01-03-2008, 01:39 AM
The Indus Valley (Harappan) civilization, which is the oldest historically known culture in ancient India, was contemporary with the Proto-Elamite and Elamite civlizations in ancient Iran. The Indus people had trade links with parts of Afghanistan, the coastal regions of Iran, and the ancient civilization of Mesopotamia. At Susa in the western part of Iran, decorated pottery has been excavated which appears to be similar to those of the Kulli culture in the north-west of the Indian subcontinent. Indus seals have also been excavated at Kish, Sura and Ur. The Harappan culture in India is believed to have imported silver, copper, turquoise and lapis lazuli from Persia and Afghanistan, in return for ivory. In terms of linguistics, it has been theorized that the Indus people spoke a Dravidian language, and this language or its variants must have also spread to neighbouring areas: in the Balochistan region in the southeast of Iran and in the southwest of Pakistan, the Brahui people speak a language that is classified under the Dravidian family. The Elamo-Dravidian languages is a hypothetical language family that includes the ancient Elamite language of Iran and the Dravidian languages of the Indian subcontinent, suggesting a possible linguistic relationship between the Elamites and Harappans before the arrival of Indo-Iranians.
The languages of India belonging to the Indo-Aryan family are believed to have originated from the same source as the Iranian languages, namely the Indo-Iranian language family, which in itself is a member of the Satem group of Indo-European languages. The Indo-Iranians were nomadic people originating from the Central Asian steppes, probably in the region of the Oxus river valley, pre-2000 BCE. They referred to themselves as Aryans, from which the word "Iran" originates (from airyanam vaejo meaning "Land of the Aryans"), and also the word Arya in Sanskrit and other Indian languages, signifying "noble". Ancient India was also referred to as aryavarta, which means the same as "kingdom/domain of the Aryans".
Aryan civilization first entered the north-west of India probably around 2000 BCE. The Aryans brought with them the patrilinear system, the worship of sky gods and the use of horses and the chariot. Vedic civilization began in India around 1500 BC, with the Rigveda being the oldest of the Vedas. The Rigveda was told in Vedic Sanskrit, which is very similar to Avestan, the ancient language in which the Persian Zoroastrian sacred text Avesta was written. The Vedas and the Avesta appear to agree that the Aryans migrated from their original homeland due to a "flood" of some kind. In the Vedic account, the flood was of water, while the Avesta indicates that it was of snow and frost. The survivor of this flood, Manu Satyavrata is considered to be the progenitor of the Aryans in India, according to Vedic scripture. The story has obvious parallels with the Semitic account of the Great Flood and the emergence of Noah. According to the traditions of the Vendidad, Aryans lived in fifteen nations, one of these being Haptahindu, which is the Avestan form of the Sanskrit Saptasindhu, meaning "seven rivers" and referring to the region of the Indian subcontinent.Ancient Vedic religion and Zoroastrianism also have much else in common. The Vedas and the Gathas of the Avesta include the performance of sacrifice (Sanskrit yajna or Avestan yasna) and the importance of priests or Magi. The myths that appear in the Yasht part of the Avesta probably have their roots in ancient Indo-Iranian culture.
Vedic Sanskrit is an ancient Indian language, the language of the Vedas, the oldest shruti texts of Hinduism. It is an archaic form of Sanskrit, an early descendant of Proto-Indo-Iranian, attested during the period between roughly 1700 BCE (early Rigveda) and 600 BCE (Sutra language), and still comparatively similar (being removed by maybe 1500 years) to the Proto-Indo-European language. It is closely related to Avestan, the oldest preserved Iranian language. Vedic Sanskrit is the oldest attested language of the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European family.
From ca. 600 BC, in the classical period of Iron Age Ancient India, Vedic Sanskrit gave way to Classical Sanskrit as defined by the grammar of Panini.
Five chronologically distinct strata can be identified within the Vedic language (Witzel 1989).
?gvedic. The ?gveda retains many common Indo-Iranian elements, both in language and in content, that are not present in any other Vedic texts. Its creation must have taken place over several centuries, and apart from the youngest books (1 and 10), it must have been essentially complete by 1200 BCE.
