Civilizations in India

2. INDUS VALLEY
• 2500-1500 B.C.E.
GEOGRAPHY
• The mountains guard an enormous flat and
fertile plain formed by two rivers –
–The Indus and Ganges Rivers
• Modern day India, Pakistan, Nepal, and
Bangladesh
• Seasonal winds called monsoons dominate
India’s climate.

3. GOVERNMENT
• Rulers based their power on a belief of
divine assistance.

4. CITY PLANNING
• No one is really sure how human settlement
began in India – perhaps they arrived by
sea from Africa and settled the south.
• Archaeologists have found the ruins of
more than 100 settlements along the Indus.
• The largest cities were Harappa and
Mohenjo-Daro.
• The people of the Indus laid out their cities
on a precise grid system.
• Buildings were constructed of oven-baked
mud bricks.

5. • Public wells provided a regular supply of
water for all inhabitants.
• Bathrooms featured an advanced drainage
system.
• Wastewater flowed out to drains located
under the streets and then was carried to
sewage pits beyond the city wall.
• Only a well-organized government could
have maintained such carefully structured
cities.

6. CONTRIBUTIONS
• 1ST plumbing system
• Vedas (collection of hymns)
• Math and writing system
–concept of zero, decimal system

7. What happened to the Indus Valley people?
• Floods, and earthquake, changes in climate,
and even a change in the course of the
Indus River weakened the civilization.
-- Invaders – the Aryans – brought its final
end.

8. ARYANS
Who were the Aryans?
• Around 1500 b.c.e., they crossed over the
northwest mountain passes and conquered
the Harappans.
• The Aryans excelled in the art of war.
GOVERNMENT
• Various Aryan leaders were known as rajas
(most skilled leader)

9. SOCIETY & RELIGION
• Out of the clash between conqueror and
conquered came a set of social institutions
and class divisions that has lasted in India,
with only minor changes, to the present day.
• The caste system was a set of rigid social
categories that determined not only a
person’s occupation and economic
potential, but also his or her position in
society.
• It was based in part on skin color.

10. The Caste System
1. Brahmans -- priestly class
2. Kshatriyas -- warriors
3. Vaisyas -- commoners
4. Sudras -- dark-skinned peasants; did the work
that the above three would not do; made up a
large percentage of the Indian population
5. Untouchables -- Those who were considered
impure because of their work (butchers,
gravediggers, collectors of trash); were not
considered human; made up 5% of the
population

11. Family
• Life in ancient India centered on the family,
the most basic unit in society.
• The ideal was an extended family, with three
generations – grandparents, parents, and
children – living under the same roof.
• The family was patriarchal.

12. HINDUISM
• Hinduism is the world’s oldest religion.
• Hindus worship many gods, which
represent different forms of Brahman (most
divine spirit in the Hindu religion)

13. Basic Belief
• Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva are the three
main gods of Hinduism:
–Brahma – creator of the universe
–Vishnu -- preserver of the universe
–Shiva -- destroyer of the universe
• The Vedas contains prayers and hymns (the
oldest Hindu scriptures)

14. • They believe in reincarnation.
• The soul’s karma – good or bad deeds –
follows from one reincarnation to another.

15. BUDDHISM
• Buddhism appeared in 6 b.c.e. and became
a rival to Hinduism.
• Founder – Siddhartha Gautama, known as
Buddha “Enlightened One”
• According to Buddhism, achieving wisdom
is a key step to achieving nirvana, or
ultimate reality -- the key to happiness was
detachment from all worldly goods and
desires.

16. Rituals
• They have a special regard or veneration to
cattle.
• Each year, thousands of Hindus make a
pilgrimage to India’s Ganges River.
• The Ganges is considered a sacred site in
the Hindu religion.

17. CONTRIBUTIONS
• Hinduism
• Buddhism
• Epic Mahabharata
–Mix of history, mythology, religion