ANCIENT INDIA

Geography
Indus

river valley Ganges river Lush plains in south

Harappan Civilization
3000-2000 BCE- Indus river valley 600,000 sq miles More than 70 cities

Harappan Civilization
6500 or 7000BCE small villages

2000s BCE privileged ruling elite in walled cities

thick walls at base, 3 mile circumference City rectangular grid, 30 wide streets Buildings- kiln dried square shaped mud bricks Houses varied in size, some as tall as 3 stories, central square courtyards Bathrooms with drainage systems, sewers that carried waste outside city o pits
40

Harappan Politics
Trade alliances between cities Cities ruled by coalition of rich
No

imperial burial mounds/ no terracotta images of kings

Harappan Economy
Agriculture- wheat, barley, rice, peas First to cultivate cotton Trade network to Sumer and others to west Exchanged for copper, lumber, precious stones, luxury goods

Sea born trade

Harappan Culture
Architecture/ pottery purely functional Pottery wheel turned/ kiln fired Advances in sculpture especially with copper Writing- 3rd millennium BCE- pictographic symbols

Harappan Decline
Signs of gradual decline before a sudden destruction around 1500 BCE
Decline-

trash in streets, neglect of public services, overcrowding Skeletons found in poses similar to pompeii

Aryans
Arrived in India around 1500 1000 BCE Nomadic people who excelled in war Originally from the Siberian steppes

Aryans
Separated into tribes
chieftan Council of elders assisted Raja Maharaja- chieftains who became kings
Raja-

Ruler had to follow dharma

Set

of laws that set behavioral standards for all classes of individuals

Caste/Class system
Superior of invading people
Issue

of skin color- invaders light skinned

Varna- Indian class distinction

social classification Determined status, occupation, salvation
Rigid

Technically absolute divisions

in practice some minor mobility

Caste/Class system
Brahmin
priestly class Descended from seers of Aryan rulers Part of aristocracy

Kshatriya
warrior

class New conquering families allowed into class Part of aristocracy

Caste/Class system
Vaisya
commoner merchant



class

Originally guardians of tribal herdsalone allowed to hunt, keep cattle, sell/ rent beasts of burden

Twice

born- puberty ceremony young males initiated into adulthood with other two classes


Allowed to wear sacred thread

Caste/Class system
Sudras
peasants

or artisans Not originally Aryan

based on DNA samples  Dravidian  Upper class Aryans more similar to Europeans


Bulk

of population

Caste/Class system
Pariahs
Untouchables Not

considered human About 5% of pop.



Originally slaves, prisoners of war, criminals, ethnic minorities

Menial


tasks- collecting trash, handling dead bodies, handling meat

No others would touch or handle anything prepared by pariah

Jati
Large kin groups, living in a specific area carrying out a specific function Basic social organization Composed of hundred or thousands of individual nuclear families Governed by own council of elders Each assigned a particular economic activity Entire Jati may move to in order to continue economic activity

Hierarchy
Provided individual identity Assimilation of new groups Jati primitive welfare Stability in political turmoil

Mauryan Empire
Chandragupta Maurya (324-301 BCE)
Pataliputra

capital Kautilya- advisor wrote political treatise Arthasastra



Ends over means to achieve the means

Centralized


despotic government

Maurya large army/ secret police  Divided into provinces ruled by governors  Provinces into districts w/ chief magistrate  Districts to villages led by council of elders  Censors- guard against corruption

Family
Three generations under 1 roof Patriarchal
male possessed legal authority Male education Only males could inherit property
Oldest

Family
Divorce prohibited Polygamy rare Child marriage common Sati Men worked in field/ women little use outside of house Daughters considered economic liability

Family
Fascination with female sexuality

Code of behavior stressed women should be treated with respect

Economy
Aryans shifted focus from Indus to Ganges Tradition of dividing property among all sons Climate

monsoons

Grew: barley, wheat, millet, wet rice, vegetables, cotton, pepper, ginger, cinnamon, saffron

Economy
Maritime trade 5th cen BCE Across Indian Ocean, southeast Asia, china, Africa, Egypt
Ships

carried 1,000 tons cargo: spices, teak, perfumes, jewels, textiles, precious stones, ivory, wild animals Brought back: gold, tin, lead, wine

Economy
Under Chandragupta Maurya government control of mines, and lands
2nd

cen. BCE coins of gold, copper

Religion
Mix Dravidian and Aryian culture
Hinduism Buddhism Jainism Sikhism

Hinduism
From sacred veda texts Pantheon of gods representing forces of nature
3,000 Brahman- creator Vishnu- preserver Shiva- destroyer
Over

Hinduism
Asceticism
sacrifice 6th

cen BCE Self discipline/ denial Upanishads- commentaries on Veda with asceticism

Yoga
Spiritual

meditation Communion directly metaphysically with gods

Hinduism
Reincarnation
Wheel


of life

escape cycle of existence  Final destination is union with the great soul- Brahman  Karma
 

actions in life determine reincarnation Governed by dharma

Hinduism
Provides religious sanction to class division
Compensation

for those lower on ladder Means of assimilation for ethnic minorities

Buddhism
The middle path From bodhi- wisdom Siddhartha Guatama
6th cen BCE Son of ruling Kshatriya family Became an ascetic Buddha- death in 480BCE disciples carried on
Mid

Buddhism
Accepts reincarnation and karma Live life of simplicity Break wheel f karma Nirvana
extinction

of self reunion with world soul

Denied reality of material world

Pain,

poverty, sorrow of life caused by attachment to things

Buddhism
Four Noble truths/ eight fold path Rejected caste system Women more accepted than Hinduism Philosophy over religion
Monasteries,

temples,

Stupas

Jainism
Founded by Mahavira Extreme simplicity
No

possessions Begging for a living

Failed to attract major following

Ashoka
269-232BCE Began rule pillaging, killing, conquering Converted to Buddhism and ruled benevolently

Set up pillar edicts and shelters along roads Son converted Sri Lanka to Buddhism

Ashoka

Rule of the Fishes

183 BCE last Maurya ruler overthrown by military
Decline of trade Aryan emphasis on tribal rivalry Glorification of warfare the sport o Kings

India split into smaller kingdoms 1st cen BCE Indo-European nomads Xiongnu from central Asia seized power in modern Afghanistan and proclaimed new Kush kingdom Hindu and Buddhism spread further and evolve in this time

Literature
Vedas 4
Rig

Mahabharata
90,000

Veda (2nd millennium BCE)



Over 1,000 hymns for religious ceremonies

lines About warring cousins and fantasy gods About moral confrontation and ethics of Dharma

Literature
Ramayana
about


semi legendary ruler Rama

banished from kingdom and becomes a hermit

and moral significance Filial and erotic love

Religious

Language
Sanskrit
Indo-European

Aryan lang. Language of bureaucracy/ literature Codified language 5th cen BCE


Set 4,000 grammatical rules

Writing

system 1st millennia

Architecture and Sculpture

No use of stone until after Alexander
Before

Pillars, stupa, rock chamber

3

only wood

types of religious structures

Architecture and Sculpture

Stupa- house Buddhist relics
Stones

had Buddhist

texts

Rock chamber- carved out of mountain side or cliff

Bhaja,

Karli, Ajanta29 rooms

Architecture and Sculpture

All three decorated with relief and free standing statues Until 2nd century Buddha only pictured through symbols so as not to be worshiped

Science
Mathematics
devised numerical system Arabic system used today

Astronomy
spherical

nature of earth charted stars