The Indus Valley Civilization emerged around 3200-1600 BC along the Indus River valley. Some key aspects include: - The cities of Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro had sophisticated urban planning with standardized bricks, buildings up to 3 stories, and well-developed water and drainage systems. - They engaged in extensive trade of goods, including with Mesopotamia and what is now Iran and Afghanistan. - The civilization declined around 1600 BC possibly due to floods and earthquakes, though the causes are not fully known.

1. INDUS VALLEY
CIVILIZATION

3. Indus Valley Civilization (c3200-1600BC)
This civilization emerged along the lower Indus River
and the Ghaggar River. The location of this civilization
now falls into bulk of the places now being referred to as
modern time Pakistan, part of modern India and
Afghanistan.
This civilization is also known as Harappan Civilization .
Hinduism and culture of the people of India owns their
root to this civilization.
This civilization which was long forgotten was
discovered following excavation works done in 1920s

4. Indus Valley Civilization
 The civilization was a product of a food producing and
stone-tool making people, who lived around the 6
millennium BC in the Indus Valley region.
 They were also producing wheel-turned pottery terra-
cotta, human and animal figurines.
 Their products were sold to the people of what is now
known as Iran and Afghanistan. The civilization extended
from the Arabian sea, Indus River and Amu Darya (Oxus
River) that is now in Northern Afghanistan.
 The society had a cosmopolitan set up and extensive
trade linkage with other parts of the world.

5. Harappan society and its neighbors, ca. 2000
B.C.E.

6. Indus Valley Civilization
Their buildings have different aesthetic looks and this reflect the social
stratification in their society. As archeologist discovered from the city of
Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa, bricks were used in making the buildings.
These as reported were well-planned and were of 3-stories. The building
had bathrooms, sewage pipes that are connected to the streets.
They also had public baths and food storage system. They also developed
the use of square and rectangular seals that were used as personal
signatures. The period of this civilization is considered Indian’s Bronze
Age because they made use of copper, and bronze vessels, gold and silver
ornaments

7. CAREFULLY PLANNED CITY OF MOHENJO-DARO

8. BATTING PLATFORM

9. The “Great Bath”

10. view of a small, side street

11. looks like a small
tower, but actually it
is a neighborhood
well

12. A bathroom on a private residence

13. Writing system
They developed a script that is made up of 270 photographs/characters
and these were said not to be in anyway related to those that predated
such writing system.
The Ten Indus Scripts

14. Religion
Archeological facts suggest that they
practiced various forms of cults.
They had sacred objects, male and
female, sacred trees and bull which
formed their objects of worship.
They used to sacrifice grain, milk as
a means of worshipping their deities.
Animals flesh were also burnt by
them on the god’s altar and eaten by
the worshippers themselves.

15. Fall of Harrapan
During the first half of the 2nd
millennium
B.C-1600BC, flood and earthquake
affected the community and hence wrecked
the community and its economy. It is also
said that the invasion and occupation of
this region by a barbarian tribe led to the
fall of this civilization

16. The Indo-Aryans
 Around 2000BC, they inherited the Indus Valley
civilization.
 They are nomadic and pastoral people who spoke the
Indo-European language. They called themselves
“Aryans” or “noble people” and established small
herding and agricultural communities throughout
northern India.
 They also cultivated barley and other grains and
practiced metalwork as handicraft. They made use of
flutes, drums and stringed flutes for entertainment
 They are also said to practice patriarchal family
system and rarely, polygamy.

17. Indo-European family tree

18. Law and Politics
Each tribe had their king/chiefs ( raja) that leads them in battle. They
practiced aristocratic republic and monarchy, as each village head
manages their own internal affairs and give to the central authority,
parts of their farm produce as homage.
Their legal system allowed injured party to prosecute offender and
punishment is said to be in the form of payment to the plaintiff and if
in the case of murder, to the family of the deceased.
They also made use of water to determine the guilt or innocence of
offenders. Insolvent debtors may be enslaved to his creditor

19. Religion of the Indo-Aryan
 Aryan gods devan were seen as forces of nature
or personification of these forces.
 They had no images that represent these gods nor
temples where they worship.
 They worship as stated archeologists by offering
sacrifices to them and to do this, they make use
of grain, milk.
 Their gods which were considered mortal had
human attributes. They present gift to their gods
with the hope of being blessed.

