HIST 88 Midterm: Lecture notes
Intro
●“Sindhu”, in Sanskrit, designates the river known today as the Indus (in modern Pakistan).
●•“Sindhu” turns to “Hindu” in Persian (S=H; dh=d) – the ancient Persian empire extended into the
subcontinent (up to the Indus).
●•“Hindu” turns to “Indus” in Greek (initial H is lost) – the Greeks, under Alexander the Great, overtake the
Persian empire and cross the Indus in 326BCE.
●•“Hindu”, as a designation for a people, was originally devoid of today’s religious connotations – it was a
marker of a people inhabiting a certain geographic region, not a label for a religious group.
●•The region is largely defined by the natural boundary of the Himalayan mountain range.
●•comprising the modern nations of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan and Afghanistan.
●Himalayas – 1800 miles long, separates India from the Asia. Source of rivers, mountain passes.
●Vindhyas – Separate North India from South India – helps mark a break in culture.
●River Systems – Northern rivers (Indus, Ganges, Brahmaputra) fed by Himalayas; Southern rivers fed by
rains (seasonal).
○•India – 22 official languages (e.g. Hindi, Gujarati, Bengali, Punjabi, Marathi // Tamil,
Malayalam, Kannada, Telegu, English etc.)
○•Pakistan – Punjabi, Urdu, Sindhi, Pashtu
○•Bangladesh – Bangla, tribal lang.
○•Afghanistan – Dari, Pashtu, Turkic languages
○•Nepal – Nepali, Maithali
○•Sri Lanka – Sinhala, Tamil
○•Bhutan – Tibetan, Nepali, Dzongkha
•1st Urbanization : Indus Valley Civilization
(2500-1700 BCE)
•Vedic period (1700-600BCE)
•2nd Urbanization (600BCE – 400BCE)
•The Mauryan State (400BCE – 200BCE)
•Regionalism & Cross Cultural Contacts
(200BCE – 300CE)
•Creation of Sanskrit Cultures (300CE –
700CE)
•Regionalism & rise or Delhi Sultanate
•Mughals
•British
•Post-Independence
Indus Valley Civilization
●The Indus rises near Mansarovar Lake (western Tibet)
○Covers over 1800 miles to flow into Arabian Sea
○Many major tributes - Kabul River, Satluj, Beas, Ravi, Chenab, Jhelum
○Helps create fertile agricultural region
○One of the longest rivers in the world and largest drainage basin
○Largest (in terms of total area) of world’s early civilizations
●A forgotten civilization
○Findings of British travellers
■Alexander Cunningham - 1856
■John Marshall with Rai Sahni - 1921
○Under Cunningham, massive mounds of bricks had acted as sources for building the Indian
Railway in Late 19th century
■Bricks were ancient remains of IVC
○Marshall would help lead first major excavations of IVC
○Earliest excavations at Harappa (bank of Ravi) and Mohenjodaro (bank of Indus)
●Early theories of IVC Origins
○Influenced by earlier civilizations of Egypt/Mesopotamia
○Created by local IV people based on Egypt/Meso
○Culture was entirely independent and developed on its own and later developed ties to other great
civilizations
○IVC spread over 750 k sq miles from high mountains of Baluchistan and Afghan to coastal regions
■Early food producing era ~6500-5000BCE
Early Harappan phase ~3300-2600
Harappa phase ~2600-1900
Late Harappan/trans. ~1900-1700?
○Evidence for early domestication of animals - cattle, sheep, goats, donkeys
○Cultivation - 2 varieties of wheat, barley, peas, cotton
●Unique features
○In remains of urban centers of Harappa and Mohenjo Daro (the Great Bath), we see cities were
highly planned with wide streets and in house drainage systems
■Large stores of surplus grain, standardizes weights, toys, achievements
○Seals made of soapstone and a unique script
○Writing was pictographic in style with short inscriptions
■Remains untranslated, believed to be read from right to left like Dravidian languages of
south
●IV religion
○Can only speculate, female terracotta images may have been used for religious purpose
○Was a sacredness given to animals and belief in relationship of life across species
○Indus buries dead in wood coffins with pottery and some ornamentation, but not elaborate
●Indus Decline (around 1700)
○Not yet a consensus as to the cause
○Evidence that supports climate change and changes in courses of rivers
○No invasion by outsiders (Sanskrit people) ended IVC
○There was a complex fusion and partial displacement of Indus natives, but not their destruction
