Indus River Valley

Mr. O’Kieffe

Review

Rivers Names, Geographic Features

Writing Systems Nomads Architecture-Buildings

What was their purpose?

What We Will Learn Today:

How did geography effect the Indus River Valley civilization?

India’s Geographic Features

The Indian subcontinent is a large, wedge-shaped peninsula that extends southward into the Indian Ocean.

Subcontinent: A large region that is part of a continent, but is separated from the rest of the content in some way.

Identification of Geographic Features in India

Indus River

Ganges River

Peninsula and/or

Subcontinent

Himalayan Mountains

This peninsula is surrounded on the north and northwest by huge mountains, the Himalayan Mountains.

This has often limited India's contact with other cultures. This is known as cultural isolation.

You decide! How would isolation impact the people on Ancient Indus?

Seasonal winds known as monsoons bring rain every summer. India is dependent upon monsoons to grow their crops. Not

enough rain brings drought. When there is too much rain, rivers rise and cause deadly floods and destruction of crops.

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Roots of Indus Valley Civilization Roots of Indus Valley began

as early as 7000 B.C.E. Herders who moved into the

river valley during colder months.

They began trading by boat along the Indus down into the Arabian Sea, into the Persian Gulf, and up the Tigris and Euphrates into Mesopotamia.

Civilization in the Indus River Valley Begins

About 2500 BC, about the time when the pyramids were rising in Egypt, the first Indian civilizations were forming in the Indus River Valley.

Little is known about these civilizations, but Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro were most likely twin capital cities.

Roots of Indus Valley Civilization

Earliest civilizations in Indus Valley was discovered in 1856 by a railroad crew. Harappa Mohenjo-Dara or “Hill of the

Dead” Both cities shared urban design

and architectural features. 3 miles in circumference with

populations of 40,000

Purpose of Early Cities

Each city was large in area and contained a large structure located on a hilltop.

Many believe these structures could have served as a fortress or even a temple.

Complexities of the Cities

The most historically striking feature of these two cities both were well planned.

Each city was laid out in a grid pattern, the blocks similar to those seen in modern cities.

The homes seem to have been built with bricks and in a pattern repeated throughout the city.

Mohenjo-daro : aerial view

Mohenjo-daro “The Citadel”

Plumbing In the Cities

In addition, these cities seem to contain houses with plumbing systems, including baths, drains and water pipes.

Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa

•Private houses, almost every one with its own well, bathing space, and toilet consisting of a brick seat over a drainage area.

•Brick-lined drains flushed by water carried liquid and solid waste to sumps, where it was carted away, probably to fertilize nearby fields.

Trade with Sumer

Most of the people of the Indus valley were farmers. They were the first people to grow cotton and weave it into cloth.

There is early evidence of trade with other civilizations including Sumer.

Aryans Take over Indus Valley

Approximately 1500 B.C.E. a nomadic and pastoral people They called themselves “Aryans” or “noble people.”

They established small herding and agricultural communities throughout northern India.

Their migrations took place over several centuries.

Aryan Migration

pastoral depended on their cattle.

warriors horse-drawn chariots.

Aryan Influence on Harappan Society

Their arrival was not an invasion or organized military campaign

By the time Aryans entered India, internal problems had already brought Harappan society to the point of collapse

During the centuries after 1500 B.C.E., Dravidian and Indo-European peoples intermarried and laid social and cultural foundations that influenced Indian society

Aryan Influence on Harappan Society

The Aryans survived on sheep and goats.

The especially prized their horses and cattle

The Aryans consumed both dairy products and beef. Centuries later cattle would become sacred.

The Vedas 1200 BCE-600

B.C.E.

Hindu core of beliefs:

hymns and poems.

religious prayers.

magical spells.

lists of the gods and goddesses.

Rig Veda oldest work.

The Vedas 8th – 9th Century

B.C.E.

Dharma (right action), Artha (purpose), kama (pleasure), and moksha (liberation)

Hindu core of beliefs:- - -Bhagavad Gita

Epics- Ramayana and Mahabharata.

Mahabharata- ten times longer than Iliad and Odyssey combined.

Rig Veda oldest work.

The Vedic Age

The foundations for

Hinduism were established!

The Caste System

•Originally based on color: Aryans were “wheat-colored” and Dravidians were darker skinned.

•Four Main Varnas or Castes:

•Priests (brahmins)

•Warriors and Aristocrats (Kshatriyas)

•Cultivators, artisans, and merchants (vsaishyas)

•Landless peasants and serfs ( shudras)

•Untouchables (people who performed dirty tasks) added much later

Jati (Subcastes)

•As Vedic Society became more complex and specialized, the caste system changed to include specialized occupations.

•Occupation determined an individuals jati (subcaste).

Caste System (“Varnas”)

Brahmins: the priests Kshatriyas: the warriors Vaisyas: merchants and peasants Sudras: non-Aryans

The Development of a Patriarch Society

•Aryan Society had a strong patriarchal social order at the time of their migration into India.

•All priests, warriors and tribal chiefs were men.

•Women influenced affairs within their families but had no public authority.

•Women rarely learned the Vedas and were denied formal education.

•Sati, the practice of a wife sacrificing herself on her husband’s funeral pyre, was considered noble.

How does the treatment of women in the Indus Valley differ from the

other River Valley Civilizations?

The Upanishads

•Appeared late in Vedic Age, around 800 to 400 B.C.E.

•Upanishad means “sitting in front of” and refers to practice of disciples gathering before a sage for discussion of religious issues.

•The Upanishads were dialogues that explored the Vedas.

Religion and Vedic Age

•Modern historians have often interpreted the Upanishads as a way to justify social inequalities imposed by the Caste System.

•The doctrines of Samsara and karma have reinforced the Vedic social order.

Huang He River Valley

China’s Geographic Features

Huang He or Yellow River

Yangzi River

~ Chinese civilization grew up in the river valley of the Huang He River (a.k.a.the Yellow River) and the Yangzi River.

Huang Ye River or Yellow River

The mountains, deserts, jungles and other geographic features have isolated Chinese culture. Having little

contact with others , the Chinese believed their culture was the center of the earth.

~ Although China covers a huge area, until recent times, most people lived only along the east coast or in the river valley.

Early Views

The Chinese called themselves “The Middle Kingdom” because they believed they were at the center.

This is an example of ethnocentrism.

Shang Dynasty

About 1650 BC, the Shang gained control of northern China. Ruling families began to gain control, similar to small kingdoms.

The Shang set up the first dynasty. Dynasty: A series of rulers

from a family.

The ancient civilization was much like others with nobility owning the land, merchants and craftspeople trading and living in the cities and a large population of peasants living in surrounding villages.

Polytheistic Peoples

Early Chinese people were polytheistic, and prayed to many Gods and nature spirits.

They also looked to dead relatives to help them in daily life and to help them please the Gods.

Ying and Yang

Many Chinese also believed that the universe held a delicate balance between opposing forces.

The Ying and Yang must be in balance for prosperity and happiness to occur in one’s life.

Early Writing System

The Chinese civilizations made achievements in early writing systems that include both pictographs and ideographs and is now as one of the earliest writing systems.