Writing Assignment #2 • Confucianism, Daoism, Legalism • Due Monday, March 19 (right after Spring Break) • Writing assignment: Read all the texts in the section, “Ancient Chinese Philosophies,” and write out your answers to the questions for ONE of the these three choices: Confucianism, Legalism, or Daoism.
Chapter 4: Early Societies in South Asia vHarappan Society vThe Indo­European Migrations and Early Aryan India vReligion in the Vedic Age
The Third Great River Valley Civ: Indus Valley Civilization • Major society built by Dravidian peoples, c. 2600 BCE – (Bentley & Ziegler date – 3000­2500 BCE) – Cultivation of cotton before 5000 BCE, early cultivation of poultry – Decline after 1900 BCE • Larger area than early Mesopotamian, Egyptian, or Chinese civilization – extended over nearly 500,000 square miles in the Indus Valley, making it more than twice as large as the territories of the ancient Egyptian and Mesopotamian civilizations. • First identified in the 1920s • Major Citites: – Harappa (Pakistan) – Mohenjo­Daro (Pakistan; at mouth of Indus River) – 70 smaller sites excavated (total 1,500)
Indus Valley Civilization • The Indus River – Silt­enriched water from mountain ranges • Agriculture – 2 crops per year • Literate • Long­distance trade with Mesopotamia – ?“Meluhha” mentioned in Mesopotamia documents
Mohenjo­Daro Ruins • Population c. 40,000 • Regional center – Layout, architecture suggests public purpose – Broad streets, citadel, pool, sewage – See aerial view, B & Z p. 91. • Standardized weights evident throughout region • Specialized labor • Trade
Harappan Society and Culture • Evidence of social stratification Figurine from Mohenjo­ Daro This small stone figure from Mohenjo­Daro is thought to depict a priest­king. See B & Z, p. 86. – Dwelling size, decoration • Harappan Civilization: matriarchal? – Influence on later Indian culture • Goddesses of fertility • Possible east/west distinctions Bronze Statuette found in a Mohenjo­Daro House
Indus Valley Script • Writing possibly as early as 3300 B.C.E. • Possibly related to later Dravidian • …possibly not writing at all (2005)
Indus Valley Civilization • Religion • Ethnicity – Dravidian or Aryan • The End of Indus Valley Civilization – Reasons for disappearance unclear • Excessive deforestation, loss of topsoil • Earthquakes? • Flooding? Mohenjo­Daro seal; man wearing cattle horns and meditating – perhaps a Harappan god
• Disappearance by 1600 BCE • For more on Indus Valley Civ, go to: http://www.harappa.com/har/har0.html The Aryan “Invasion” • Aryans, lighter­skinned “invaders” or migrants from the north, c. 1600 BCE • Displaced the Dasas – Indigenous people of northern India – Dravidians, darker­skinned – Possibly remnants of Indus Valley Civilization – Probably speakers of Dravidian languages • Color Bias • Socio­Economic Implications • Difficulty of theory of Aryan Invasion: no evidence of large­scale military conquest Indo­European Migrations
The Aryans • Sanskrit language • Indo­Europeans • Language related to Latin, Greek, Persian, Celtic – and their modern descendants (e.g., English) – Sanskrit Arya, “noble,” has same root as “Iran” and “Eire” – Sanskrit nava, “ship” – Sanskrit deva, “god” – Sanskrit raja, “ruler”
The Early Aryans • Pastoral economy: sheep, goats, horses, cattle – Vegetarianism not widespread until many centuries later • Pre­literate, pre­urban herdsmen • Aryans had superior military technology – Two­wheeled chariots – Horses – Bronze swords and spears
The Vedic Age, 1500­500 BCE • Vedas – “Veda,” knowledge – A collection of 1028 hymns to gods, ritual texts, and philosophical treatises – Sanskrit: sacred tongue – Prakrit: everyday language, evolved into Hindi, Urdu, Bengali • Rig Veda – Earliest Vedas – Composed between 1500­500 B.C.E. – Source of most of our knowledge of the early Aryans • Like Homeric epics, Vedas were transmitted orally for centuries – No writing in India until 5th­4th c BCE
