1. Post-Harappan Indus Valley Civilization
Enter The Aryans
Post-Harappan
Indus Valley Civilization
SO around 1500 BC a major shift in India’s culture began
REMEMBER:
Civilization- eight features: 1-cities 2- well-organized central governments 3- complex religions 4- job specialization 5- social classes 6- arts and architecture 7- public works 8- writing.

2. Enter The Aryans
1500 B.C.
-nomadic & pastoral people pass through Hindu Kush mountains
-spoke Indo-European language
-called themselves “Aryans” or “noble people”
-migrations took place over several centuries
Approximately 1500 B.C
a nomadic and pastoral people who spoke the Indo-European language passed through the Hindu Kush mountains
They called themselves “Aryans” or “noble people”
migrations took place over several centuries

3. Aryan Influence on Harappan Society
-arrival not an invasion or organized military campaign
-established small herding & agricultural communities
-probably clashed with Dravidians
Dravidians = descendants of Indus Valley peoples
-later, Dravidian and Indo-European peoples intermarried ➙ formed new culture
By the time Aryans entered India, internal problems had already brought Harappan society to the point of collapse
Dravidian & Indo-Europeans = laid social and cultural foundations that influenced Indian society even to present day

4. Aryan Migrations in India
Aryans spread east & south; established communities throughout subcontinent
learned to make iron tools
cleared forests and established agricultural communities using axes and plows
As the Aryans settled India, they gave up their nomadic lifestyle, and they begin to farm.
The introduction of iron played a role in this change. Iron probably came to the Aryans from Southwest Asia. The creation of the iron plow, along with the use of irrigation (bringing water to a dry area, often for crops), allowed farmers to clear the dense jungle growth along the Ganges River and turn it into rich farmland.

5. Aryan Influence on Harappan Society
Aryans survived on pastoral economy
-sheep, goats
prized horses and cattle
cattle would become sacred centuries later

6. Government Aryans probably did not have a formal government at first
formed chiefdoms with a leader known as a raja (Sanskrit term for king)
kingdoms often at war with each other

7. Modes of Expression: Written Language
∞ early Aryans had no written language ∞ 1000 B.C.: started writing in Sanskrit, an Indo-European language ∞ created written records of legends, religious rituals
Like most nomadic peoples, early Aryans had no written language
created written records of the legends and religious rituals that had been passed down orally from earlier generations
earliest of the works passed down through oral tradition = the Vedas
collections of hymns, songs, prayers, rituals honoring various gods of the Aryans
These early writings are known as the Vedas. They reveal that between
1500 B.C. and 400 B.C. India was made up of many small kingdoms. These small
states were created by leaders called rajas (princes). The kingdoms were often at
war with one another as alliances shifted between them.

8. Religion: The Vedas
Early Sanskrit writings = The Vedas The Vedas form roots of Hinduism - most ancient Hindu religious texts
Polytheistic; reincarnation

9. Society
∞ life centered on family ∞ 3 generations living together = ideal ∞ patriarchal society
Life in ancient India centered on the family.
The ideal was an extended family that had three generations, including grandparents, parents, and children, living in the same home.
PATRIARCHAL SOCIETY: oldest male held legal authority over entire family unit

10. Patriarchal Society
Males only: -could inherit property -could be educated -could be priests Arranged marriages Divorce forbidden -men could take 2nd wife is 1st wife unable to have children
Superiority of males in ancient Indian society was evident in a number of ways:
Males only:
-could inherit property
-could be educated
-could be priests
Upper-class families: young men began education with a guru (teacher). Then study in one of major cities
not supposed to marry until they completed 12 years of study
Divorce was usually not allowed, but husbands could take a second wife if the first was unable to have children

11. Children and Women
Children: -expected to take care of parents -parents supported daughters until marriage Women: -subordinate to men -suttee
Suttee:
dead placed on heaps of material called pyres; pyres then set on fire
suttee required a wife to throw herself on her dead husband’s funeral pyre
not following the ritual resulted in a wife’s disgrace

12. Society: The Caste System
Originally based on color:
Aryans =“wheat-colored”
Dravidians = darker skinned
Four Main castes:
Priests (brahmins)
Warriors & aristocrats
Cultivators, artisans, merchants
Landless peasants
Untouchables added much later
Caste comes the Portuguese word casta which refers to a social class of herditary and unchangeable status.
Portuguese merchants visited India during 16th century, noticed inherited distinctions btwn different social groups
-referred to distinctions btwn social groups as as castes
-scholars have employed term caste ever since in reference to the Indian social order
Untouchables:
(people who performed dirty tasks)