1. EARLY SOCIETIES IN SOUTH ASIA
Nolan Kim, Jason Smevog, Shubham Singh, Francis Rodriguez

2. What is a civilization & what are the defining characteristics?
- A civilization is a society or culture made by a lot of settlements.
-A civilization usually has a written language, food supply, social structure, religious system, a government, a highly developed culture, and advancements in technology.
-The Harappan civilization grew from a smaller society, where they developed a sense of agriculture, to a civilization with religion, their own written language, had social classes in which the wealthy were powerful
-No evidence of politics.

3. Where did the early civilizations develop?
-The Harappan Society first developed in the valley of the Indus River.
-They developed here because of the water source the Indus river provided the people.
-Agriculture was the reason for the Harappan Society to live by the Indus River because they were able to have a steady agriculture system.
-Because of this population grew.

4. What is a state?
-A state is a nation or territory which is controlled by a political party, or some type of government.
-There is no evidence of a political party, or some sort of royalty to be excavated.

5. Was your state able to expand & conquer neighboring states?
-Harappan settlements expanded along the Indus River.
-Harappan society could have declined because of deforestation of the Indus Valley or because of natural catastrophes.
-Aryans clashed with the Dravidians and themselves over land.
-The Aryans settled in the Punjab, the upper Indus River valley. From there they expanded east and south and established communities in the Himalayan foothills and the Ganges River after 1000 B.C.E.
-The discovery of iron tools encouraged the Aryans to expand further into the Ganges valley.
-By 500 B.C.E Aryan groups migrated as far south as northern Deccan

6. What role did pastoral civilizations play in regards to building empires?
-Aryans kept sheeps and goats, but prized their horses and herds of cattle.
-Aryans connected horses to carts, wagons to provide transportation, while also connecting them to chariots which were war machines when used against people without horsepower.
-Iron tools allowed the Aryans to cultivate more land, produce more food, and support larger communities.

7. How did culture play a role in unifying populations?
-Harappan Society used a writing system of about 400 symbols to represent sounds & words; wrote on clay seals, copper tablets & other artifacts. Writing system of the Harappan have yet to be deciphered.
-Harappans believed in gods and goddesses that they associated with creation and procreation.
-Aryans spoke in Sanskrit, but did not use writing, instead they passed down collections of hymns, songs, prayers and rituals, known as Vedas. They used Vedas to honor their various gods.
-The Lawbook of Manu was a work attributed to Manu, the founder of human race according to Indian Mythology, and advised men to treat women with respect and honor, insists that women are subjects to the guidance of the men in their lives.
- The Aryans fused their traditions with the beliefs of the Dravidians and laid the foundations of Hinduism.
-The Upanishads was a series of works that taught about Brahman & the doctrines of samsara & karma.

8. What architectural forms did your early civilization produce?
-Harappa and Mohenjo-daro each built their own city walls, citadel, and granary
-Marketplaces, temples, public buildings, residential districts, and streets
-Mohenjo-daro had a large pool, possibly used for religious services
-Houses were 2 to 3 stories high, each with its own well, brick ovens, and bathrooms-- with toilets that drained into a public sewage system
-Water and sewage systems were considered the most sophisticated during this period of time

9. Which social class encouraged the development of art in your ancient civilization?
-No specific social class was evident as the determining factor in the development in art
-Harappan people created statues, figurines, and illustrations on seals
-Representational art
-”Dancing girl” statue is a bronze figure of a young girl, predicted age 15, with only jewelry worn

10. What form of writing is developed in your ancient civilization?
-The Harappan society had a system of writing that used symbols that might have represented sounds or words
-The language was written with about 400 different symbols that were found on thousands of clay seals, copper tablets, and other Harappan artifacts
-Scholars have not deciphered the Harappan language. They theorize that it was related to the modern- day language Dravidian
-Early Aryans created songs and poems that were passed down through the generations orally
-It was only until 600 B.C.E. when those works, “Vedas”, were written down in Sanskrit

11. What was the Relationship Between Literature and Culture in South Asia
What was the Relationship Between Literature and Culture in South Asia? Answer: Everything
- The Aryans originally didn’t have a written language and passed down their religion and values through the Vedas which were spoken to younger generations
- This changed in 600 BCE when the collection of Vedas were written
-The only passed down knowledge or form of education.
-Veda means “knowledge” or “wisdom”

12. What Pre-600 BCE Religions Strongly Influenced Later Eras?
Answer: The Aryan and Harappan religions
-The Harappans did not possess an advanced religion, however they performed rituals and venerated fertility
-They also believed plants and animals were sacred and worshipped various gods and goddesses associated with creation and fertility
-The Aryans worshipped Indra, the king of the Devas and god of thunder and war, Varuna, the presiding god of Heaven and morals, as well as other deities.
-Their religious values were written in the Vedas which were followed and practiced by priests who performed various rituals and sacrifices to please the gods and commemorate their ancestors.
-Not all is known about the Harappans however many aspects of their beliefs have blended with Aryan beliefs to create the Hindu religion which is about a billion strong today.

13. What Trade Routes and Outside Peoples Did South Asian Civilization Utilize? Answer: Mesopotamians and Aryans
-Agriculture was brought to the Indus Valley around 7000 BCE.
-The Harappans obtained gold, silver, copper, lead, gems, and precious stones from the Persians and people of the Hindu Kush Mountains
-From 2300 BCE to 1750 BCE copper, ivory, beads, and semiprecious stones were traded for wool, leather, and olive oil from Sumer by ship through the Persian Gulf and over the Iranian Plateau.
-These items were likely traded over the Iranian Plateau and by ship through the Persian Gulf
-Standardization of bricks, weights, measurement, and architectural style was likely as a result of the frequent trade over the 932 miles of Harappan society.
-Aryans revolutionize South Asian Society, migrating to the subcontinent around the second millennia BCE
Their religion was their literature which was their culture. The vedas were literally everything to them. According to the Aryan Migration Theory described in the book, the greatest group of “Outside People” were undoubtedly the Aryans. A group of nomadic pastoralists of lighter skin color from the northwest who brought with them their own culture, religion, ideals, and horses. This group worked with, conflicted with, breeded with, and eventually became the ancestors of modern Indians. They migrated slowly after the start of the second millennia BCE. I drew analagy between the Spaniards arrival in the Americas and the Aryan migration. Both groups were of fairer skin, considered themselves superior, forced their culture and religion, conflicted and worked with the natives, and eventually mixed with the natives resulting in today’s south American culture.We talked about the caste system and how the preists, warriors and leaders were the higher castes. These jobs were solely for men. Therefore women were not educated in Sanskrit or the Vedas, because the knowledge of the Vedas and Sanskrit was only essential to a priest or leader.Instead of Sanskrit, Prakrit was spoken informally at home.

14. How Did Social and Gender Identities Develop pre-600BCE in South Asian Society? Established since evidence of Aryan existence
-The Aryans had established a patriarchal society well before their migration
-Males served as priests, warriors, and leaders
-Women were not educated in Sanskrit or the Vedas
-Women did not inherit property but did hold influence within the household
-Many gender identities developed after the first century BCE with the writing of the Lawbook of Manu