Transcript Early Civilization in India

Early Civilization in India
The Land of India - Geography
• India’s geography is very
diverse
• The Himalaya, the highest
mountains in the world, are in
the north
• Two major river valleys are the
Ganges River valley and the
Indus River valley
The Land of India – The
Monsoon
• The monsoon is a seasonal wind pattern in southern Asia.
• One monsoon blows warm, moist air from the southwest
during the summer.
• Another monsoon blows cold, dry air from the northeast
during winter.
• The southwest monsoon brings heavy rains.
• How does the monsoon affect Indian farmers?
• Answer: It affects the climate. Farmers depend on the rain
from the southwest monsoon to grow their crops. If the
rains come too early or too late, crops are destroyed and
people can starve.
India’s First Civilization
• Early Indian civilizations started in river valleys
– just like they did in Mesopotamia and Egypt.
• Economies were based on farming.
• Indus valley civilization traded with city-states
in Mesopotamia.
• Much of the trade occurred by ship via the
Persian Gulf.
The Arrival of the Aryans – Who
Were The Aryans?
• Natural disasters weakened the Indus
civilization and the Aryans brought its final
end.
• The Aryans were a group of nomadic people
who moved through India around 1500 B.C.
• They were excellent at the art of war and
eventually, they controlled all of India.
The Arrival of the Aryans – Aryan
Ways of Life
• Aryans were pastoral nomads before they
arrived in India.
• In India, they gave up the pastoral life to
become farmers.
• As nomads, the Aryans had no written
language. When they settled in India, they
developed their first writing system, Sanskrit,
around 1000 B.C.
The Arrival of the Aryans – Aryan
Ways of Life
• Writing enabled the Aryans to record their
traditions, legends, and rituals.
• Early Sanskrit writings tell us that Aryan
rajas, or princes, attacked each other’s
fortresses and seized women, cattle, and
treasure.
Society in Ancient India – The
Caste System
• The caste system was a set of rigid social
categories that determined not only a person’s job
and economic potential, but also his or her position
in society. It was partly based on skin color.
• There were five major castes in ancient times. The
top two classes were the priests and the warriors;
they were the rulers.
Assignment
10 minutes!
• According the Rig Veda, the ancient Hindu book, the primal man
- Purush - destroyed himself to create a human society. The
different castes were created from different parts of his body.
The Brahmans were created from his head; the Kshatriyas from
his hands; the Vaisyas from his thighs and the Sudras from his
feet.
• Directions: Using your textbook and your imagination, draw an
artistic representation of each of the 5 castes within the Caste
System. Use whatever means your imagination takes you to use
(crayons, markers, pencil, abstract art, etc). Make sure and label
each caste with the name and with a number, Brahmans #1,
Kshatriyas #2, Vaisyas #3, Sudras #4, and the Untouchables
#5. Have fun with this!!
Society in Ancient India – Family
Life
• Families were patriarchal – the oldest
male in the house had legal authority
over the entire family.
• Marriages were arranged.
• Children were expected to take care of
their parents as they grew older.
Hinduism
• Hinduism had its origins in the
religious beliefs of the Aryans.
• Early Hindus believed in the
existence of a single force in the
universe. This force is known as
Brahman.
• Every individual’s duty is to seek
to know this force. After death,
the individual would become one
with Brahman.
Hinduism
• By the sixth century B.C., reincarnation had appeared.
• Reincarnation is the belief that a person’s soul is reborn in
a different form after death. After this happens several
times, the soul eventually becomes one with Brahman.
• Karma is the force that determines how a person will be
reborn in their next life.
• Dharma, the divine law, requires everyone to do their
duty. Duties vary, depending on a person’s caste.
Hinduism
• In order to achieve oneness with God (Brahman),
Hindus developed yoga, a method of training
designed to lead to a union with God.
• Most Indians wanted a more concrete view of God,
so they developed more than 33,000 gods.
