Chapter 4 Flashcards
What stories were told about india by the Aryans?
He had few peers in flighting, feasitng, or dfrinkig
Who were the Aryans”
They were herding people who spoke an iIndo European langauge and who migrated to suth Asia in large numbers after 1500 BCE
TheAryans okk Inda as a leader againt what?
earthy as well as heavenly foes, they did not mount a planned invsion of India, but they migrated in sizable number s to south Asia
Who were the original people in iIndia?
The Dravidian people
What was the prominent society in India
the Harappan society, named after one of its two cheif cities
Why is it impossible to follow the fevelopment of Harappan society?
- Many of the earliest Harappan physical remains are inaccessable because silt deposits have raied the level ofthe land in the Indus valley and the water table has risen
- . Writing has not been deciphered
If the Greek historian _had known of harappan society, he would have called it the
Herodotus, gift of the Indus
Where does the indus draw its waters?
From the rain and melting now in towering mountains, the Hindu Kush and the Himalayas-the worleds highest peaks
What does the water of the Indus pick up as it charges downhill?
I tpicks up enormous quantities of silt, which they carry for hundreds of kilometers
Today, a series of dams has largely
tamed the Indus
What did the indus make possible?
Agricultural sciety in northern inda
What did cultivators plant?
They planted weat, barley in Spetember after the food receded. They also had meat from cattle
What did the Indus Valley keep?
The worlds first chickens
The vast increased food supply stimulatd what?
population growht and supported the establishment of cities and specialized labor
3000-2500 BCE, what did the Dravidian peoples buid?
A complex society that dominated the indus River
What were the two large cities?
Mohenjo Daro aand Harappa.
Did Harpapahave a politica system?
No evidence srvives, concerning the Harappan poitical system. There was no royal or imperial authority
Although they had no political sturcture, what did MD and Harappa make sure they were
They were very prominent in Harappan society, there was a populaiton of 35-40 thousand in MD
What was look of the two cities?
they both had city walls, a fortified itadel and a large granery suggesting that they were the centers of politcal authority.
What were buildings that were in the cities?
There wer emarketplaces, templs, public temples aextensive resitdential districts and broad strreets laid out ona carefully planeed grid
How did the two cities establish pattterns that shaped the larger society?
They had weights, measures, architectural styles and even brick sizes were very good. There was a high d
High degre of standardizeation because
Indus River facilitated trade
What did Harappa depend on?
Sucessful agricutural conomy
Did Harappans engge in trade?
Yes, both ometic and foreign
What did Harappans trade?
They had pottery, tols and decorative items that were prodcuced there and found tway to other places
During the period 2300-1750 BCe, what did trade with mesopotamians show??
Exchanged Indian coppery, ivory, and beads for wool, leather and olive oil
LIke societes in mesopotamia, and Egypt, what idd Harappan society generate?
considerable wealth
What do excavations at Mohenjo Daro show?
Tha tat its high point form 2500 to 2200 BCE, the ity was a thriving exonomic center with a poplatin of 40 thousand
What professions inhabited the Mohenjo Daro?
Goldsmiths, potter,s weavers, masons, and architects among the other professionals
The walth of Harappan societies encoutaged what?
the formation of social distincitons
Harappans built no palaces, pyramids, or magnificentombs, but their rulers weilded what?
great authirity from the citadels at Harappa adn Mohenjo Daro
How does one see the socieal distnctions in Harappa?
You see that many people livedin one roomm tenaments in arracklike structures, but there were also individua l houses of two, three stories and an interior gardents
What did most houses have?
They had ovens if they were wealthy, but all had toilets that drained in to city sewage systems
From when have archaeoligists discovered writing?
As early as 3300 BCE,, adn they have ma
What material shows the cultureof the Harppan society?
Statues, figruines, and illustrations ocarved onto seals refect a tradition o frepresentational art as well as expertise in gold, copper and bronze metallurgy
What is a striking statue?
It is a girl from HD that is dancing
What did Harappan religion relfect?
A strong concern fro fertility, they venerated gods and godddeses whom they associated with creation and procreatio. They recognized a mother goddes and a fertltiy god and they held trees and animals sacred
