Traditions and Encounters Chapter 4 Overview Essays

Submitted By Zach-McGovern
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Chapter 4
The Harappan society was very wealthy. They had a population of forty thousand. There were goldsmiths, potters, weavers, masons, architects, and other types of professions. Though there were no monuments built for their rulers their king still held great power. Social distinctions also formed between the rich and the poor. There were the poorer peoples living in one room tenements and the richer ones living in two to three story houses with an interior courtyard. Almost all of the houses had private bathrooms equipped with toilets and showers that drained into a sewer system. These sewer systems were some of the most advanced at that time. The large houses even had wells and built­in brick ovens which made it so you could cook on your own. Because their language has not been deciphered so it is hard to interpret their politics and society. They made many statues, figurines, and illustrations. many showed a strong concern of fertility. They had gods and goddesses that represented creation and fertility. They also held trees and animals sacred because of their association with vital forces. In 1900 B.C.E. they went through a period of decline. One cause was ecological degradation. Also, it became much drier and hotter for them. By 1500 B.C.E. cities had almost entirely collapsed. Their social and cultural traditions lived on though. The Aryans made small agricultural and herding communities through northern India. These migrations happened over many centuries. They most likely clashed with the existing settlers there the Dravidians. They eventually intermarried. When they entered India they didn’t practice much agriculture. They mostly depended on agriculture. Cattle became the primary measure of wealth. The early Aryans didn’t have a form writing so they used songs and poems. They transmitted stories through Sanskrit for many generations. They fought with the indigenous people frequently. In these wars the Aryans destroyed citadels, dams, and forts.

They wrecked the Dravidians cities and destroyed their irrigation systems. They also fought themselves because they didn’t have a common state or government. After 1000 B.C.E. they established agricultural villages near the Ganges. The biggest way the Aryans contributed to
India’s culture was by creating the Caste System. This was sharp hereditary distinctions between individuals and groups. This developed as the Aryans developed settlements across
India. They eventually developed four main classes. The priests, the warriors and aristocrats, the cultivators, artisans, and the