INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION

Indus Valley Civilization (c3200-1600BC)

This civilization emerged along the lower Indus River and the Ghaggar River. The location of this civilization now falls into bulk of the places now being referred to as modern time Pakistan, part of modern India and Afghanistan.

This civilization is also known as Harappan Civilization . Hinduism and culture of the people of India owns their root to this civilization. This civilization which was long forgotten was discovered following excavation works done in 1920s

Indus Valley Civilization The civilization was a product of a food producing and

stone-tool making people, who lived around the 6 millennium BC in the Indus Valley region.

They were also producing wheel-turned pottery terra-cotta, human and animal figurines.

Their products were sold to the people of what is now known as Iran and Afghanistan. The civilization extended from the Arabian sea, Indus River and Amu Darya (Oxus River) that is now in Northern Afghanistan.

The society had a cosmopolitan set up and extensive trade linkage with other parts of the world.

Harappan society and its neighbors, ca. 2000 B.C.E.

Indus Valley Civilization

Their buildings have different aesthetic looks and this reflect the social stratification in their society. As archeologist discovered from the city of Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa, bricks were used in making the buildings. These as reported were well-planned and were of 3-stories. The building had bathrooms, sewage pipes that are connected to the streets.

They also had public baths and food storage system. They also developed the use of square and rectangular seals that were used as personal signatures. The period of this civilization is considered Indian’s Bronze Age because they made use of copper, and bronze vessels, gold and silver ornaments

CAREFULLY PLANNED CITY OF MOHENJO-DARO

BATTING PLATFORM

The “Great Bath”

view of a small, side street

looks like a small tower, but actually it is a neighborhood well

A bathroom on a private residence

Writing system

They developed a script that is made up of 270 photographs/characters and these were said not to be in anyway related to those that predated such writing system.

The Ten Indus Scripts

Religion

Archeological facts suggest that they practiced various forms of cults. They had sacred objects, male and female, sacred trees and bull which formed their objects of worship. They used to sacrifice grain, milk as a means of worshipping their deities. Animals flesh were also burnt by them on the god’s altar and eaten by the worshippers themselves.

Fall of Harrapan

During the first half of the 2nd millennium B.C-1600BC, flood and earthquake affected the community and hence wrecked the community and its economy. It is also said that the invasion and occupation of this region by a barbarian tribe led to the fall of this civilization

The Indo-Aryans

Around 2000BC, they inherited the Indus Valley civilization.

They are nomadic and pastoral people who spoke the Indo-European language. They called themselves “Aryans” or “noble people” and established small herding and agricultural communities throughout northern India.

They also cultivated barley and other grains and practiced metalwork as handicraft. They made use of flutes, drums and stringed flutes for entertainment

They are also said to practice patriarchal family system and rarely, polygamy.

Indo-European family tree

Law and Politics

Each tribe had their king/chiefs ( raja) that leads them in battle. They practiced aristocratic republic and monarchy, as each village head manages their own internal affairs and give to the central authority, parts of their farm produce as homage.

Their legal system allowed injured party to prosecute offender and punishment is said to be in the form of payment to the plaintiff and if in the case of murder, to the family of the deceased.

They also made use of water to determine the guilt or innocence of offenders. Insolvent debtors may be enslaved to his creditor

Religion of the Indo-Aryan

Aryan gods devan were seen as forces of nature or personification of these forces.

They had no images that represent these gods nor temples where they worship.

They worship as stated archeologists by offering sacrifices to them and to do this, they make use of grain, milk.

Their gods which were considered mortal had human attributes. They present gift to their gods with the hope of being blessed.

The Vedic Age 1500 to 500 B.C.E.

• The Vedas refer often to conflicts between Aryans and the Dravidians and other people already living in India.

• This suggests that the Aryans clashed repeatedly with the Dravidians of the Indus valley, attacking their cities and wrecking their irrigation systems.

• The Aryans often had friendly relations with Dravidian peoples.

• They learned about the land and adopted Dravidian agricultural methods.

• Still there were competitions over lands and resources.

The Caste SystemVarna

This social system is originally based on color: Aryans were “wheat-colored” and Dravidians (non-Aryans) were darker skinned.

There are four main caste:

1. Brahman (priests)2. Kshastriya (warrior)3. Vaishya (herdsmen, artisan, merchants)4. Shudra (servants, menial labour workers)The untouchables, who come at the fifth category were later added.

It is considered a taboo, marriage across social class, although there existed exceptional cases where some slaves became priests, warriors and moved up the pyramid

In Indian society people are the incarnation of god. The Brahmans were created from the mouth of god, Kshatriya were created from his arms, etc.

Some facts about caste system The caste system became dominant in shaping the outlook of

the Indian society. The caste system which now a prevailing part of the Indian

social order owe its root to the Indo-Aryan social structure. Racial pride was one reason why this caste system existed as

the nobility and purity of blood was something that the Aryan cherished.

Economic specialization and division of labour played a role in the making of the caste system. An example is in the Brahamas where it is not all that is allowed to become priests.

Each member of the caste system had deities/deity that they worship. All-in-all, the caste hierarchy has a relation with the cosmic and human society.

Some facts about caste system

As a result of the caste system, marriages are only restricted to within a caste stratum and not outside it.

Food cooked can only be eaten if prepared by members of the same caste or of higher caste.

Also, dress codes and occupation were also determined by the caste hierarchy.

Individual can rise within his own case, but cannot rise up the ladder to another caste hierarchy.

Caste is grounded in the fundamental basis of the society, that is the family, hence, it is for this reason that it assists in protecting the culture and religious heritage of India

INTELLECTUAL CONTRIBUTION OF THE VERDIC AGE

Their contributions were mainly in the areas of poetry and hymns.

They contributed books of hymns, prayers and incantation known as the Veda. All these constitute the source from which the history of Indian is written.

Manuals on sacrifice for officiating priest exist, as well as another one on the folklore of the indigenous population.

Their also exists catalogue of chorus and spells that were used in curing illness, arousing sexual desires and in destroying enemies

INTELLECTUAL CONTRIBUTION OF THE VERDIC AGE

They had developed the Sanskrit system of writing which comprises of sounds, symbols, 14 separate vowels and 35 consonants.

One of their linguistic genius, Panini formulated what is said to be first known grammatical rule of any language that existed before the 19th century

INTELLECTUAL CONTRIBUTION OF THE VERDIC AGE

Their Cemetery culture has the earliest evidence for cremation, a practice dominant in Hinduism until today. So they contributed to the sciences of cremation.

They achieved great accuracy in measuring length, mass, and time. They were among the first to develop a system of uniform weights and measures. Their measurements are said to be extremely precise.

Their smallest division, which is marked on an ivory scale found in Lothal was approximately 1.704 mm, the smallest division ever recorded on a scale of the Bronze Age

Harappan engineers followed the decimal division of measurement for all practical purposes, including the measurement of mass as revealed by their hexahedron weigh

Indian cremation

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