Early Beginnings In Southern Asian

• In 1922 scientist digging near the Indus River came upon the ruins of an ancient city that they called Mohhenjo-Daro.

• The city was amazingly well planned with wide, straight streets and large buildings. It had a sewer system and a large wall fortress.

• Mehnjo-Daro was part of a civilization that developed about 4,500 year ago.

Migration

• The people who lived there were part of one of the world’s oldest civilizations. Over the centuries, many other people moved into the region. Some came peacefully Others marched in with swords in their hand. All of these invaders contributed to South Asian Culture

• South Asian culture, in turn, influenced cultures of other regions. Hinduism is practiced by millions of people today.

• Between 2000 B.C. and 1500 B.C invaders known as Aryans swept down on the people of the Indus Valley.

• The Indus Valley farmers were no match for the Aryan soldiers in horse-drawn chariots.

• In time, the Aryans moved eastward to the Ganges River, laying claim to much of northern India.

• The Aryans ruled northern India for more than 1,000 years. They introduced new ways of living.

• For example, they divided people into three classes priests, warriors, and ordinary working people.

• This division grew out of Aryan religious writings called the Vedas.

• In time the Aryans drew the conquered people into their class system.

• By 500 B.C. There was a strict division of classes. Europeans later called it the class system.

• Each Caste, or class, had special duties and work.

• The caste system became a central part of a new system of belief that also emerged from Aryan religious ideas and practices.

• This system of beliefs, Hinduism, is the world’s oldest living religion.

• Hinduism is unlike other major world religions. It has no one single founder. However it has many great religious thinkers.

• Also, Hindus worship many gods and goddesses, but they believe in a single spirit. To Hindus, the various gods and goddesses represent different parts of this spirit.

Bibliogrpahy

Armstrong, HB. (2008).Exploring our world: people, places, and cultures. New York City, NY, USA: McGraw Hill Glencoe.