Ancient Indian Civilization

1
Ancient Indian Civilization
2
Indus Valley Civilization

• First Indian civilization developed in the Indus
  Valley of Northern India approximately 4500 years
  ago.
• Settlements emerged throughout subcontinent of
  India
• India
• Pakistan
• Bangladesh
• Nepal
• Bhutan
• Sri Lanka
• Indian Subcontinent
• Half as large as the U.S.
• Diverse climate rain forests, fertile plains,
  vast rivers, high plateaus, dry deserts, and
  narrow coastal plains

3
Physical Setting 3 Main Physical Regions

• Northern Mountains (3 Mountain ranges)
• Himalayas (Place of Snow)
• Tallest mountains on earth
• Natural border between India Subcontinent and
  Tibetan Plateau
• Series of parallel mountain ranges
• 1500 Miles from east to southeast
• Mt. Everest 29,035 feet
• Karakoram
• Meet Himalayas in east and Hindu Kush in the west
• Highest peak is 28,000 feet
• Part of mountain chain that forms a wall between
  Indian Subcontinent and the rest of Asia
• Hindu Kush
• Northwest of the Karakoram
• Khyber Pass
• 33 mile passage that provided access to India.
• Connects Northern frontier of Pakistan to
  Afghanistan.
• Major trade route.

4
Physical Setting 3 Main Physical Regions

• Indo-Gangetic Plain
• 2 Main rivers
• The Ganges River flows southeast
• Indus River flows southwest
• Northern ends of the 2 river valleys are
  separated by a low divide (ridge)
• Deccan
• South of the Indo-Gangetic Plain
• High plateau
• Vindhya Range
• range of hills that
• separates the Deccan from Indo-Gangetic Plain
• Forms a cultural barrier between North and
  Southern India
• Western Ghats
• Low mountain range that slopes eastward
• Rises from a narrow coastal plain along the
  Arabian Sea
• Eastern Ghats - marks the eastern edge of the
  Deccan
• Bay of Bengal
• forms the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean
• Located on the Eastern Coast of India

5
Climate

• Monsoons
• Seasonal winds named for the direction in which
  they blow or the season in which they occur.
• November until February or March winds blow from
  the north and northeast
• Moisture carried by the Monsoon falls onto the
  northern slopes of the Himalayas before reaching
  the rest of India
• June through October southwesterly winds carry
  warm moist air from the Indian Ocean
• Heavy rains fall along coastal plains
• Sparse rainfall behind Western Ghats
• Lower Ganges Valley and Eastern Himalayas
  receives heaviest rainfall
• ¾ of Indias rainfall comes between June and
  October
• High Range of Temperatures
• Temperatures moderate on Coastal Plain and in the
  Deccan
• Scorching heat in the Indo-Gangetic Plain
• Cool in winter months
• March June temperatures can get as high as 120F

6
Early Civilization in the Indus Valley

• 2500 B.C. first appeared and Flourished until
  1500 B.C.
• Ruins of 2 cities found - Harappa and
  Mohenjo-Daro
• Evidence of city planning and design
• Wide streets laid out in regular patters
• Water system with public baths
• Covered brick sewer system for private homes
• Buildings built of bricks baked in kilns
• Citadel (strong central fortress) in each city
• Raised cattle, sheep, pigs and goats
• Cultivated cotton, wheat, and rice
• Evidence of flood control and irrigation systems
• 2300 B.C trading with people in the
  Tigris-Euphrates Valley
• Artisans produced cotton cloth, pottery, bronze
  items and jewelry (gold and silver)
• Developed a written language
• Pictographs date from 2300 B.C.
• Writing found on clay pots
• Not deciphered by scholars to date
• Religion
• Little is known about their religion

7
Indo Aryan Migrants

• 1750 B.C. new groups of people came through
  mountain passes into India
• from region north of the Black Sea and Caspian
  Sea
• Spoke Indo-European language
• Herded sheep and cows
• Skillful fighters
• Archers followed horse drawn chariots into battle
• Conquered the Indus Valley
• Gradually moved eastward along the Ganges
• After several centuries they controlled the
  northern plain

8
Indo-Aryan Religion

• Vedas
• Great literature of the Indo-Aryan religion.
• People memorized and handed down by word of mouth
• Eventually scholars wrote them down using
  Indo-Aryan language Sanskrit
• 1500 B.C. to 1000 B.C. known as the Vedic Age
• Early gods include elements of nature
• Sun, sky, earth, light fire, wind, storms, water
  and rain
• Personified (skyfather, Earthmother)
• As religion changed and developed, gods were seen
  as having particular attributes
• Varuna was guardian of cosmic order, divine judge
  who punished sin
• Indra was god of storm and war
• Ceremonies
• Ritual Sacrifices to obtain favors
• No temples
• Sacred fires lit on altars
• Juice of the soma plant poured into sacred fire
• Foods offered as sacrifices (meat, butter, milk
  and barley)
• Brahmins priests who knew the proper forms and
  rules for religious ceremonies
• Sanskrit language became highly complex and
  stylized and was used by priests in sacred
  observances

9
Early Indo-Aryan Society

• Settled in village communities where they farmed
  and herded animals
• Evolved and settlements joined to form
  city-states
• Ruled by a raja
• Prince or King
• Acted as military leader, lawmaker, and judge
• Royal council assisted raja
• Often city states warred with one another, but
  enjoyed internal stability and independence for
  hundreds of years
• Differences between Indo-Aryan and earlier
  inhabitants of Indo-Gangetic Plain (skin color,
  and nomadic vs. settled)
• Warriors and Priests at top of Indo-Aryan social
  structure
• Marriage was an important institution
• Favored arranged marriages
• Marriage by purchase
• Marriage by capture
• Marriage by mutual consent

10
Indo-Aryan Economy

• Wheat and Barley were principle crops
• Rice grown in areas where there was irrigation
• Other crops include sugar cane, leafy vegetables,
  gourds, peas, beans and lentils
• Trade was limited due to poor transportation and
  trading methods
• Early traders bartered

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Southern India

• Developed differently
• People in south able to resist conquest by
  Indo-Aryan
• Remained linguistically, ethnically and
  culturally distinct from people in the North
• Hilly landscape made political and cultural
  unification difficult
• Southern Indias people remained diversified
• Farmers
• Hunter-gatherers
• Traders
• Lived on the coasts
• Traded cotton, spices, and ivory
• Became very wealthy
• Made contact with other civilizations in
  Southeast Asia