Download Chapter 2 Thematic Outlines - tms-ancient

THEME # 1: EFFECTS OF OTHER CIVILIZATIONS ON INDIAN
DEVELOPMENT (DIFFUSION)
1. Diffusion
(Diffusion happens w/the NW due to Geographic Access)
a. Harappan (1st civ.)
i. Indus Valley
ii. Traded w/Mesopotamia
iii. 1st complex cities
iv. Long dark age
b. Aryans (1500BCE – 500BCE)
i. Dispute over source of Aryans
1. Archaeological ev for Indian roots
2. Linguistic ev of outside source (ancient Sanskrit)
ii. Diffusive Effects
1. Military skills/technology bronze!! & iron
2. Brahmanism
3. Caste system
4. Sanskrit  Hindi
5. Spread territorial kingdoms
c. Persians (513BCE)
i. Conquered Indus Valley (& beyond)
ii. Aramaic script
iii. Money – silver coins
iv. Provinces (admin districts)
v. Indirect diffusion w/Mesopotamia
1. Opening up markets in Mesop (textiles, dyes,
spices, etc.)
2. Introduced technology into India
vi. Introduced techniques for creating/managing empires
vii. Leads to Chandragupta creating indigenous Indian
empire.
d. Greeks
i. Reinforced global trade networks
ii. Impact on Kushan period art
iii. Impact mostly faded upon Greek withdrawal
e. Roman Trading networks (often through ocean traffic)
f. Indian Diffusion Outward (Introduced to the World)
i. Taste for spices
ii. Incense
iii. Vibrant dyes / fabrics
iv. Religion  Brahamanism  Hinduism Jainism
Buddhism
THEME # 5: Indian Culture & Family Life
1. First Settlers – 3000BC-1500BC (p.38)
a. Harappan-Indus Valley (300 cities .5M sq mi.)
Indo-European – Sanskrit
Sumerian/Harappan Connections
i. Internally generated (not military)
Earthquakes
Climate
Disease
Irrigation
ii. 1000 years in small villages
2. Aryans & Vedic Age – 1500BC-500
a. Roots of Indian Culture
i. Indo-European Language tradition
ii. Organized military skills
iii. Spread Kingdoms around India
territorial kingships
iv. Technology: Iron age
v. Brahmanism
vi. Caste system
3. Caste System
a. Extremely rigid & rooted in religious beliefs (dharma)
b. Classes
i.
ii.
iii.
iv.
v.
Brahman (priests)
Warriors & officials
Merchants
Peasants & Laborors
Outcastes & untouchable
4. Family structure
a. Patriarchal
b. Women
i. Institutionally inferior
Ritually unclean
ii. Behind the scenes women exert great power
5. Slavery
a. Must treat well (in theory)
b. Not a major part of their economy
c. Often spoils of war
d. Professions: fields, mines, & houses
THEME # 3: Education/Intellectual Life
1. Indian Civ. Values Learning
a. Harappin example (literate)
i. Complex engineering
ii. Urban planning (grid streets, underground sewer, tract
housing)
b. Aryan
i. Sanskrit (maybe oldest indo-european lang)
ii. Complex politics (kingdoms)
iii. Brahmanism
c. General
i. Women often seen as intellectual equals
ii. Educational attainment was caste dependent
(limited education to higher castes)
iii. General accomplishments
1. Ashoka (first dated Indian texts)
2. Spice production
3. Dyes/color production
4. Incense
5. Textiles / weaving
iv. Intellectual Advances through Persian/Greek diffusion
1. Coins/money
2. Govt/admin/empire building
3. Adopted greek artistic styles
4. Maritime/navigational advances
5. Road building techniques from Persians
6. Reverse diffusion: Indian folk tales translated to
Greek
2. Religious learning (Ed. tied to religion) pp. 43-45
a. Nature of religious “education”
i. Metaphysics/ontology
ii. Morality/ethics
b. Textual (books)
i. Rigveda (Aryan)
ii. Vedas
iii. Sutras (Buddhism)
iv. Baghavad Gita (hindu)
v. 8-Fold path (ethics & mental discipline)
vi. Code of Manu
c. Experential
i. Yoga
ii. Martial Arts
iii. Meditation
iv. Tithankaras (religious teachers)
THEME # 1: Similarities & Difference in Eastern Religions
1. Common Elements in Eastern Theology
a. Common Metaphysics
i. Reincarnation (Samsara)
ii. Karma –
iii. View of some gods as symbolic of “characteristics”
iv. Denial of Self Liberates the Soul
v. Moksha/Nirvana
Non-dualism (jar metaphor)
b. Teachers / Authorities (crossing the stream)
i. Hindu – Brahman (gurus)
ii. Jainists – Tirthankaras
iii. Buddhists – Dali Lama & Monks/Masters
iv. Taoists – Masters (healers, magicians, etc.)
c. Non-violence (ahimsa) – All
i. Jainism (almost absolute)
ii. Others (important principle)
d. Accepting Nature – All
i. Acceptance of diverse paths (Jainism is exception)
ii. Common methods to enlightenment, but many paths
to enlightenment
iii. Polytheism more accommodating to competing ideas
2. Differing Elements in Eastern Theology
a. Differences in Paths
i. Role of teachers vs. Individualism
1. Hinduism (both)
2. Jainism (Sky vs. white-clad)
3. Buddhism (Mahayana vs. Theravada)
ii. Textual vs. Experiential (practice) Emphasis
1. Hinduism (both)
2. Jainism (practice)
3. Buddhism (practice)
b. Conception of God(s) / No God
Monotheism, Polytheism vs. pantheism, atheism.
1. Hinduism (all & none)
2. Jainism (no creator God, but all can be gods)
3. Buddhism (no creator god, but can have deities)
c. Karma
i. Hinduism (good & bad)
ii. Jainism (eliminate karma)
iii. Buddhism (make karma irrelevant)
THEME # 1: Geography/Environment of India and Effect on
Development of Civilization
1. Geography
a. Its Big (almost as big as western Europe)
b. It’s Geographically Isolated
i. Oceans on 3 sides
ii. Mountains on North
iii. Accessible in NW (Indus Valley / Thar Desert
c. Big River Deltas
2. Environment
a. Temperate in the North (Himilayas)
b. Monsoons in the South
c. Thar Desert
3. Effect on Development of Civs.
a. Evolution of Complex Civilizations & Empires
i. Harrappan
1. Indus Valley
2. Conflicting evidence on the source of the earliest
civs.
3. Geographic location of Harappans implies
migration
ii. Aryan
1. Indus Valley
2. Dispute of source of Aryans
3. Spoke Sanskrit (maybe migrated?)
iii.
b. Religion & Culture & Life
i. Plentiful & Peaceful = Gods that Provide
1. Gods of Natural Forces
2. Purpose is Enlightenment
3. Enlightenment Is to live in harmony with universe
& nature
ii. More basic concerns were solved by nature &
geography.
c. Agriculture
i. Plentiful agriculture (food – rice)
ii. Spices (trade)
iii. River deltas, (sustainable, fertile soilstability)
d. Diffusion
(Diffusion happens w/the NW)
i. Trade
1. (Env) Products dicated by environ
a. Spices
b. Rice
c. Dyes
d. Textiles/weaving
2. Geo (Trading partners)
a. Harappin  Mesopotamia
b. (later) Persia  Mesopotamia
e. Technology
i. Tools
plow, wheel
1. Shipbuilding / navigational skills
2. River traffic (barges)
ii. Military & Conflict
1. Protected everywhere BUT northwest
2. Aryans
3. Persians (513BCE)
4. Alexander the Great (326BCE)