Ancient History 10 Ancient India

Ancient India

Indus Period Not a lot is known about this civilization. Over 4,000 years ago, in the Indus Valley, people built huge, planned cities, with straight streets, and brick homes with private baths!   In 1922, archaeologists found the remains of an ancient city called Harappa. They found another city, located 640 kms southwest of Harappa, called Mohenjo-Daro. This civilization is referred to as the Indus Valley Civilization. They existed from about 3000-2,500 BCE to about 1500 BCE, which means it existed at about the same time as the Egyptian and Sumerian civilizations, some of the oldest known to archaeology.

Art: From artefacts recovered, we know that this ancient civilization must have had marvelous craftsmen, skilled in pottery, weaving, and metal-working. The pottery that has been found is of very high quality, with unusually beautiful designs. Several small figurines of animals, such as monkeys, have been found. These small objects could be sculptures or kids’ toys. 

Art Archaelogists have found: small statuettes of what they think are female gods. bowls made of bronze and silver, along with many beads and ornaments. imported metals. (these would have been foreign to the Indus Valley, indicating some kind of trade with the outside world)

Entertainment: A beautiful small bronze statue of a dancer was found, which tells us that they enjoyed dance and had great skill working with metals. In the ancient city of Mohenjo-daro, scientists have found the remains of a large central pool, with steps leading down at both ends. This could have been a public swimming pool, or perhaps have been used for religious ceremonies.  Around this large central pool were smaller rooms, that might have dressing rooms, and smaller pools that might have been private baths.

Homes: Houses were one or two stories high, made of baked brick, with flat roofs, and were just about identical. Each was built around a courtyard, with windows overlooking the courtyard. The outside walls had no windows. Each home had its own private drinking well and its own private bathroom. Clay pipes led from the bathrooms to sewers located under the streets. These sewers drained into nearby rivers and streams. This was a very advanced civilization!

Transportation: The people used camels, oxen and elephants to travel over land. They had carts with wooden wheels. They had ships, with one mast, probably used to sail around the Arabian Sea.

Writing Seals with a pictographic script, which has not as yet been deciphered, were found at the Indus Valley sites. Similar seals were found in Mesopotamia, which seems to indicate possible trade between these two civilizations.

Seals The writing of the Indus people is preserved on square/rectangular seals cut out of a soft stone called steatite (soap stone). These seals would be stamped on clay. Indus script has yet to be deciphered. Bison Seal Unicorn Seal Bull Seal

Undecipherable to date. Harappan Writing Undecipherable to date.

Indo-Aryans Herders, who came to India as conquerors and immigrants. Destroyed the city of Harappa and the Harappans became slaves Tribes formed small kingdoms, which were led by a Rajah (king) Family wealth depended on the number of cows owned The cow became a sacred animal because it was both a beast of burden and food.

Caste System A system of social order divided all people into 4 groups according to occupation: 1. Brahmans (Priests & Scholars) 2. Kshatriyas (Nobles & Fighters) 3. Vaisayas (Merchants, farmers) 4. Sudras (Servants: Manual Workers & Peasants) Pariahs (Dalits) = Untouchables or outcasts that did jobs that were believed to be unclean

Varna (Social Hierarchy) Brahmins Kshatriyas Vaishyas Shudras Pariahs [Harijan]  Untouchables

The Caste System The mouth? The arms? The legs? The feet? Brahmins Kshatriyas The mouth? The arms? The legs? The feet? Vaishyas Shudras

The caste system began because priests wanted to protect their high position in society Castes became stricter as there were differences in jobs, cultural groups and skin colour The caste system prevents individuals from developing & using their abilities and talents. This hurts society by limiting the talent available to develop trades, sciences, arts and government. The Caste System

The Caste System: How did it work? One could not marry, share meals, or work with someone from another caste. One could not move out of the caste into which they were born. Indo-Aryans believed that a person’s caste was the reward or punishment for Karma (the good or bad deeds committed in a previous life that will determine their future life).

Indo-Aryans The Indu-Aryan language is called Sanskrit. In Sanskrit, the term arya means relatives, nobles or honorable persons. Among the Aryans were Brahmins, members of the higher class in Hindu society.

Aryan Civilization The Red Dot on Foreheads: Have you ever wondered why Indian women place a red dot on their foreheads, between their eyes? We did, so we asked a few people what the red dot meant. Here are two replies: "This goes back to Aryan days! In ancient times, a groom used to apply a spot of his blood on his bride's forehead, in recognition of wedlock! Today, married Indian women may choose to wear this mark. A married woman does not have to do this, but she can if she wants. However, if a woman is single, divorced or a widow, she can not wear this mark. It's a sign of marriage!(Sudheer Birodkar) "At one time, the tilak or bindi as it is called, was a sign of a happily married woman. Today, it is much more a fashion accessory--it can be any colour, any shape or size, and women often wear more than one." (Gerald L Harrison; Adult educator: Asian Studies Saskatoon, Saskatchewan; Canada)

Aryan Civilization Indus Valley changed a lot when a new group arrived, called the Aryans. The Aryans came from (modern day Russia). Came through the Khyber pass.  The Aryans were nomads. They raised livestock, rode chariots, and loved to gamble. No form of government. They grouped in clans, and were ruled by warrior chiefs called rajas. (Clan conflict)

Aryan Civilzation The Aryan beliefs and daily life are described in the four Vedas, a collection of poems and sacred hymns, composed in about 1500 BCE.  Veda means knowledge. 1500 BCE to 1000 BCE is called the Vedic Period.

How did the Aryans live?   The Aryans clans, or tribes, settled in different regions of northwestern India. The tribes were called Gana= "collection" - of people. The chief of each tribe was an hereditary job. The chief made decisions, after listening to a committee, or perhaps even to the entire tribe. People had a voice, but the chief was the boss.

Education: Teacher = a guru. Even the sons of chiefs had to obey gurus. All students followed a rigorous course of studies which were imparted orally. Writing was done on bark and leaves, and hence was perishable, so we have very few rock edicts to tell us what they studied or what they wrote. Clothing was initially made of animal skins. As the Aryans settled down, clothing began to be made of cotton.  

Empires The next thousand years saw a great many kings and emperors In India. Some did fabulous things, like plant trees along the roads and built rest houses for travelers. Other started great public works programs. Let's take a closer look at just one of the empires, the Gupta Empire…

The Gupta Empire (from 320 CE to about 500 CE) The Gupta Empire existed at about the same time as the Roman Empire. It dominated northern India. The Gupta Empire was orderly. Villages were protected from bandits and raids by local military squads. Each squad was made up of one elephant, one chariot, three armoured cavalrymen and five foot soldiers. In times of war, all the squads were brought together to form the Royal Army! !

Maps of ancient India: http://www.mapsofindia.com/history/flash-history.htm