Indus Valley

1
Indus Valley
2
Indus Valley Geography

• Subcontinent
• Mountains
• Indus and Ganges Rivers
• Monsoons
• Isolation
• Cultural Diversity

3
Indus Valley Geography

• Northern Plains
• Deccan Plateau
• Costal Plains

4
Early Indus Valley

• What historians knowwithout reading Linear A
  (writing sytem)
• 1,000 years
• Language
• Large area
• Great Cities (well-organized government)

5
Cities and People

• Settlement
• 2 Major Cities
• Mohenjo-Daro
• Harappa
• Religion
• Economy
• Writing

6
(No Transcript)
7
Harappa
8
Mohenjo-Daro
9
(No Transcript)
10
Indus Valley Dancer Statue
11
Aryans Arrive in Indus Valley

• DeclineArrival!
• Language
• Aryan Culture
• Religion
• Vedas and
• Vedic Age

12
Aryans on Chariots
13
Aryans in the Indus

• Social Classes / Caste System
• Brahmins
• Kshatriyas
• Vaisyas
• Sudras (added)
• Government (rajah)
• Literature Mahabarata and Bhagavad-Gita / Rama
  and Sita

14
(No Transcript)
15
(No Transcript)
16
Sanskrit (by 500 BCE)
17
Which coast of India are we looking at? What is
the body of water called in the bottom right of
this picture?
18
Why is this important?

• Our knowledge of the Aryan migration is very
  limited
• But Aryan traditions and beliefs formed a
  framework for later Indian civilization
• Middle East is the birthplace of Judaism,
  Christianity, and Islam
• India is the birthplace of Hinduism and Buddhism
  (Aryans affected the creation of these religions)