Chapter 3: Ancient Indian Civilizations

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AIM Why was the Gupta Empire known as the
golden age of India? Do Now Define Golden
Age. If you dont know, look at the phrase and
take an educated guess. HW Write a paragraph
explaining the at least one cultural and one
scientific accomplishment of the Untied States.
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C3.5 Ancient Indian Life and CultureThe Story
Continues It is a day of festival. . . . the
streets arebroad rivers of people, folk of every
race,buying and selling in the marketplace
orsinging to the music of wandering minstrels.
This account recalls a day ofcelebration during
the Gupta Empire, an era in which Indian culture
andachievements flourished.
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I. Economy and Society

• While the highest classes in northern India
  enjoyed luxury, most people barely survived

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I. Economy and Society

• The rajas drew wealth from the farmers who worked
  the land and claimed one-fourth of each harvest

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I. Economy and Society

• In southern India many lived by trading, sending
  luxury goods to the Far East, SW Asia, Africa,
  and Europe

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I. Economy and Society

• Hindu women had few rights, were required to obey
  male relatives, and could not own property or
  study sacred writings

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I. Economy and Society

• Men could have more than one wife and polygyny
  became widespread

Polygamy and polyandry were prevalent In ancient
India, but it is doubtful whether they were ever
popular in the public opinion. It was practiced
mostly by the warrior castes and rich merchants.
Many Hindu gods are also depicted as polygamous,
with two or more wives. Present day Hindus
consider both polygamy and polyandry primitive
and archaic, remnants of an old society that
still haunt the lives of a few unfortunate
victims. In India Hindus acknowledge polygamy as
both illegal and immoral.
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I. Economy and Society

• In a practice called suttee, widows threw
  themselves on their husbands funeral pyres

Sati (or Suttee) is a rare Indian practice in
which a widow sacrifices her life by throwing
herself onto her deceased husbands funeral pyre.
It is not directly derived from or connected to
Hinduism, although spiritual beliefs play a large
part in its traditional observation
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II. Cultural Achievements

• The stories of the Panchatantra, or Five Books,
  were animal fables intended to instruct the sons
  of the royalty

One of India's most influential contributions to
world literature, the Panchatantra consists of
five books of animal fables and magic tales (some
87 stories in all) that were compiled between the
third and fifth centuries AD. It is believed that
even then the stories were already ancient. The
tales' self-proclaimed purpose is to educate the
sons of royalty.
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II. Cultural Achievements

• The Panchatantra has been translated into more
  languages than any other book except the Bible

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II. Cultural Achievements

• Plays were often performed outside and contained
  tragic scenes, but ended happily

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A. Art and Architecture

• The only paintings that survive are murals in
  caves depicting the Buddha and his followers

The Ajanta Caves. Ancient Paintings of Buddhist
India
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A. Art and Architecture

• Architects designed and built great Hindu temples
  and Asoka built thousands of Buddhist stupas

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B. Education

• Education was only for higher caste children and
  they studied the Vedas, astronomy, mathematics,
  warfare, and government

The ancient Gurukul system of education where the
guru imparts knowledge to the disciples
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B. Education

• Nalanda was a Buddhist university where thousands
  of students attended for free

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C. Mathematics and Astronomy

• Mathematicians understood the concepts of
  abstract and negative numbers, zero, and infinity

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C. Mathematics and Astronomy

• Aryabhata (late AD 400s) was one of the first to
  use algebra and to solve quadratic equations

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C. Mathematics and Astronomy

• Indian astronomers identified seven planets,
  understood the earths rotation, and predicted
  eclipses

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D. Medicine

• Indian rulers built free hospitals for the people

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D. Medicine

• Indian physicians understood the importance of
  the spinal cord, could set bones and performed
  plastic surgery

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D. Medicine

• Physicians practiced cleanliness before
  operations and disinfected wounds, a procedure
  not practiced in Western medicine until recent
  times

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D. Medicine

• Physicians developed inoculation - infecting a
  person with a mild form of a disease to prevent a
  more serious form

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D. Medicine

• They successfully inoculated people against
  smallpox, something not accomplished in the West
  until the 1700s