Ancient towns such as Ur, Nippur and Mohenjo-Daro were the ancient towns. They appeared along the river valleys. They were larger in scale than the other human settlements.

Cities were often the centre of political power, administrative network, trade and industry, religious institutions and intellectual activities. They supported various group of artisans, merchants and priests. Ancient cities were developed only when the increase in food supplies was huge to support the areas of non-food producers. They varied greatly in size and complexity.