.png) | |
| Geographical range | Indian subcontinent |
|---|---|
| Period | Bronze Age India |
| Dates | 1500–1100 BCE |
| Preceded by | |
| Followed by |
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| Geographical range | Indian subcontinent |
|---|---|
| Period | Iron Age India |
| Dates | c. 1100 – c. 500 BCE |
| Preceded by | Early Vedic culture |
| Followed by | Haryanka dynasty,Mahajanapadas |
TheVedic period, or theVedic age (c. 1500 – c. 500 BCE), is the period in the lateBronze Age and earlyIron Age of thehistory of India when the Vedic literature, including theVedas (c. 1500–900 BCE), was composed in the northernIndian subcontinent, between the end of the urbanIndus Valley Civilisation and asecond urbanisation, which began in the centralIndo-Gangetic Plainc. 600 BCE. The Vedas areliturgical texts which formed the basis of the influential Brahmanical ideology, which developed in theKuru Kingdom, a tribal union of severalIndo-Aryan tribes. The Vedas contain details of life during this period that have been interpreted to be historical[1][note 1] and constitute the primary sources for understanding the period. These documents, alongside the corresponding archaeological record, allow for the evolution of the Indo-Aryan andVedic culture to be traced and inferred.[2]
The Vedas were composed andorally transmitted with precision[note 2] by speakers of anOld Indo-Aryan language who hadmigrated into the northwestern regions of the Indian subcontinent early in this period. The Vedic society was patriarchal andpatrilineal.[note 3] EarlyIndo-Aryans were aLate Bronze Age society centred in thePunjab, organised into tribes rather than kingdoms, and primarily sustained by apastoral way of life.
Aroundc. 1200–1000 BCE theAryan culture spread eastward to the fertile westernGanges Plain.Iron tools were adopted, which allowed for the clearing of forests and the adoption of a more settled, agricultural way of life. The second half of the Vedic period was characterised by the emergence of towns,kingdoms, and a complex social differentiation distinctive to India,[2] and theKuru Kingdom's codification oforthodox sacrificial ritual.[4][5] During this time, the central Ganges Plain was dominated by a related but non-VedicIndo-Aryan culture, ofGreater Magadha. The end of the Vedic period witnessed the rise of true cities and large states (calledmahajanapadas) as well asśramaṇa movements (includingJainism andBuddhism) which challenged the Vedic orthodoxy.[6]
The Vedic period saw the emergence of a hierarchy ofsocial classes that would remain influential. Vedic religion developed intoBrahmanical orthodoxy, and around the beginning of the Common Era, theVedic tradition formed one of the main constituents of "Hindu synthesis".[7]
Archaeological cultures identified with phases of Indo-Aryanmaterial culture include theOchre Coloured Pottery culture (OCP), theGandhara grave culture, theBlack and Red ware culture (BRW) and thePainted Grey Ware culture (PGW).[8]
The early Vedic age is historically dated to the second half of the second millennium BCE.[10] Historically, after the collapse of theIndus Valley Civilisation, which occurred around 1900 BCE,[11][12] groups ofIndo-Aryan peoplesmigrated into north-western India and started to inhabit the northernIndus Valley.[13] TheIndo-Aryans represented a sub-group that diverged from otherIndo-Iranian tribes at theAndronovo horizon[14] before the middle of the 2nd millennium BCE.[15][note 4] The Indo-Iranians originated in theSintashta culture, from which arose the subsequent Andronovo horizon.[14] The Indo-Aryans migrated through the adjacentBactria–Margiana area (present-day northernAfghanistan) to northwest India,[16][note 5] followed by the rise of the IranianYaz culture atc. 1500 BCE, and the Iranian migrations into Iran atc. 800 BCE.
