top of page

Early CivilizationAncient India 3000 B.C to A.D. 500 

India is separated from Asia by huge mountains. India's people rely on rivers for farming and for  transportation. Those rivers names are the,"Indus","Ganges","Brahmaputra". India also has some crazy weather, they have these seasonal winds called 'Moonsoons'. The 'Moonsoons' have a huge influence on India and its climate. 'Moonsoons' are so dangerous . During winter 'Moonsoons' blow cold air and during the summer they bring hot air but since wind blows from the east of the Arabian sea then it brings huge pouring rains. During the summer it rains so much that floods happen and the people of India die and really suffer from all this.

The Indus Valley Civilization

Thousands of years ago India's first civilization's began to grow around in the valley around the 'Indu's River', which is now Pakistan. It was called the cradle of ancient India. They built around the soil for more rich soil which grew lots! and lots! of wheat,barley,and beans. With that many crops not everyone needed to farm so many made tools and built houses. Some even got there extra food and traded it for goods. They spread over western India and Pakistan. 

Mohenjo-Daro and HarappaIndus culture appeared between 2600 B.C and 1900 B.C. We know about there culture because we studied the ruins of two major cities,"Mohenjo-Daro" and "Harappa". Those two cities had about 35,00 residents. The cities were closely alike and had very similar features when it came to the city. They even had indoor bathrooms.

What was life like?

Archaeologists have really learned a lot about the Indus Valley culture and their life by just studying about their two major cities. Like the ruins show royal palaces and temples may have been closed so they can use them as a fortress.  Most people lived in farming villages surrounding the cities. They grew rice,barley,wheat,peas,and cotton. City residents were merchants,shopkeepers,and artisans. They made and sold copper,bronze tools,clay pottery,and cotton cloth. Artisans made jewelry from shells,ivory,gold. Archaeologists even found toys in the ruins. Indus Valley merchants traveled as far as Mesopotamia to trade. Some traders even traveled through the mountains of Mesopotamia and probably sailed to Mesopotamia along the Southern coast of Asia.

Aryan Migrations and Settlements

1900 B.C., the people of the Indus Valley began to abandon their cities/villages. Well Archaeologists have found some possible solutions. One is there was a very serious and deadly drought that lasted hundreds of years that destroyed crops and made people starve to death. Or Earthquakes and floods happened and killed many people .

But meanwhile a group called 'Aryans' migrated to India. And then soon a new civilization will appear. The Indo-Europeans as The Aryans were not a race or a ethnic group. Historians believe that Aryans people's language was a part of a large language family known as Indo-European. A Language Family is a group of similar languages. Indo-European lived in central Asia but began migrating to other places. Some moved West to Europe or South to Iran. Like most Indo-Europeans, the Aryans raised cattle for meat,milk,and butter. They had to move a lot to find a nice place for there cattle to live nicely. The Aryans were expert horse riders and hunters,and fierce warriors.

From about 1500 to 1000 B.C, groups of Aryans moved throughout India. The groups mixed with descendants of the Indus Valley people. Together they created a new culture. The Aryans soon settled down in one place and became farmers. Eventually the Aryans saw their herd as sacred and banned the use of cattle as food. The Aryans began to make iron tools to clear forests to farm. They also built irrigation systems. In the north farmers grew grains like wheat,millet,barley and planted rice in the river valleys. In the south they grew crops like cotton,vegetables,pepper,ginger,and cinnamon. The Aryans lived in tribes. Each tribe was led by a raja,or prince. The rajas built their own kingdoms and they sometimes fought with each other over land,treasure,and cattle. Like most nomadic people the Aryans had no written language. After they settled in villages, they developed a written language called Sanskrit. Sanskrit allowed the Aryans to record sales,trade,and land ownership. Aryans wrote hymns,stories,poems, and prayers also which were soon collected and recorded into texts known as vedas.

Ancient Indian Society

As the Aryans settled into India and towns were made and while most people still farmed for a living or some other people specialized in crafts such as carpentry or weaving, and others took parts in trade. India's economy grew and so a system of social class was born.

What were the Varnas?

The four social classes of ancient India are called Varnas. People were considered members of the Varna into which they were born. The most powerful varnas were the Brahmins and Kshatriyas. The Brahmins were the priests. The Kshatriyas were warriors who ran the government and army. Then next are the Vaisyas, or commeners. Vaisyas were usually farmers, crafts people, and merchants. Below the Vaisyas came the Sudras. The Sudras were manual workers and servants who had a few rights. Most Indians were Sudras varna.

The four varna were divided into thousands of smaller groups known as the jati. Many jati were based on the type of work a person did and they each had their own strict rules for diet, marriage, and social customs. Scholars refer to the varnas as the caste system. In such a system, people remain in the same caste or social group for life. People's castes determine the jobs they can take, and who they can marry/love.

At the lowest level of society come the Untouchables.

They are so low that they aren't even considered to be a part of the caste system. They all did the dirty work that the varnas didn't want to do like clean toilets, clean the streets, clean animal poop, carry dead bodies, skin animals etc..In ancient India, the family was the center of life. Grandparents, parents, and children lived together in an extended family. Elder family members were respected. The oldest male in the family was in charge of the entire household.Indian men had way more rights than women like women had no rights at all. Males inherited property, unless there were no sons in the family. Men attended school and became priests, while women  were educated at home.In India's leading families, a boy had a guru, or teacher, until he attended school in the city. Young men from these families could marry only after finishing 12 years of education. In India, parents arrange marriages for their children. Even today, many marriages are arranged. In early India, boys and girls often married in their teens. People could not get divorced. 

bottom of page