The Indus Valley Civilization was an early urban civilization that flourished along the Indus River from around 3300 BCE to 1300 BCE. At its peak, the civilization extended over an area of around 1.25 million square kilometers and had many large urban centers. The two largest cities, Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro, each had a population of over 50,000. The civilization developed an advanced urban infrastructure and a uniform culture, but its writing has not yet been deciphered. It eventually declined due to environmental and demographic changes, including the migration of Indo-Aryan groups into the region.

1. Indus Valley Civilization
Ancient Roots

2. Indus Valley Civilization
 a Primary Phase Culture
 little or no continuity with the following
cultures
 forgotten until the 19th Century
– rediscovered by the British

3. Harappan Culture
 Indus valley
– not desert
– well-watered and heavily forested
 500 miles along the river valley
– 10-20 times larger than Mesopotamia or Egypt

4. Hydraulic Culture
 like Egypt and Mesopotamia
 agriculture and flood-control
 significant industry and trade
 cities very common

5. Lack of Sources
 literate culture
– we cannot read the writing
– writing on bricks and seals
– did not use paper or clay tablets

6. Reasonable generalizations
 rapid development: early 2,000s B.C.
 roughly contemporary with Egypt and
Mesopotamia
 early village culture
 changing rapidly to urban civilization

7. Generalizations, con’t
 cities dominated both economic and
political activity
 origins of the people are unclear
– similar to the Mediterranean type

8. Major Cities
 Harappa and Mohenjo-daro
– surrounded by smaller cities, towns, and
villages
 one situated in the north
 one situated in the south

9. Cities, con’t
 uniform culture over a wide area
 cities built on a common plan
– a grid: always NS and EW axes
» with twelve smaller grids
– kiln-dried bric

10. Monumental architecture
 very-large scale building
 walled cites, with fortified citadels
 always on the same scale
 palaces, temples

11. Architecture, con’t
 large grain storage facilities near temples
 a theocracy ??
 planned economy

12. Cities
 very densely populated
 houses: two to three stories
 every house is laid out the same

13. Culture and Society
 advanced agriculture
 surplus production
 textiles: wool and cotton
 domesticated animals and fish

14. Bronze Age technology
 no swords
 spears and bows
 stone arrow heads

15. Society
 dominated by priests ?
 from the fortified palaces and temples ?
 power base: fertility ?
 deities: male and female, both nude
 bull worship and phallic symbols

16. Trade
 with lower Mesopotamia
 but gradually declined

17. Decline
 domination of an indigenous people ?
– who rebelled ?
 foreign invasion?
 gradual decline ?

18. Combination of Changes
 climate shift: the monsoon patterns
 flooding
 destruction of the forests
 migrations of new peoples: the Aryans

19. The Aryan Invasions
 Indus civilization on the verge of collapse
 about 1500 B.C.
 settlement by a nomadic people
– the Aryans

20. The Aryans
 not to be confused with Hitler’s “Aryans”
 not a “race”
 “race” is a 19th century idea
– an incorrect way of thinking of people

21. The Aryans, con’t
 they called themselves “Aryans”
 their land: “Aryavarta”
– land of the Aryans

22. Gradual settlement
 over a long period of time
 gradual infiltration
 more primitive than the earlier culture

23. Settlement, con’t
 new society by 1,200 B.C. or so
 little evidence
 not literate
 no record system

24. Oral Tradition
 passed down from priests and singers
 written down in the 500’s
 The Vedas
– “Veda” means “knowledge”

25. The Vedas
 our primary source
– early Aryan tradition
– later Hindu religion
 four “vedas”
– the Rig Veda

26. The Vedas
 oral poetry
 come to have a sacred character
 provide some historical information

27. The Aryans
 restless, warlike people
 tall, blue-eyed, fair-skinned
 describe the indigenous population as
– short, black, noseless, and slaves

28. The Aryans, con’t
 originally pastoralists
 family, clan, tribe (typical Indo-Europeans)
 eventually settled down to farming
 living in villages

29. The Aryans, con’t
 villages and kingdoms constantly fighting
 warchiefs and kings
 aristocrats and freemen

30. The Aryans, con’t
 fond of fighting, drinking, chariot racing,
gambling chasing women and bragging
– any modern comparisons ???
 fond of taking soma
– a psychedelic drug
– probably psychotropic mushrooms

31. Aryans and Hindus
 Aryans give rise to Hindu society
 but different characteristics
– cows: they ate them
– classes, but no castes
– priests subordinate to the nobility
 the Mahabharata

32. The Iron Age: new sources
 the Vedas: passed on orally
 the Brahamanas: interpretations on the
Vedas
 the Upanishads: interpretations and
symbolic studies
– forerunners of later dissenting literature

33. Strain of change
 Iron Age change causes strain on the class
system
 blurring of lines between Aryans and Daas
– answered with the caste system

34. Caste System
 skin color
 ritual purity
 “Us vs. Them” feelings
 divine order of four castes

35. Caste System (“Varnas”)
 Brahmins: the priests
 Kshatriyas: the warriors
 Vaisyas: merchants and peasants
 Sudras: non-Aryans

36. Caste system, con’t
 produced by Brahmins
 literature emphasized the divine order
 hierarchical relationship
 inheritance and marriage

37. Caste system in practice
 warrior class did not always accept it
 nor the other classes
 the process of evolution is still going on
 the most powerful organizer of Indian
society
– thousand of castes today

38. Castes
 define a person’s social universe
 define a person’s standard of conduct
 define a person’s expectations
 define a person’s future
 define how a person deals with others