Editing Standardization (section)

===Early examples===
Standard weights and measures were developed by the [[Indus Valley civilization]].<ref name=Iwata2254>Iwata, Shigeo (2008), "Weights and Measures in the Indus Valley", ''Encyclopaedia of the History of Science, Technology, and Medicine in Non-Western Cultures (2nd edition)'' edited by [[Helaine Selin]], pp.&nbsp;2254&ndash;2255, Springer, {{ISBN|978-1-4020-4559-2}}.</ref> The centralized weight and measure system served the commercial interest of Indus merchants as smaller weight measures were used to measure luxury goods while larger weights were employed for buying bulkier items, such as food grains etc.<ref name=Kenoyer265/> Weights existed in multiples of a standard weight and in categories.<ref name=Kenoyer265>Kenoyer, Jonathan Mark (2006), "Indus Valley Civilization", ''[[Encyclopedia of India]] (vol. 2)'' edited by Stanley Wolpert, pp.&nbsp;258&ndash;266, Thomson Gale, {{ISBN|0-684-31351-0}}</ref>  [[Technical standard]]isation enabled gauging devices to be effectively used in [[angular measurement]] and measurement for construction.<ref name=Baber_b>Baber, Zaheer (1996), The Science of Empire: Scientific Knowledge, Civilization, and Colonial Rule in India, State University of New York Press, {{ISBN|0-7914-2919-9}}.</ref> Uniform units of length were used in the planning of towns such as [[Lothal]], [[Surkotada]], [[Kalibangan]], [[Dholavira|Dolavira]], [[Harappa]], and [[Mohenjo-daro]].<ref name=Iwata2254/> The weights and measures of the Indus civilization also reached [[Persia]] and [[Central Asia]], where they were further modified.<ref name=Iwata2254_quote>In the third millennium BCE the Indus measuring system was further developed in the ancient regions of Iran and Afghanistan -- Iwata, 2254.</ref> Shigeo Iwata describes the excavated weights unearthed from the Indus civilization:

{{Quotation|1=A total of 558 weights were excavated from Mohenjodaro, Harappa, and [[Chanhudaro|Chanhu-daro]], not including defective weights. They did not find statistically significant differences between weights that were excavated from five different layers, each measuring about 1.5&nbsp;m in depth. This was evidence that strong control existed for at least a 500-year period. The 13.7-g weight seems to be one of the units used in the Indus valley. The notation was based on the [[Binary numeral system|binary]] and [[decimal]] systems. 83% of the weights which were excavated from the above three cities were cubic, and 68% were made of [[chert]].<ref name=Iwata2254/>}}