Summer 2020
HIS 102: Introduction to World Civilization
Department of History and Philosophy
North South University
LECTURE 6:
BEGINNING OF CIVILIZATION IN SOUTH ASIA
DR. KAZI MARUFUL ISLAM
kazi.islam07@northsouth.edu
18 July 2020
TALKING POINTS
§ Geography and Climate of ancient
Indus settlement
§ Harappan civilization
§ Mahenjo Daro
§ Social condition
§ Religious and Cast System
§ Buddhism
§ Aryan Invasion
§ Ancient Dynasties
§ Arts, Science and Technology
ANCIENT CIVILIZATION IN SOUTH ASIA
§ South Asia is one of the four early places where
human civilization began—similar to Egypt (Nile),
China (Yellow), and Iraq (Tigris and Euphrates).
§ Civilization in South Asia began along the Indus
§ Indus Civilization 2500 B.C.E. – 500 A.D.
INDUS CIVILIZATION 2500 B.C.E. – 500 A.D.
vAncient India is still visible and accessible to us in a very
direct sense, through its literature, its religions and its
customs.
vA caste-system whose main lines were set by about 1000
BC still regulates the lives of millions.
vGods and goddesses whose cults can be traced to the Neo-
lithic are still worshipped at village shrines.
GEOGRAPHY
§ Surrounded by ocean on three sides
§ The Himalayan and Hundukush Mountains provide
protection from the north
§ Indus and Ganges Rivers lie south of the northern
mountains
§ The Deccan Plateau makes up most of the country
§ Early inhabitants were sea traders
PHYSICAL FEATURES
§ India is separated from the rest of Asia by the
Himalayas (kept out invaders)
§ Two great rivers:
§ Ganges River (through fertile valley)
§ Indus River (through drier plain)
CLIMATE
§ Monsoons & high temperatures
§ Monsoons are winds that signal a change in
seasons
§ November – March = little rain
§ Mid June – October = wet season
INDUS RIVER VALLEY CIVILIZATIONS
§ Early Civilizations
§ 1st great civilization was from 2500 BC – 1500 BC
§ Two main cities were Mohenjo Daro & Harappa
§ Large
§ Water system
§ Public Bath
§ Sewer
§ Strong central fortress – Citadel
§ Store houses for grain
HARAPPAN CIVILIZATION
§ Arose in Indus River valley around 2500 BC and lasted
through 1500 BC (same time as Egypt’s Old and Middle
Kingdoms)
vHarappa and Mohenjo Daro were the two major cities of
the region
vMohenjo Daro translates as “Mound of the Dead”
vCitadel was strong central fortress in both cities
CITY CIVILIZATION
§ Both cities were large and carefully planned
§ Had public baths, brick sewers, and some two-
story homes had bathrooms
§ Had irrigation canals and ditches
MOHENJO-DARO
Mohenjo-Daro This map shows the layout of
Mohenjo-Daro, one of the principal cities of
the Indus Valley civilization. The larger
eastern area contained the residential and
commercial sections of the city, which were
laid out in a grid of large rectangular blocks.
Rising more than twenty feet to the west stood
the citadel, built on a mound of mud brick and
rubble. Fortified by a brick wall and towers,
the citadel contained the city’s shrine,
assembly hall, baths, and granary.
TECHNOLOGY
vStorehouses for grains could hold food for 35,000
people
vAbility to store and distribute surplus food shows
strong central government
§ Evidence of writing from 2300 BC
§ Can’t decipher it
§ Most are personal seals with names on them
RELIGION
¨ No temples, shrines, or religious writings have been
found
¨ May have held rituals in homes or outdoors
¨ Buried their dead in wooden coffins along with many
pottery vessels that were probably filled with food for
the afterlife
¨ Most people were buried with some simple jewelry,
such as shell or copper bracelets and agate beads
¨ Elaborate ornaments of gold, silver and precious stones
were never included in burials and must have been
kept by the living relatives
ECONOMY
vRich farmland around cities – grew cotton,
wheat, barley, rice and raised cattle, sheep, pigs,
and goats
vTraded with Mesopotamia by 2300 BC
vMade cloth, pottery, bronze items, gold and
silver jewelry
DISAPPEARANCE
vUnsure as to why they disappeared around 1700 BC
vFloods, violence, or an earthquake are all ideas
vSeveral complete skeletons were found
vPeople appear to have abandoned their homes and
possessions
INDO-ARYANS
¨ Nomads from the North who established Indian civilization
around 1750 BC
¨ We know about them through their religious writings called
Vedas
¨ Aryans today are called Indo-Europeans and Indo-Iranians,
depending on location
¨ Indo-Aryans brought new religion (Hinduism) and a new
language (Sanskrit) to northern India
¨ The word Aryan has to do with ancestry and language group
¨ Hitler misused this word to his own benefit, to try to show “pure”
roots of his people
INDO-ARYANS
§ They also brought the idea of the caste system
§ Distinct social classes appeared in Indian society
§ People were not able to move classes after birth
§ The fifth class was the Untouchables – garbage collectors,
movers of dead bodies, etc.
