Ancient India: aka Indus River Valley Civilization or Harappan Civilization

1. Ancient India: aka Indus River Valley Civilization or Harappan Civilization

2. Geography • India is a subcontinent, with many diverse climates and geographical features. • The northern plain is fertile due to the Indus and Ganges Rivers. • The Deccan Plateau is dry and sparsely populated. • Winds called monsoons bring summer rains. India depends on monsoons to grow their crops. There is often too much or too little rain when the rains come.

4. Indus Valley Cities (2500 – 1500 BCE) • There were two prominent cities on the Indus River: Harappa & Mohenjo-Daro. • These cities were incredibly well planned: • Grid pattern streets • Water Systems (plumbing) with heated public baths and brick sewers. • The wealthy even had two story buildings with indoor bathrooms and garbage chutes. • Each city was dominated by a structure built upon a hill that served as a stronghold, such as a citadel.

5. Indus River Valley granary Jobs • Most in the Indus River Valley were farmers. Wheat & barley were the two main crops that allowed a surplus to be stored. • They may have been the first to grow cotton and weave it into cloth. • Merchants traded will all of the known world.

6. Writing • Around 2300 BC, the Indus Valley people developed a written language similar to the early pictographs of Mesopotamia. • They also developed the use of seals that were similar to the use of logos today. They could serve as a stamp of could be rolled on.

7. Religion • Little is known about Indus Valley religion, but archeologists have found thousands of fertility statues. • For this reason, it is believed that the great creator god they worshipped was a mother goddess, symbolizing fertility. • They were certainly polytheistic, although little else is known.

8. The Aryans • Around 1750 BCE, the Indus Valley quality of life began to decline. • This is believed to be due to a natural disaster, such as an earthquake or severe drought that lasted years. • Around the same time Indo-European tribes known as the Aryans migrated into the area. The Aryans were herders, as well as skilled warriors. They conquered the native Dravidians and took over all of Northern India.

9. The Aryan Shift • Having no interest in cities, the Aryans shifted the civilization toward the Ganges River, which would become a religious center for the Hindu religion. • Scholars know little about the Aryans as well, but they did leave some evidence of their influence: • The Vedas, written in Sanskrit • Brahmins, or specially trained priests

10. The Aryan Social Hierarchy

11. Differences Between The Aryans & Dravidians • The Aryans were light skinned, tall nomads. • The Dravidians were dark skinned, shorter peoples in settled communities. • The spoke different languages. • The Aryans worshipped heroic nature gods. • The Dravidians worshipped a mother goddess and other life giving gods.

12. The Development of Hinduism • The teachings of “rebel” Indian religions thinkers were collected in the Upanishads. • For those that were illiterate, oral history of these stories became the epic poems known as the Mahabharata and the Ramayana. • The most famous part of the Mahabharata is known as the Bhagavad-Gita. • These speak of the concepts of dharma and karma.

13. Hindu Concepts • Dharma = The rules to follow; one’s moral duty • Karma = The accumulation of good or bad force created by ones actions. • Moksha = Union with brahman, or creator; enlightenment • Maya = The “illusionary” world that humans must free themselves from.

14. Hindu Concepts • There is one creator, Brahma, but Brahma can take many forms. For this reason, Hinduism is recognized as a henotheistic faith. • Because Hindus strictly believe in reincarnation, and that many divine forms of Brahma are the spirits of trees and animals, Hindus are supposed to be devout vegetarians.

15. The Caste System

16. Brahma the Creator

17. Vishnu the Preserver

18. Shiva the Destroyer

19. Buddhism • Founded by Siddhartha Gautama, who becomes known as the Buddha, or ‘the Enlightened One.” • The Buddha promoted many Hindu beliefs, but strictly rejected the caste system, believing that anyone, regardless of caste can achieve nirvana, the Buddhist version of enlightenment. Nirvana is the only release from the cycle of death and rebirth.

20. The Four Noble Truths 1. All life is suffering. 2. Suffering is caused by desire for things that are illusions. 3. The way to eliminate suffering is to eliminate desire. 4. Following the Eightfold Path will lead to the end of desire.

21. The Eightfold Path • Right views • Right intention • Right speech • Right conduct • Right livelihood • Right effort • Right mindfulness • Right meditation

22. Buddhism • There is no creator in Buddhism • Buddhists accept religious communities of monks and nuns. • The teachings of the Buddha were collected in the Tripitaka, or “Three Baskets of Wisdom”. • There are many sects of Buddhism, but the major ones include Theravada, Mahayana and Zen Buddhism which is primarily in Japan.

24. Mauryan Empire (321 -185 BCE) • Founded by Chandragupta Maurya, this was India’s first empire. • They had a well organized bureaucratic government, yet Chandragupta was a harsh ruler. • He had weights and measures standardized and had strict standards for all physicians. • Chandragupta had many enemies!

25. Asoka the Great • Chandragupta’s grandson took power in 270 BCE. • More powerful, he further spread the empire. • After decades of bloody battles, Asoka converted to Buddhism and spent his final years dedicated to spreading the religion. He sent missionaries all over Asia and Europe to help spread Buddhist philosophies. • Asoka was tolerant of all religions, despite his conversion to Buddhism.

26. The spread of Buddhism at the time of emperor Aśoka the Great (260–218 BCE).

27. The Gupta Empire (320 -550 CE) • Considered a period of Golden Age, the empire under Chandra Gupta I & II led to the return of Hinduism as the primary Indian religion. • Local rulers were given more power. • The strong central government was centered at Pataliputra, the former Mauryan capital on the Ganges River.

28. The Gupta Empire • With the return of Hinduism, more restrictions were placed on the role of women, who were excluded from any political service. • In villages, wealthier people lived in joint families, which included the entire extended families in one home. • Indian families were patriarchal. • Hindu law required that individuals only marry within their caste. • A important duty for parents was to arrange the marriage of their children.

29. Gupta Achievements • Zero & the decimal system, based on the number 10. • Arabic Numerals • Surgeons set broken bones and perform facial plastic surgery. • Vaccinated smallpox 1,000 before Europe. • Buddhist architects constructed stupas, large dome shaped shrines to contain the remains of holy people.