Overview of Harappan Culture in India

The earliest imprints of human activities in India go back to the Paleolithic Age, roughly between 400,000 and 200,000 B.C. Stone implements and cave paintings from this period have been discovered in many parts of South Asia. Evidence of domestication of animals, the adoption of agriculture, permanent village settlements, and wheel-turned pottery dating from the middle of the sixth millennium B.C. has been found in the foothills of Sindh and Baluchistan (or Balochistan in current Pakistani usage), both in present-day Pakistan. One of the first great civilizations — with a writing system, urban centers, and a diversified social and economic system — appeared around 3,000 B.C. along the Indus River valley in Punjab and Sindh. It covered more than 800,000 square kilometers, from the borders of Baluchistan to the deserts of Rajasthan, from the Himalayan foothills to the southern tip of Gujarat. The remnants of two major cities — Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa — rev eal remarkable engineering feats of uniform urban planning and carefully executed layout, water supply, and drainage. Excavations at these sites and later archaeological digs at about seventy other locations in India and Pakistan provide a composite picture of what is now generally known as Harappan culture (2500-1600 B.C.). The Ancient Cities The major cities contained a few large buildings including a citadel, a large bath — perhaps for personal and communal ablution — differentiated living quarters, flat-roofed brick houses, and fortified administrative or religious centers enclosing meeting halls and granaries. Essentially a city culture, Harappan life was supported by extensive agricultural production and by commerce, which included trade with Sumer in southern Mesopotamia (modern Iraq). The people made tools and weapons from copper and bronze but not iron. Cotton was woven and dyed for clothing; wheat, rice, and a variety of vegetables and fruits were cultivated; and a number of animals, including the humped bull, were domesticated. Harappan culture was conservative and remained relatively unchanged for centuries; whenever cities were rebuilt after periodic flooding, the new level of construction closely followed the previous pattern. Although stability, regularity, and conservatism seem to have been th e hallmarks of this people, it is unclear who wielded authority, whether an aristocratic, priestly, or commercial minority. Ancient Artifacts By far, the most exquisite and most obscure Harappan artifacts unearthed to date are steatite seals found in abundance at Mohenjo-Daro. These small, flat, and mostly square objects with human or animal motifs provide the most accurate picture there is of Harappan life. They also have inscriptions generally thought to be in the Harappan script, which has eluded scholarly attempts at deciphering it. Debate abounds as to whether the script represents numbers or an alphabet, and, if an alphabet, whether it is proto-Dravidian or proto-Sanskrit. The Fall of Harappan Civilization The possible reasons for the decline of Harappan civilization have long troubled scholars. Invaders from central and western Asia are considered by some historians to have been the destroyers of Harappan cities, but this view is open to reinterpretation. More plausible explanations are recurrent floods caused by tectonic earth movement, soil salinity, and desertification. A series of migrations by Indo-European-speaking seminomads took place during the second millennium B.C. Known as Aryans, these preliterate pastoralists spoke an early form of Sanskrit, which has close philological similarities to other Indo-European languages, such as Avestan in Iran and ancient Greek and Latin. The term Aryan meant pure and implied the invaders conscious attempts at retaining their tribal identity and roots while maintaining a social distance from earlier inhabitants. The Aryans Arrive Although archaeology has not yielded proof of the identity of the Aryans, the evolution and spread of their culture across the Indo-Gangetic Plain is generally undisputed. Modern knowledge of the early stages of this process rests on a body of sacred texts: the four Vedas (collections of hymns, prayers, and liturgy), the Brahmanas and the Upanishads (commentaries on Vedic rituals and philosophical treatises), and the Puranas (traditional mythic-historical works). The sanctity accorded to these texts and the manner of their preservation over several millennia — by an unbroken oral tradition — make them part of the living Hindu tradition. These sacred texts offer guidance in piecing together Aryan beliefs and activities. The Aryans were a pantheistic people, following their tribal chieftain or raja, engaging in wars with each other or with other alien ethnic groups, and slowly becoming settled agriculturalists with consolidated territories and differentiated occupations. Their skills in using horse-drawn