Mantra language. This period includes both the mantra and prose language of the Atharvaveda (Paippalada and Shaunakiya), the Rigveda Khilani, the Samaveda Samhita (containing some 75 mantras not in the Rigveda), and the mantras of the Yajurveda. These texts are largely derived from the Rigveda, but have undergone certain changes, both by linguistic change and by reinterpretation. Conspicuous changes include change of visva "all" to sarva, and the spread of kuru- (for Rigvedic k?no-) as the present tense form of the verb kar- "make, do". This period corresponds to the early Iron Age in north-western India (iron is first mentioned in the Atharvaveda), and to the kingdom of the Kurus, dating from about the 12th century BC.
Samhita prose (roughly 1100 BC to 800 BC). This period marks the beginning collection and codification of a Vedic canon. An important linguistic change is the complete loss of the injunctive and of the modi of the aorist. The commentary part of the Black Yajurveda (MS, KS) belongs to this period.
Brahmana prose (roughly 900 BC to 600 BC). The Brahmanas proper of the four Vedas belong to this period, as well as the Aranyakas (Ara?yakas) oldest of the Upanishads (BAU, ChU, JUB).
Sutra language. This is the last stratum of vedic Sanskrit leading up to 500 BC, comprising the bulk of the Shrauta and Grhya Sutras, and some Upanishads (E.g. KathU, MaitrU. Younger Upanishads are post-Vedic).
Around 500 BC, cultural, political and linguistic factors all contribute to the end of the Vedic period. The codification of Vedic ritual reached its peak, and counter movements such as the Vedanta and early Buddhism emerged, using the vernacular Pali, a Prakrit dialect, rather than Sanskrit for their texts. Darius I of Persia invaded the Indus valley and the political center of the Indo-Aryan kingdoms shifted Eastward, to the Gangetic plain. Around this time (5th century BC), Panini fixes the grammar of Classical Sanskrit.
Separation of Indo-Aryans proper from Proto-Indo-Iranians is commonly dated, on linguistic grounds, to roughly 2000 BC.[citation needed] The Nuristani languages probably split in such early times, and are classified as either remote Indo-Aryan dialects or as an independent branch of Indo-Iranian. It is believed that by 1500 BC Indo-Aryans had reached Assyria in the west (the Mitanni) and northern Afghanistan in the east (the Rigvedic tribes).
The spread of Indo-Aryan languages has been connected with the spread of the chariot in the first half of the second millennium BC. Some scholars trace the Indo-Iranians (both Indo-Aryans and Iranians) back to the Andronovo culture (2nd millennium BC). Other scholars like Brentjes (1981), Klejn (1974), Francfort (1989), Lyonnet (1993), Hiebert (1998) and Sarianidi (1993) have argued that the Andronovo culture cannot be associated with the Indo-Aryans of India or with the Mitanni because the Andronovo culture took shape too late and because no actual traces of their culture (e.g. warrior burials or timber-frame materials of the Andronovo culture) have been found in India or Mesopotamia (Edwin Bryant. 2001). The archaeologist J.P. Mallory (1998) finds it "extraordinarily difficult to make a case for expansions from this northern region to northern India" and remarks that the proposed migration routes "only [get] the Indo-Iranian to Central Asia, but not as far as the seats of the Medes, Persians or Indo-Aryans" (Mallory 1998; Bryant 2001: 216). Therefore he has suggested (1998) the 'Kulturkugel' model of Indo-Aryan speakers with a BMAC culture, that spread into eastern Iran and beyond.
Other scholars like Asko Parpola (1988) connect the BMAC with the Indo-Aryans. But although horses were known to the Indo-Aryans, evidence for their presence in the form of horse bones is missing in the BMAC (e.g. Bernard Sergent. Genèse de l'Inde. 1997:161 ff.). However, recently a foal burial has been found, indicating import from the northern steppes. Asko Parpola (1988) has argued that the Dasas were the "carriers of the Bronze Age culture of Greater Iran" living in the BMAC and that the forts with circular walls destroyed by the Indo-Aryans were actually located in the BMAC. Parpola's hypothesis has been criticized by K.D. Sethna (1992) and other writers
The first undisputed horse remains in India are found in the Bronze Age Gandhara Grave culture context from ca. 1600 BC (although there are claims[citation needed] of horse bones found in Harappan and even pre-Harappan layers). This likely corresponds to an influx of early Indo-Aryan speakers over the Hindukush (comparable to the Kushan expansion of the first centuries AD). Together with indigenous cultures, this gave rise to the Vedic civilization of the early Iron Age. This civilization is marked by a continual shift to the east, first to the Gangetic plain with the Kurus and Panchalas, and further east with the Kosala and Videha. This Iron Age expansion corresponds to the black and red ware and painted grey ware cultures.
