1. 10/12 Aim: What are the characteristics of early South Asian Society
Civilizations of
Ancient India

2. Indecipherable to date.
Harappan Writing
Indecipherable to date.

3. Unicorn Seal, Harappa

4. EARLY SOCIETIES IN SOUTH ASIA An agricultural economy and its accompanying Neolithic communities emerged on the Indian subcontinent some time after 7000 B.C.E. Eventually some of the Neolithic villages further evolved into urban societies. The earliest such society was Dravidian and was known as the Harappan society. It flourished along the Indus River valley in the third millennium B.C.E. Coinciding with the decline of the Harappan society, large numbers of Indo-European migrants were moving into India from central Asia beginning around 1900 B.C.E.. These peoples, known as Aryans, brought with them cultural traditions sharply different from the earlier societies. After a period of turmoil the Aryan and Dravidian cultures merged to generate a distinctive Indian society characterized by
Regional states with kingship (rajas) as the most common form of government.
The caste system, a complex social class system that served as a vehicle for imparting a powerful sense of group identity, as a stabilizing influence in Indian society and as a foundation for the religious belief system.
A distinctive set of religious beliefs encompassing the doctrines of samsara and karma along with the notion of a universal soul, or Brahman.
A rich literary religious tradition based on centuries of oral transmission that included such classics as the Vedas and the Upanishads.

5. Planned Cities on the Indus
Flat plain formed by two rivers – the Indus and the Ganges
Natural barriers of the Himalayas and the Hindu Kush mountains offered protection
Seasonal winds called monsoons
Unpredictable floods, Wet and Dry Seasons
India is a sub-continent, jutting into the Indian Ocean

6. The Harappan Civilization
3300 BCE BCE

7. Evidence of Urban Planning! Manhattan
Not so much!
Madrid

8. Citadel Of
Mohenjo-Daro

9. Aerial View of Mohenjo-Daro

10. Wide View, Mohenjo-Daro

11. The Great Bath, Mohenjo-Daro

12. Bath Area, Mohenjo-Daro

13. Well - Mohenjo-Daro

14. A Main Street - Mohenjo-Daro

15. Granery, Mohenjo-Daro

16. Pottery - Mohenjo-Daro

17. Bison Seal, Mohenjo-Daro

18. A Horned-God Seal, Mohenjo-Daro

19. A Male Head - Mohenjo-Daro
Dravidian

20. A Priest (?) Mohenjo-Daro

21. Necklace, Mohenjo-Daro

22. Public Well - Harappa

23. Drain, Harappa

24. Female Figures, Harappa

25. Bull Figurine - Harappa

26. Elephant Figurine, Harappa

27. Burial Pottery, Harappa

28. Male Skeleton, Harappa

29. Female Skeleton with Child, Harappa

30. Social Political Religious
Clear social distinctions – varying home sizes however most homes outfitted with showers/toilets
Two city states may dominate region (decentralized) – Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro (each has fortified citadel, city walls, granary)
Evidence of fertility cults (veneration of gods/goddesses associated with creation/procreation). Polytheism – evidence that Harappan gods/goddesses survived and were incorporated into the Hindu pantheon. Evidence of afterlife

31. Intellectual Technological Economic
Written language containing a few hundred symbols – indecipherable.
Gold/copper/bronze metallurgy. Water and sewage systems were extremely advanced for the time.
Agricultural economy. Trade of Indian copper, ivory, pearls, for Sumerian wool, leather, and olive oil. Trade by sea and land.