Some Indian writers and archaeologists have opposed the notion of a migration of Indo-Aryans into India, and argued for anindigenous origin of the Indo-Aryans.[17][18] In this view, "the Indian civilization must be viewed as an unbroken tradition that goes back to the earliest period of the Sindhu-Sarasvati (or Indus) tradition (7000 or 8000 BCE)."[19] Though popular in India, and reflecting Indian views on Indian history and religion,[20] the idea of a purely indigenous origin of the Indo-Aryans is outside the academic mainstream.[note 6]
The knowledge about the Aryans comes mostly from theRigveda-samhita,[21]i.e. the oldest layer of theVedas, which was composedc. 1400–1000 BCE.[16][22][23][note 7] They brought with them their distinctive religious traditions and practices.[24] The Vedic beliefs and practices of the pre-classical era were closely related to the hypothesisedProto-Indo-European religion[25] and the Indo-Iranian religion.[26] Funeral sacrifices from the Sintashta culture show close parallels to the sacrificial funeral rites of theRigveda,[27] while, according to Anthony, the Old Indic religion probably emerged among Indo-European immigrants in the contact zone between theZeravshan River (present-dayUzbekistan) and (present-day) Tajikistan.[28] It was "a syncretic mixture of old Central Asian and new Indo-European elements",[28] which borrowed "distinctive religious beliefs and practices" from theBactria–Margiana culture,[29] including the godIndra and the ritual drinkSoma.[16][note 5]
TheRigveda contains accounts of conflicts between the Aryas and theDasas and Dasyus. It describes Dasas and Dasyus as people who do not perform sacrifices (akratu) or obey the commandments of gods (avrata). Their speech is described asmridhra which could variously mean soft, uncouth, hostile, scornful or abusive. Other adjectives which describe their physical appearance are subject to many interpretations. However, some modern scholars such asAsko Parpola connect the Dasas and Dasyus to Iranian tribesDahae and Dahyu and believe that Dasas and Dasyus were early Indo-Aryan immigrants who arrived into the subcontinent before the Vedic Aryans.[30][31] Likewise, Bronkhorst has argued that the central Ganges Plain was dominated by a related but non-VedicIndo-Aryan culture,[32] a difference also noted by Samuel.[33]
Accounts of military conflicts in between the various tribes of Vedic Aryans are also described in theRigveda. Most notable of such conflicts was theBattle of the Ten Kings, which took place on the banks of the river Parushni (modern dayRavi).[note 8] The battle was fought between the tribeBharatas, led by their chiefSudas, against a confederation of ten tribes.[36] The Bharatas lived around the upper regions of the riverSaraswati, while the Purus, their western neighbours, lived along the lower regions of Saraswati. The other tribes dwelt north-west of the Bharatas in the region ofPunjab.[37] Division of the waters of Ravi could have been a reason for the war.[38][unreliable source?] The confederation of tribes tried to inundate the Bharatas by opening the embankments of Ravi, yet Sudas emerged victorious in the Battle of Ten Kings.[39] The Bharatas and the Purus merged into a new tribe, theKuru, after the war.[37]
After the 12th century BCE, as theRigveda had taken its final form, the Vedic society, which is associated with the Kuru-Panchala region but were not the only Indo-Aryan people in northern India,[40] transitioned from semi-nomadic life to settled agriculture in north-western India.[39] Possession of horses remained an important priority of Vedic leaders and a remnant of the nomadic lifestyle,[41] resulting in trade routes beyond the Hindu Kush to maintain this supply as horses needed for cavalry and sacrifice could not be bred in India.[42] TheGangetic plains had remained out of bounds to the Vedic tribes because of thick forest cover. After 1000 BCE, the use of iron axes and ploughs became widespread and the jungles could be cleared with ease. This enabled the Vedic Aryans to extend their settlements into the western area of the Ganga-Yamuna Doab.[43] Many of the old tribes coalesced to form larger political units.[44]
The Vedic religion was further developed with the emergence of the Kuru kingdom, systematising its religious literature and developing the Śrauta ritual.[45][46][47] It is associated with the Painted Grey Ware culture (c.1200–600 BCE), which did not expand east of the Ganga-Yamuya Doab.[40] It differed from the related, yet markedly different, culture of the Central Ganges region, which was associated with theNorthern Black Polished Ware and the Mahajanapadas ofKosala andMagadha.[48]
