Indus Valley

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