AP World HistoryPOD #3

River Civilizations in Asia

Indus Valley

Class Discussion Questions

Bulliet et. al –

pp. 180-188

Indian Subcontinent

Subcontinent – large isolated landmass (2000 miles both north to south & east to west)

Separated from the rest of Asia by the Himalaya Mountains

Surrounded by the Indian Ocean to the east, south & west

Most realistic pass used by invaders, merchants and migrating people is in the northwest but still required people to cross the Hindu-Kush Mountains via the Khyber Pass and the Thar Desert east of the Indus River

Includes the modern nations of India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan and Bangledesh

River Systems

The Indus River Valley and Ganges River Valley provide great basins to support agricultural growth and development

Both rivers originate in the snow-clad Tibetan Mountains and repeatedly overflow their banks depositing thick layers of silt creating the large alluvial plains

These river basins have historically served as key centers of population and civilization

The Ganges River has been bestowed with sacred status by the Hindu’s with soul cleansing powers

Monsoons

Officially defined as “SEASONAL WINDS” The temperature difference between the land and water produces a

great wind The Southwest Monsoon begins in June absorbing huge amounts of

water from the Indian Ocean and dropping this on the Indian subcontinent (as a result some places in India are able to achieve 3 harvests in a year)

This is countered by dry air flowing from the great landmass towards the Indian Ocean in January

Mariners learned to ride the monsoon winds across open waters from northeast to southwest in January and to make return voyages in July

The Indus Valley gets little precipitation as it falls outside of the monsoon zone.

Historical Warning

“Many characteristic features of later Indian civilization may derive from the Indus Valley civilization of the third and early second millennia B.C.E., but proof is hard to come by because writing from that period has not yet been deciphered. That society, with its advanced social organization and technology, succumbed around 1900 B.C.E. to some kind of environmental crisis.” (Bulliet et. al. – p. 181)

Vedic Age (1500-500 B.C.E.)

Vedas – religious texts that are the main source of information about this period

Animal herding warriors speaking Indo-European languages migrated into northwest India around 1500 B.C.E.

After the collapse of Indus Valley civilization there was a lack of a strong central authority to regulate and control irrigation

Loyalty was to kinship groups Reliance on herds of cattle for subsistence Patriarchal society After 1000 B.C.E migration to the east began and people settled in

the Ganges valley to take advantage of the fertile soil created by the monsoon rain floods that could support 2 to 3 harvests per year

New iron tools were used to cultivate this land

Caste System

Developed to regulate relations between different groups

Each caste was further subdivided into jati based upon birth

Live, work & marry only within birth group

Contact with lower castes required ritual purification

Reincarnation – rebirth of the soul

Karma – residue of deeds performed in past and present lives that influence place and status in future lives

As myth had it… Purusha allowed itself to be sacrificed – Brahmin priest representing intellect and knowledge sprang from its mouth, Kshatriya warriors from its arms, Vaishya landowners from its thighs and Shudra workers from its feet

Vedic Religion

Polytheistic with the dominant deities being male and associated with the heavens

Sacrifice – the dedication to a god of a valued possession, often a living creature – was the essential ritual, designed to reinvigorate the gods and sustain their creative powers and promote stability in the world

Rig Veda – collection of more than 1000 poetic hymns dedicated to the various deities

Brahmanas – descriptive procedures for ritual and sacrifice (written in Sanskrit and controlled by Arya upper class as a means to control their power and influence)

Many upset at this upper class domination began to push for reform of the Vedic teachings – moksha or liberation from the cycle of reincarnation and the Upanishads a collection of more than one hundred mystical dialogues between teachers and disciples questioning the foundations of Vedic religions

Janism

Mahavira or “the Conqueror” Emphasized the holiness of the life force

animatting all living creatures Practiced strict nonviolence (even wearing

masks to prevent accidentally inhaling insects) Practiced extreme asceticism and nudity, ate

only what they were given by others and eventually starved themselves to death

Buddhism

Siddhartha Gautama, “Buddha” (the Enlightened One) Came from a Kshatriya family of the Sakyas in the foothills of the

Himalayas Enjoyed a princely lifestyle as a child After six years of self depravation, he came to regard asceticism as

no more likely to produce spiritual insight than the luxury of his previous life and decided to adhere to a “Middle Path” of moderation

Four Noble Truths – (1) life is suffering (2) suffering arises from desire (3) the solution to suffering lies in curbing desire (4) desire can be curbed if a person follows the “Eightfold Path”

Eightfold Path – right views, aspirations, speech, conduct, livelihood, effort, mindfulness, and meditation

Nirvana – ultimate reward, release from the cycle of reincarnation and achievement of a state of perpetual tranquility

Hinduism

Foundation based on the Vedic religion and was transformed into Hinduism by the fourth century C.E.

Vishnu (Creator) & Shiva (Destroyer) two formerly minor deities became preeminent

Emphasized the worshipers personal devotion to a particular deity (some oral accounts note 330 million separate deities)

Offers a variety of ways to approach god and obtain favor – through special knowledge of sacred truths, mental and physical discipline, or extraordinary devotion to the deity