Download The Indian Subcontinent

Chapter 2
The Early Civilizations of South and East Asia
The Indian Subcontinent
1. The ancient Harappan civilization, like that of the Mesopotamian and Egyptian, was located on a fertile flood plain. Several large rivers flow west
and south out of the western Himalaya Mountains in Kashmir and the Punjab (meaning "five rivers") merging into the single river of the Indus which
empties into the Arabian Sea. The Indus River brings with it soil from the highlands which is deposited on the plain. Periodic flooding means that
cities and towns in the river lowlands have to be rebuilt repeatedly.
2. The civilization of the Indus River valley from about 3200 to 1600 B.C.E. extended from the Arabian Sea to the Oxus River in northern
Afghanistan. To the east is the Thar Desert and to the west the Kirthar Mountain Range. Although the society was based upon agriculture, it was
essentially urban in nature with trade connections that included Mesopotamia. The two principal sites were Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa on the Indus
River.
3. Mohenjo-Daro (archaeological term meaning "city or mound of the dead") was located about three hundred miles up the Indus River on the right
bank. The city, like Harappa, had a population of about 35,000, was over three miles in circumference and built of fired mud brick. Defending
Mohenjo-Daro were towers some forty to fifty feet high. The buildings were laid out on a grid pattern with straight streets varying from nine to thirtyfour feet wide (as compared to Sumer in Mesopotamia which had irregular streets). Within the city were walled neighborhoods with some houses
standing three or four stories.
4. The economy of the Indus valley was based on a thriving agriculture. The main crops were wheat and barley with ancillary products of peas, lentils,
sesame, and cotton. Domesticated animals included cattle, dogs, goats, sheep, fowl, elephants, and water buffalo. Manufacturing included cotton
weaving, metal working, and wheel-driven pottery. The metal working included copper and bronze as well as gold from southern India and silver from
Afghanistan. Trade also existed with Mesopotamia 1500 miles to the west.
5. The end of the Harappa civilization is shrouded in mystery. Collapse by about 1600 B.C.E. was apparently preceded by a period of long decay.
Some have suggested there were earthquakes and floods that altered the Indus River and flooded densely populated areas. Others speculate that
demands on the land including deforestation contributed to the decline. At one time, it was thought the collapse was caused by warlike invaders called
Aryans from Afghanistan and Iran that attacked the upper Indus areas about 1800 B.C.E. However, archaeologists now question whether there was
a cataclysmic destruction by invaders. Thus, there is no definite explanation for the collapse of the Harappan.
6. As a result of Persian conquests about 500 B.C.E., the Indus valley became a satrapy (province). Alexander the Great’s defeat of the Persians was
followed by a march through the Hindu Kush into the upper Indus valley in 327-326 B.C.E. The death of Alexander (323 B.C.E.) and the ensuing
confusion gave Chandragupta Maurya (332-298 B.C.E.) from the Ganges valley an opportunity to seize control over northern India, creating the
Mauryan Empire. The greatest of the Mauryan rulers was Chandragupta's grandson Asoka (269-232 B.C.E.). In 274 B.C.E, Asoka rebelled against the
ruler, his older brother. After four years of bloody fighting, he gained the throne in 269 B.C.E. Asoka continued his wars until 260 B.C.E. when a
savage campaign conquered the last independent kingdom in northern India. The slaughter so appalled Asoka that he forswore violence and
embraced Buddhism. The empire was now used to spread Buddhism throughout India and reached Tamraparni (modern Sri Lanka). Asoka used
diplomatic means to win submission from most of the remaining states until his empire extended from Afghanistan to Mysore in the southern Deccan
plain.
Questions:
1. What was the role of geography in the forming of the Indus River civilization?
2. How could the diversity of the economy contribute to a thriving civilization?
3. How does Harappan civilization compare with Mesopotamia and Egypt?
The Indian Subcontinent
The Citadel at Mohenjo-Daro
 The Indus River Civilization, 2500-1500 B.C.E.
 Land of India
Indus and Ganges Rivers
Climate
 Beginning of the Indus Civilization
Indus seals
Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa
Trade
Religion
 End of Indus Civilization
Barbarians from the north
 The Aryan Invasion and Early Vedic Age
 Rig-Veda – holy book of Hinduism
 Aryan (Aryas) people
Dasa
Four classes or castes
 Brahmans (priests)
 Kshatriyas (warriors)
 Vaisyas (landlords and artisans)
 Sudras (serfs and servants)
Patrilineal and patriarchal society
Pastoral and farming economy
Religion
Writing – Sanskrit
 The Late Vedic Age
 Caste distinctions become more rigid
 New ideals of respect for animals
 Gap grows wider between the top and bottom castes
 Decline of the position of women
 Religion
Karma
 Transmigration of souls
Asceticism
 Upanishads, 800-300 B.C.E.
