See next lecturette for more on this!

The Indus Civilization Ancient Roots (3800 – 1700 BCE)

The Discovery of the Indus Civilizations

The Indus Civilization The Indus River, the Panjab and the lost river Sarasvati Great riverine civilization (Mesopotamia, Nile) Surplus agriculture, beginning of civilization Reached height in c. 2500 BCE Central planning, in-house wells, sewage, royal citadel, “granary”—far more sophisticated planning than anything found on the subcontinent till the middle ages Those fired bricks Widespread trade: Artifacts found in Mesopotamia

Indus Artifacts The seals of horned creatures, and the mystery of the Indus scripts Beautifully sculpted figures and “crude” female figures Charming toys

Indus Religion: evidence Great Bath at Mohenjo-Daro “Proto-Shiva” Ithyphallic Yogi Ritual Ceremony Fertility Goddesses

The Fate of Indus Ecological change c. 2000 BCE; decline 1800-1700 BCE Natural tectonic lifting of the flood plain + man-made deforestation for firing bricks The Aryan raids

What Happened to the Indus Peoples?Theories of Transition (A) Dravidian dispersal theory; implications for language and “race”: Were the Indus peoples the ancestors of the Dravidians? The Model: submersion during Brahminism, re-emergence as part of Hindu synthesis Aryan contempt for the indigenous peoples— “snub-nosed” “dasyus” See Theories of Transition (B) in the next lecturette on the Aryans