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The Pashupati seal was a seal from the Indus Valley Civilization, that is often referred to as proto-Shiva, despite having no connection to the god Shiva. The seal displays a horned deity who was the guardian of cattle and domesticated animals. There are two versions of the seal, one that displays animals and one that does not. The Pashupati Seal is not the only seal from Harappa that had horned deities, however it is the most popular.

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Ancient India used to make up of modern-day India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. The northern part of ancient India is protected by the Himalayas (a wide mountain range), and the southern part is bordered by the ocean. The southern part often was culturally isolated from the northern part in ancient times. The northeast and the northwest are where communication and contact with the outside world happened.

The North consists of the basins of the Indus and Ganges rivers and the South has the Deccan Plateau Region. The river basins in the North provided the rise of the Ganges Civilization in the 1st millennium BCE and the Indus Civilization in the 3rd millennium BCE To the South of the Indus Civilization, many tribal people lived in the hills and forests, expanding from the West to the East. The belt of the hills and forests, negatively impacted much of the history of ancient India because it didn’t form a regional cultural development in South Asia and remained relatively unpopulated. The Narmada River flows through the belt of forests and hills to the west, which has been identified as a symbolic boundary between the North and the South.

The Northern Part has multiple different regions that have different cultures, and populations. The northwest (valleys of the Baluchistan uplands) were often used to produce wheat and barley. Many tribal people lived in the northwest. The Indus plains were very rich in rain and were used for irrigation systems which enhanced their agriculture. Most of the southern regions had denser populations but were isolated from each other due to their geographical differences.

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c. 60000 BCE - 32768 BCE
Human habitation of India

c. 4000 BCE
Indian village of Balathal inhabited.

c. 2000 BCE - c. 1200 BCE
The Indo-aryan people migrate to India from Central Asia

c. 1500 BCE - c. 500 CE
The Gandhara Civilization flourishes in what is today the northern portion of Pakistan and Afghanistan.

c. 520 BCE - c. 325 CE

Achaemendid rule in the Gandhara region.

c. 320 BCE - c. 180 BCE
Mauryan rule in the Gandhara region, beginning with Chandragupta Maurya

c. 180 BCE - 80 BCE
Period of Indo-Greek rule in the Gandhara region.

c. 180 BCE
Greco-Bactrians start expanding as far as modern India.

c. 80 BCE - c. 75 CE
The combined Scytho-Parthians rule Gandhara.

c. 320 CE - c. 550 CE

Gupta period, considered a golden age of ancient India in art and architecture

c. 500 CE - 647 CE
The Pushyabhuti (or Vardhana) Dynasty rules in Ancient

India

c. 700 CE - c. 1000 CE
Zoroastrian Parsees flee Iran for India, taking sacred texts and keeping ancient traditions alive; worship of Mithra is preserved.

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Akka Mahadevi is known for her vachanas (poems) and was a staple in Karnataka and Kannada literature. Many revered saints referred to her as Akka, which means “elder sister”. Her vachanas offer new viewpoints on the roles women play, Hinduism, and the caste system. She was born in a village called Udatadi in Karnataka and was raised in a very spiritual atmosphere devoted to the god Shiva. There are two versions of her story, in both the Jain the ruler fell in love with her. However, the story seems to differ concerning whether they got married. Some say that Akka refused to marry Jain and left her home life with nothing but in tresses. Others say that she did get married to Jain under the condition that he must not touch her without her permission, and can’t hinder her worship, however after he failed to abide by that rule she left without a word. After she leaves, she spends her time in search of the god Shiva, referring to him as Channamallikarjun. After her travels she ended up in the Virashaiva sect, where she contributed to discussions about spiritual, social, and philosophical questions. However, she wasn’t taken seriously due to her rebellion against womanly modesty, as she shed her clothes and never wore them again. Akka Mahadevi was a wonderful poet and was recognized for her progressive views on spirituality and society and known for her rebellion against gender norms becoming a wonderful female role model, as she went farther than women were allowed to go in her time.

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Ancient India mostly practiced Hinduism.  Much of ancient and modern India, has been influenced by Hinduism. Ancient India’s most impacting sacred texts were The Mahabharata and Ramayana influenced their culture through music, art, and literature. India’s medial practices and astrology were also influenced by Hinduism.  While Hinduism played a large part in India’s history, it’s also important to note that Buddhism and Jainism. Buddhism began in northern India and gained a rather large following during Buddhas life. Jainism shares many beliefs with Hinduism and Buddhism; however, they have separate leaders and teachers, and teaches that the path to enlightenment is through nonviolence.

