in the previous post v went thru wat is
the difference between Civilization and Culture !!!!
now letz seee this aspect
Differences between Indus
civilization & Vedic Culture
- SOURCES -- Our sources of information of the Harappan civilization
are mainly archaeological, while the Vedic culture is mostly known from
the literary sources - the Vedas.
- WHERE THEY CAME FROM -- Harappans are said to have been the original inhabitants
of India while the Aryans, the founders of Vedic culture, are believed to
have come to India from Central Asia.
- CHARACTER -- The Harappan civilization was urban in nature as is
evidenced by its town-planning, drainage system, and granary and so on.The
Vedic culture was rural. There is almost complete absence of towns in the
Rigvedic period. At best the Rigvedic Aryans lived in fortified places
protected by mud walls; and these cannot be regarded as towns in the
Harappan sense. The Indus towns were well-planned, divided into two
well- laid out parts - the citadel and lower town with elaborate gateways.
- TRADE/OCCUPATION -- In the Indus civilization trade, internal and external,
crafts as well as industries were the main sources of economy, while the
later- Vedic economy had predominance of agriculture and cattle rearing.
- AGRICULTURE -- The various agricultural operations, including
the ploughing of fields, were better known to the later-Vedic people and
they owed this knowledge to the non-Vedic people. For early Vedic people
pastoralism was the more prestigious profession. In the Harappan
civilization the only instance of furrowing the fields has been found from
Kalibangan.
- METAL -- Indus people did not know the use of
iron. It was purely a 'copper-bronze' culture, while the Vedic culture in
its later phase is replete with references to iron.
- HORSE -- The horse, which played a decisive role in the Aryan
system of warfare, was not known to the Indus people. A few bones of horse
and terracotta figure of a 'horse-like animal' have been unearthed from
Surkotada (Gujarat) and still it has not been convincingly proved that the
horse was employed by the Harappans.
- WAR -- Indus people were basically peace loving. Their arms
(swords, daggers, arrow-heads, and spears) were primitive in nature. No
evidence of armour, helmet, body armour or shield is available. The
Aryans, on the contrary, were warlike people and were conversant with all
kinds of traditional arms and armour and had devised a full-fledged
'science of war'.
- KINSHIP -- The Vedic society was primarily based on kinship
where as the Harappan culture could not be basically kin-based.
- RELIGION-- The
Vedic religion differed from that of the Harappans. The Aryans worshiped
Varuna, Indra, Aditi and a large number of other deities which stood for
the principal phenomena of nature. They performed sacrifices and offered
milk, ghee, etc. to their gods.The Harappans worshipped Pashupati, Mother
Goddess, animals, snake and nature. The fire-altars were discovered from
only one Harappan site at Kalibangan. The Harappans practised earth
burials whereas the Aryans practised cremation.
- POTTERY
-- The
Harappan pottery called 'black or red pottery' was wheel made and very
distinctive in nature. From all the Harappan sites fragments of this
typical pottery have been collected in large numbers. The distinctive
Aryan pottery is known as PGW (Painted Grey Ware).
- PHYSICAL
APPEAREANCE -- The
facial features and the physical types differed considerably. The
Harappans were short stature, black in complexion and comparatively thin
with short nose, thick lips and tiny eyes. The Aryans were tall,
well-built and handsome with long and pointed nose, thin lips, pointed
chins, broad shoulders and fair complexion.
- EATING
HABITS --
The life style was also different. The Harappans ate all birds and animals
including cow and calf. They attached great importance to individual and
community bathing as is witnessed by the private bathrooms and great Bath
at Mohenjodaro. They ate wheat, barley and bread. The Aryans preferred
milk and its products, specially ghee or butter and enjoyed Soma drink.
Meat of the animals scarified was eaten.
- DRESSING
SENSE -- The
dress and costumes, the hair-do's and the cosmetics, the jewellery and the
ornaments etc. of the two cultures differed. The Harappan women put on a
skirt and men used a band of cloth round their loins. The Aryans used
embroidered cloth along with the ones made of leather, hide or skin.
Cotton was the basic fabric of the Harappans while the Aryans put on
woollen garments too.
- LANGAUGE
-- Vedic
Sanskrit is the mother of all non-Dravidian languages of India and almost
all Indian Languages were deeply influenced by it, but the Indus script
still remains undeciphered and we are completely in the dark about its
literary developments. However, it is clear that the Indus people were
literate whereas the Vedic people were illiterate. We do not have any word
for writing in any of the Vedic texts.
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Similarities between Indus valley civilization and
Aryan civilization which could be debated !!!!! and hence a question
mark against the ARYAN INVASION THEORY COULD BE established are as follows
:
- 1. Indus valley civilization script though not understood till date has symbols such as 'OM' and 'swastika' which are used extensively in vedas. IVC script is actually pre sanskrit script.
- 2. Worshiping of idols, trees, animals, snakes and animal sacrifices to please gods are found to be common in two civilizations.
- 3. yoga postures found in vedas and pictures of god in same position found in ruins of IVC are similar.
- 4. Love for jewellery, bathing in large pool etc.. are still practiced in india today gives weight age to cultural continuance.
- 5. 2500 archaeological sites of IVC have no literature associated with them which implies ivc transferred their knowledge orally, this form of passing knowledge from one generation to another orally was started more than 10,000 years ago in India.