chariots and their knowledge of astronomy and mathematics gave them a military and technological advantage that led others to accept their social customs and religious beliefs. By around 1,000 B.C., Aryan culture had spread over most of India north of the Vindhya Range and in the process assimilated much from other cultures that preceded it. The Changing of Culture The Aryans brought with them a new language, a new pantheon of anthropomorphic gods, a patrilineal and patriarchal family system, and a new social order, built on the religious and philosophical rationales of varnashramadharma. Although precise translation into English is difficult, the concept varnashramadharma, the bedrock of Indian traditional social organization, is built on three fundamental notions: varna (originally, color, but later taken to mean social class), ashrama (stages of life such as youth, family life, detachment from the material world, and renunciation), and dharma (duty, righteousness, or sacred cosmic law). The underlying belief is that present happiness and future salvation are contingent upon ones ethical or moral conduct; therefore, both society and individuals are expected to pursue a diverse but righteous path deemed appropriate for everyone based on ones birth, age, and station in life. The original three-tiered society — Brahman (priest; see Glossa ry), Kshatriya (warrior), and Vaishya (commoner) — eventually expanded into four in order to absorb the subjugated people — Shudra (servant) — or even five, when the outcaste peoples are considered. The basic unit of Aryan society was the extended and patriarchal family. A cluster of related families constituted a village, while several villages formed a tribal unit. Child marriage, as practiced in later eras, was uncommon, but the partners involvement in the selection of a mate and dowry and bride-price was customary. The birth of a son was welcome because he could later tend the herds, bring honor in battle, offer sacrifices to the gods, and inherit property and pass on the family name. Monogamy was widely accepted although polygamy was not unknown, and even polyandry is mentioned in later writings. Ritual suicide of widows was expected at a husbands death, and this might have been the beginning of the practice known as sati in later centuries when the widow actually burnt herself on her husbands funeral pyre. The Evolving Landscape Permanent settlements and agriculture led to trade and other occupational differentiation. As lands along the Ganga (or Ganges) were cleared, the river became a trade route, the numerous settlements on its banks acting as markets. Trade was restricted initially to localareas, and barter was an essential component of trade, cattle being the unit of value in large-scale transactions, which further limited the geographical reach of the trader. Custom was law, and kings and chief priests were the arbiters, perhaps advised by certain elders of the community. An Aryan raja, or king, was primarily a military leader, who took a share from the booty after successful cattle raids or battles. Although the rajas had managed to assert their authority, they scrupulously avoided conflicts with priests as a group, whose knowledge and austere religious life surpassed others in the community, and the rajas compromised their own interests with those of the priests.

Media s Effect On The Self Esteem Of The Girls - 1739 Words

The standard that the media set for the girls is almost impossible to be achieved (Serdar, n.d.). This is probably the most dangerous effect that the media brings toward the self-esteem of the girls. It is natural for people, especially girls to compare themselves with other people (Serdar, n.d.). This comparison can be distinguished into 2 types, upward comparison and downward comparison. An upward comparison occurs when the girls compare themselves to someone who seems to be better than them. A downward comparison occurs when the girls compare themselves to someone who seems to be worse than them. Exposure to media lead the girls to an upward comparison. Since it is almost impossible for the girls to achieve the same level of appearance that the media set due to the use of airbrushing method, the editing, lighting, and also the process of the models achieving those ideal bodies, their self-esteem will be low and ways of extreme diet will result in eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia. Consequently, to achieve those standards of physical appearance, there is a socially constructed idea that in order to be beautiful, that is, in order to be like those thin models and celebrities, it is necessary to be unhealthy (Serdar, n.d.). Moreover, media lower girls’ self-esteem by promoting fashion for skinny people. When people walk inside a shop, there will be super thin mannequins, and the girls would think that the size that the mannequins wear is the standard size.Show MoreRelatedThe Influence Of Media Reporting On Society s Perception Of Beauty1730 Words   |  7 Pagesnumber). 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Homework of E-Commerce Essay Sample free essay sample

