Early Societies in South Asia Copyright 2006 The

Early Societies in South Asia Copyright © 2006 The Mc. Graw-Hill Companies Inc. Permission Required for Reproduction or Display. 1

2 Copyright © 2006 The Mc. Graw-Hill Companies Inc. Permission Required for Reproduction or Display.

§ The Indus River § Silt-enriched water from mountain ranges § Major society built by Dravidian peoples, 3000 -2500 BCE § Cultivation of cotton before 5000 BCE, early cultivation of poultry § Decline after 1900 BCE § Major cities: Harrapa (Punjab region and Mohenjo- Daro (mouth of Indus River) § 70 smaller sites excavated (total 1, 500) 3 Copyright © 2006 The Mc. Graw-Hill Companies Inc. Permission Required for Reproduction or Display.

§ Population c. 40, 000 § Regional center § Layout, architecture suggests public purpose § Broad streets, citadel, pool, sewage § Standardized weights evident throughout region § Specialized labor § Trade 4 Copyright © 2006 The Mc. Graw-Hill Companies Inc. Permission Required for Reproduction or Display.

§ Evidence of social stratification § Dwelling size, decoration § Harappan Civilization: matriarchal? § Influence on later Indian culture § Goddesses of fertility § Possible east/west distinctions 5 Copyright © 2006 The Mc. Graw-Hill Companies Inc. Permission Required for Reproduction or Display.

§ Reasons for disappearance unclear § Excessive deforestation, loss of topsoil § Earthquakes? § Flooding? § Evidence of unburied dead § Disappearance by 1500 BCE 6 Copyright © 2006 The Mc. Graw-Hill Companies Inc. Permission Required for Reproduction or Display.

§ Aryans, lighter-skinned invaders from the north § Dravidians, darker-skinned sedentary inhabitants of Harappa § Color Bias § Socio-Economic Implications § Difficulty of theory: no evidence of large-scale military conquest 7 Copyright © 2006 The Mc. Graw-Hill Companies Inc. Permission Required for Reproduction or Display.

§ Pastoral economy: sheep, goats, horses, cattle § Vegetarianism not widespread until many centuries later § Religious and Literary works: The Vedas § Sanskrit: sacred tongue § Prakrit: everyday language, evolved into Hindi, Urdu, Bengali § Four Vedas, most important Rig Veda § 1, 028 hymms to gods 8 Copyright © 2006 The Mc. Graw-Hill Companies Inc. Permission Required for Reproduction or Display.

§ Conflicts between Aryans and indigenous dasas (“enemies, ” “subjects”) § Aryans fighting Dravidians § Also Aryans fighting each other § Chiefdoms: Rajas § Early concentration in Punjab, migrations further south § Development of iron metallurgy § Increasing reliance on agriculture § Tribal connections evolve into political structures 9 Copyright © 2006 The Mc. Graw-Hill Companies Inc. Permission Required for Reproduction or Display.

§ Origins in Aryan domination of Dravidians § Brahmin, Priest § Kshatriya, Warrior § Vaishya, Merchant § Sudra, Commoner § Harijan: “Untouchables; Pariahs” § Jati subsystem of castes § Related to urbanization, increasing social and economic complexity 10 Copyright © 2006 The Mc. Graw-Hill Companies Inc. Permission Required for Reproduction or Display.

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§ “rule of the father” § Enforced in the The Lawbook of Manu § Overwhelmed Harappan matriarchy? § Caste, Jati, inheritance through male line 12 Copyright © 2006 The Mc. Graw-Hill Companies Inc. Permission Required for Reproduction or Display.

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§ Major deity of Rig Veda: Indra, war god § Elaborate ritual sacrifices to gods § Role of Brahmins important § C. 800 BCE some movement away from sacrificial cults § Mystical thought, influenced by Dravidians 14 Copyright © 2006 The Mc. Graw-Hill Companies Inc. Permission Required for Reproduction or Display.

§ Texts that represent blending of Aryan and Dravidian traditions § Composed 800 -400 BCE, some later collections until 13 th century CE § Brahman: the Universal Soul § Samsara: reincarnation § Karma: accounting for incarnations § Moksha: mystical ecstacy § Relationship to system of Varna 15 Copyright © 2006 The Mc. Graw-Hill Companies Inc. Permission Required for Reproduction or Display.