• Hinduism is the religion of most Indian people.
Buddhism – The Story of the
Buddha
• Buddhism appeared in northern India
in the sixth century B.C.
• The founder of Buddhism was
Siddhartha Gautama. He is known as
the Buddha, or “Enlightened One.”
• Buddha was born in what is now
Nepal. His family was very wealthy.
• In his late twenties, however, he gave
up all of his riches and set off to find
the true meaning of life.
Buddhism – The Story of the
Buddha
• Buddha began to practice asceticism, the practice
of self-denial to achieve an understanding of
ultimate reality.
• After nearly dying of starvation, Buddha began a
period of intense meditation. During this time, he
reached enlightenment as to the meaning of life.
• He spent the rest of his life teaching what he had
discovered.
Buddhism – Basic Principles
• The physical surroundings of humans are illusions.
• Pain, poverty, and sorrow are caused by a person’s
attachment to the things of this world.
• Once they let go of these things, pain and sorrow
can be forgotten.
• Next, a person achieves wisdom.
• After wisdom, a person achieves nirvana –
ultimate reality – and they are united with the
Great World Soul.
Buddhism – Basic Principles
• Buddha accepted the Hindu idea of
reincarnation, but he rejected the caste
system.
• He taught that all humans could reach
nirvana. This made Buddhism more
appealing to members of the lower
castes.
Early Chinese Civilizations
The Geography of China
• The
Yellow River
stretches across China
for more than 2,900
miles.
• The Yellow River valley
became one of the great
food-producing areas of
the ancient world.
The Shang Dynasty
• China under the Shang Dynasty was a mostly
farming society ruled by an aristocracy whose
major concern was war.
• Aristocracy – an upper class whose wealth is
based on land and whose power is passed from
one generation to another
The Shang Dynasty
• The king and his family were at the
top of society.
• Oracle Bones
• Early Chinese people had a strong
belief in life after death.
• Ancestor worship developed during
this time.
The Zhou Dynasty
• The Zhou Dynasty was the
longest-lasting dynasty in
Chinese history.
• It lasted for almost 900 years.
• Like the Shang Dynasty, the
Zhou Dynasty was also ruled
by a king.
• During this time, the Chinese
began to develop a theory of
government called the
Mandate of Heaven.
The Zhou Dynasty – The
Mandate of Heaven
• The Mandate of Heaven said that the
Zhou Dynasty kings had direct authority
from heaven to rule and to keep order
in the universe.
• Kings were expected to rule according
to the Dao.
• Dao – the proper “Way”
Filial Piety
• At the heart of the concept of family
in China was the idea of filial piety.
• Filial Piety describes a system in
which every family member had his
or her place.
• Male supremacy was a key element
in the social system.
• The male was important because he
was responsible for providing food
for his family.
• Women raised children and worked
in the home. On occasion, women
were involved in politics.
The Chinese Philosophies
• Confucianism – the system
of political and ethical ideas
formulated by the Chinese
philosopher Confucius
toward the end of the Zhou
Dynasty
• It was intended to help
restore order to a society that
was in a state of confusion.
The Qin Dynasty
• The first Qin emperor (Qin Shihuangdi)
unified the Chinese world. He created a
single monetary system and began
building a system of roads.
• The first Qin emperor began building
the Great Wall of China to protect
against invaders.
The Han Dynasty
• The Han Dynasty was a period of
great prosperity (good fortune).
• Confucianism became the basis
for a new government philosophy.
• The population of China
increased rapidly, and China
began expanding into nearby
areas of Asia.
• Inventions: iron casting
technology led to the invention of
steel. And paper was developed
at this time.
Culture in Qin and Han China
• Farmers discovered an army of
terra-cotta warriors in 1974.
• It is believed to be a recreation of the first Qin
emperor’s royal guard and was
meant to travel with him to the
next world.
• Along with the figures are
horses, wooden chariots and
bronze weapons. They were
slightly larger than life-size.