Page 31 - SST Class 06

Different Ways

of Life 5

q Vedic Age q The Vedas and their teachings
q Arrival of Aryans q A contemporary Chalcolithic settlement

Introduction ascertained.

Today India is a large country. It was still larger The origin of the Aryans is a subject of much
during the Chalcolithic Age, because it comprised speculation. Some scholars opine that they were
the territories which are now in India, Afghanistan, native inhabitants of India, while some scholars
Pakistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal and some say that they belonged to Central Asia. They
parts of Myanmar (Burma), so it is truly termed as spread out to Europe and Asia in search of
the Indian subcontinent. In such a large area, the pastures and were a type of nomadic race. The
civilisation took place at different places at different latter view is now generally accepted.
paces. We have already told you that the Stone Age The people who came to India are called the Indo-
was followed by the Copper Age in the Harappan Aryans . They were tall and fair-complexioned
civilisation (in the north-west) and they came to people with sharp features and strong physique.
know about iron much later; while the settlements Many Indians, Persians and Europeans claim
in the south (Deccan) continued the use of stone themselves to be the true descendants of the
until they found iron, so the Copper Age was not Aryans and consider themselves superior to
witnessed by the people there. others, because the Aryan race was most civilised
and cultured then.
Thus, we find two distinct developments in two
different parts of the Indian subcontinent : north- INDIA – VEDIC CULTURE
REFERENCE
west and Deccan. So, we shall study them I d s About 1500– 1000 B.C.
n u
Region inhabited by early
separately. Vedic people (Saptasindhu)
1000 – 600 B.C. Region inhabited
Peshwar by later Vedic people
Direction of movement from
Sapta-Sindhu to Ganga Plains
Takshashila Major Cities
Info Bits
Info Bits Jhelum Ch nab i s Present International Boundary
e
The early Vedic people had no knowledge of letters, S tluj Rav B ea
HARAPPA u
so the students learnt by heart and recited without
missing a word. For hundreds of years, the Rigveda Indu s Indraprashta
was passed down by word of mouth. Finally, it was MOHENJODARO Yam KOSALA
a Ayodhya
un
written down in Sanskrit. anga G
I N D I A
VEDIC AGE
Movements of the Aryans during (Rigvedic)
The Harappan civilisation declined about 1500 Vedic Age and Later Vedic Age
BC and it coincided with the emergence of the
Aryans. Therefore, some historians are of the view Source of Information
that the Aryans might have invaded and destroyed This age is called the Vedic Age because the chief
the Harappan towns; however, this cannot be source of information is the Vedic literature. We
Different Ways of Life
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