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Indian Civilizations

Indian Civilizations. Paleolithic and Neolithic Cultures. Diverse Paleolithic Cultures on Indian subcontinent Neolithic pottery and hunting tools in present-day Pakistan, c. 5500 bc.

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Indian Civilizations

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  1. Indian Civilizations

  2. Paleolithic and Neolithic Cultures • Diverse Paleolithic Cultures on Indian subcontinent • Neolithic pottery and hunting tools in present-day Pakistan, c. 5500 bc. • Although a bit later than Near East, cultures, Indian cultures are generally considered of independent origin on most, if not all of Indian subcontinent.

  3. Indus Valley Civilizationc. 2500-1750 bc • Fertile floodplains of Indus River • 2 major cities: Harappa and Mohenjo Dara • More are currently being found by archaeologists • Civilization flourished for about 500 years

  4. Indus Valley Civilization • Vast territory – up to 5 million peopleunited in homogeneous culture suggests strong centralized government, integrated economy and good internal communications

  5. City Layout in Harappa and Mohenjo-daro • N-S, E-W grid of avenues • walled citadel on western edge of city • cemeteries on periphery • private houses built around central courtyard • strong evidence of urban planning Egalitarianism: all houses had access to water and drainage – a vast middle-class society

  6. Building Construction of Burnt Brick

  7. Harappa • large granary for food storage

  8. Mohenjo-daro • Elaborate plumbing facilities unequalled until Roman times Private baths Household wells

  9. Standard Weights and Measures

  10. Writing • Indus inscriptions are found only on small objects, mostly stone seals and on pottery. • About 3700 inscriptions are presently known. • The inscriptions are all extremely brief, averaging not more than about five signs in a text. Longer inscriptions might have been written on palm leaves or cloth which have perished. • Sanskrit or Dravidian language?

  11. Seals

  12. Unicorn Sealmost common motif on Indus seals

  13. Seals Bull Bison

  14. Material Culture • Fine bronze and stone statues • Copper and bronze tools and vessels • Black-on-red painted pottery • Silver and gold vessels and jewelry • Dyed woven fabric • Flat stamp stone seals

  15. Statue of Priest-King

  16. Stone and Terra-cotta Sculptures

  17. Gold and Agate Ornaments

  18. Painted Burial Pottery

  19. Cooking Pots and Vessels Terra-cotta Copper/bronze

  20. Toys Ox-carts Whistles

  21. Economy • Thriving agriculture: wheat, barley, peas, lentils, sesame, cotton • Cattle, dogs, sheep, fowl, water buffalo • Cotton weaving, metalworking, wheel-driven pottery • Trade contacts in Mesopotamia, central Asia, possibly Arabia and prehistoric Greek cultures

  22. Religion • Elaborate bathing facilities suggest ritual bathing and purification rites • Recurrent images: • Pipal tree • Swastika • Humped bull -- animal worship? • Tiger, snake, unicorn • “Lord of All Creatures” -- merges with Shiva • Mother Goddess: pregnant & madonna female figures

  23. Elaborate Public Baths

  24. Libation Vessels

  25. Three-headed Totemic Animal Antelope Unicorn Bull

  26. Male Deity: Shivafigure

  27. Gods and Goddesses

  28. Miniature mask from Mohenjo-daro of bearded horned deity

  29. Religious Ritual

  30. End of Indus Civilization • Began to decline during early 2nd millenium bce • Possible causes: • abnormal flooding of Indus River • ecological destruction -- baked bricks of construction led to deforestation • no firm evidence that invading Aryans destroyed civilization Dravidan Hero Stone

  31. Aryan Invasionsc.2000 bce-1500 bcemyth or misconception? • 19th c. European scholars claimed a migration by a light-skinned group they called ARYAS came from the steppelands between Eastern Europe and Central Asia into Europe, Greece, Anatolia, the Iranian plateau and India in the 2nd and 1st millennia bc. • Warlike peoples with horse-drawn chariots conquered the darker-skinned Dravidians of central India • “Aryan” -- 19th c. term used to describe language group now called Indo-European.

  32. Counter-evidence • Sanskrit word Aryan refers to one who is righteous and noble – it has nothing to do with race. • Horses had been domesticated and used for battle by the Harappans. • No evidence of a significant influx of migrants into India during 4500-800 bce. • Rig Vedas describe Aryans as urban dwellers with hundreds of cities, numerous professions and seafaring capabilities.

