IIndia’s ndia’s FFirst irst CCivilizationsivilizations

What’s the Connection?In India, just as in Egypt and

Mesopotamia, the first civilizationsdeveloped in fertile river valleys.

Focusing on the • Climate and geography influenced

the rise of India’s first civilization.(page 195)

• The Aryans conquered India andintroduced new ideas andtechnology. (page 198)

• The Aryans created a caste systemthat separated Indians into groups.(page 199)

Locating PlacesHimalaya (HIH•muh•LAY•uh)Ganges River (GAN• JEEZ)Indus River (IHN•duhs)Harappa (huh•RA•puh)Mohenjo-Daro

(moh•HEHN• joh DAHR•oh)

Meeting PeopleAryans (AR•ee•uhnz)Brahmans (BRAH•muhns)

Building Your Vocabularysubcontinent

(SUHB•KAHN•tuhn•uhnt)monsoon (mahn•SOON)Sanskrit (SAN•SKRIHT)raja (RAH• juh)caste (KAST)guru (GUR•oo)

Reading StrategyOrganizing Information Complete adiagram like the one below showinghow the Aryans changed India.

c. 3000 B.C.India’s first civilization begins

c. 1500 B.C.AryansinvadeIndia

c. 1000 B.C.Aryans controlnorthern India

Ganges R.

KhyberPass Harappa

3000 B.C. 2000 B.C. 1000 B.C.3000 B.C. 2000 B.C. 1000 B.C.

194 CHAPTER 6 Early India

Major Ways Aryans Changed India

194-201 Ch6 S1-824133 2/29/04 11:50 PM Page 194

The Land of IndiaClimate and geography influenced the

rise of India’s first civilization.

Reading Focus Do you have tornadoes or hurricanes

where you live? Read to find out how geography and

weather affected India’s first civilization.

Look at the map below. India looks likea diamond hanging from the bottom ofAsia. India is a subcontinent (SUHB • KAHN •tuhn • uhnt) because even though it is part ofAsia, huge mountains make abarrier between India and therest of Asia. These mountainsare the Himalaya (HIH • muh •LAY • uh), the highest mountainsin the world.

Today, there are five nationsthat occupy the Indian subconti-nent: India, Pakistan in thenorthwest, Nepal, Bhutan, andBangladesh in the northeast.

India has two very fertileriver valleys. Both are fed by themountains in the north. Whenthe snow in the Himalaya melts,water flows into the GangesRiver (GAN • JEEZ) and the IndusRiver (IHN•duhs). If the water iscontrolled, the land near theserivers can be used for farming.

The Ganges River runs southof the Himalaya and flows intothe Indian Ocean. The IndusRiver empties into the ArabianSea. The area around the Indus iscalled the Indus River valley.

South of the river valleys is thedry and hilly Deccan Plateau. Theeastern and western coasts ofIndia are lush, fertile plains.

Monsoons (mahn • SOONZ)are an important part of the

Indian climate. A monsoon is a strong windthat blows one direction in winter and theopposite direction in summer. The wintermonsoon brings the cold, dry air of themountains. The summer monsoon bringswarm, wet air from the Arabian Sea, whichproduces drenching rains.

When the monsoon rains begin, manyfarmers celebrate. If the rains come on timeand the rainy season lasts long enough, thecrop will be good. If the rains are delayed, adrought will occur. This extended period

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TROPIC OF CANCER

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dus R.

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Ba y o fBe n g a l

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Mt. Everest29,035 ft.(8,850 m)

I ND I A

Geography of India

The mighty Himalaya and several bodies ofwater border the Indian subcontinent.1. What two rivers are found in northern India?2. Based on the area’s geography, what parts of

the Indian subcontinent do you think are bestsuited for settlement?

Find NGS online map resources @ www.nationalgeographic.com/maps

Winter monsoon(dry winds)Summer monsoon(wet winds)Mountain peak

KEY

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196 CHAPTER 6 Early India

Necklace from Mohenjo-Daro

Model of oxcart from Mohenjo-Daro

Harappanpriest-king

The ruins of Mohenjo-Daro (below) show a carefully planned city.The picture to the right shows a typical house in the city. Fromwhat material were most of the houses in Mohenjo-Daro made?