The languages of India belonging to the Indo-Aryan family are believed to have originated from the same source as the Iranian languages, namely the Indo-Iranian language family, which in itself is a member of the Satem group of Indo-European languages. The Indo-Iranians were nomadic people originating from the Central Asian steppes, probably in the region of the Oxus river valley, pre-2000 BCE. They referred to themselves as Aryans, from which the word "Iran" originates (from airyanam vaejo meaning "Land of the Aryans"), and also the word Arya in Sanskrit and other Indian languages, signifying "noble". Ancient India was also referred to as aryavarta, which means the same as "kingdom/domain of the Aryans".
Aryan civilization first entered the north-west of India probably around 2000 BCE. The Aryans brought with them the patrilinear system, the worship of sky gods and the use of horses and the chariot. Vedic civilization began in India around 1500 BC, with the Rigveda being the oldest of the Vedas. The Rigveda was told in Vedic Sanskrit, which is very similar to Avestan, the ancient language in which the Persian Zoroastrian sacred text Avesta was written. The Vedas and the Avesta appear to agree that the Aryans migrated from their original homeland due to a "flood" of some kind. In the Vedic account, the flood was of water, while the Avesta indicates that it was of snow and frost. The survivor of this flood, Manu Satyavrata is considered to be the progenitor of the Aryans in India, according to Vedic scripture. The story has obvious parallels with the Semitic account of the Great Flood and the emergence of Noah. According to the traditions of the Vendidad, Aryans lived in fifteen nations, one of these being Haptahindu, which is the Avestan form of the Sanskrit Saptasindhu, meaning "seven rivers" and referring to the region of the Indian subcontinent.Ancient Vedic religion and Zoroastrianism also have much else in common. The Vedas and the Gathas of the Avesta include the performance of sacrifice (Sanskrit yajna or Avestan yasna) and the importance of priests or Magi. The myths that appear in the Yasht part of the Avesta probably have their roots in ancient Indo-Iranian culture.
Vedic Sanskrit is an ancient Indian language, the language of the Vedas, the oldest shruti texts of Hinduism. It is an archaic form of Sanskrit, an early descendant of Proto-Indo-Iranian, attested during the period between roughly 1700 BCE (early Rigveda) and 600 BCE (Sutra language), and still comparatively similar (being removed by maybe 1500 years) to the Proto-Indo-European language. It is closely related to Avestan, the oldest preserved Iranian language. Vedic Sanskrit is the oldest attested language of the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European family.
From ca. 600 BC, in the classical period of Iron Age Ancient India, Vedic Sanskrit gave way to Classical Sanskrit as defined by the grammar of Panini.
Five chronologically distinct strata can be identified within the Vedic language (Witzel 1989).
?gvedic. The ?gveda retains many common Indo-Iranian elements, both in language and in content, that are not present in any other Vedic texts. Its creation must have taken place over several centuries, and apart from the youngest books (1 and 10), it must have been essentially complete by 1200 BCE.
Mantra language. This period includes both the mantra and prose language of the Atharvaveda (Paippalada and Shaunakiya), the Rigveda Khilani, the Samaveda Samhita (containing some 75 mantras not in the Rigveda), and the mantras of the Yajurveda. These texts are largely derived from the Rigveda, but have undergone certain changes, both by linguistic change and by reinterpretation. Conspicuous changes include change of visva "all" to sarva, and the spread of kuru- (for Rigvedic k?no-) as the present tense form of the verb kar- "make, do". This period corresponds to the early Iron Age in north-western India (iron is first mentioned in the Atharvaveda), and to the kingdom of the Kurus, dating from about the 12th century BC.
