Indus River Valley Civilization Review• By 2500 BC two major city-states (Harappa &

Mohenjo-Daro) had developed on the Indus River.• Highly developed cities laid out in a grid system

show a strong central government to plan.• Pictograms (Also known as Pictographs) Writing• No sure about religion, animal and human figures

suggest worship of gods involving natural forces• Collapsed between 1750 BC – 1500 BC)

The Indo-Aryans

I. Background (1750 BC – 1500 BC) a. Light-skinned nomadic herders from Eastern Europe begin to migrate into India through the Khyber Pass around 1750 BC.

I. Background (1750 BC – 1500 BC) b. Organized as tribes, with individual chiefs for the different clans. c. Were a warlike people

STATUS IN INDO-ARYAN SOCIETY WASBASED ON SKILL IN BATTLE, HOWEVER

THE DAY TO DAY LIFE OF AN iNDO-ARYAN WAS THE LIFE OF NOMADIC

HERDING TRIBES

II. The Vedas (1500 BC – 1000 BC)1. The Vedas were the Indo-Aryans’ great works of religious literature.2. Epic poems and hymns used in ceremonies, originally sung, handed down orally.

a. Vedas deal with a number of gods dealing with the natural world.

Agni – God of Fire

II. The Vedas (1500 BC – 1000 BC)3. Scholars would develop the Indo-Aryan language called Sanskrit to write down these poems and hymns into a holy book called Vedas.

II. The Vedic Age (1500 BC – 1000 BC)4. Vedas – holy book of Aryan poems, epics, and hymns

a. Aryans left no temples, conducted ceremonies outdoors. b. What we know about the Indo-Aryans come from the Vedas.

II. The Caste System1. During the Indo-Aryan migration social classes were developed.2. Each social class was placed into one of four Varnas or occupation category.

II. The Caste System3. By 1000 BC this would develop in the Caste System.

a. The Caste System is how people ranked in society and you cannot change where you are ranked in society (You are born into your class)

II. The Caste System3. By 1000 BC this would develop in the Caste System.

b. The Five Levels of the Caste System1. Brahmins - Priests2. Kshatriyas - Rulers & Warriors3. Vaisyas – Farmers, Merchants, & Craftsmen4. Sudras – Manuel workers, employees, landless farmers, servants5. Pariahs (outside the caster system) -

Untouchables, Outcasts

II. The Caste System

IV. The Upanishads (1000 BC -500 BC)1. Religious writings developed between 800 BC – 500 BC.

a. Tell of a universal spirit present in all lifeb. Regard animals a sacred and forbade killing themc. Do no replace Vedas, but adds to them

IV. The Upanishads (1000 BC -500 BC)

2. The Two Epicsa. Mahabharata: an epic of a war.

1. Contains the Bhagavad Gita, the most cherished of Hindu scriptures. The Bhagavad Gita stresses the importance of duty.

IV. The Upanishads (1000 BC -500 BC)

b. Ramayana: An epic story about a prince (Rama) who is really an incarnation of a god and his wife

(Sita) who is kidnapped by a dragon—and Rama’s efforts to get her back. Rama and Sita are moral and ethical examples of how to live a proper Hindu life.

IV. The Upanishads (1000 BC -500 BC)

3. Following would lead to the first major religion in India.– The Vedas (Early Indo-Aryan Religious Texts)– The Upanishads (Religious writings added to the Vedas)– The Caste System (Social Rank in society)– The Two Epics

HINDUISM

V-SHARE1. HINDUISM HW– COMPLETE AND DROPBOX IN CLASS

DATABASE TERMS• Database Terms #1 (Indus River Valley Notes & Indo-Aryan/Caste System

Notes• 1. Khyber Pass (pg. 52)• 2. Monsoon (pg. 52)• 3. Harappa & Mohenjo-Daro (pg. 53)• 4. Citadel (Pg. 53)• 5. Pictograms (Pictographs Pg. 55)• 6. The Vedas (Pg. 56)• 7. Sanskrit (Pg. 56)• 8. Varnas (Pg. 61)• 9. The Caste System (Pg. 61)• 10. Upanishads (Pg. 60)• 11. Mahabharata (Pg. 60)• 12. Bhagavad Gita (Pg. 60) • 13. Ramayana (Pg. 60)