Early Indian CivilizationEarly Indian Civilization

without rain can be disastrous for farmers.Few crops will be harvested and manypeople will starve.

India’s First Civilization In earlier chap-ters, you learned about civilizations thatbegan in river valleys. Indian civilizationalso began in a river valley.

The first civilization grew up near theIndus River. When the summer monsoonbegan, the river rose higher and higher.When the river flooded nearby land, it leftbehind rich, fertile soil.

Farmers used the rich soil to growcrops to feed their families. Because peoplehad a plentiful supply of food, they couldspend time doing other things, such asmaking tools or building houses. As peo-ple began to trade their extra food andgoods with other people, their wealthgrew. This allowed them to build largerand larger cities.

India’s first civilization in the IndusRiver valley began about 3000 B.C. andlasted until 1500 B.C. More than a thousandvillages and towns were part of this civiliza-tion, which stretched from the Himalaya tothe Arabian Sea. We know something aboutthe way these people lived from studyingthe ruins of two major cities, Harappa(huh • RA • puh) and Mohenjo-Daro (moh •HEHN • joh DAHR • oh). The civilization ofthis time is called the Harappan or Induscivilization.

Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro Harappaand Mohenjo-Daro were large cities fortheir time. The well-planned cities had asmany as 35,000 people. A fortress was builton a brick platform to keep guard over theresidents. There were wide main streets andsmaller side streets. A wall surroundedeach neighborhood, and narrow lanesseparated the houses.

(l)Robert Harding Picture Library, (c)National Museum of India, New Delhi, India/Bridgeman Art Library, (r)Borromeo/Art Resource, NY, (br)Harappan National Museum of Karachi, Karachi, Pakistan/Bridgeman Art Library

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Most houses had flat roofs and werebuilt with mud bricks that were baked inovens. Some houses were larger than others, but they all had a similar layout.There was a courtyard in the middle andsmaller rooms around it.

These ancient city dwellers had somesurprising conveniences. Wells suppliedwater, and residents even had indoor bath-rooms. Wastewater flowed to drains underthe streets, running through pipes to pitsoutside the city walls. Houses also hadgarbage chutes connected to a bin in thestreet. It is likely the city government waswell organized to be able to provide somany services.

Harappan Society Because the Harappansleft no written records, we do not knowmuch about their society or government.From the ruins, though, we can tell that theroyal palace and the temple were both

enclosed in the fortress. This reveals that reli-gion and politics were closely connected.

Most Harappans were farmers. Theygrew rice, wheat, barley, peas, and cotton.City dwellers made copper and bronze tools, clay pottery, and cotton cloth, as well as jewelry from gold, shells, and ivory.Archaeologists have also found many toysamong the ruins, such as small monkeys thatcould be made to climb up a string.

It is likely that the Harappans begantrading with the Mesopotamians about2300 B.C. Some Harappan sailors followedthe coastline and crossed the Arabian Sea,and others traveled overland.

One item rarely found in the ruins ofHarappan cities was weapons. This sug-gests that the Harappans were not onlyprosperous but also peaceful.

Explain How is India separated from the rest of Asia?

Roofs were used to dry crops in the sun. The dried crops were then placed

in cool storage rooms in the house.

Almost every building had its own well. Cool water was pulled up when needed.

Outer walls ofbuildings had

no windows. Thishelped prevent

the hot summersun from heating

the insides of the house.

Bathrooms had an advanced drainage system. Drains started from houses and joined the main

sewer, which carried the water out of town.

194-201 Ch6 S1-824133 3/1/04 12:00 AM Page 197

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mu

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ArabianSea Bay of

Bengal

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H I M A L A Y AGANGES PLAIN

H I N D UK U S H

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Mohenjo-Daro

Harappa

The Aryans InvadeThe Aryans conquered India and intro-

duced new ideas and technology.

Reading Focus What would your life be like without

cars or computers? Read to find out how new ideas and

technology affected the Indians.

The Harappan civilization collapsedabout 1500 B.C. Historians think that severalearthquakes and floods damaged the cities.Then the Indus River changed its course,killing many people and forcing others toflee the area. At the same time, a group ofpeople called the Aryans (AR • ee • uhnz)invaded the river valley. The Aryansdestroyed the Harappan civilization.

