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.