108 essays dealing with ethical questions
Monism
Ancient China
1. Three neolithic cultures appear to have existed in ancient China. Agricultural evidence exists on the highland plain which surrounds the Yellow
River valley, in the valleys of the lower Yangtze and Huai Rivers, and on the southern coast, including the island of Taiwan. Of the three areas, the
plain surrounding the Yellow River is regarded as the cradle of Chinese civilization. It is here that the land is covered with a soil called loess that is
composed of fine loam and dust carried by winds from the central plateau of Asia. The color of the soil gave name to the Yellow River and Yellow
Sea. The soil is easily cultivated with primitive digging sticks.
2. Chinese civilization dates from the founding of the Xia (Hsia) dynasty, 2205-1766 B.C.E. The founder of the dynasty was a ruler named Yu who
introduced irrigation and the draining of floodwater by canals. The Xia dynasty was replaced by the second dynasty, the Shang, which was
concentrated in northern China on the semi-arid plain surrounding the middle of the Yellow River. This agricultural society flourished from 1766 to
1172 B.C.E. It built a number of fortified cities including Zhengzhu, probably the oldest city in China, and Anyang, the last capital of the Shang.
Anyang, located eighty miles north of the Yellow River, was a walled city inside which were public buildings, alters, and the residences of the
aristocracy. Outside the walls were numerous tribal villages. The society was stratified, composed of an aristocracy, craftsmen, and farmers.
3. The Shang kingdom controlled only a small area of China but apparently exerted influence over a wider region through trade and military activity
that utilized two-horse chariots and the bow and arrow. The Shang also developed highly sophisticated bronze metallurgy and an elaborate system
of writing. In the twelfth century B.C.E., the Shang was overthrown by a new dynasty that called itself the Zhou (Chou).
4. The Zhou (Chou) lasted from 1172 to 221 B.C.E. In the west, the Zhou kept their capital in the Wei River valley while establishing an eastern
capital at Luoyang along the southern bend of the Yellow River. In 771 B.C.E. the Wei valley was overrun by invaders and the Zhou transferred
themselves to Luoyang. Continuing the practice of the Shang, the kingdom was divided into principalities governed by officials appointed by the king.
Although officials were subordinate to the authority of the king, increasingly they acted independently (some even calling themselves kings). By the
eighth century B.C.E., eleven states had emerged. Smaller states sought to defend themselves against the aggression of the large states by forming
alliances. The earliest of these associations was formed in 681 B.C.E. against the Qu (Ch'u) on the middle Yangtze River. The defensive alliances
eventually broke down and the stronger states conquered the weaker ones.
5. The period of the Warring States (401-256 B.C.E.) followed the disintegration of the alliances and the challenging of the Zhou authority. Powerful
states emerged including the previously mentioned Qu. The state of Wu dominated the lower Yangtze by the sixth century B.C.E. Yueh controlled
the southeastern coast while Qi established dominance over the Shantung peninsula in the seventh and sixth centuries B.C.E. Qin became the key
state in the civil war as it defeated its enemies through military action and diplomacy. In 221 B.C.E. the new Qin dynasty was established.
Questions:
1. How does the development of civilization in China compare to that of Mesopotamia and India?
2. What was the future consequence for China of the period of strife among the various states?
Ancient China
 China from the Neolithic Age to the Shang Dynasty
 Land
 Hsia dynasty, c. 2205-1766 B.C.E.
 Shang dynasty, 1766-1122 B.C.E.
Anyang and Ao
Oracle bones
 Government
Mandate of Heaven
 Society and Economy
Predominantly agricultural
 Science, Arts, and Crafts
Bronze ritual vessels and jade
 Pictographic script
 Chou Dynasty
 King Wen, King Wu, and Duke of Chou
Chinese feudalism
City builders
Rank and position inherited
Farmers were serfs, units of 8 families
Agricultural revolution, 6th century B.C.E.
Religion
 Eastern Chou, 770-256 B.C.E.
Military
Agricultural improvements
 controlling floods and irrigation
 fertilization and crop rotation
 iron farm implements