Who Were the Aryans? The Aryanslived in central and south central Asia.Unlike the Harappans, they were huntersinstead of farmers. They also raised andherded animals.

Cattle were a prized possession becausethey provided meat, milk, and butter. Cattlewere so important that the Aryans even usedthem as money. Individual wealth was meas-ured by the number of cattle a person owned.

Because they herded animals, Aryans werenomads. After their cattle, sheep, and goatshad grazed a field until it was brown, theymoved on in search of fresh grass and water.

Like many nomads, Aryans were goodwarriors. They were expert horse riders andhunters. They had metal-tipped spears and

wooden chariots, which theysometimes used to invadenearby villages for food.

After 2000 B.C., the Aryansbegan leaving their home terri-tory. They moved in waves,and some groups crossedthrough the mountain passesin the Himalaya. They enteredthe Indus River valley around1500 B.C.

By 1000 B.C., the Aryanshad conquered the Harappansand controlled northern India.Later, they would move intothe Deccan Plateau and con-quer everything except thesouthern tip of India.

198 CHAPTER 6 Early India

2000–1500 B.C.

1500–1000 B.C.

1000–500 B.C.

Aryan migration:

KEY

Aryan Migration 2000–500 2000–500 B..C..

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OMAN

The Region Today

The Aryans were nomadic herders whoeventually controlled much of India.1. After crossing the mountains, what

physical feature did the Aryans followinto India?

2. Into what area of southern India did theAryans travel?

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The Aryans Bring Change When theAryans arrived in India, they no longerlived as nomads. They became farmers butcontinued to raise cattle. Eventually, theAryans would declare that cattle weresacred and forbid them to be used as food.

Because Aryans were skilled ironwork-ers, they improved farming in India. Theyinvented an iron plow to help clear India’smany jungles and built canals to irrigate.They slowly turned the Ganges River val-ley into good farmland.

India’s varied climate supported manytypes of crops. In the north, farmers grewgrains such as wheat, barley, and millet. Ricewas grown in the river valleys. In the south,there was a mix of crops, including spicessuch as pepper, ginger, and cinnamon.

The Aryans also brought a new lan-guage to India. As nomads, they had nowritten language, but in India they devel-oped a written language called Sanskrit(SAN • SKRIHT). Now the songs, stories, poems,and prayers that Aryans had known formany centuries could be written down.

The Aryans were organized into tribes.Each tribe was led by a raja (RAH • juh), orprince. The rajas ran their own small king-doms, which often fought among them-selves. Rajas fought over cattle and treasureand over women kidnapped from otherstates. These small rival kingdoms existedin India for about a thousand years, from1500 B.C. to 400 B.C.

Analyze Why do you thinknomads like the Aryans were great warriors?

Society in Ancient IndiaThe Aryans created a caste system that

separated Indians into groups.

Reading Focus Have you ever wondered why some

people seem to be treated differently than other peo-

ple? As you read, try to find out why this idea was

accepted in India.

One of the results of the Aryan invasionof India was the development of a caste sys-tem. A caste (KAST) is a social group thatsomeone is born into and cannot change.

CHAPTER 6 Early India 199

Development ofSanskrit c. 1500 B.C.

Sanskrit was the language of ancientIndia. It developed into Hindi—themost widely used language in Indiatoday. The earliest example of writtenSanskrit appears in the four Vedas—theoldest writings of the Hindu religion.Sanskrit was used until about A.D. 1100.

Sanskrit word Definition

EnglishDefinition

Nava Ship Navalor navy

A fleet of

Dua Two Dual Consisting of

Deva God Divine Divine God;

Sanskrit Influences on English Words

word

ships

two parts

relating tobeing a god

Web Activity Visit jat.glencoe.com and click on Chapter 6—Student Web Activity tolearn more about India.

194-201 Ch6 S1-824133 3/1/04 12:08 AM Page 199

A caste dictates what job you will have,whom you can marry, and with whom youcan socialize. Thousands and thousands ofcastes exist in India.

Why was a caste system created? Noone is sure, but ideas about skin color wereprobably part of it. The Aryans were a light-skinned people. They thought they werebetter than the dark-skinned people theyhad conquered in India. This idea waswrong, but the Aryans believed it.

