The Aryans originated in South-Central Asia and invaded parts of India around 1000-500 BCE. They spoke an early form of Sanskrit and lived as semi-nomadic herders. During the Vedic period, Aryan culture combined with indigenous Indian cultures. The Aryans acquired war chariots and weapons, allowing them to dominate much of northern India militarily and establish the caste system. They introduced their male-dominated culture and gods. Under the Mauryan dynasty, India developed advanced knowledge in fields like medicine, mathematics, and metallurgy. Women had varying social roles and freedoms depending on region and caste.

1. THE ARYANS

2. Aryans
■ From South-Central Asia
– Iran
– Seaborne invaders of Greece
– Kassites who invaded and conquered Sumer
– Hindu Kush
■ Spoke early form of Sanskrit
■ Preliterate, preurban, seminomadic tender of cattle, sheep and goats
■ Lived in part from hunting, from plough agriculture of wheat and barley,
and from raiding more highly developed agricultural settlements and
trade center routes

3. Vedic period culture (1000-500 BCE)
■ Combination of Aryan, Harappan, and other
indigenous Indian strains
■ Sanskrit is the oldest written language among the
ancestors of modern European languages

4. Aryan Domination
■ Acquired not only metal-tipped weapons but a
light, fast war chariot with spoked wheels drawn
by two or more horses
■ Glorified war and made a disproportionate military
impact on a more peaceful Indian population
■ Vedas and epics portray Aryans as godlike
■ Became ruling class

5. Aryan Domination
■ Arya
– Noble or pure in Sanskrit
■ Introduction of caste system
■ Aryans brought with them their male and warlike
gods and their male-dominated culture
■ Aryan-speaking group dominated the north of India
while the south were dominated by the Dravidians

6. Vedic culture
■ Vedas and the epics are concerned with romantic
adventure involving gods and demons or with
philosophical and religious matters rather than
with accounts of worldly events or daily life

7. ■ India became the home of the most advanced
knowledge and practice of medicine; of
mathematics, including the numbering system;
and of iron and steel metalworking
■ Ayurveda, Indian medicine
– Ayur - longevity
– Veda - knowledge

8. MAURYAN INDIA

9. The invasion of Alexander the Great
■ Alexander encountered and defeated some of the states in
the Indus Valley and Punjab
■ Defeated Porus, king of West Punjab who have his large
army and his battalions of war elephants but gave back his
kingdom
■ Encouraged his 10,000 Greeks and Macedonian soldiers to
take Indian wives
■ Received a lot of Indian princes, one is the first Indian
emperor named Chandragupta Maurya

10. The Maurya Dynasty
■ The time of ruthless power politics
■ Established the city Pataliputra
– Home to famous library and university
■ Complete with secret service to spy on potential
dissidents, suspected criminals, and corrupt or
ineffective officials
■ Pataliputra was surrounded by a huge wall with 570
towers and 64 gates

11. Kushans and Greeks
■ Kushans adopted and promoted Buddhism
– Became Indianized
■ Greeks sought for spices, precious stones,
incense, brasswork, fine cotton textiles, ivory,
peacocks, monkeys, and even larger wild animals

12. Women in India
■ Early Indian Society, especially the southern India, were
matriarchal
■ Aryans were clearly patriarchal
■ Women were subjects to their parents, husbands, and male
relatives
■ Have control over property
■ Freest women were the courtesans
– High-class prostitutes
■ Hereditary dancers never marry, devoted to god