Ancient India: Civilizations
Ancient India
India is one of the world’s oldest civilizations. Its ancient history dates back further than most and has many periods. Very little is known about the earliest inhabitants of India. Ancient tools found in the Soan Valley and South India are the earliest evidence of humans in India discovered so far. Some of the tools date back to the Paleolithic Age – 400,000 to 200,000 years ago, other tools date to the Mesolithic Age and the Neolithic Age (8000 BC – 4000 BC). The first organized civilization of India developed in the Indus River Valley, which is part of present-day Pakistan. The Indus Valley civilization dates back to
3000 B.C. Scientists and archaeologists that studied the Indus Valley, found that the civilization was highly organized and larger than any other ancient empire, including those of Egypt and Mesopotamia. The two major cities and cultural centers of this civilization were Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa. These cities were built like modern cities, with streets at right angles, brick houses with bathrooms, sewer system, and a water supply system. The Indus Valley citizens depended on agriculture. The main crops were wheat, barley, dates, and melons. They also cultivated cotton. They domesticated cats, dogs, goats, sheep and maybe even elephants. The Indus people used bronze and copper and were very artistic. They made high quality pottery. A lot of terra cotta was found at the archaeological sites. Around 2000 B.C. the Indus Valley Civilization collapsed. There are different theories about how and why it collapsed, but none have been proven. Perhaps the cities were destroyed by terrible floods, or by the river changing course and drying up the farmland, or maybe the Indus people overgrazed the land. Or possibly the Indus Valley Civilization was destroyed by invaders. Around 1500 B.C., tribes of Indo-Europeans traveled from present day Iran to northwest India. They called themselves Aryans, the “noble ones.” All
India is one of the world’s oldest civilizations. Its ancient history dates back further than most and has many periods. Very little is known about the earliest inhabitants of India. Ancient tools found in the Soan Valley and South India are the earliest evidence of humans in India discovered so far. Some of the tools date back to the Paleolithic Age – 400,000 to 200,000 years ago, other tools date to the Mesolithic Age and the Neolithic Age (8000 BC – 4000 BC). The first organized civilization of India developed in the Indus River Valley, which is part of present-day Pakistan. The Indus Valley civilization dates back to
3000 B.C. Scientists and archaeologists that studied the Indus Valley, found that the civilization was highly organized and larger than any other ancient empire, including those of Egypt and Mesopotamia. The two major cities and cultural centers of this civilization were Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa. These cities were built like modern cities, with streets at right angles, brick houses with bathrooms, sewer system, and a water supply system. The Indus Valley citizens depended on agriculture. The main crops were wheat, barley, dates, and melons. They also cultivated cotton. They domesticated cats, dogs, goats, sheep and maybe even elephants. The Indus people used bronze and copper and were very artistic. They made high quality pottery. A lot of terra cotta was found at the archaeological sites. Around 2000 B.C. the Indus Valley Civilization collapsed. There are different theories about how and why it collapsed, but none have been proven. Perhaps the cities were destroyed by terrible floods, or by the river changing course and drying up the farmland, or maybe the Indus people overgrazed the land. Or possibly the Indus Valley Civilization was destroyed by invaders. Around 1500 B.C., tribes of Indo-Europeans traveled from present day Iran to northwest India. They called themselves Aryans, the “noble ones.” All
Bibliography: Feuerstein, Georg. In Search of the Cradle of Civilization : New Light on Ancient India. Wheaton, IL: Quest Books, 1995. Ganeri, Anita. Exploration Into India. New York: New Discovery Books, Macmillan Publishing Company, 1994. Keay, John. India: A History. New York: Atlantic Monthly Press, 2000. Rajaram, Navaratna. The Politics of History: Aryan Invasion Theory and the Subversion of Scholarship. New Delhi: Voice of India, 1995. Stewart, Melissa. Science in Ancient India. New York: F. Watts, 1999.