1. River Valley Civilization
Indus
River Valley Civilization

2. 2500 b.c.e – 1500 b.c.e.

3. “Isolation through Assimilation”
Ancient India
“Isolation through Assimilation”

7. The river valley civilization known as “Indus”, which is modern India, was diverse and influential on today’s society.

8. Throughout time, India has changed the way people think throughout the world…
…and because of its isolation, it created many unique cultural characteristics.

9. The physical environment forced Indus people to adapt to a challenging natural world…
Mountains, rivers, desert, plateaus, plains, the sea, monsoons and changing climate
Results =
physical isolation led to diversity
Diversity led to unique cultural characteristics
This Indus culture would create cities and a civilization that would rival those in Mesopotamia or Egypt

10. Mountains – Rivers – Plateau – Coastal areas Hindu Kush Himalaya Ghats
Indus
Ganges
Plateau –
Deccan
Coastal areas

13. Physical features forced Indus people to adapt to their environments…
HINDU
KUSH

14. The mountains made natural obstacles to prevent assimilation, but people were able to find usable “passes” to gain contact with the Indus people.

15. Kyber and Bulan Passes
These were the passes through the mountains that the foreign people from the west came into Indus lands and forced their ways upon the Indus people.

16. The Indian Ocean, Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal allowed the Indus people…
…to trade with outside cultures.

17. Provides needed water for the people of ancient and modern India
Most populated areas of Indus/India
Transportation, trade, people, goods and beliefs

18. Indus River and Valley

19. The Indus Valley was an area rich in soil and provided farming lands

20. Ganges River – central to Hindu beliefs, sacred usage for purification (Ganga), sewage and death influence

21. More geographic influence…
Monsoons – “rain, rain go away…”
Sept to Mar (NE), May to Jun (SW)
Rain
For
The
Year
Dependence

25. The good and bad of the monsoon season

27. Summer temps are blazing hot,
Average 120 degrees…
…and muggy...
Winter temps are cooler

28. …with humidity, comes bugs…
Mosquitos bred easily, carried and spread diseases such as malaria. This led to the creation of “preventive medicine”, as a means combating sickness.

29. This isolation factor by the environment allowed the Indus people to be protected by the mountains and sea; but also allowed them to connect with outside societies through the “passes” and by the sea. Adaptability (with the environment and flexibility with outside influences) was key to surviving in the Indus and Ganges river valleys.

30. Height of the Indus Civilization
2500 b.c. – 1500 b.c.
The society that developed in the Indus valley did not happen much later those in the regions of Mesopotamia or Egypt.

31. The earliest Indian civilization flourished for about a 1000 years and then disappeared without a trace.
Archaeologists have only recently begun to uncover evidence of these early people and their cultural characteristics, such as…

32. Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro:
two of the first cities in world history

37. What were these cities like?
Characteristics they shared –
Indus river valley, twin-capitals of Indus valley, large (3 miles across), hilltop structure, fortress, temples, huge warehouses, carefully planned cities (grid pattern), built with kiln dried bricks, modern plumbing (baths,drains, water chutes), sewers, weights/measures, organized, 10’s of thousands of inhabitants

38. Farming and trade were the “backbone” of the Indus River Valley Civilization

39. Most Indus people were farmers
First people to grow cotton

46. Assimilation and the Indus River Valley Civilization
Covered a large area of the world
Influential because of multiple contacts with other ancient peoples over a long period of time
routes of assimilation

47. Aryan influence on Indus people…
The Aryans were a warlike, nomadic people that transformed Indus society
Used the Kyber and Bulan passes
Migrated into Indus lands
Created many lasting ideas that changed Indus society

48. Aryans – Where did they come from?

50. Facts about the Aryans…
Forced conquered people and areas to adapt to Aryan ways, but were hesitant to change their own way!
Destroyed and pillaged the Indus Valley
Fought to maintain control of areas trade and territory

54. Aryan contributions… Vedas stories and writings
War and entertainment: chariots, bow/arrow, eating, drinking, music, races, dice games
Value of “cattle” – food and clothing

55. Cultural characteristics…
“Caste”
Cow
“Animism”
Polygamy
Epics
Education/language
Religious beliefs

56. Caste system (legalized discrimination)
Imposed on Indus peoples by the Aryans
Strict social system with rules and limited mobility
Based on one’s occupation
Castes –
Rajahs (elected war leader)
Brahmans (priests)
Kshatriyas (warriors)
Vaisyas (middle class)
Untouchables (foreigners)

57. C A S T E

61. Revered Bull –Respected for its power and strength
Sacred Hindu Cow –
Food
Fuel
Labor
Veneration – special regard for cattle

62. The Sacred Cow
The main reason the cow is sacred in India rests on the idea that it is…
Beautiful
Powerful
Fertile
Sacred (“respected”) for its impact on society…hint: Indus people farmed!