In this period thevarna system emerged, state Kulke and Rothermund,[49] which in this stage of Indian history were a "hierarchicalorder of estates which reflected a division of labor among various social classes". The Vedic period estates were four:Brahmin priests and warrior nobility stood on top, free peasants and traders were the third, and slaves, labourers and artisans, many belonging to the pre-Aryan groups, were the fourth.[50][51][52] This was a period where agriculture, metal, and commodity production, as well as trade, greatly expanded,[53] and the Vedic era texts including the earlyUpanishads and many Sutras important to laterHindu culture were completed.[54]
TheKuru Kingdom, the earliest Vedic "state", was formed by a "super-tribe" which joined several tribes in a new unit. To govern this state, Vedic hymns were collected and transcribed, and new rituals were developed, which formed the now orthodoxŚrauta rituals.[55] Two key figures in this process of the development of the Kuru state were the kingParikshit and his successorJanamejaya, transforming this realm into the dominant political and cultural power of northernIron Age India.[45]
The most well-known of the new religious sacrifices that arose in this period were theAshvamedha (horse sacrifice).[56] This sacrifice involved setting a consecrated horse free to roam the kingdoms for a year. The horse was followed by a chosen band of warriors. The kingdoms and chiefdoms in which the horse wandered had to pay homage or prepare to battle the king to whom the horse belonged. This sacrifice put considerable pressure on inter-state relations in this era.[56] This period saw also the beginning of the social stratification by the use ofvarna, the division of Vedic society inBrahmins,Kshatriya,Vaishya andShudra.[55]
The Kuru kingdom declined after its defeat by the non-VedicSalva tribe, and the political center of Vedic culture shifted east, into thePanchala kingdom on the Ganges, under KingKeśin Dālbhya (approximately between 900 and 750 BCE).[45] Later, in the 8th or 7th century BCE, the kingdom ofVideha emerged as a political center farther to the East, in what is today northernBihar of India and southeasternNepal, reaching its prominence under the kingJanaka, whose court provided patronage forBrahmin sages andphilosophers such asYajnavalkya,Uddalaka Aruni, andGargi Vachaknavi;[8] Panchala also remained prominent during this period, under its kingPravahana Jaivali.[57]
By the 6th century BCE, the political units consolidated into large kingdoms calledMahajanapadas. The process of urbanisation had begun in these kingdoms, commerce and travel flourished, even regions separated by large distances became easy to access.[58]Anga, a small kingdom to the east ofMagadha (on the door step of modern-dayWest Bengal), formed the eastern boundary of the Vedic culture.[59]Yadavas expanded towards the south and settled inMathura. To the south of their kingdom wasVatsa which was governed from its capitalKausambi. TheNarmada River and parts of North WesternDeccan formed the southern limits.[60][61] The newly formed states struggled for supremacy and started displaying imperial ambitions.[62]
The end of the Vedic period is marked by linguistic, cultural and political changes. The grammar ofPāṇini marks a final apex in the codification ofSutra texts, and at the same time the beginning ofClassical Sanskrit.[63] Meanwhile, in the Kosala-Magadha region, theshramana movements (includingJainism andBuddhism) objected the self-imposed authority and orthodoxy of the intruding Brahmins and their Vedic scriptures and ritual.[6][64] According to Bronkhorst, the sramana culture arose in "Greater Magadha," which was Indo-European, but not Vedic. In this culture, kshatriyas were placed higher than Brahmins, and it rejected Vedic authority and rituals.[32][65] Greater Magadha reached its zenith under theMaurya Empire. Meanwhile, the Achaemenid invasion ofCyrus andDarius I of the Indus valley in the early 6th century BCE marks the beginning of outside influence, which continued in the Kingdoms of theIndo-Greeks,Indo-Scythians, andIndo-Parthians.[66] This period culminated with theKushan andGupta Empire, which resulted in the "Hindu Synthesis".[67]
While Vedic society was relatively egalitarian in the sense that a distinct hierarchy of socio-economic classes orcastes was absent,[68][69] the Vedic period saw the emergence of a hierarchy ofsocial classes.[4][5] Political hierarchy was determined by rank, whererājan (tribal king or chieftain) andrājanya (tribal nobility) stood at the top, theviś (the common people) in the middle, and thedāsa anddasyu (non-Indo-Aryan servants) at the bottom.[69][70] The wordsBrahamana andKshatriya occur in various family books of theRigveda, but they are not associated with the termvarna. The wordsVaishya andShudra are absent. Verses of theRigveda, such as 3.44–45, indicate the absence of strict social hierarchy and the existence of social mobility:[30]
O, Indra, fond ofsoma, would you make me the protector of people, or would you make me a king, would you make me a sage who has drunksoma, would you impart to me endless wealth.
