Does our environment play a role in our culture today? How or How not? Warm-Up In the two river civilizations we have looked at so far, we have seen the role environment can play in a society’s culture. Does our environment play a role in our culture today? How or How not?

Chap. 2 Sect. 3 Planned Cities on the Indus River Goals: Describe the geographic features that affected the Indus Valley. 2. Explain how the Harappan cities differed from the others seen so far. 3. Identify the main obstacle in learning about this culture and how historians have adapted to it.

Geography of Indus River Valley Modern day Pakistan and Parts of India 2 rivers – Indus and Ganges deposits silt during flooding like T & E and the Nile Natural Barriers- Himalayan, Kush, and Karakorum Mtns. Highest in the world Deserts to the east Indian Penninsula to the south-has mtns near the edges creating a dry center with lush narrow coasts

Geography cont. - Monsoons Monsoon- seasonal winds that typically blow one direction for long periods of time Winter –(Oct. – Feb.) Dry monsoons blow dry air down from mountains and out towards the western coast of India Summer –(June – Oct.) Wet monsoons blow eastward from the ocean towards the center of India, creating large storms and flooding Weak summer monsoons = drought

Environmental Challenges Yearly floods spread rich soil, but unpredictable – hard to plan for Monsoons were unpredictable too- different amts of rain each year, too little or too much could be bad Rivers at times would change courses depending on rainfall

Indus Civilization What we don’t know- What we do know - -They had a writing system, but still un-deciphered most of our information from archaeological digs Many sites were likely washed away by flooding, or are still undiscovered What we do know - Indus Valley covered a larger area than Mesopotamia and Egypt Evidence of agriculture and domesticated sheep c. 7000 B.C. Villages c. 3200 B.C.

Cities in Indus Valley Cities first seen c. 2500 B.C. Strong levees Buildings were made of cut, oven baked bricks Strong levees At times, cities on man-made islands to elevate above flood levels Ruins of over 100 different settlements found along Indus River Main cities were: Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa

City Planning in the Indus Valley Indus Valley cities had grid-like streets They had citadels (protected area where important buildings were located i.e. gov’t halls, granary, wells) Cities had plumbing and sewage systems that drained dirty water and waste to sewers below ground w/ manholes for access Each house had a toilet (bricks and wood) and area for bathing connected to system Houses of different sizes were mixed together some 3 stories high suggests little division between classes

Harappan Culture Written language had over 400 symbols, No bilingual document has been found Believed to be object and sound related, sometimes they stand alone, sometimes combined Presence of toys and few weapons suggests leisure time and little warfare Animals appear as decorations in pottery, statues, and trade seals- some real, some imaginary

Harappan Culture cont. Religion – little is known because of the language barrier No temple site has been excavated But religious artifacts have been found i.e. goddesses, fertility images, and links to Hinduism Trade – began c. 2600 B.C. outside of Indus Valley Merchant seals have been found in Sumer

Harappan Culture Ends c. 1750 B. C. Quality of buildings deteriorated, cities started to decay Satellite images done in the 1970’s revealed active tectonic plates in the area Scientists now suspect that earthquakes and floods in the area: -destroyed cities -changed river courses and reduced farming -affected trade routes Aryans began to move in and conquer the Harappan people

The Aryans in Indus Valley Aryans (translates as “nobles”) were an Indo-European people who crossed over the Kush mtns into Indus Valley c. 1500 B.C. Left very little archaeologically – but we have their sacred texts – Vedas. The Rig Veda is the most important The Vedas tell us about the daily life of the Aryans They were passed on orally but written versions date c. 500 B.C.

Aryans in the Indus Valley Aryans (“nobles”) called the people they found in Indus Valley Dasas (“darks”) because of their skin tone Dasa eventually meant slave Aryans were taller, lighter in skin tone and spoke a different language than the Indus Valley people , they also did not have a written language and were pastoral nomads

A persons social class determined their role in society Caste System Develops Aryans had 3 set social classes before coming to Indus Valley Brahmins (priests) -Warriors -Peasants/Traders When they came to Indus Valley they added a 4th class Shudras (non-Aryans) A persons social class determined their role in society The Aryans wanted to limit their interactions with the non-Aryans so the class restrictions became very strict

Caste Systems cont. Shudras ( the Indus natives) =less desirable jobs Because the shudras were darker skinned – skin color =distinguishing feature of class People were born into their caste for life- they could not change classes, it determined their jobs, their marriages, and who they could associate with Cleanliness and purity became all-important “Untouchables” – those considered so impure that even touching them would make others unclean (butchers, gravediggers, trash collectors)

Aryan Kingdom Rises Aryan settlements moved slowly across India due to jungle clearing for farms and herds At first - chiefs, but c. 1000 B.C. minor kings began to come to power and battle for territory and power Fighting led to the Magadha Kingdom which ruled for 400 yrs.

The Mahabharata A great epic from India that reflected the struggles that occurred as the Aryans took over It indicates that there was a blending of Aryan and non-Aryan cultures e.g. Krishna a semi-divine hero of the story is described as “dark-faced” suggesting he was non-Aryan. We will learn more about the Mahabharata when we move on to Hinduism

Goal Check Goals: 1. Describe the geographic features that affected the Indus Valley. 2. Explain how the Harappan cities differed from the others seen so far. 3. Identify the main obstacle in learning about this culture and how historians have adapted to it.