The Indus and Yellow River Valley Civilizations

Indus and Yellow River Valleys
• Origin and spread of ideas
• Interaction between the “civilized” and “uncivilized”
1. Indus vs. Aryans
• Note: Harappan civilization same as Indus
• Historical Significance
1. Indus discovered to British in the 1840s (ruins knew earlier by locals)
2. British used Indus brick in railroad construction
3. Increasing interest in increases
4. Discovery of seals with writing intensifies interest
5. Harappa “discovered” in 1920s
6. They said it’s a “new”/ just discovered civilization even though locals, everyone knew about it for years
• Geography
• Harappa- located on Pakistan/India border
• Rivers- land so flat so rivers would change often, especially as sediment built up or geographical changes
1. Cities rose and fell based on flow of river
• Farming
1. Crops mostly from Mesopotamia, so probably didn’t develop farming on own but learned from Mesopotamia.
• Harappan Civilization
1. Class Inferences
 Bricks- standardized; have city projects/central planning-very organized
 Have a working class
 Open areas- gatherings/communal things
• Public Bath?
 Trench-Sewage line? Compartments- family and ownershipequality (all same size)
• The Mysterious End of the Harappan Civilization
1. Indo-European Immigrants (Aryans)-
2. Based on language group- started (see map in powerpoint) and migrated out.
3. Vedic Culture
 Composed the Vedas (old texts written by Aryan or Indo-Aryan peoples)
 Oral History from hundreds of years before written down
4. Two theories about change
 1) Aryans invaders destroyed Indus civilization borrowing little and taking survivors as slaves/ lower caste (start of caste system
 2) Indus and Aryans culture blend with Indus civilization having a significant impact on future cultures
5. Observations in Rig Vedas
 Earlier texts name western locations. Later texts don’t (inference- moved east to west)
 Numerous prayers asking for heroic son to be born. No prayers for heroic (or