The institution of marriage was important and different types of marriages— monogamy, polygyny and polyandry are mentioned in theRigveda. Both women sages and female gods were known to Vedic Aryans. Women could choose their husbands and could remarry if their husbands died or disappeared.[69] The wife enjoyed a respectable position.[71] People consumed milk, milk products, grains, fruits and vegetables. Meat eating is mentioned; however, cows are labelledaghnya (not to be killed). Clothes of cotton, wool and animal skin were worn.[69]Soma andsura were popular drinks in the Vedic society, of whichsoma was sanctified by religion. Flute (vana), lute (vina), harp, cymbals and drums were the musical instruments played and aheptatonic scale was used.[71] Dancing, dramas, chariot racing and gambling were other popular pastimes.[69]
The emergence of monarchical states in the later Vedic age led to a distancing of therajan from the people and the emergence of avarna hierarchy. The society was divided into four social groups—Brahmanas,Kshatriyas,Vaishyas andShudras. The later Vedic texts fixed social boundaries, roles, status and ritual purity for each of the groups. TheShatapatha Brahmana associates the Brahmana with purity of parentage, good conduct, glory, teaching or protecting people; Kshatriya with strength, fame, ruling, and warfare; Vaishya with material prosperity and production-related activities such as cattle rearing and agriculture; Shudras with the service of the highervarnas. The effects ofRajasuya sacrifice depended on thevarna of the sacrificer.Rajasuya endowed Brahmana with lustre, Kshatriya with valour, Vaishya with procreative power and Shudra with stability. The hierarchy of the top threevarnas is ambiguous in the later Vedic texts.Panchavamsha Brahmana and verse 13.8.3.11 of theShatapatha Brahmana place Kshatriya over Brahmana and Vaishya, whereas, verse 1.1.4.12 places Brahmana and Vaishya over the Kshatriya and Shudra. ThePurusha Sukta visualised the fourvarnas as hierarchical, but inter-related parts of an organic whole.[72] Despite the increasing social stratification in the later Vedic times, hymns likeRigveda IX.112 suggest some amount of social mobility: "I am a reciter of hymns, my father a physician, and my mother grinds (corn) with stones. We desire to obtain wealth in various actions."[73][74]
Household became an important unit in the later Vedic age. The variety of households of the Vedic era gave way to an idealised household which was headed by agrihapati. The relations between husband and wife, father and son were hierarchically organised and the women were relegated to subordinate and docile roles. Polygyny was more common than polyandry and texts likeTattiriya Samhita indicate taboos around menstruating women. Various professions women took to are mentioned in the later Vedic texts. Women tended to cattle, milked cows, carded wool; were weavers, dyers, and corn grinders. Women warriors such asVishpala, who lost a leg in battle, are mentioned. Two female philosophers are mentioned in the Upanishads.[75]Patrick Olivelle, in his translation of the Upanishads, writes that "the fact that these women are introduced without any attempt to justify or to explain how women could be engaged in theological matters suggests the relatively high social and religious position of at least women of some social strata during this period."[76]
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Early Vedic Aryans were organised into tribes rather than kingdoms. The chief of a tribe was called arajan. The autonomy of therajan was restricted by the tribal councils calledsabha andsamiti. The two bodies were, in part, responsible for the governance of the tribe. Therajan could not accede to the throne without their approval. The distinction between the two bodies is not clear.Arthur Llewellyn Basham, a noted historian andindologist, theorises thatsabha was a meeting of great men in the tribe, whereas,samiti was a meeting of all free tribesmen. Some tribes had no hereditary chiefs and were directly governed by the tribal councils.Rajan had a rudimentary court which was attended by courtiers (sabhasad) and chiefs of sects (gramani). The main responsibility of therajan was to protect the tribe. He was aided by several functionaries, including thepurohita (chaplain), thesenani (army chief),dutas (envoys) andspash (spies).[77]Purohita performed ceremonies and spells for success in war and prosperity in peace.[78]
In the later Vedic period, the tribes had consolidated into small kingdoms, which had a capital and a rudimentary administrative system.[60] To aid in governing these new states, the kings and their Brahmin priests arranged Vedic hymns into collections and developed a new set of rituals (the now orthodoxŚrauta rituals) to strengthen the emergingsocial hierarchy.[45] Therajan was seen as the custodian of social order and the protector ofrashtra (polity). Hereditary kingship started emerging and competitions like chariot races, cattle raids, and games of dice, which previously decided who was worthy of becoming a king, became nominal. Rituals in this era exalted the status of the king over his people. He was occasionally referred to assamrat (supreme ruler). Therajan's increasing political power enabled him to gain greater control over the productive resources. The voluntary gift offering (bali) became compulsory tribute; however, there was no organised system of taxation.Sabha andsamiti are still mentioned in later Vedic texts, though, with the increasing power of the king, their influence declined.[79] By the end of the later Vedic age, different kinds of political systems such as monarchical states (rajya), oligarchical states (gana orsangha), and tribal principalities had emerged in India.[79]