20. The Vedic Age 1500 to 500 B.C.E.
• The Vedas refer often to conflicts between Aryans and
the Dravidians and other people already living in India.
• This suggests that the Aryans clashed repeatedly with
the Dravidians of the Indus valley, attacking their cities
and wrecking their irrigation systems.
• The Aryans often had friendly relations with Dravidian
peoples.
• They learned about the land and adopted Dravidian
agricultural methods.
• Still there were competitions over lands and resources.

21. The Caste System
Varna
 This social system is originally based on color: Aryans were
“wheat-colored” and Dravidians (non-Aryans) were darker
skinned.
There are four main caste:
1. Brahman (priests)
2. Kshastriya (warrior)
3. Vaishya (herdsmen, artisan, merchants)
4. Shudra (servants, menial labour workers)
The untouchables, who come at the fifth category were later added.
 It is considered a taboo, marriage across social class, although there
existed exceptional cases where some slaves became priests, warriors
and moved up the pyramid

24. In Indian society people are the incarnation of god. The Brahmans were created
from the mouth of god, Kshatriya were created from his arms, etc.

25. Some facts about caste system
 The caste system became dominant in shaping the outlook of
the Indian society.
 The caste system which now a prevailing part of the Indian
social order owe its root to the Indo-Aryan social structure.
 Racial pride was one reason why this caste system existed as
the nobility and purity of blood was something that the
Aryan cherished.
 Economic specialization and division of labour played a
role in the making of the caste system. An example is in the
Brahamas where it is not all that is allowed to become
priests.
 Each member of the caste system had deities/deity that they
worship. All-in-all, the caste hierarchy has a relation with
the cosmic and human society.

26. Some facts about caste system
 As a result of the caste system, marriages are only
restricted to within a caste stratum and not outside it.
 Food cooked can only be eaten if prepared by
members of the same caste or of higher caste.
 Also, dress codes and occupation were also
determined by the caste hierarchy.
 Individual can rise within his own case, but cannot
rise up the ladder to another caste hierarchy.
 Caste is grounded in the fundamental basis of the
society, that is the family, hence, it is for this reason
that it assists in protecting the culture and religious
heritage of India

27. INTELLECTUAL CONTRIBUTION OF THE VERDIC
AGE
 Their contributions were mainly in the areas of
poetry and hymns.
 They contributed books of hymns, prayers and
incantation known as the Veda. All these
constitute the source from which the history of
Indian is written.
 Manuals on sacrifice for officiating priest exist,
as well as another one on the folklore of the
indigenous population.
 Their also exists catalogue of chorus and spells
that were used in curing illness, arousing sexual
desires and in destroying enemies

28. INTELLECTUAL CONTRIBUTION OF THE VERDIC AGE
 They had developed the
Sanskrit system of writing
which comprises of sounds,
symbols, 14 separate vowels
and 35 consonants.
 One of their linguistic genius,
Panini formulated what is said
to be first known grammatical
rule of any language that
existed before the 19th
century

29. INTELLECTUAL CONTRIBUTION OF THE VERDIC AGE
Their Cemetery culture has the earliest evidence for cremation, a practice
dominant in Hinduism until today. So they contributed to the sciences of
cremation.
They achieved great accuracy in measuring length, mass, and time.
They were among the first to develop a system of uniform weights and
measures. Their measurements are said to be extremely precise.
Their smallest division, which is marked on an ivory scale found in Lothal was
approximately 1.704 mm, the smallest division ever recorded on a scale of the
Bronze Age
Harappan engineers followed the decimal division of measurement for all
practical purposes, including the measurement of mass as revealed by their
hexahedron weigh

30. Indian cremation

31. ‫اللقاء‬ ‫إلى‬