Samhita prose (roughly 1100 BC to 800 BC). This period marks the beginning collection and codification of a Vedic canon. An important linguistic change is the complete loss of the injunctive and of the modi of the aorist. The commentary part of the Black Yajurveda (MS, KS) belongs to this period.
Brahmana prose (roughly 900 BC to 600 BC). The Brahmanas proper of the four Vedas belong to this period, as well as the Aranyakas (Ara?yakas) oldest of the Upanishads (BAU, ChU, JUB).
Sutra language. This is the last stratum of vedic Sanskrit leading up to 500 BC, comprising the bulk of the Shrauta and Grhya Sutras, and some Upanishads (E.g. KathU, MaitrU. Younger Upanishads are post-Vedic).
Around 500 BC, cultural, political and linguistic factors all contribute to the end of the Vedic period. The codification of Vedic ritual reached its peak, and counter movements such as the Vedanta and early Buddhism emerged, using the vernacular Pali, a Prakrit dialect, rather than Sanskrit for their texts. Darius I of Persia invaded the Indus valley and the political center of the Indo-Aryan kingdoms shifted Eastward, to the Gangetic plain. Around this time (5th century BC), Panini fixes the grammar of Classical Sanskrit.
Separation of Indo-Aryans proper from Proto-Indo-Iranians is commonly dated, on linguistic grounds, to roughly 2000 BC.[citation needed] The Nuristani languages probably split in such early times, and are classified as either remote Indo-Aryan dialects or as an independent branch of Indo-Iranian. It is believed that by 1500 BC Indo-Aryans had reached Assyria in the west (the Mitanni) and northern Afghanistan in the east (the Rigvedic tribes).
The spread of Indo-Aryan languages has been connected with the spread of the chariot in the first half of the second millennium BC. Some scholars trace the Indo-Iranians (both Indo-Aryans and Iranians) back to the Andronovo culture (2nd millennium BC). Other scholars like Brentjes (1981), Klejn (1974), Francfort (1989), Lyonnet (1993), Hiebert (1998) and Sarianidi (1993) have argued that the Andronovo culture cannot be associated with the Indo-Aryans of India or with the Mitanni because the Andronovo culture took shape too late and because no actual traces of their culture (e.g. warrior burials or timber-frame materials of the Andronovo culture) have been found in India or Mesopotamia (Edwin Bryant. 2001). The archaeologist J.P. Mallory (1998) finds it "extraordinarily difficult to make a case for expansions from this northern region to northern India" and remarks that the proposed migration routes "only [get] the Indo-Iranian to Central Asia, but not as far as the seats of the Medes, Persians or Indo-Aryans" (Mallory 1998; Bryant 2001: 216). Therefore he has suggested (1998) the 'Kulturkugel' model of Indo-Aryan speakers with a BMAC culture, that spread into eastern Iran and beyond.
Other scholars like Asko Parpola (1988) connect the BMAC with the Indo-Aryans. But although horses were known to the Indo-Aryans, evidence for their presence in the form of horse bones is missing in the BMAC (e.g. Bernard Sergent. Genèse de l'Inde. 1997:161 ff.). However, recently a foal burial has been found, indicating import from the northern steppes. Asko Parpola (1988) has argued that the Dasas were the "carriers of the Bronze Age culture of Greater Iran" living in the BMAC and that the forts with circular walls destroyed by the Indo-Aryans were actually located in the BMAC. Parpola's hypothesis has been criticized by K.D. Sethna (1992) and other writers
The first undisputed horse remains in India are found in the Bronze Age Gandhara Grave culture context from ca. 1600 BC (although there are claims[citation needed] of horse bones found in Harappan and even pre-Harappan layers). This likely corresponds to an influx of early Indo-Aryan speakers over the Hindukush (comparable to the Kushan expansion of the first centuries AD). Together with indigenous cultures, this gave rise to the Vedic civilization of the early Iron Age. This civilization is marked by a continual shift to the east, first to the Gangetic plain with the Kurus and Panchalas, and further east with the Kosala and Videha. This Iron Age expansion corresponds to the black and red ware and painted grey ware cultures.