According toMichael Witzel's analysis of theKuru Kingdom, it can be characterised as the earliest Vedic "state", during the Middle Vedic Period.[45][note 9] However,Robert Bellah observes that it is difficult to "pin down" whether the Kurus were a true "state" or acomplex chiefdom, as the Kuru kings notably never adopted royal titles higher than "rājan," which means "chief" rather than "king" in the Vedic context.[80] The Middle Vedic Period is also characterised by a lack of cities; Bellah compares this to earlystate formation in ancientHawaii and "very early Egypt," which were "territorial states" rather than "city-states," and thus "it was the court, not the city, that provided the center, and the court was often peripatetic."[81][82]Romila Thapar characterises Vedic-era state formation as being in a condition of "arrested development," because local chiefs were relatively autonomous, and because surplus wealth that could have been directed towards state-building was instead used for the increasingly grandiose rituals that also served to structure social relations.[83] The period of theUpanishads, the final phase of the Vedic era, was approximately contemporaneous with a new wave of state formations, linked to the beginning of urbanisation in the Ganges Valley: along with the growth of population and trade networks, these social and economic changes put pressure on older ways of life, setting the stage for the Upanishads and the subsequentśramaṇa movements,[84][85] and the end of the Vedic Period, which was followed by theMahajanapada period.
According to George Erdosy, archaeological data for the period from 1000 to 600 BCE shows a two-tiered settlement pattern in the Ganges Valley, with some "modest central places," suggestive of the existence of simplechiefdoms, with theKurukshetra district itself displaying a more complex (albeit not yet urbanised) three-tiered hierarchy.[86] Subsequently, (after 600 BCE) there are four tiers of site sizes, including large towns and fortified cities, consistent with an urbanised state-level society.[87]
Economy in the Vedic period was sustained by a combination ofpastoralism and agriculture.[71] There are references, in theRigveda, to the levelling of fields, seed processing, and storage of grains in large jars. War bounty was also a major source of wealth.[69] Economic exchanges were conducted by gift giving, particularly to kings (bali) and priests (dana), and barter using cattle as a unit of currency. While gold is mentioned in some hymns, there is no indication of the use of coins. Metallurgy is not mentioned in theRigveda, but the wordayas and instruments made from it such as razors, bangles, axes are mentioned. One verse mentions purification ofayas. Some scholars believe thatayas refers to iron and the wordsdham andkarmara refer to iron-welders.[88] However, philological evidence indicates thatayas in theRigveda refers only to copper and bronze, while iron orśyāma ayas, literally "black metal", first is mentioned in the post-RigvedicAtharvaveda,[8][45] and therefore the Early Vedic Period was aBronze Age culture whereas the Late Vedic Period was anIron Age culture.[citation needed]
The transition of Vedic society from semi-nomadic life to settled agriculture in the later Vedic age led to an increase in trade and competition for resources.[89] Agriculture dominated the economic activity along theGanges valley during this period.[90] Agricultural operations grew in complexity and usage of iron implements (krishna–ayas orshyama–ayas, literally black metal or dark metal) increased. Crops of wheat, rice, and barley were cultivated. Surplus production helped to support the centralised kingdoms that were emerging at this time.[45] New crafts and occupations such as carpentry, leather work, tanning, pottery, astrology, jewellery, dying, and winemaking arose.[91] Apart from copper, bronze, and gold, later Vedic texts also mention tin, lead, and silver.[92]
Panis in some hymns refers to merchants, in others to stingy people who hid their wealth and did not perform Vedic sacrifices. Some scholars suggest that Panis weresemitic traders, but the evidence for this is slim.[37] Professions of warriors, priests, cattle-rearers, farmers, hunters, barbers, vintners and crafts of chariot-making, cart-making, carpentry, metal working, tanning, making of bows, sewing, weaving, making mats of grass and reed are mentioned in the hymns of theRigveda. Some of these might have needed full-time specialists.[88] There are references to boats and oceans. Book X of theRigveda refers to both eastern and western oceans. Individual property ownership did not exist and clans as a whole enjoyed rights over lands and herds. Enslavement (dasa,dasi) in the course of war or as a result of non-payment of debt is mentioned. However, slaves worked in households rather than production-related activities.[69]
Texts considered to date to the Vedic period are mainly the fourVedas, but theBrahmanas,Aranyakas and the olderUpanishads as well as the oldestŚrautasutras are also considered to be Vedic. TheVedas record theliturgy connected with the rituals and sacrifices performed by the 16 or 17Śrauta priests and thepurohitas.[citation needed]
Therishis, the composers of the hymns of theRigveda, were considered inspired poets and seers (in post-Vedic times understood as "hearers" of an eternally existingVeda,Śruti means "what is heard").
