INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION AND EARLY ARYAN SOCIETY

1. INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATIONAND EARLY ARYAN SOCIETY

2. THE GEOGRAPHIC SETTING • Indian Subcontinent • To North: Impassable Himalayas • To East: Passable low hills • To Northwest: Passable Hindu Kush, Khyber Pass • To West: Arabian Sea • Northern Plain of Indus, Ganges Rivers • Southern Deccan • High plateau, extremely dry • Bordered on East and West by mountains • Separated from north by river, low mountains • The Monsoon Winds • Off the land October to April: Dry Season • Off the Indian Ocean May to September: Wet Season

3. HARAPPAN SOCIETY • The Indus River • Runs through north India, sources at Hindu Kush, Himalayas • Rich deposits, but less predictable than the Nile • Wheat and barley were cultivated in Indus valley • Cultivated cotton before 5000 B.C.E. • Complex society of Dravidians, 3000/2500 B.C.E. • Harappa and Mohenjo-daro • Possibly served as twin capitals • Each city had a fortified citadel and a large granary • Broad streets, market places, temples, public buildings • Standardized weights, measures, architecture, bricks • Specialized labor and trade • Domestic trade, items inc. pottery, tools, metals • Trading with Mesopotamians about 2300 to 1750 B.C.E.

4. HARAPPAN SOCIETY/CULTURE • Social distinctions as seen from living styles • Religious beliefs strongly emphasized fertility • Many deities were feminine • In later Hinduism, Dravidian gods are blue-faced • Harappan society declined from 2000 B.C.E. onward • Ecological degradation led to a subsistence crisis • Natural catastrophes - floods or earthquakes • Population began to abandon their cities by about 1700 B.C.E. • Almost entirely collapsed by about 1500 B.C.E • Evidence of warfare, invasion

5. INDO-EUROPEANS & ARYANS • Indo-Europeans • Linguistic similarities among Europe, Persia, and India • Indo-European family of languages • Indo-Iranian including Aryans (India), Medes/Persians (SW Asia) • Greek, Balto-Slavic, Germanic, Italic, Celtic • Tocarian, possibly Shang of China • Migrations as the key to explain linguistic similarities • Indo-European origins • North of Black Sea, Caspian Sea, Aral Sea; Ukraine, Southern Russia • Common origins established through key vocabulary, traditions, myths • Indo-European migrations • To Tarim Basin, fourth millennium B.C.E. • Shang of China appear to have been Indo-Europeans • To Anatolia (the Hittites), 3000 B.C.E. • By 2nd millennium, established communities in Europe • Around 1500 BCE, domesticated horse amongst Indo-Europeans • Often called the Chariot Peoples; introduced iron and horse technologies

6. ARYANS IN INDIA • The early Aryans • Depended heavily on a pastoral economy • No writing system, but orally transmitted works called the Vedas • Sacred language (Sanskrit) and daily-use language (Prakit) • The Vedic Age: 1500 to 500 B.C.E. • A boisterous period, conflict with indigenous peoples • Called indigenous people dasas - "enemies" or "subject people" • Indra, the Aryans' war god and military hero • Aryan chiefdoms fought ferociously among themselves • Aryan migrations in India • First settled in the Punjab, the upper Indus River valley • Spread east and south from their base • After 1000 B.C.E. settled between Himalayan foothills and Ganges • Used iron tools and developed agriculture • By 500 B.C.E. migrated as far south as the northern Deccan • Lost tribal organizations but established regional kingdoms

7. THE CASTE SYSTEM • Caste and varna • Caste: • Hereditary, unchangeable social classes • Sanskrit word varna, "color," referring to social classes • Social distinctions based on racial skin colors • Social distinctions in the late Vedic Age • Four main varnas, recognized after 1000 B.C.E. • brahmins (priests) • kshatriyas (warriors and aristocrats: rulers) • vaishyas (cultivators, artisans, and merchants) • shudras (landless peasants and serfs) • Later, the category of the pariah (untouchables) was added • Subcaste or jati • Represents more elaborate social classification, developed after 6th c. B.C.E. • Jati, or subcastes, were determined by occupations • The elaborate rules of jati life • Caste and social mobility • Caste system was capable of accommodating social change • Social mobility was very difficult but still possible • Foreign peoples could find a place in society of the castes

8. RISE OF PATRIARCHAL SOCIETY • Patriarchal, Patrilineal society • Original Aryan Society: women had rights, some were chiefs • Changes occurred with change to sedentary civilization • Men served as priests, warriors, and tribal chiefs • Family lines based on male descendants (the patriline) • Only males could inherit property • Men learned the Vedas and received formal education • Source: The Lawbook of Manu • Prepared by an anonymous sage, 1st century B.C.E. • Dealt with moral behavior and social relationships • Advised men to treat women with honor and respect • Subjected women to the control and guidance of men • Women's duties: bear children, maintain the household • Sati as a social custom

9. ARYAN RELIGION • The Aryan gods • The war god, Indra • The gods of the sun, sky, moon, fire, health, etc. • The god Varuna - an ethical concern • Ritual sacrifices • Importance of ritual sacrifices • Horse sacrifice originally • Priests were specialists of the ritual sacrifices • Ritual sacrifices for rewards from the divine power • Spirituality • Many Aryans dissatisfied with ritual sacrifices in late Vedic age • A shift to spiritual contemplation • Thoughtful individuals retreated to forests as hermits • Dravidian notions were coopted • Transmigration of soul • Reincarnation (nirvana)

10. THE RISE OF HINDUISM • The Upanishads • Works of religious teachings, 800 to 400 B.C.E. • The religious forums: dialogues between disciples and sages • Brahman: the universal soul • Brahman was the only genuine reality • Highest goal: to escape reincarnation and join with Brahman • Teachings of the Upanishads • Samsara: An individual soul was born many times • Karma: specific incarnations that a soul experienced • Moksha: permanent liberation from physical incarnation • Dharma: Caste duties • Religion and Vedic Society • Samsara and karma reinforced social hierarchy • Upanishads were also spiritual and intellectual contemplations • Taught to observe high ethical standards • Respect for all living things, a vegetarian diet