Indus Valley - Mindy Lewis Photography
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Transcript Indus Valley - Mindy Lewis Photography
Indus River Valley:
2500 BC
The
culture Harappa (named after
the city Harappa) existed along the
Indus River in what is present day
Pakistan.
It flourished for 1,000 years then
vanished without a trace until this
century.
River Valley Life: The Positives
Many Natural Resources
Fresh water / Timber (Himalayans)
Cedar / Timber (in Valleys)
Gold, silver, semi-precious stones.
Marine resources: Coastal settlements
were involved in fishing and trading,
using the monsoon winds to travel to
Oman and the Persian Gulf region.
River Valley Life: The Negatives
The Great Monsoon Balance
Monsoons
shaped Indian life.
If the monsoon was late,
devastation occurred (famine,
starvation)
If the monsoon was too heavy,
rushing rivers would flood
Twin Capital Cities:
Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa
URBAN
PLANNING: Well-known for
impressive, organized layout. They
were part of a unified government with
extreme organization.
INDOOR
PLUMBING: Well laid out
plumbing / drainage system, including
indoor toilets.
Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa
Economy-Trade
The
civilization was mainly urban and
mercantile.
Indus
valley traded w/ Mesopotamia,
S. India, Afghanistan, and Persia for
gold, silver, copper, and turquoise.
Mesopotamia
model of irrigated
agriculture used along Indus River.
Other Civilization Uniqueness:
Egalitarian
(classless) / equitable
distribution of wealth => socialism?
First
vaccination of smallpox
Cultivate
cotton for production of cloth
Originated
the concept of zero and
decimal system of numbers
Harappan Astronomers?
Language
translation not complete, but
indications they understood astronomy
Straight
streets of the Indus cities are
oriented towards cardinal directions.
The
Vedic calendar created about the
time the Indus civilization flourished.
Language
Indus
people used pictographic script
Script often contain realistic pictures
of animals worshipped as sacred
This material is important to the
investigation of the Harappan
language and religion
Undeciphered writing system:
Comparing First Writing:
Four Theories of Collapse
Archaeologists
offer 4 explanations:
Three are based on ecological
factors: intense flooding, decrease
in precipitation, and desertification
of the Sarasvati River.
The fourth hypothesis is that of the
Aryan Invasion
Possible route of the Aryans
The Aryan “Invasion”
Invaders
from North
Restless, warlike people
Tall, blue-eyed, fair-skinned
Difficulty of theory: no evidence of
large-scale military conquest. They
just co-existed.
The Aryan “Invasion”, cont.
Settled
over a long period of time
More primitive than the earlier culture
New society by 1,200 B.C. or so
Little evidence
Not literate
No record system
The Early Aryans
Pastoral
economy: sheep, goats,
horses, cattle
Religious and Literary work:
Four Vedas – songs
1,028 hymns / prayers to gods
Foundation
for which religion?
The Caste System
The
Vedas: Our primary source of
info about Aryans explained their
caste system:
Brahmins: the priests
Kshatriyas: the warriors
Vaisyas: merchants and peasants
Untouchables
History of South Asia
Stone Age
before 10000 BC
Mature Harappan
2600–1700 BC
Late Harappan + Aryans
1700–1300 BC
Iron Age
1200–300 BC
Maurya Empire
• 321–184 BC
Middle Kingdoms
230 BC–1279 AD
Satavahana
• 230 BC–220 BC
Gupta Empire
• 280–550 AD
Islamic Sultanates
1206–1596
Mughal Empire
1526–1707
Sikh Confederacy
1716-1849
British India
1858–1947
Modern States
since 1947
Arthur A. McDonnell once wrote,
“Early India wrote no history because it
never made any. The ancient Indians
never went through a struggle for life like
the Greeks, the Persians and the
Romans. Secondly, the Brahmans early
embraced the doctrine that all action and
existence are a positive evil and could
therefore have felt but little inclination to
chronicle historical events.”