The mode of worship was the performance of sacrifices (Yajna) which included thechanting of Rigvedic verses (seeVedic chant), singing ofSamans and 'mumbling' of sacrificial mantras (Yajus). Yajna involved sacrifice and sublimation of the havana sámagri (herbal preparations) in the fire accompanied by the chanting of the Vedic mantras. The sublime meaning of the word yajna is derived from the Sanskrit verb yaj, which has a three-fold meaning of worship of deities (devapujana), unity (saògatikaraña) and charity (dána).[93] An essential element was the sacrificial fire—the divineAgni—into which oblations were poured, as everything offered into the fire was believed to reach God. People prayed for abundance of rain, cattle, sons, long life and gaining 'heaven'.
Vedic people believed in thetransmigration of the soul, and thepeepul tree and cow were sanctified by the time of theAtharvaveda.[94] Many of the concepts of Indian philosophy espoused later likeDharma,Karma etc. trace their root to theVedas.[95]
The main deities of the Vedic pantheon wereIndra,Agni (thesacrificial fire), andSoma and some deities of social order such asMitra–Varuna,Aryaman,Bhaga and Amsa, further nature deities such asSurya (the Sun),Vayu (the wind) andPrithivi (the earth). Goddesses includedUshas (the dawn), Prithvi andAditi (the mother of theAditya gods or sometimes the cow). Rivers, especiallySaraswati, were also considered goddesses. Deities were not viewed as all-powerful. The relationship between humans and the deity was one of transaction, with Agni (the sacrificial fire) taking the role of messenger between the two. Strong traces of a commonIndo-Iranian religion remain visible, especially in theSoma cult and the fire worship, both of which are preserved inZoroastrianism.
Ethics in theVedas are based on the concepts ofSatya andRta. Satya is the principle of integration rooted in the Absolute.[96] Whereas, Ṛta is the expression of Satya, which regulates and coordinates the operation of the universe and everything within it.[97][note 10] Conformity with Ṛta would enable progress whereas its violation would lead to punishment.
Around the beginning of the Common Era, theVedic tradition formed one of the main constituents of the "Hindu synthesis".[7][98][note 11] Vedic religion survived in the srayta ritual, whereas ascetic and devotional traditions likeYoga andVedanta acknowledge the authority of theVedas, but interpret the Vedic pantheon as a unitary view of the universe with 'God' (Brahman) seen as immanent and transcendent in the forms ofIshvara andBrahman. Later texts such as theUpanishads and epics, namely theGita ofMahabharata, are essential parts of these later developments.