Early Aryan Society in the Vedic Age • Conflicts between Aryans and indigenous dasas (“enemies,” “subjects”) – Aryans fighting Dravidians – Also Aryans fighting each other • Aryans originally organized tribally – Raja (chief) at the head of each tribe • A military leader – Priests, or Brahmins, assisted and advised the rajas • Experts in sacrifices to the gods and the knowledge of sacred rituals • Early concentration in Punjab, migrations further south – Development of iron metallurgy – Increasing reliance on agriculture
Early Aryan Society in the Vedic Age, c. 1000­500 BCE • Political organization changed from tribal chieftainship to territorial kingship – The ruler controlled an area, not a group of people – Rulers were invested by priests • Brahmins supported the growth of royal power in return for royal confirmation of their own religious rights, power and status • Social Organization: – Warrior elite – Priests – Ordinary tribesmen – Conquered subjects These distinctions gradually evolved into the _____________
Varna: The Caste System • Caste system: – Four hierarchical strata (varna, “color”) • Origins in Aryan domination of Dravidians – ___________, Priests – ___________, Warriors and officials – ___________, Merchants, artisans, landowners – ___________, Commoner (peasants and laborers) • Those without places in this social division were “outcastes” – that is, they belonged to no caste – __________: “Untouchables;” Pariahs • Further subdivided into subcastes and jati (birth or occupation groups) – Related to urbanization, increasing social and economic complexity • Castes and Social Mobility
Patriarchy in Ancient Indian Society • “Rule of the father” • Enforced in the The Lawbook of Manu • Overwhelmed Harappan matriarchy? • Caste, Jati, inheritance through male line
Aryan Religion
• Aryan Gods – the gods of the Aryans shared some features with the gods of other early Indo­European societies such as the Persians and the Greeks • Indra, wielder of the thunderbolt and the god of war – The major deity of the Rig Veda • Rudra, the divine archer • Varuna, the god of order in the universe • Agni, the god of fire • Elaborate ritual sacrifices to gods – Role of Brahmins important • c. 800 BCE some movement away from sacrificial cults – Mystical thought, influenced by Dravidians Teachings of the Upanishads • Ideas about the nature of the cosmos • Ancient Indian cosmology focused not on a creator who made the universe out of nothing, but on endlessly repeating cycles • Brahman – The Universal Soul • Samsara – the transmigration of souls by a continual process of rebirth; reincarnation • Atman – “Breath”; the immortal essence that is reincarnated • Karma – “Deeds”; the tally of good and bad deeds that determine the status of an individual’s next life • Dharma – the correct way • Moksha – Mystical ecstasy
Aryan Religion
• Wheel of life that includes humans, animals and even gods – Reward and punishment works automatically – Each individual is responsible for his or her own destiny in a just and impartial world – No all­knowing god who judges people • The underlying message: “You are where you deserve to be, and the only way to improve your lot in the next cycle of existence is to accept your current station and its attendant duties.” Aryan Religion
• Release/Escape from the Wheel of Life – Asceticism – Yoga (intense meditation) • Release/Liberation (Moksha)– achievement of a timeless and changeless state, Brahman (the universal soul) • To whom would these ideas (samsara, atman, karma, dharma, moksha) appeal? Aryan Religion
• The Upanishads – “Sitting down in front [of a teacher]” – Dialogues between teachers and pupils – 108 surviving Upanishadic texts • The Mundaka Upanishad on the Nature of Brahman – Bentley & Ziegler, p. 102 Later developments…
• In India, numerous sects will reject various elements in Brahminic teachings, including: – Jainism – Buddhism • Hinduism emerges in response to these new religions = Chapter 9: State, Society, and the Quest for Salvation in India