What are artifacts?

Indus Economy
Just like the other river
valley civs, the Indus
river valley people
were mostly farmers.
Traditional economy
They did trade with
Chinese and with
Sumerians
(Mesopotamians).
Indus River Valley
 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.
 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.
 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.
Film: Early History of India
Complexities of the Cities

 The most historically striking

feature of these two cities were
the way in which they were
both 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.
Plumbing In the Cities

 In addition, these cities

seem to contain houses
with plumbing
systems, including
baths, drains and water
pipes.
 Indus valley civilization

 7000 B.C.E. - 2500 B.C.E. migrations and development of agriculture and

farming villages along the Indus river

 2500 - 2000 B.C.E. Harappan civilization of planned cities. Grid system of

brick structures in 2 main sites:
 Harappa and Mohenjo - Daro
 Planned urbanization
 Designed on mud brick platforms to protect against flood waters
 Brick walls protect the city and its citadel (central buildings like stupa)
 Streets designed in 30 foot wide grid system
 Houses with bathrooms separated by streets with sewage drainage system
 Foundations of harappan
society
 Like the Nile, the Indus draws its waters from the rain and
melting snow in towering mts.
 For much of its history, enormous quantities of silt would
make the soil fertile.
 History of flooding and at times, the Indus has left its channel
altogether and carved a new course to the sea.
 Despite its ferocity, the Indus made agricultural society
possible in Northern India.
 Wheat, Barley, Cattle, Sheep, Goats, and chickens, a first.
 Harappan Socitey

 Between 3000 B.C.E. and 2500 B.C.E., Dravidian peoples built a

complex society that dominated the Indus River Valley until its
decline after 1900 B.C.E.
 The Agricultural surplus of the Indus fed two large cities, Harappa
and Mohenjo-daro
 Much of modern-day Pakistan and a large part of Northern India- a
territory about 1.3 million square meters (502,000 square miles) and
this considerably larger than either Mesopotamian or Egyptian
society.
 Harappa and Mohenjo-daro

 No evidence survives concerning the Harappan political

system.
 No evidence of a royal or imperial authority
 It is possible, like the early Sumerian city-states, the Harappan
cities were economic and political centers for their own regions
 Both Harappa and Mohenjo-daro had city walls, a fortified
citadel, and a large granary
 Both featured marketplaces, temples, public buildings,
extensive residential districts, and broad grid streets
 Houses with bathrooms separated by streets with sewage
drainage system
 Harappa & Mohenjo-daro (Cont.)
 The two cities established the
patterns that shaped the larger
society: weights, measures,
architectural styles, and even brick
sizes
 Successful agricultural societies
 Trade with Mesopotamians
exchanging copper, ivory, pearls,
and semiprecious stones for wool,
leather, and olive oil
 Formation of social classes
 No pyramids, palaces, or
magnificent tombs but wielded
great authority
 Almost all homes had private
bathrooms with showers and
toilets that drained into city
sewage systems
 Why isn’t more known?
Harappan Writing

Undecipherable to date.
 Citadel
Of
Mohenjo-
Daro
Aerial View of Mohenjo-Daro
Wide View, Mohenjo-Daro
The Great Bath,
Mohenjo-Daro
Public Well, Harappa
Bath Area, Mohenjo-Daro
Well, Mohenjo-Daro
Granary, Mohenjo-Daro
Drain, Harappa
pottery, Mohenjo-Daro
Bison Seal, Mohenjo-Daro
A Horned-God Seal,
Mohenjo-Daro
A Male Head, Mohenjo-Daro

Dravidian
A Priest-King, Mohenjo-Daro
Unicorn Seal, Harappa
Female Figures, Harappa
Bull Figurine, Harappa
Elephant Figurine,
Harappa
Burial Pottery, Harappa
Male Skeleton, Harappa
Female Skeleton with Child,
Harappa
 Legacy and decline

 Evidence of decline appears between 2000 - 1750 B.C.E.

 Environmental factors like floods, soil erosion, earthquakes may explain it
 Migratory Aryans (invade??) to slowly dominate culture
 Evidence to suggest they adopt Harappan ideas of farming and religion which helps to
establish a class system (caste system) based on views of elitism
 Harappan deities and religious beliefs intrigued migrants to India and found a new home in
new socities.
 During 2000 B.C.E., bands of foreigners filtered into the Indian Subcontinent and settled
throughout the Indus Valley and beyond.
 Most prominent were nomadic and pastoral peoples speaking an Indo-European languages
who called themselves Aryans or “Noble People”.
 Vedic Age

 When the Aryans entered India, they practiced a limited amount of

agriculture, but they depended much more heavily on a pastoral
economy.
 Cattle became the principal measure of wealth in early Aryan Society.*
 The early Aryans did not use writing but they composed numerous
poems and songs. Their sacred language was Sanskrit.
 The earliest of these orally transmitted works were the Vedas, which
were collections of songs, prayers, and rituals honoring Aryan gods.
 The earliest was the Rig Veda, a collection of 1,028 hymns.
 Aryan
Migratio
n

 pastoral  depended on their cattle.

 warriors  horse-drawn chariots.
Sanskrit
writing
 The Vedas
 1200 BCE-600 B.C.E.
 written in SANSKRIT.
 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
Rig Veda  oldest work. combined.
 The Aryans and India

 After 1000 B.C.E., they began to settle the area between the
Himalayan foothills and the Ganges river. During this time
iron tools and implements were being made.
 Eventually, they would settle the entire subcontinent and
evolve into more formal political institutions.
 Although they did not build a large-scale political structure, the
Aryans constructed a well-defined social order.
 The Aryan social structure rested on sharp hereditary
distinctions between individuals and groups according to their
occupations and roles in society.
 Caste and Varna