§ Farming provided a living for people in the North
§ Trade provided a living for people in the South
§ Silk, cotton, wool, ivory, spices, gems
§ To Far East, SW Asia, Africa, and Europe
INDO – ARYAN MIGRANTS
§ Nomadic Indo – Aryans
§ Sheep and cattle herders
§ Skilled warriors
§ Most of what we know came from the Vedas
§ Vedas are ancient religious records and stories
§ Told from generation to generation
§ Written in Sanskrit by scholars
INDO – ARYAN MIGRANTS
§ Indo – Aryan Religion
§ Early gods were based on elements of nature,
such as:
§ Earth Shiva
§ Fire
§ Water
INDO – ARYAN MIGRANTS
§ Early Indo-Aryan Society
§ Built civilizations at the end of the Neolithic Age
§ Governed by a raja
§ These people had lighter skin
§ Developed a social structure with priests and warriors
at the top
§ Arranged marriages were common
INDO – ARYAN MIGRANTS
§ Indo – Aryan Economy
§ Grew
§ Wheat
§ Barley
§ Rice
§ Sugar cane
§ Vegetables
§ Language was an early form of Sanskrit
HINDUISM AND BUDDHISM
§ Upanishads and the Epics
§ Some began to question the authority of the
Brahmans
§ Collection of writings was called the Upanishads
§ Eventually combined into two epics (poems)
§ Mahabharata and Ramayana
HINDUISM AND BUDDHISM
§ Caste System Developed
§ Complex form of social
Rulers and
hierarchy Warriors
§ Five varnas (classes)
Brahman
priests
Merchants, traders,
farmers
Peasants
Pariahs/Untouchables
HINDUISM AND BUDDHISM
§ Spread of Buddhism
§ Buddha himself only had a few
followers
§ Split into two sects
§ Theravada (Southeast Asia)
§ Buddha was great teacher and
leader
§ Mahayana (East Asia)
§ Buddha was God and Savior
ANCIENT INDIAN DYNASTIES AND EMPIRES
§ Mauryan Dynasty
§ King Bimbisara of Magadha began to unify India
§ Helped to fight off invaders from Persia
§ Chandragupta Maurya
§ Started Mauryan Dynasty
§ Controlled most of India
§ Developed mining and weaving towns
§ Standardized weights throughout kingdom
§ Established physician qualifications
§ He slept in a different room each night, fearful of
assassination attempts
ANCIENT INDIAN DYNASTIES AND EMPIRES
§ Mauryan Dynasty
§ Asoka
§ Grandson of Chandragupta Maurya
§ Extended control of empire to all of India except southern
tip
§ Spread Buddhism with missionaries
§ Revised laws
§ Advanced India culturally and politically
§ After his death the empire would slowly decline
ANCIENT INDIAN DYNASTIES AND EMPIRES
§ The Gupta Rulers
§ New dynasty lead to rise of Hinduism and decline of
Buddhism
§ Gupta family came to power
§ Expanded territory
§ Conquest
§ Intermarriage
§ Society prospered under their rule
§ Gave more power to local leaders
ANCIENT INDIAN LIFE AND CULTURE
§ Economy and Society
§ Most economy came through trade
§ Sold:
§ Wool, Cotton, Spices, Silk, Precious gems, Ivory
§ Women did not have the same rights as men
§ Obey fathers
§ Obey husbands
§ If husband died, obey sons
§ Sometimes they would throw themselves on the burning
funeral pyre of their husbands
§ Called Suttee
§ Polygamy was practiced
ANCIENT INDIAN LIFE AND CULTURE
§ Cultural Achievements
§ Art and Architecture
§ Early Buddhist art show Greek and Roman influence
§ Growth of Hinduism brought about growth of temples
§ Education
§ Very advanced
§ University of Nalanda – center of higher learning during
Gupta era
§ First people to use algebra and solve quadratic equations
§ Also came up with concept of innoculation
§ Infecting a person with disease to build up immune
system
LETS WATCH THESE TWO VDOS
§ https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/world-history/world-history-
beginnings/ancient-india/v/indus-valley-civilization
§ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nD49hdyBaHU
THANKS
