CHAPTER 4 Traditions and Encounters
Chapter 4 Reading Questions:
Why is so little known about the Harappan society? What is it that we do know about the nature of that society? Because the earliest Harappan remains are below the water table, archaeologists can't research them. Also the Harappans used an elaborate pictographic system that has not yet been able to be deciphered. We do however, that it had city walls, a fortified citadel, and a large granary-Harappa and Mohenjo-daro represented an investment of human labor and established patterns to shape the larger society. They had a high degree of standardization due to the Indus River which facilitated trade and communication. Mohenjo-daro had a very sophisticated water/sewage program. Harappans had deities associated with creation and procrastination.
How do historians and archeologists explain the decline of the Harappan culture? Ecological degradation-Harappans deforested Indus River Valley leading to erosion of top soil and a reduced amount of rainfall. This meant agriculture was only possible with artificial irrigation which reduced the production amount. Natural catastrophes may have also affected ancient Harappan societies.
How were the Indo-European migrants different from the cultures that already existed in India? The early Ayrans didn't really practice agriculture but instead were a pastoral economy meaning they kept sheep, goats, horses, and cattle. They composed songs, orally transmitted works were the Vedas, which clash with people already in India. They formed hundreds of chiefdoms that were organized around herding communities and agricultural villages.
Trace the origins of the caste system, making sure to include a discussion of varna and jati. Caste developed gradually as Aryans established settlements all throughout India with a growing social complexity. They had to refine social distinctions. After 1000 BCE, Aryans recognized four main varnas: priests (Brahmins), warriors and aristocrats (kshatriyas), cultivators,
Why is so little known about the Harappan society? What is it that we do know about the nature of that society? Because the earliest Harappan remains are below the water table, archaeologists can't research them. Also the Harappans used an elaborate pictographic system that has not yet been able to be deciphered. We do however, that it had city walls, a fortified citadel, and a large granary-Harappa and Mohenjo-daro represented an investment of human labor and established patterns to shape the larger society. They had a high degree of standardization due to the Indus River which facilitated trade and communication. Mohenjo-daro had a very sophisticated water/sewage program. Harappans had deities associated with creation and procrastination.
How do historians and archeologists explain the decline of the Harappan culture? Ecological degradation-Harappans deforested Indus River Valley leading to erosion of top soil and a reduced amount of rainfall. This meant agriculture was only possible with artificial irrigation which reduced the production amount. Natural catastrophes may have also affected ancient Harappan societies.
How were the Indo-European migrants different from the cultures that already existed in India? The early Ayrans didn't really practice agriculture but instead were a pastoral economy meaning they kept sheep, goats, horses, and cattle. They composed songs, orally transmitted works were the Vedas, which clash with people already in India. They formed hundreds of chiefdoms that were organized around herding communities and agricultural villages.
Trace the origins of the caste system, making sure to include a discussion of varna and jati. Caste developed gradually as Aryans established settlements all throughout India with a growing social complexity. They had to refine social distinctions. After 1000 BCE, Aryans recognized four main varnas: priests (Brahmins), warriors and aristocrats (kshatriyas), cultivators,