  33. Discovery of the Sarasvati River • River Sarasvati is mentioned in the Rig Veda 60 times (Ganges only mentioned once) • Now a dry river, the Sarasvati once flowed from the Himalayas to the ocean across the desert of Rajasthan

  34. Sindhu-Sarasvati Civilization:Vedic Civilization • Over 2500 settlements have been found. • More than 75% of these sites are on the banks of the dried up river Sarasvati. • The catastrophic drying up of the river led to a massive exodus of people ca. 2000-1900 bce. • Some went to Middle-eastern countries such as Iran and Mesopotamia. • Dynasties and rulers with Indian names appear and disappear all over west Asia confirming the migration of people from East to West.

  35. Vedic Texts • Texts date from 1700 bc - 500 bc • Veda means “Knowledge” -- the eternal wisdom realized by ancient seers and preserved over thousands of years by professional reciters in unbroken oral transmission • 4 main texts: • Rig Veda -- 1028 hymns --c.1700 bce-1000 bce • Upanishads -- philosophical poems -- c.700 bce • Valmiki’s Ramayana -- epic -- 6th c. bc • The Mahabharata -- epic -- 400 bc-400 ce Rama and Sita

  36. VedicSociety • Patrilineal descent and inheritance • Patriarchal family -- monogamous, widows could remarry • Language: Vedic Sanskrit > Sanskrit • Kinship groups -- tribes ruled by rajas/ kings (cf. Latin rex), warrior leader • Brahman -- chief priest. Powers of priestly class increased with those of king • Two classes -- noble and common --evolved into four castes

  37. Vedic Caste System • Four classes: • Brahmans – priests/scholars • Kshatriyas -- warriors/nobles • Vaishyas --traders • Shudras-- servants • Caste is divinely ordained; one cannot migrate from one caste to another based on talent or accomplishment.

  38. Vedic Material Culture • Gray painted pottery • Wood and thatch, mud-walled houses • Measured wealth in cattle • Gold ornamentation • Wool • Alcoholic drink and soma • Highly developed music -- singing and dancing • Gambling -- especially dice games • Writing -- c. 700 bc-500 bc -- scorned for sacred texts

  39. Rama and his allies begin the attack on Lanka, by Sahib Din. From a manuscript of the Ramayana, Udaipur, 1652

  40. Vedic Deities • Indra -- god of war and storms: atmospheric • Varuna -- guarded cosmic order: oceanic • Agni -- god of fire -- sacrifices, hearth, home: terrestial • Vishnu or Surya -- god of the sun: celestial • Soma or Chandra -- god of hallucinogenic soma plant • Ushas -- goddess of dawn -- one of few female divinities

  41. Evolution of Hinduism:Indus Influences • Mother goddess • Bull figure: Nandi – still the symbol of Congress Party • Shiva cult: • seals with Shiva figure • lingam stones -- emblem of Shiva • Shiva cult may be world’s oldest surviving cult

  42. Evolution of Hinduism:Vedic Influences • Vishnu – preserver god • Sanskrit as language of religious learning • Vedic hymns -- nucleus for more abstract religious thought • Notions of Hell (House of Clay) and Heaven (World of the Fathers) • Karma: action determines destiny • Upanishads: through philosophical interpretation -- inner meaning of traditional truths, ascetic teachings

  43. Mahabharata battle

  44. HinduismSanatana Dharma“The Everlasting Way” OMthat which hath no beginning or end

  45. Hinduism:all-embracing structure of thought • All creation linked in huge web of being • Transmigration of souls through various life forms • Proper behavior linked to purgation and renewal • Dharma: the duty of the believer

  46. Monotheism • God is Infinite. • Although one cannot divide or subtract from the Infinite, the Infinite can be represented in different ways. • The Infinite also manifests in billions of ways. • Hinduism believes not only in One God, but also in His Supreme Personality. This personality is manifested in different forms around us and within us perpetually. Therefore, the Infinite manifests in billions of ways to help mankind visualize the Divine Being. This belief of Hinduism is often confused with polytheism. • That the Supreme can be worshipped in any form is a unique concept in Hinduism. • Hinduism worships multiple forms of the one God.

  47. Hindu Concept of Time • The transcendence of time is the aim of every Indian spiritual tradition. • Time is often presented as an eternal wheel that binds the soul to a mortal existence of ignorance and suffering. • "Release" from time's fateful wheel is termed moksha. • Hindus believe that the universe is without a beginning (anadi= beginning-less) or an end (ananta= end-less).  • The universe is projected in cycles. • Each cycle is divided into four yugas(ages of the world). • Time is conceived as a wheel turning through vast cycles of creation and destruction. Shiva dancing

  48. Major Hindu Manifestations • BRAHMAN: divine source of all being • Brahma/Sarasvati, the creator • Vishnu/Lakshmi, the preserver: benevolence, forgiveness, love • Shiva/Kali, the destroyer: disease, death, the dance • Ganesha, god of wisdom, writing, elephant-headed

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