1. CIVILIZATIONS
IN INDIA

2. INDUS VALLEY
B.C.E.
GEOGRAPHY
The mountains guard an enormous flat and fertile plain formed by two rivers –
The Indus and Ganges Rivers
Modern day India, Pakistan, Nepal, and Bangladesh
Seasonal winds called monsoons dominate India’s climate.

3. GOVERNMENT
Rulers based their power on a belief of divine assistance.

4. CITY PLANNING
No one is really sure how human settlement began in India – perhaps they arrived by sea from Africa and settled the south.
Archaeologists have found the ruins of more than 100 settlements along the Indus.
The largest cities were Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro.
The people of the Indus laid out their cities on a precise grid system.
Buildings were constructed of oven-baked mud bricks.

5. Public wells provided a regular supply of water for all inhabitants.
Bathrooms featured an advanced drainage system.
Wastewater flowed out to drains located under the streets and then was carried to sewage pits beyond the city wall.
Only a well-organized government could have maintained such carefully structured cities.

6. CONTRIBUTIONS
1ST plumbing system
Vedas (collection of hymns)
Math and writing system
concept of zero, decimal system

7. What happened to the Indus Valley people?
Floods, and earthquake, changes in climate, and even a change in the course of the Indus River weakened the civilization. -- Invaders – the Aryans – brought its final end.

8. ARYANS
Who were the Aryans?
Around 1500 b.c.e., they crossed over the northwest mountain passes and conquered the Harappans.
The Aryans excelled in the art of war.
GOVERNMENT
Various Aryan leaders were known as rajas (most skilled leader)

9. SOCIETY & RELIGION
Out of the clash between conqueror and conquered came a set of social institutions and class divisions that has lasted in India, with only minor changes, to the present day.
The caste system was a set of rigid social categories that determined not only a person’s occupation and economic potential, but also his or her position in society.
It was based in part on skin color.

10. The Caste System Brahmans -- priestly class Kshatriyas -- warriors
Vaisyas -- commoners
Sudras -- dark-skinned peasants; did the work that the above three would not do; made up a large percentage of the Indian population
Untouchables -- Those who were considered impure because of their work (butchers, gravediggers, collectors of trash); were not considered human; made up 5% of the population

11. Family
Life in ancient India centered on the family, the most basic unit in society.
The ideal was an extended family, with three generations – grandparents, parents, and children – living under the same roof.
The family was patriarchal.

12. Hinduism is the world’s oldest religion.
Hindus worship many gods, which represent different forms of Brahman (most divine spirit in the Hindu religion)
Video: Neanderthal Part 1: 22 minutes

13. Basic Belief
Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva are the three main gods of Hinduism:
Brahma – creator of the universe
Vishnu -- preserver of the universe
Shiva -- destroyer of the universe
The Vedas contains prayers and hymns (the oldest Hindu scriptures)

14. They believe in reincarnation.
The soul’s karma – good or bad deeds – follows from one reincarnation to another.
Video: Age of Cave Art, the Pleistocene People: 4 minutes and 48 seconds

15. Buddhism appeared in 6 b.c.e. and became a rival to Hinduism.
Founder – Siddhartha Gautama, known as Buddha “Enlightened One”
According to Buddhism, achieving wisdom is a key step to achieving nirvana, or ultimate reality -- the key to happiness was detachment from all worldly goods and desires.
Video: Subject of Cave Art, Animals: 5 minutes and 36 seconds

16. Rituals
They have a special regard or veneration to cattle.
Each year, thousands of Hindus make a pilgrimage to India’s Ganges River.
The Ganges is considered a sacred site in the Hindu religion.

17. CONTRIBUTIONS
Hinduism
Buddhism
Epic Mahabharata
Mix of history, mythology, religion