Another reason the Aryans might havecreated the caste system was because thepeople they had conquered outnumberedthem. The caste system kept groups sepa-rate and set the rules for everyone’sbehavior. This helped the Aryans stay incontrol.

Social Levels of the Caste System Longbefore the caste system came about, theAryans believed that society was dividedinto four classes called varnas. The top twovarnas were Brahmans (BRAH • muhns) andKshatriyas (KSHA • tree • uhs). Brahmanswere the priests—the only people whocould perform religious ceremonies. TheKshatriyas were warriors who ran thegovernment and army.

On the next level down were the Vaisyas(VYSH • yuhs), or commoners. Vaisyas wereusually farmers and merchants. Below theVaisyas came the Sudras (SOO • druhs).Sudras were not Aryans. The name Sudracomes from the Aryan word for the dark-skinned people who had been conquered.Sudras were manual laborers and servantsand had few rights. Most Indians belongedto the Sudra caste.

There was one group so low that it wasnot even part of the caste system. Its memberswere called Pariahs, or the Untouchables.They performed work other Indians thoughtwas too dirty, such as collecting trash, skin-ning animals, or handling dead bodies.

Life for an Untouchable was very hard.Most Indians believed that being near an

200 CHAPTER 6 Early India

Today, Untouchables refer tothemselves as Dalit, which means “oppressed.” Why did the Aryans create the castesystem?

Warriors, rulers

Common people

Unskilled laborers, servants

Kshatriyas

Vaisyas

Sudras

Brahmans Priests

UntouchablesPariahs

Early India’s Social SystemEarly India’s Social System

A Brahman

(l)Carl Purcell/The Purcell Team, (r)AFP Worldwide

194-201 Ch6 S1-824133 3/8/04 5:27 PM Page 200

Reading SummaryReview the • India’s first civilization, including

the cities of Harappa andMohenjo-Daro, developed in thefertile Indus River valley.

• The Aryans, a group of nomadicherders, conquered the northernpart of India by about 1000 B.C.They brought the iron plow andthe Sanskrit language to India.

• India’s caste system divided peo-ple into rigid social and economicclasses. Ancient Indian societyfavored men over women.

1. Describe the cities of Harappaand Mohenjo-Daro.

2. Why are monsoons importantto Indian farmers?

Critical Thinking3. Cause and Effect What

caused the collapse ofHarappan civilization?

4. Cause and Effect Draw adiagram to show how theAryans changed the lifestyle of the Indians.

5. Contrast How did the Aryanand Harappan lifestyles differ?

6. Explain How did the Aryanscontrol the people theyconquered?

7. Descriptive Writing Write a description of the city ofHarappa or Mohenjo-Daro that could have been used toattract residents to that city in ancient India.

8. VocabularyExplain how the suffix in theword plentiful can help youdetermine its meaning.

What Did You Learn?

Homework Helper Need help with the material in this section? Visit jat.glencoe.com

CHAPTER 6 Early India 201

Untouchable was harmful, so they forcedthem to live apart from others. WhenUntouchables traveled, they had to tap twosticks together so that everyone would hearthem coming and have time to move away.

The Role of Men and Women In ancientIndia, the family was the center of life.Grandparents, parents, and children alllived together in an extended family. Theoldest man in the family was in charge.

Men had many more rights thanwomen. Unless there were no sons in a fam-ily, only a man could inherit property. Onlymen could go to school or become priests.

In high-caste families, a boy had a guru(GUR • oo), or teacher, until he went to thecity for more education. Young men fromthese families could marry only when theyhad finished 12 years of schooling.

In India, parents arranged marriagesfor their children. Even today, parentsarrange 90 percent of marriages in India.Girls often married as young as 13.Divorce was not allowed, but if a couplecould not have children, the husbandcould marry a second wife.

One custom shows how the lives ofIndian men were considered more impor-tant than the lives of Indian women. InIndia, people were cremated or burnedwhen they died. When a man from a high-caste family died, his wife was expected toleap into the flames. This practice wascalled suttee (suh •TEE). If the wife resistedand did not kill herself, it was a greatshame. Everyone would avoid the womanfrom then on.

Identify What were thefive major groups in Indian society?

Cause Effect

Cause Effect

Cause Effect

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