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Aryabhata was a famous astronomer and mathematician, in South India. Aryabhata had many mathematical accomplishments including, algorithms for solving square and cube root, developed properties of similar right angle triangles, constructed table of sines, quadratic equations, compound interest, proportions, as well as solutions to linear equations. Not only was he a flourishing mathematician, but he also explored astrology, where he stated that the western motion of the stars was because Earth was spinning on an axis. He also explored eclipses and studied planetary motion along the ecliptic. Aryabhata was the earliest Indian mathematician whose work was available to modern scholars. He wrote two pieces of research while in the Gupta Dynasty called, Aryabhatiya and Aryabhata Siddhanta. The latter was a large influence on Islamic astrology.

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Ancient India had many scientific, and mathematic achievements, that lead to many future scientific discoveries. Ancient India had one of the first two cities in the world, (Harappa, and Mohenjo-Daro), that had functioning sewage systems. Ancient India was also one of the first civilizations to use Algebra and Calculus. They invented the number 0 as well as a decimal system that enhanced understanding of arithmetic, algebra, and trigonometry.  They also discovered that the Earth revolved around the sun, and that the moon orbits the Earth.

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Focus Theme: How did they adapt to their environment? 

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Focus Theme: How did they adapt to their environment? 

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Many of the most successful civilizations were founded by rivers like the Indus River Civilization for example. They adapted to their environment, by building extensive irrigation systems, and using the different types of climates to their advantage. The rainier areas were often reserved for crop production. The less environmentally rich areas often held large villages, where food and water had to be transported in some cases. However due to the river, the northern and southern parts of India where culturally separated and didn’t have much interaction with each other. Many people used the mud from the river to create bricks, which allowed for sturdier structures. The river became the people’s lifeline in ancient India, using it for all their needs and learning how to create sewage systems as well as irrigation systems.

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When the people of ancient India began to settle down there, they created a tribal lifestyle, and their leader was called a Raja. As time passed, more kingdoms began to develop, kingdoms were called Mahajan Padas. Their political system was often a Monarchy, that had three branches of government, legislative, executive, and judiciary. Government officials were often able to give advice to the Raja, but any final decisions would be the Raja’s to make. Many small republics had also developed in India, and often practiced democracy.

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Ancient India often stuck closely to the Caste System, following the Hindu religion. Their societal structure was ordered from most important to least important, consisting of, Brahmans (priests), Kshatriya (rulers, military leaders), Vaishya (merchants, farmers), Shudra (laborers, servants, artisans), and Dalit (sanitary working). One was born into their caste system level and was not allowed to go up or down the levels. They believed that this ensured that everyone would do their part for civilization. People’s lives revolved around their level in the Caste system, as how they were treated, who they could marry, and what work they had to do, was all predetermined for them.

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Farming and trade where the most important economic factors in Ancient India. Their economy strengthened when the government improved trade routes and farmers didn’t have to pay taxes anymore. Ancient India had secure trade routes within, and outside of India. The civilizations often relied on the Caste System, as is practiced in Hinduism, to ensure that everyone was doing their part and providing. In smaller villages the main economic system was barter. India would often export luxury items such as calico of Bengal, shawls of Kashmir, different textiles, cinnamon and pepper, as well as opium and indigo, in exchange for gold and silver.

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https://www.britannica.com/place/India/History

https://nsms6thgradesocialstudies.weebly.com/uploads/3/7/2/4/37241339/ancient_india_-_geography_and_history_activity.pdf

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https://feminisminindia.com/2017/09/14/akka-mahadevi-essay/

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Aryabhata-I

https://www.worldhistory.org/timeline/?timeline_search=timeline_search&tl_date_from=&tl_date_from_bc_ad=BC&tl_date_to=1200&tl_date_to_bc_ad=AD&tl_keywords=ancient+india&timeline_types=9%2C5%2C10%2C11%2C12%2C7%2C13%2C1%2C4

https://www.storyboardthat.com/storyboards/liane/ancient-india-social-structure#:~:text=Ancient%20Indian%20Hinduism%20imposed%20a,the%20system%20and%20treated%20poorly.

https://blog.flocabulary.com/ancient-india-achievements/#:~:text=Ancient%20India%20was%20home%20to,by%20a%20man%20named%20Aryabhatta.

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https://www.culturalindia.net/indian-history/ancient-india/ancient-government.html

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https://www.culturalindia.net/indian-history/ancient-india/ancient-religion.html#:~:text=The%20predominant%20religion%20in%20ancient,and%20originated%20in%20northern%20India.

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Chanakya was a Hindu philosopher and statesmen around 300 BCE. He gained an extensive education in Medicine and Astrology and was thought to have been influenced by the religion Zoroastrians. Chanakya became a counselor and advisor to Mauryan emperor Chandragupta, he was an important authority figure when Chandragupta overthrew the Nanda Dynasty. Chanakya's book became a guide for Chandragupta, and he followed Chanakya's many thoughts on the government including his ideas of implementing a spy system into society. Chanakya was praised for his wisdom in politics and human nature, and his large role in setting up the governmental structure.