The culture of ancient India

Indus Valley civilization
Over 5000 years ago
The Indus River
The territory of modern India and Pakistan
Major religions
Metal works, tool making, their own form of writing.
Trade of food, tools and crafts
Peaceful social structure
Invasion of the Aryans
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

Sometime between 2000 and 1500 BC
Procreation of Aryans with indigenous society
Hybrid civilizations called the Vedas Civilizations
Introduction of casts
New social system
Social rankings and roles based on where the chiefs and priests ranked people
EARLY DEVELOPMENT

Based on purity, not power
Brahmins
Engaged in attaining the highest spiritual knowledge
Adhered to different branches of Vedas, the holy books of India
A difficult path of discipline of body, mind, and intellect
SOCIETY STRATIFICATION

Kshatriyas / Rajputs
Warriors
Normally belonged to royal families
A matter respect and proud
Bravery - the perfect word to describe these people.
Possessed special rights and powers in the society
The governing body of the society and protection of the society was their duty
SOCIETY STRATIFICATION (CONT.)

Vaisyas
Reared cattle and performed the productive labor, pastoral tasks, trade and agriculture
The class of common people
Had little rights of their own
Shudras –
The lowest class of the ancient Indian social hierarchy
Eating anything with them or talking to these people was prohibited to people of other classes
Servants to the other three classes
Almost no rights and power of their own
SOCIETY STRATIFICATION (CONT.)

Vedic Period 1500-1000 BC
Epics Period 1000 - 500 BC
Harappa and in Mohenjo-Daro, two busy cities of about 35,000 people each
Houses - one or two stories high, made of baked brick, with flat roofs, and were just about identical.
Built around a courtyard
Windows overlooking the courtyard
No windows in the outside walls .
Private drinking well and its own private bathroom
Sewers located under the streets
Drained into nearly rivers and streams
DAILY LIFE

Colorful robes
Jewelry of gold and precious stone
Lipstick
Warm tasty wheat bread served with barley or rice
Grew barley, peas, melons, wheat, and dates
Large central storage building for grain
Raised cotton and kept herds of sheep, pigs, zebus, and water buffalo
CLOTHING AND FOOD

A bronze statue of a dancer
Remains of a large central pool, with steps leading down at both ends
Toys - small carts, whistles shaped like birds, toy monkeys which could slide down a string
Pottery, weaving, and metal working
Small statues of female gods
Camels, oxen and elephants to travel over land
Carts with wooden wheels
One-mast ships
Seals
ENTERTAINMENT, ART AND TRANSPORTATION

The Gupta Empire (320 AD - about 500 AD)
Golden Age of ancient India
Villages protected from bandits and raids with local military squads
One squad - one elephant, one chariot, three armored cavalrymen and five foot soldiers
Religious freedom
Free medical care, including simple surgery
Criminals were never put to death, but fined for their crimes
AGE OF EMPIRES
500 BC- 647 AD

Few of the common people were educated
Many universities
Students from China
No restrictions on the movement of the people
Guest houses for travellers
Regular salaries for government officials and soldiers
People worked on roads and other public works and were paid for their work
People are free to choose their occupation
Homes - mostly one room huts made of wood or bamboo, with thatched roofs
Larger homes - several rooms and balconies
THE GUPTA EMPIRE

Older kids, who went to school, lived there
Did everything themselves - washed their clothes, cooked their food
Studied math, science, engineering, literature, art, music and religion.
Believed the earth was a sphere, and rotated around the sun
Figured out that the solar year had 365.358 days
The number system we use today - 9 digits, the zero, and the decimal
The value of “Pi” – 6th cent.
Quadratic equations – 11th cent.
SCHOOL AND SCIENCE

Invented chess, polo, board games and playing cards
Practiced martial arts, wrestling, and fencing.
Hunting - a favorite pastime of the nobility
FAVORITE PASTIME

Accompanied by instruments to provide bass and rhythm
Flute, violin and tambourine are of Indian origin
Elaborate costumes, jewelry and make-up
Performed in temples or royal courts
Enacted scenes out of daily life like wild animals hunting for food
Required to correctly recite, the Vedas
Transmitted through memory and learnt through hearing
MUSIC AND DANCE

Primitive cave or rock paintings
Animals in hunting scenes
Human figures with bows and arrows, and swords and shields
Natural minerals in various shades of red and orange
Mural paintings
PAINTINGS

Cave-temples with exteriors decorated with relief sculpture and a single carved doorway
Ritual sculptures such as Shiva
Scenes from mythology
Madhya Pradesh (401 CE)
Ajanta caves (2nd - 7th cent)
A row of 29 rock-cut caves
The earliest and finest examples of Indian wall-painting - scenes from the life of Buddha
A columned shrine in typical Gupta style with flat cushion-topped column capitals
Facade with columned porch and large, almost semi-circular aperture above.
Rich carvings and relief panels
ARCHITECTURE

The first school of medicine – 2500 years ago
Surgery
Anesthesia
The art of yoga
GREAT PHYSICIANS