 Caste identities developed gradually as the Aryans established settlements

throughout India.
 The Aryans used the term Varna (Color) to refer to the major social classes.
“Wheat colored v. darker skinned”
 After about 1000 B.C.E., the Aryans increasingly recognized four main Varnas:
Brahmins (priests), kshatriyas (warriors and aristocrats), vaishyas (cultivators,
merchants, artisans), and shudras (landless peasants and serfs). Untouchables
came later
 Dravidians believed that humans souls took on new physical forms after deaths
of their bodily hosts. Sometimes souls returned as plants or animals, sometimes
in the bodily shell of newborn humans.
 Transmigration and reincarnation
 Varna (Social Hierarchy)

Brahmins

Kshatriyas

Vaishyas

Shudras

Pariahs [Harijan]  Untouchables

The Caste
System
Brahmins

WHO IS… Kshatriyas

 The mouth?
 The arms?
 The legs?
Vaishyas
 The feet?

Shudras
What is a JATI? (thus
Born)
The Vedic Age

The foundations for

Hinduism were
established!
 Caste and Social Mobility

 By the end of the Vedic Age, caste distinctions had become central
institutions in Aryan India.
 In other empires, states maintained public order in India the caste
system served as a principal foundation of social stability.
 Individuals are often more closely identified with their jati than their
cities or states, and have played a large role in maintaining social
discipline.
 Patriarchal society developed; Women influenced affairs within
their families but enjoyed no public authority.
 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

 Just like not much is known about the

development of this region, not much is
known about its decline.
 For unknown reasons, around 1750 B.C. the
Indus Valley began to decline. Then about
1500 B.C., nomadic warriors known as the
Aryans conquered the Indus Valley.
 “The Ruins Keep Some Secrets”

 Begin Reading Now & Finish for Homework!

 Questions 1-5.
 Make sure to use complete sentences!
 Indus River Quiz

 P: Why do we know so little of the power structure

in the Indus Valley?
 E: How did the Indus make a living?
 G:In what modern day country are the settlements
of the Indus River Valley civilization?
 G:Why did the cities have so many walls?
 S: How do Indus artifacts demonstrate that the the
the Indus Valley was sophisticated?
 ANCIENT CHINA
 Great Wall
 Began 2000 B.C.
 Mandate of
Heaven
 Dynasties
 Silk
 astronomy
Ancient China
Chinese pyramids!!!!
The Great Wall of China was
built to keep the Mongols out.
Many died building it, and their
bodies were used as filler for it.
Huang He River Valley
China’s Geographic Features
Huang He or
Yellow River
~ Chinese civilization
grew up in the river valley
of the Huang He River
Yangzi 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.
As in Egypt, Mesopotamia, and along the Indus River,
Chinese civilization began within a major river valley.
Modern China itself is a huge geographical expanse.
Around 4000 BC, this huge area contained an almost
infinite number of ethnic groups and languages. This
history, in which a vast area populated by diverse ethnic
groups became, over time, a more or less single culture,
began in the Yellow River Valley.
 Yellow River Civilization
G:Ancient China was
formed around the
Yellow River.
The color yellow
symbolized
“centrality”, as in
China is the center of
the world.
 Chinese accomplishments
During the Zhou and
Shang periods, the
Chinese made
remarkable
achievements in
astronomy and
bronzework, learned
to make silk and
create books, and
developed a complex
system of writing
E:Chinese invented silk
Silk was exotic and
expensive, so it was
good for trading with
the rest of the world.
It is made from silk
worms.
Silk also makes
“paper”
Silk worm
 S:Chinese astronomy
•2137 BC - Chinese book 书经 records the earliest known solar
eclipse on October 22.
•ca. 2000 BC - Chinese determine that Jupiter needs 12 years to
complete one revolution of its orbit.
•ca. 1400 BC - Chinese record the regularity of solar and lunar
eclipses and the earliest known solar variation日珥.
•ca. 1200 BC - Chinese divide the sky into twenty eight regions
二十八宿 for recognitions of the stars.
•ca. 1100 BC - Chinese first determine the spring equinox 黄赤
交角.
•776 BC - Chinese make the earliest reliably record of solar
eclipse.
In the Middle Ages the Arabs made known throughout
Muslim Spain a material which was to replace all its
predecessors. This was paper, whose manufacture they
imported from far distant and mysterious realm of China.

The first paper appeared in China about 200 BC. Its

name is derived from papyrus. Silk was transformed into
paper by a process of pasting, but because silk was
expensive, wool and cotton came to be used instead.
This invention was attributed to Ts'ai Lun.

In the picture above, the manufacturing process used by

the Chinese. They steeped mulberry or bamboo bark in
water, then kneaded it to produce a paste from which
they obtained smooth thin sheets of paper.
According to Chinese political theory, every dynasty
goes through the so-called dynastic cycle:
1.A new ruler unites China and founds a new
dynasty.
2.China, under the new dynasty, achieves prosperity
and a new golden age.
3.The royal family of the dynasty begins to decay,
corruption becomes rampant in the imperial court,
and the empire begins to enter decline and instability.
4.The dynasty loses the Mandate of Heaven, their
legitimacy to rule, and is overthrown by a rebellion.
The Mandate of Heaven is then passed to the next
dynasty
 That concludes China.
Any questions before we take the
quiz?
 Ancient China Quiz
P: In China, according to the dynastic cycle,
what happened to “bad kings”?
E: How did the Chinese earn a living?
G: What river was the earliest Chinese
civilization centered around?
S: What technological advancements did the
Chinese have?
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