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Ancient India The Indus Valley

Ancient India The Indus Valley. Background. Very little is known about ancient India. (i.e. government, rulers, military, customs) why? They didn’t leave many artifacts Social scientists have yet to unlock the meaning of their writing.

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Ancient India The Indus Valley

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  1. Ancient India The Indus Valley

  2. Background Very little is known about ancient India. (i.e. government, rulers, military, customs) why? • They didn’t leave many artifacts • Social scientists have yet to unlock the meaning of their writing

  3. Began as a farming community 5,000 yrs. ago • cities rose about 2500 BCE on the Indus River • they were larger than Mesopotamia and Egypt

  4. Dravidians and Nagas established 2 large cities: Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro

  5. Began to decline in 1500 BCENomadic herders from Central Asia = Vedic Aryans skilled fighters (chariots) settled in Ganges River Valley

  6. left almost no artifacts except sacred writings • Vanished but had lasting impacts • social system (castes) • Hinduism • Vedas (Sanskrit for knowledge) 4 Books of sacred writings - hymns, prayers and legends

  7. The Caste System • 4 Classes (Varnas “color”) • Castes (Portuguese word- “tribal clan, family”) • each made up of families with similar jobs and status • determined what work people did, ate, wore, how and where they lived and who they married

  8. Indian Social Structure

  9. The original castes came from the body parts of Purusa (the first human being) Mouth- Brahmins (priests and teachers) Arms- Kshatriyas (warriors and rulers) Thigh- Vaishyas (merchants, craftsmen, land-owning farmers) Feet- Sudras (unskilled workers: slaves, servants and tenant farmers)

  10. Those that did not belong to any caste were thought to be created from the darkness that Brahma discarded when he was done creating the universe outcastes or untouchables (menial laborers who do the “dirty work”) One is born into their caste and cannot change

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