4. The Vedic society was patriarchal
and patrilineal. Early Indo-
Aryans were a Late Bronze Age
society centred in the Punjab,
organised into tribes rather than
kingdoms, and primarily sustained
by a pastoral way of life. Around c.
1200–1000 BCE the Aryan culture
spread eastward to the fertile
western Ganges Plain.
5. There are four types of Vedas –
Rigveda, Samaveda, Yajurveda, and
Atharvaveda. One of the best sources
of Ancient Indian History is Vedic
literature. Vedas have formed the
Indian scripture. The ideas and
practices of Vedic religion are codified
by the Vedas and they also form the
basis of classical Hinduism.a
6. Types of vedas
Rig Veda
Sama
Veda
Yajur
Veda
Atharva
Veda
Name of vedas Key feature of the
veda
It is the earliest form of Veda
.
The earliest reference for
singing.
It is also called the book of
prayers.
The book of magic and
charms.
7. The Rig Veda is the earliest of the four
Vedas and one of the most important texts
of the Hindu tradition. It is a large
collection of hymns in praise of the gods,
which are chanted in various rituals. They
were composed in an archaic language
named Vedic that gradually evolved into
classical Sanskrit.
8. The Samaveda (Sanskrit: सामवेद,
romanized: sāmaveda, from sāman
"song" and veda "knowledge"),
is the Veda of melodies and chants.
It is an ancient Vedic Sanskrit text,
and part of the scriptures of
Hinduism. One of the four Vedas, it
is a liturgical text which consists of
1,875 verses.
9. An ancient Vedic Sanskrit text, it is a
compilation of ritual-offering formulas
that were said by a priest while an
individual performed ritual actions such
as those before the yajna fire. Yajurveda
is one of the four Vedas, and one of the
scriptures of Hinduism.
10. The Atharvaveda is a collection of
20 books, with a total of 730 hymns
of about 6,000 stanzas. The text is,
state Patrick Olivelle and other
scholars, a historical collection of
beliefs and rituals addressing
practical issues of daily life of the
Vedic society, and it is not a
liturgical Yajurveda-style
collection.
11. The Indo-Aryan Migration (1800-
1500 BCE)Foreigners from the
north are believed to have migrated
to India and settled in the Indus
Valley and Ganges Plain from 1800-
1500 BCE. The most prominent of
these groups spoke Indo-European
languages and were called Aryans,
or “noble people” in the Sanskrit
language.
12.
13. the area of the Rig Veda extended from
western Uttar Pradesh to Afghanistan.
The home of the Vedic Aryans, during the
period of composition of the Rig Veda,
was the mid part of this area: the
Saptasindhu or Punjab, the Land of the
Five Rivers surrounded on the east by
the Sarasvati and on the west by the
Indus.
14. Small tribal organisations of
Early Vedic period expanded and
became powerful and turned into
large kingdoms. The position of
Rajan (king) became stronger. He
gained absolute power and his
position became hereditary.
15. The main occupation of the people
was cattle rearing and their wealth
was measured in the number of cattle.
They practiced agriculture by clearing
the forests. Metals used were copper,
iron, and bronze. Few people worked
as goldsmiths, potters, spinners, and
carpenters.
16. The Chalcolithic or Copper Age is
the transitional period between the
Neolithic and the Bronze Age. It is
taken to begin around the mid-5th
millennium BC, and ends with the
beginning of the Bronze Age proper,
in the late 4th to 3rd millennium
BC, depending on the region.
17. The practice of erecting megaliths
began around 3000 years ago. This
practice was prevalent in the
Deccan, the south India, the north-
east and Kashmir. Megaliths were
probably erected to serve as a
signpost. This helped in easily
locating the burial site.