Chapter 3 Lesson 1: Indo-European

Caste System

. Aryans fought their enemies which were the dasas. . Aryans were very different from the dasas. . They were taller, lighter skin color, and spoke different languages. . Aryans were pastoral people and counted their wealth in cows. . Aryans were organized in four groups: 1) Brahmins ( priests ) [mouth] 2) Warriors [arms] 3) Traders and Landowners [legs] 4) Peasants or traders [feet] . The group that an Aryan lived determined his or her role in society. . Shudras were laborers who did the work that Aryans did not want to do. . Varnas, or skin color, was a distinguishing feature of this system. . Caste ( social group ) . There caste membership determined the work they did, whom they could marry, and the people with whom the could eat. . Cleanliness and purity became all important. . Butchers, gravediggers, collectors of trash live outside the caste system. They were called the untouchables.

Mahabharata

. Great epic of India, reflects the struggles that took place in India as the Aryan kings worked to control Indian lands. . One part of Mahabharata is the Bhagavad Gita. It tell the story of a warrior prince about to go to war. His chariot driver Krishna a god in human form tells him how to live, die and fight.

Hittite Empire

. Indo-European speakers. . Live in Anatolia. . Anatolia- is called Asia Minor. . Anatolia is a huge peninsula in modern day Turkey that juts out into the Black and Mediterranean seas. . Anatolia is a high, rocky plateau, rich in timber and agriculture. . Hattusas was its capital. . Hittite empire dominated Southwest Asia for 450 yrs. . Hittite occupied Babylon and struggled with Egypt for control of northern Syria. . Since neither of them could get the upper hand they both signed a peace treaty. . They both said to help the other fight with future invaders. . They had to adapt to Akkadian which was the Babylonians language. . They excelled in the technology of war. . Superior chariots and iron weapons. . Light and easy to maneuver. . Two wheels and a wooden frame covered with leather and was pulled by two or sometimes four horses. . Superb fighting machine.

Aryans

. Other Indo-Europeans people. . Lived in India. . The Vedas are four collections of prayers, magical spells, and instruction for performing rituals. . The most important of the collection is the Rig Veda. Contains 1,028 hymns to Aryan gods.

Indo-Europeans

. were a group of nomadic peoples who have come from the steppes-dry grasslands that stretch north of the Caucasus. . these primarily pastoral people herded cattle, sheep, and goats. . the Indo-Europeans also tamed horses and rode into battle in light, two wheeled chariots. . they lived in tribes that spoke forms of a language that we call Indo-European. . there language was English, Spanish, Persian, and Hindi. . Slavic speakers- north and west . Early Celtic, Germanic and Italic- west through Europe . Greek and Persian- south . Aryans who spoke Sanskrit- India