INDUS-SARASVATI CIVILIZATION
At least three different ethnic types: Austro-Asians,
earliest peoples related to Australian aborigines;
Dravidians, the people that the Aryans
encountered; and the Aryans themselves. This
divides up into three different language types, too,
with the Northern Indian languages derived from
Sanskrit and the Southern languages having
Dravidian roots.
Indus river called Sindhu (a river goddess) in
Sanskrit. Persians could not pronounce initial "S,"
so it therefore became "Hindu."
Why did the first great civilizations spring up in
some of the driest areas of the world? Not the
Mississippi, Amazon, or Danube river valleys,
where the sod could not be plowed, but the river
systems were the land did not have to be cleared.
Alluvial soil easier to plow and very fertile.
Indus cities thrived from ca. 3000 to 2000 BCE and
went into slow decline after that time. Two great
cities (Mohenjo Daro and Harappa) sprang
seemingly from nowhere, fully planned and
functional, even more rationally planned than
Mesopotamia or Egypt (contrast irregular streets of
Babylon. Excellent plumbing and evidence of
municipal control over the drainage. City blocks
200 yards by 400 yards. Indoor showers and
drains. Unimaginative but well-designed and sturdy
structures. Well built and comparatively spacious
housing for workers and slaves. Language still has
yet to be deciphered; some scholars discern a
similarity with Polynesian languages (specifically
Easter Island!). Not much art except for assorted
seals.
Agriculture central. Surpluses to support city. Grain
and cotton; famous for latter. The harrow only,
because the plow was not needed in the soft soil.
Some animals domesticated, but not elephant or
horse. No irrigation. Some evidence of dam
building to flood areas. Did not have iron and
mediocre metallurgy (bronze only). Did not
penetrate jungle for that very reason. Very poor
weapons. No military fortresses, etc. No swords.
The people seemed to be extremely conservative;
they did not pick up new things even though there
is much evidence of trade with Mesopotamia and
Persia.
Religion: mother goddess, fertility, etc. Great
communal bath at Mohenjo Daro. Definitely for
religious purposes. Temple prostitutes. Common
also in Babylon. Female figurines and the horned
gods with erect penis. Phallus worship. Aryans
called them "dark," "phallus-worshiping," "foul-
mouthed," and "godless." Horned-god as "proto-
Shiva" sitting in the lotus position. Lord of the
Forest (Vanaspati) and Beasts (Pashupati). Proto-
Venus fertility goddess. The humped-backed bull,
but not the sacred cow.
World-wide comparisons: Aryans vs. Indus Valley
people; Israelites (non-Aryans) vs. Canaanites;
Earliest Greeks (Aryans) vs. Minoans on Crete; Sky-
gods and war-gods vs. Fertility gods and
goddesses.
Breakdown of Indus Valley Civilization
Three possible causes, and probably a combination
of all three:
1. External human forces: Invading nomadic tribes
of Aryan warriors. Harrapans had very poor
weapons--stone tipped arrows. Aryan war-god
Indra vs. Indus pacifists.
2. Natural forces: floods, droughts, radical geologic
changes. Natural dams flooded the cities. Back up
of salt water from the ocean.
3. Internal human forces: urban pollution and over
population. Decline of trade with Mesopotamia.
Conservative culture that did not pick up new
ideas. Didn’t use their ingenuity to defend
themselves.
Pre-Aryan Religious Heritage
1. Ahimsa (non-injury)--the principle of nonviolence
2. Karma and Reincarnation
3. Yoga--proto-Shiva in the lotus position.
4. Worship of Great Goddess--goddess figurines
from the Indus cities.
5. Cults of trees, waters, animals, e.g., the fig tree,
the most famous being the Buddha’s Bo Tree.
6. Phallus worship connected with the proto-Shiva.
7. Bhaktism--devotion to a savior god. I personally
have seen no evidence of this.
8. Village deities, demons, ghosts, spirits
9. Third Eye--the mind’s eye, the eye of
introspection and meditation. Perhaps seen on the
forehead of nobleman/priest of Indus seals.
New Evidence
Much larger than previously thought. May be the largest
prehistoric urban civilization.
May have had a democratic organization. At least more
egalitarian than any other civilization.
Largest exporters in the ancient world. 700 ft. long dock in
Gujarat.
Suffered depression rather than Aryan conquest. Migration
eastward to Sarasvati.
Largest Ancient Civilization
1.5 million square kilometers. Larger than Western Europe.
Iranian border to the West; Turkmenistan and Kashmir to the
North; Delhi to the East; and the southern Gujarat to the South.
1,400 sites: 917 in India, 481 in Pakistan, and one in Afganistan.
Sarasvati not Indus?
Most of the sites are in the ancient Sarasvati River basin.
Sarasvati River mentioned in the Rigveda, running between the
Indus and the Yamuna Rivers.
Satellite images proved this to be correct.
Some scholars warn that we should stay clear from potential
Pakistani-Indian conflict.
Who were these people?
Examination of skeletel remains show that they are directly
linked to present day Indians.
Many practices (farming, sailing, jewelry) preserved intact.
The tadoori oven is an Indus-Sarasvati invention.
Indus Chronology
Stage 1: 7000-4000 BC
Beginnings of village farming communities
Stage 2: 4300-3200 BC
Developed farming and pastoral communities
Stage 3: 3200-2600 BC
Agricultural surplus societies, urbanisation
Stage 4: 2600-2500 BC
The big leap. Advanced town-planning and scripts emerge
Stage 5: 2500-2000 BC
Civilization in full bloom
Stage 6: 2000-1600 BC
Dramatic decline in Sindh and resurgence in Punjab and
Haryana. Back to farming units
Indus-Sarasvati Egalitarianism
No cult of personality or royal tombs.
Some social stratification but still no control by one class.
Competing elites?
Obvious administrative organization (standardized weights,
measurements, and brick size) but only regional capitals.
Seals with what looks like a priest but there is no evidence that
they had any great control.