1. What is PaidByCash payment system? How can it be used? What are its benefits and restrictions? What sort of payment system does it belong to?PaidByCash has four method to payment:-Pay with Credit Card it should to come in your recognition card figure. termination day of the month and security codification ( visa maestro card †¦ . etc ) and click continue to look into the info. -Pay with PayPal Simply take PayPal when you select a payment option on this site. and you can rapidly open a PayPal history and add your payment method to finish your purchase. You can utilize your PayPal history to shop safer with 1000000s of merchandisers and Sellerss around the Earth wherever you see the PayPal logo. How to Make a purchase. | | †¢ | Spend at least $ 250. || †¢ | Complete your purchase by midnight ET on February 28. 2013. | | †¢ | Select â€Å"Yes. I’d like no payments for 6 months†¦Ã¢â‚¬  at check-out procedure to have your offer | -Pay with Bill me subsequently SPECIAL OFFER: No PAYMENTS + No Interest IF PAID IN FULL IN 6 MONTHS. We will write a custom essay sample on Homework of E-Commerce Essay Sample or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Interest will be charged to your history from the purchase day of the month if the purchase balance is non paid in full within 6 months. The chief thought no wage until 6 month. -Pay with Phone or Email here no acquire your order before wage! ! Benefits: PaidByCash offer four methods to payment in easy manner. Restrictions: I think no restrictions. What sort of payment system does it belong to? Cash. Credit Card. 2-Do Visa and MasterCard issue any recognition cards? What do they offer? How do they do money? Which one bash you prefer to utilize? † The two taking recognition card companies in the universe today are the rivals Visa and MasterCard. They both operate along really similar lines. While Visa can claim to hold about a billion cards issued. MasterCard has over 20 five 1000 Bankss publishing its cards and it is hard to happen any difference in the figure of locations worldwide that accept the cards. which is now estimated at over 20 million. † [ 1 ] Neither Visa nor MasterCard really publish any recognition cards themselves. What do they offer?-Buying via the Internet in safe manner. -you do non necessitate to convey your hard currency with you at shopping.-Insurance purchases and life.-Special offers price reductions and points of purchase.How do they do money?â€Å"is by bear downing the retail merchant for utilizing their payment method. So the truth of the affair is that a Visa issued by say the Bank of Scotland will hold really small to make with a Visa issued by other Bankss and may in fact by more similar to the Bank of Scotland’s MasterCard† [ 1 ] . Which one bash you prefer to utilize? To be honest I did non utilize any of them yet! But I think it is non depend on type of recognition card no it is depend on type of Bank that offer the recognition card? ! ! ! 3- Identify the properties of Google Checkout payment system that are listed in the undermentioned tabular array. Explain why? Dimension| Answer|Useful for micropayments ( under $ 10 )| Yes. check-out procedure can be used for minutess every bit low as. 05 $ . Low dealing costs for little minutess || Yes. When you use Google Checkoutâ„ ¢ to treat your gross revenues. you will be charged rates every bit low as 1. 4 % + ?0. 20 per dealing. With Google Checkout. there are no monthly. apparatus or gateway service fees. and Google Checkout will non bear down you to reassign financess from your Checkout history to your bankGoogle Checkout will non bear down you to reassign financess from your Checkout history to your bank. | Low fixed costs for merchandisers | Yes. it depending on pricing and figure of dealing per month. Example: | Financial hazard for consumer| No. For every dealing. Google automatically provides recognition confirmation information including the result of AVS and CVN cheques for free. | Questionable || No it is have physical topographic point. |Fiscal hazard for merchandiser || No. Some minutess are besides covered by our Payment Guarantee policy: if you get a chargeback on an eligible dealing and give us all requested certification and information within 10 yearss of the petition. we will reimburse you within a hebdomad. | Requires hallmark | Yes. you should direct your nationality ID and study of your visa card. | Has immediate pecuniary value | No you have wait to see twenty-four hours to authentication procedure coating. | Account required | Yes. you have create history in Google so utilize it to subscribe in Google Checkout. | AVS and CVN cheques for free| Yes. it is use AVS and CVN cheques for free. Mentions: [ 1 ] . hypertext transfer protocol: //wiki. replies. com/Q/What_is_the_difference_between_MasterCard_and_Visa.