early twentieth-century excavations, the team reconstructed 309 residences and applied statistical methods to measure differences in residential floor area.
In a study published in the journal Antiquity, archaeologists Adam S. Green, Iqtedar Alam and Cameron Petrie examined residential architecture to investigate patterns of economic inequality at Mohenjo-daro.
The researchers analysed archaeological records from early twentieth-century excavations, using geographical information systems (GIS) to reconstruct the layouts of 309 residences.
They then calculated Gini coefficients, a statistical measure commonly used to assess inequality, based on differences in residential floor area.
The analysis produced an overall Gini coefficient of 0.44 for Mohenjo-daro, significantly lower than those recorded at several other ancient urban centres.
For comparison, the ancient Greek site of Knossos has a Gini coefficient of 0.86, while the Maya city of Palenque has a coefficient of 0.75. The Mesopotamian city of Ur and the ancient city of Ugarit both recorded values exceeding 0.6.
The researchers also identified a decline in residential inequality over time in the DK-G South district, where the archaeological sequence provides a clearer chronology of urban development.
During the earlier occupation phases, around 2500 BC, the district had a Gini coefficient of approximately 0.39. By around 2100 BC, this had declined to 0.23, approaching levels associated with more egalitarian societies.
This reduction coincided with changes to the city’s architecture, including the increasing alignment of residential buildings with its planned street network.
According to the study, these developments suggest that collective governance and investment in public infrastructure may have contributed to a more equitable distribution of residential space.
The city contained numerous shared amenities, including public buildings, drainage systems and standardised systems of weights and measures.
The widespread distribution of Indus seals, which were commonly recovered from residential buildings rather than palaces or temples, also suggests that economic activities may not have been controlled by a single ruling authority.
The researchers propose that the same systems of governance responsible for maintaining public infrastructure may have helped constrain economic inequality.
The study also identified a possible relationship between declining residential inequality and increasing prosperity.
In DK-G South, the median residential floor area initially decreased before increasing again during later occupation phases, when inequality was at its lowest recorded level.
However, the researchers caution that the relationship between productivity and inequality remains uncertain because of the limited chronological data available.
They also emphasise that residential floor area is an indirect measure of economic inequality and does not account for all differences in wealth, status or access to resources.
The findings suggest that Mohenjo-daro developed a distinctive form of urban organisation in which residential inequality decreased alongside the expansion of civic infrastructure.
The researchers conclude that collective governance may have played an important role in limiting economic disparities, providing new insights into the organisation of early cities and the relationship between urbanisation and inequality.
Journal Reference: Green, A. S., Alam, I. & Petrie, C. (2026). Inequality declined in the Bronze Age city of Mohenjo-daro. Antiquity, 100(413), 1239–1254. https://doi.org/10.15184/aqy.2026.10359
