Early Civilizations of India

By: Pearl Li, Kayla Novella, and Doug Ott

Indus Valley Civilization

• Growing in a fertile river valley, the Harappan or Indus Valley civilization was the first of India

• It was the largest of the world’s early civilizations, extending almost 1,000 miles inland from the Arabian Sea and lasting 1000 years from 2500 B.C. to 1500 B.C.

Planned Cities

• The most important cities were Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro, both located in present-day Pakistan

• Each city was carefully planned and laid out in a checkerboard pattern and protected by a walled fortress

• Separate districts were created for homes and public buildings, and strict building codes were enforced

Everyday Life• Officials, artisans, and merchants

lived in the cities, but only made up a small percentage of the population

• The majority of the people were farmers, who grew barley, wheat, peas, and sesame

• Herders raised livestock such as cattle, sheep, goats and water buffaloes

• It is thought that they were the first to grow cotton and domesticate chickens

• They used irrigation to make use of fertile land and earthlinks to control flooding

Advanced Civilization

• The Harappan people were literate, using the Dravidian language, little of which has been deciphered today

• Evidence in burial sites of little extravagance or material wealth suggests that the Harappans were without social classes

• Although cities were fortified and copper and bronze weapons were used, there was little military activity

• By land and by sea, traders brought goods and ideas from Harappa to Sumer, an ancient civilization of the Middle East

Unsolved Puzzles• Middle Eastern

archaeologists have found small, clay seals from the Indus Valley depicting animals, gods, and other figures

• Scholars believe that the seals were used to identify their goods

• Scholars have been unable to decode the meaning of the ancient writing on the seals

Decline

• By 2000 B.C., signs of decline showed in that the bricks were no longer identical in size, repairs were not made to broken streets, once grand homes were divided into tenement-like apartment, and towns were abandoned

For centuries, scholars and archeologists thought the people of the Indus Valley had been conquered

It is now believed that the Indus Valley decline occurred as a result of natural causes

Decline A 300-year drought also led to the

decline of Mesopotamian, Egyptian, and Aegean civilizations

Because of the drought, the climate became too dry to grow crops

Centuries of farming may have exhausted the soil of the nutrients needed for farming

Floods may have also factored in the decline

The Dravidian people of Southern India are thought to be descendants of the Indus Valley civilization

Arrival of the Aryans The arrival of the Aryans, a

belligerent nomadic people, may have also contributed to the Harappan decline

Their migration into India through the Hindu Kush Mountains took hundreds of years

They overran the cities of the Indus Valley civilization, aided by iron weapons, chariots, and advanced battle tactics

Ideas from the Indus Valley civilization slowly became part of Aryan culture

The Vedas One of the main elements of their

culture was the Vedas, a religion made up of hymns, prayers, and rituals that were used in religious ceremonies

Their rituals are still part of Indian culture today, used at events such as weddings and funerals

At first, the whole religion was recited orally and memorized, being passed down by word of mouth

Centuries later, the Aryans developed their own written language, Sanskrit

Aryan Gods Aryan warlike nature was reflected in their

religion, dominated by warring storm and sky gods

One was Indra, a warrior god known for his singing and dancing, who smashed cities and killed enemies

The god Varuna governed the universe and handed down punishment to sinners

Sacrifices to the gods were the center of Aryan worship, performed by priests on open-air altars

Aryans believed that the gods would reward them with wealth, healthy children, long life, and success in war if the sacrifices were generous

Villages Villages were settled as

the Aryans moved across the northern plains

The Aryans were farmers and herders who placed great value on cattle

Wealth was measured in terms of number of cattle, which men could earn with success in war

Villages Their villages were ruled

by Rajahs, who were hereditary chiefs

They were assisted by a council of warriors

The greatest power was held by the chief priest, who could carry out the sacrifices that they felt were needed to please the gods

Social Classes The Aryan people were

divided into four different social classes, known as varna

Varna in Sanskrit means “color”. Some experts suggest that the lighter-skinned Aryans wanted to differentiate themselves from darker-skinned Aryans, and thus created the social classes

This class system eventually became the basis for the caste system

Social Classes At the top of the social

ladder were the Brahmans, or priests

Below them were the Kshatriyas, or warriors

Next were the Vaisyas, who were landowners, merchants, and herders

Finally, there were the Sundras, who were the peasants, servants, and farm workers

Social Classes A hymn from the Vedas

states the Aryans’ feelings toward social classes:

“When the gods divided the man, into how many parts did they divide him? What was his mouth, what were his arms, what were his thighs and feet called? The Brahman was his mouth, of his arms was made the warrior, His thighs became the Vaisya, of his feet the Sundra was born.”