The reconstruction of the history of Vedic India is based on text-internal details, but can be correlated to relevant archaeological details. Linguistically, the Vedic texts could be classified in five chronological strata:[8]
In northern India, some very early depictions of deities appear in the art of theIndus Valley Civilisation, but the following millennium, coinciding with theIndo–Aryan migration during the Vedic period, is devoid of such remains.[99] It has been suggested that theearly Vedic religion focused exclusively on the worship of purely "elementary forces of nature by means of elaborate sacrifices", which did not lend themselves easily to anthropomorphological representations.[100][101] Various artefacts may belong to theCopper Hoard culture (2nd millennium CE), some of them suggesting anthropomorphological characteristics.[102] Interpretations vary as to the exact signification of these artefacts, or even the culture and the periodisation to which they belonged.[102] Some examples of artistic expression also appear in abstract pottery designs during theBlack and red ware culture (1450–1200 BCE) or the Painted Grey Ware culture (1200–600 BCE), with finds in a wide area, including the area of Mathura.[102]
Archaeological cultures identified with phases of Vedicmaterial culture include theOchre Coloured Pottery culture, theGandhara grave culture, theBlack and red ware culture and the Painted Grey Ware culture.[8]
Ochre coloured pottery culture was first found approximately between 1950 and 1951, in western Uttar Pradesh, in the Badaun and Bisjuar district.[103] It is thought that this culture was prominent during the latter half of the 2nd millennium, within the transition between the Indus Valley civilisation and the end of Harrapan culture.[104] This pottery is typically created with wheel ware, and is ill-fired, to a fine to medium fabric, decorated with a red slip, and occasional black bands1. When this pottery was worked with, it often left an ochre color on the hands, most likely because of water-logging, bad firing, wind action, or a mixture of these factors.[103] This pottery was found all throughout the doab, most of it found in the Muzaffarnagar, Meerut, and Bulandshahr districts, but also existing outside these districts, extending north and south of Bahadrabad.[103] This pottery does, however, seem to exist within different time frames of popularity, ochre coloured pottery seeming to occur in areas such as Rajasthan earlier than we see it in the doab, despite the doab being heavily associated with the culture.[103]
Gandhara grave culture refers to the protohistoric cemeteries found in the Gandhara region, stretching all the way from Bajuar to the Indus.[105] These cemeteries seem to follow a set grave structure and "mortuary practice", such as inflexed inhumation and cremation.[106] This culture is thought to occur in 3 stages: the lower, in which burials take place in masonry lined pits, the upper, in which urn burials and cremations are added, and the "surface" level, in which graves are covered with huge stone slabs.[106]In the lower stage, excavators found that these graves are typically 2–3 feet deep, and covered with stones on top.[105] After digging out the stones, skeletons were found facing southwest to northeast, with the head facing one direction, and the hands laying on top of one another.[105] Female skeletons were often found wearing hair pins and jewellery.[105] Pottery is greatly important to this culture, as pottery was often used as a "grave good", being buried with the bodies of the dead.[106] Buried alongside the skeletons, we typically see various pots on top of the body, averaging at about 5 or less pieces of pottery per grave.[106] Within this culture we typically see two kinds of pottery: grey ware, or red ware.[105]
Black and red ware culture was coined as a term in 1946 by Sir Mortimer Wheeler.[107] The pottery, as the name suggests, typically has a black rim/inside surface, and a red lower half on the outside of the piece.[107] Red-ware pottery tends to fall into two categories: offering stands, or cooking vessels.[105] Most of these pieces of pottery were open-mouthed bowls that were burnished, painted, or slipped on one side; however, jars, pots and dishes-on-stands have also been found in small quantities.[107]Black and red ware, and the surrounding culture, began its spread during theNeolithic period and continues until the early medieval period in India, as well as being found in parts of West Asia and Egypt.[107] There are many theories about the process of its creation, the most popular being the use of an inverted firing technique, or a simultaneous oxidation and reduction firing.[107]
Painted grey ware culture is a significant pottery style that has been linked to a group of people who settled in Sutlej, Ghagger, and the Upper Ganga/Yamuna Valleys, loosely classified with the early Aryans who migrated to India in the beginning of the Vedic period.[108] It's also thought that the groups that introduced the painted grey ware culture also brought iron technology to the Indo-gangetic plains, making this pottery a momentous mark of the Northern Indian Iron Age.[108] The style of grey-ware often includes clay wheel-thrown into a smooth texture, ash-grey in colour, and often decorated with black ink, creating small circular patterns, sometimes spirals, swastikas, or sigmas.[108]Grey-ware pottery is almost exclusively drinking ware, and tends to have three different forms: narrow-waisted, tall drinking glasses, middle-sized drinking goblets, and drinking vases with outturned lips.[105] There was a distinct grey ware culture surrounding the establishment of the pottery, but while the culture is significant, grey ware has only made up 10–15% of found Vedic pottery, a majority of the pottery red ware, as grey ware pottery was seen as a "highly valued luxury".[109]
ThePuranic chronology, the timeline of events in ancient Indian history and mythology as narrated in post-Vedic Hindu texts such as theMahabharata, theRamayana and thePuranas, envisions a much older chronology for the Vedic culture.[19] In this view, the Vedas were received by theseven rishis thousands of years ago. The start of the reign ofVaivasvata Manu, theManu of the currentkalpa (aeon) and the progenitor of humanity, is dated by some as far back 7350 BCE.[110] TheKurukshetra War, the background-scene of theBhagavad Gita, which may relate historical events taking place ca. 1000 BCE at the heartland ofĀryāvarta,[45][111] is dated in this chronology atc. 3100 BCE.
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