But a new study at the University of York delves into the archaeology of the 4,000-year-old Mohenjo-daro, the Indus civilization's largest city, and shows the opposite was true. By analyzing house sizes across the ancient city, researchers found that Mohenjo-daro was not only more equal than its neighbors in Mesopotamia and Greece, but it actually became more egalitarian over time.

Entirely different

The lead author, Dr. Adam Green from the University of York's Department of Archaeology and Department of Environment and Geography, said, "Legacy data from the ancient city shows that as the city matured, the gap between the largest and smallest homes narrowed. In fact, by its later years, the wealth gap in this massive urban center had dropped to levels typical of the first farming villages.

"While ancient Egyptians were building pyramids for god-kings, and the Greeks were constructing massive palaces at Knossos, the people of the Indus were building something entirely different.

"Instead of gold-filled tombs and huge temples, Mohenjo-daro focused on sophisticated brick-lined drains and organized street layouts. Instead of allowing the perks of society to accumulate with a tiny elite, the city's amenities were widely distributed among the everyday households."

Indus seals

This was particularly true with regard to the distribution of the famous Indus seals, which were tools of business and trade. Indus seals were typically found in ordinary homes and not in public buildings, with no palaces to monopolize these tools of government.