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Chapter 4: Early Societies in South Asia

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Title: Chapter 4: Early Societies in South Asia


1
Chapter 4 Early Societies in South Asia
  • By Leon Zhou, Daniel Norwood, Jane Dong, Khashy
    Hakamian, and Diane Bai

2
Harappan Society
  • Part by Daniel Norwood

3
Background
  • Aryans Indo-European tribes who settled in
    India after 1500 B.C.E. Settled near Indus River
    Valley by 3000 B.C.E.
  • Early history hard to follow
  • Physical remains remain largely inaccessible
  • Written records lacking
  • Writing not yet completely translated

4
Foundation of Harappan Society
  • Indus River
  • Goes through north India and also into Hindu Kush
    and the Himalayas
  • Not predictable, but rich in soil
  • Grew wheat, barley, cotton
  • Dravidian society 3000 B.C.E.

5
A map of the Indus River
A cotton flower
6
Foundation of Harappan Society
  • Two Main Cities Harappa and Mohenjo-daro
  • Cities had streets, markets, temples, gathering
    places
  • Had standardized weights, measurements,
    architectural styles, and brick sizes

A Harappan Temple
7
Harappan Society and Culture
  • Religious beliefs strongly emphasized fertility
  • Society began to decline from 1900 B.C.E. onward
  • Natural Disasters Floods and earthquakes
  • Almost entirely collapsed by 1500 B.C.E
  • Some cultural traditions remained

8
If this is boring you, watch this for a while
If this is boring you, watch this for a while
9
The Indo-European migrations and early Aryan
India
  • Part by Jane Dong

10
The Early Aryans
  • Practiced a limited amount of agriculture
    depended mostly upon a pastoral economy
  • The early Aryans did not use written language,
    but they did compose songs and poems
  • Sacred language called Sanskrit, less formal
    language called Prakrit

Ancient Sanskrit
Ancient Prakrit
11
An Aryan city
Spread of the Aryan society
An Aryan painting
12
The Vedic Age
  • Vedas Wisdom early collections of prayers
    and hymns that provide information about Aryan
    migrations into India around 1500 B.C.E.
  • During period of expansion, there were many
    conflicts with indigenous people, or dasas, which
    meant enemies or subject people
  • Worshipped Indra, the Aryans war god and
    military hero
  • Used iron tools developed agriculture after
    migrating to India

13
The caste system
  • Castes- a system of hereditary, largely
    unchangeable social classes
  • Sanskrit word varna color evolved into word
    for caste
  • The four main varnas
  • brahmins (priests)
  • kshatriyas (warriors and aristocrats)
  • vaishyas (cultivators, artisans, merchants)
  • shudras (landless peasants and serfs)
  • A caste below even the shudras, the untouchables,
    developed later
  • Social mobility was difficult, but foreigners
    sometimes could find a place in the society of
    the castes

14
Jati
  • Jati were subcastes determined by occupation
  • Jati life had elaborate rules for eating,
    communication, and behavior
  • Social deference took place between members of
    different jatis in the same caste some
    untouchables were even looked down upon by other
    untouchables
  • Citizens associated more closely with their jati
    than their caste-members, and even citizens of
    the same city

15
Patriarchal Society
  • The Lawbook of Manu
  • Prepared by an anonymous sage, first century
    B.C.E.
  • Dealt with moral behavior and social
    relationships
  • Advised men to treat women with honor and
    respect, but subjected women to the control and
    guidance of men
  • Womens duties to bear children and maintain the
    household

16
This has nothing to do with World History.
17
Religion in the Vedic Age
  • Part by Khashy Hakamian

18
Gods
  • Indra, the war god and king of all gods, was
    often portrayed as a violent character, a wielder
    of thunderbolts who led the people into battle
    against their enemies
  • Aryans believed in gods of the sun, sky, moon,
    fire, health, disease, dawn, and the underworld

The ancient war god, Indra
19
Ritual sacrifices
  • Involved the slaughter of dozens and sometimes
    hundreds of specially prepared animals, including
    cattle, sheep, goats, and horses
  • Believed gods visited the earth and joined
    worshipers in rituals of eating and drinking
  • Proper honors for the gods required priests
    households to hold no less than five sacrifices
    per day- a very time-consuming and expensive
    obligation

20
Spirituality
  • Many Aryans became dissatisfied with sacrifices,
    as it seemed the priests were not genuinely
    communicating with the gods
  • Upanishads Indian reflections and dialogues
    that reflected basic Hindu concepts
  • Many believed in reincarnation on would depart
    one body at death and become associated with
    another body through a new birth through a
    process called samsara
  • Animal bodies might well hold reincarnations of
    the less virtuous, due to evil karma
  • The ultimate goal was moksha, in which ones soul
    would be released from its earthly ties and
    become one with Brahman

21
Teachings
  • Taught respect for all living things, animals and
    humans, as well as honesty, self-control,
    charity, and mercy
  • After all the evil behavior of the old tradition
    of sacrificing animals, the people wished to not
    cause any more additional suffering or harm to
    animals (whom they believed, as you will recall,
    were humans reincarnate)
  • Thus, a vegetarian diet became more common
  • As can probably be seen, these beliefs eventually
    became the basis for modern Hinduism
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