Early Civilizations of Ancient India

World History Libertyville High School

Geographic Considerations• Isolation!

– World’s tallest mountains to North (Himalayas)

– Thar Desert to East

• Indus & Ganges Rivers– Bounded large,

1,700 mile wide fertile plain

– Rivers brought silt to river valleys and water for irrigation

• Problems facing settlers?– River flooding– Monsoons

Monsoons• Seasonal winds

blowing across India– June – Sept: from

sea to interior –Oct – May: from

mntns to sea• Helped with

growing seasons BUT were unpredictable, destructive

• Wetter climate 6000 years ago – how do we know?–Seals of tropical

animals–kiln fired bricks

The Harappan Civilization

3300 BCE - 2400 BCE

• Man first arrived around 7000 BC

• Cities suggest a highly centralized, organized government & society

• 1400 towns, cities discovered (compare to Sumerians!)

Harappan Cities• Built strong walls

built around cities (Why? Consider challenges…)

• Cities laid out in grid pattern–Neighborhoods w/

walls around them–Excellent sewer

system• Cities built with

kiln fired bricks that were standardized by size, weight

Map of Mohenjo Daro

Aerial View of Mohenjo-Daro

Wide View, Mohenjo-Daro

The Great Bath, Mohenjo-Daro

A side Street, Mohenjo-Daro

Sewer Drain, Harappa

Bull Figurine, Harappa

Art & Technology• Historians believe

that animals were important to civilization b/c there were so many depictions of them

• Written language was pictographic– We can’t translate it

b/c we have no dual translation

• Metallurgy based on copper, bronze

• Used wheel & boats w/ 1 mast

Harappan Writing

Undecipherable to date.

Harappan Seals• Stone seals with

animals carved on them–Carved from small

block of stone–After carving, surface

glazed and fired• Uses : Student

brainstorm!!!–Signatures?–Heraldry?–Show ownership?

• Carried on string; seals found in Mesopotamia

Bison Seal

A Horned-God Seal

Harappan Seals

Unicorn Seal, Harappa Reverse of a harappan seal

Other Harappan seals

Harappan Religion• Unknown,

because we can’t translate their writing

• Assumed to be theocracy, polytheistic

• Dead buried with tools, jewelry

• Little overtly religious artwork

A Priest-King, (front) A Priest-King, (back)

Male Skeleton, Harappa

Female Skeleton with Child, Harappa

Burial Pottery, Harappa

Trade• Gold and silver

from Afghanistan

• Gems from Persia were made into jewelry by Harappans

• Harappans grew cotton and exported the cloth

• Traded extensively with Mesopotamia, Egyptians

Necklace, Mohenjo-Daro

Female Figures, Harappa

Vedic culture & language• Vedic = new, post

Harappan culture• Vedes believed to be

pastoral farmers– Cows held in high

esteem (productivity, in vegetarian society)

• Sanskrit emerged– Language of religion,

intellectuals– Example: the Vedas

Sanskrit writing

Indo European “language

tree”• Language originated in Caucasus Mntns

The VedasWritten between

1200 & 600 BCE. Religious texts representing oldest of Hindu beliefs

Included: hymns and poems religious prayers magical spells lists of the gods and goddesses

Rig Veda oldest work still used in active religion today

Varna (Social Hierarchy)

Shudras

Vaishyas

Kshatriyas

Harijan (Untouchables)

BrahminsPriests

Rulers

Traders

LaborersOutcasts

During The Vedic Age

The foundations for Hinduism were

established!