64. Developed a belief system based on “animism” or the idea that everything has a spirit or life force. This spirit or life force could be transformed into many shapes, sizes or forms over time. This led to the belief of “reincarnation”

65. Social marriages Polygamy –1 husband many wives Arranged marriages
Commitment to the death for women – “suttee” (ritualistic suicide)

66. Two great epic poems from the Aryans were the…
“Mahabharata and Ramayana”
…which tell us about the values of the Aryan people…
The Mahabarata celebrates battle and reflects important Indian beliefs about the immortality of the soul.
The Ramayana celebrates a daring and adventurous hero and portrays the ideal woman as loyal and obedient to her husband.
These led to the creation of stories with moral lessons, such as…can you think of any stories we have that teach us about being a good person???

67. Folk tales, nursery rhymes, fairy tales and legends…
Stories that contained moral teachings and assimilated ideas from other cultures
Learning tools
Lasting lessons to lead people to live a good life

68. Education Formal schooling – age 9
Primary and secondary – core subjects
Play was important

69. Learning advances –
Math/astronomy – “0”, negative #s, square roots, trig,”7 planets”, earth axis and rotation, earth perimeter, gravity concept
Medicine – spinal cord, surgery, bones, inoculations, free hospitals, sterilization

70. Written language of the Indus Civilization
Whose writing does the Indus peoples look the most like?
How could that be?

72. Religions – Hinduism and Buddhism
2 of the 5 main religions of the world
Similar origins and ideas, but in practice…very different

73. The Aryans left the “Vedas” as a collection of religious writings
These writings influenced the “Upanishads”, which were the sacred writing for Hinduism, India’s primary religion

74. HINDUISM
Different from other religions, as it has no single founder or no single religious text; but is a collection of assimilated spiritual ideas.
Very complex but with central basic beliefs.
Polytheistic or Monotheistic?
“God is wise, but wise people know it by many names”
The universe is part of an unchanging, all-powerful spiritual force called “brahman”

75. Hindu Gods Represent all aspects of Brahman
“trinity” can take many forms, either human or animal
Characteristics were representative of universal influence
Brahma = creator
Vishnu = preserver
Shiva = destroyer

78. All gods are an expression of Brahman
Each god represents a characteristic of Brahma.
Brahma the Creator – the god of knowledge and intellect

79. Vishnu the Preserver – the god of compassion and preservation of life

80. Shiva the Destroyer – the god of destruction, ignorance and evil

81. Goal of Hinduism…
“Brahman”, also known as “atman” (soul), is the essential self that one must come to understand to achieve “moksha” (a union with brahman)
…to achieve “moksha”, the true believer must free themselves from selfish desires…
“moksha” cannot be accomplished in one lifetime, so the soul must be reborn again and again (“reincarnation”) to become one with brahman…

82. Hindu necessities during the reincarnation process to achieve “moksha”…
Obeying the laws of “karma” (the idea that all good and bad actions in one’s life affects their fate in the next life)
All existence in any lifetime is based on one’s ranking in the previous life…higher levels of existence or suffering…”the wheel of fate”

83. To escape the “wheel of fate”, one must stress “dharma”
“dharma” is one’s religious and moral duties of an individual
Influenced by class, occupation, gender and age
Supports the caste system
Gives a person an advantage in the next life
…also “ahimsa” or nonviolence

84. Revered Bull –Respected for its power and strength
Sacred Hindu Cow –
Food
Fuel
Labor
“Don’t eat the sacred cow! Reverence over survival!”

85. BUDDHISM Developed out of Hindu world, co-existence with Hinduism
Founded by Siddhartha Guatama, known as “Buddha”
Lived sheltered life
Saw real existence – old age, sickness and death – and made a life changing decision to live “life where there is no suffering nor death”
Became a wandering seeker of truth, sat under a tree for 48 days and became “enlightened” with the truth of how to end suffering and sorrow
With this awakening, he became Buddha, the “Enlightened One”

87. Basis of Buddhism… The heart of Buddhism is the “Four Noble Truths”:
“…all life is full of suffering, pain and sorrow”,
“…the cause of suffering are illusions in life”,
“…the only cure is to overcome desire”,
“…the way to overcome desire is to follow the Eightfold Path” –
“…right views, aspirations, speech, conduct, livelihood, effort, mindfulness, and contemplation”

88. Goal of Buddhism… The faithful need to live a life of morality
Usage of meditation, along with moral living and following the Four Noble Truths and Eightfold Path, a true believer could achieve “nirvana”
“nirvana” allows for a union with the universe and a release from the cycle of rebirth
Life is a struggle between pleasure and self-denial
Stress moral principles such as honesty, charity and kindness to all living things

89. Comparison of world beliefs… can you think of others???
Christianity:
all-knowing
Trinity
Right living
Moral living
“golden rule”
Religious text
Hinduism:
Universal wisdom
Trinity and union
Live free of selfish desires
Religious text
Buddhism:
Right living
Moral principles
“golden rule”
Self-actualization

90. Indus River Valley Civilization
2500 b.c.e –
1800 b.c.e.