Early River Civilizations

1. Early River Civilizations Indus Valley

2. Physicalgeography of India

4. India is a subcontinent of Asia (attached to the continent but surrounded on 3 sides by water) • Ancient Indian myth • River god/goddess

5. Brahmaputra River • Starts high up in the Himalayas • Monsoon: large wind that often brings a high volume of rain • Eventually joins the Ganges River

6. Deccan Plateau • area between the Eastern and Western Ghats • Plateau: elevated area of land that is flatter than a mountain • Different areas to the plateau

7. Eastern & Western Ghats • Western Ghats: higher, steep slopes, narrow valleys, thick forests, wet climate • Eastern Ghats: climate not as wet, several rivers that rarely flood

8. Ganges River • Flows across most of northern India • Carries rich sediment to the northern plains of India • Known to flood during the rainy season

9. Himalaya Mountains • Located along India’s northern border • Mt. Everest • Natural barrier

10. Hindu Kush Mountains • Khyber Pass : 28-mile long gap between the mountains • Connects central Asia to the Indian subcontinent

11. Indus River • Begins in the Himalayas • Flows through Pakistan and empties into the Arabian Sea • Indus River Valley contains some of the best farmland in the world

12. Thar Desert • In Northern India – mostly sand and stone • Heat is usually unbearable; dust storms common • Variety of wildlife: lizards, snakes, gazelles, quail, ducks, geese

13. Farming settlements sprang up in the Indus valley region as early as 6500 BCE

14. Harappan society and its neighbors, ca. 2000 B.C.E.

15. Harappan Culture • Indus valley • not desert • well-watered and heavily forested • 500 miles along the river valley

16. Foundations of Harappan Society • The Indus River • Silt-enriched water from mountain ranges • Major society built by Dravidian peoples, 3000-2500 BCE • Major cities: Harrapa and Mohenjo-Daro

17. Agriculture: flood-control • significant industry and trade • cities very common • Lack of Sources • literate culture

18. Seals • Carved pictographs • Many animals found • Unclear what they were used for

19. “Unicorn” seal + writing

20. More seals

21. …and more seals...

22. rapid development: early 2,000s B.C.E. • roughly contemporary with Egypt and Mesopotamia

23. cities dominated both economic and political activity • origins of the people are unclear

24. Major Cities • Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro • surrounded by smaller cities, towns, and villages • one situated in the north • one situated in the south

25. Mohenjo-Daro Ruins • Located in the Indus River valley • Population c. 40,000 • Regional center • Standardized weights evident throughout region

26. Cities, con’t • uniform culture over a wide area • cities built on a common plan • a grid: always NS and EW axes • Citadel • Below citadel – many houses and workshops

27. Grid map of Mohenjo-Daro

28. Mohenjo-Daro : aerial view

29. The Great Bath • Located in the citadel • 39’ long x 8’ deep • Had available dressing rooms and drains to empty dirty water

30. The “Great Bath”

31. view of a small, side street

32. A bathroom on a private residence

33. A large drain or sewer

34. Monumental architecture • very-large scale building • walled cites, with fortified citadels • always on the same scale • palaces, temples

35. Architecture, con’t • large grain storage facilities near temples • a theocracy ??

36. Harappan granary

37. Sewer System • Carried waste away from houses • Had a complex system of drains, pipes, wells, and bathrooms

38. Cities • very densely populated • houses: two to three stories; flat roofs • every house is laid out the same

39. Culture and Society • advanced agriculture • surplus production • textiles • domesticated animals and fish • men and women also dressed in colourful robes

40. Entertainment • Toys • Dice • Gaming pieces • Figurines

45. Bronze Age technology • no swords • spears and bows • stone arrow heads

46. Society • dominated by priests from the fortified palaces and temples ? • power base? • deities: male and female, both nude • bull worship and phallic symbols

47. Trade • with lower Mesopotamia • but gradually declined

48. Decline • domination of an indigenous people ? • foreign invasion? • comets?

49. Combination of Changes • climate shift: the monsoon patterns • flooding • destruction of the forests • migrations of new peoples: the Aryans

50. The Aryan “Invasion” • Aryans • Dravidians, darker-skinned sedentary inhabitants of Harappa