AryansThe Aryans (Indo-Europeans) were a hunting and herding people from Central Asia who settled in the Indian subcontinent approximately 500 years after the fall of the Indus River civilization. Between the fall of the Indus Valley civilization and the rise of new civilizations in India, there was a formative period during which the Aryans learned to live off of agriculture. This period is known as the Vedic and Epic ages. During this time, the Aryans combined their religious and political ideas with those of Dravidian civilizations. Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa are considered Dravidian civilizations. During this time, the caste system and Hinduism also began to take shape.
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Rise of the Caste SystemDuring the Vedic and Epic ages, the caste system took shape as a mean of establishing relationships between the Aryan conquerors and the indigenous people who were considered to be inferior. Within in the caste system was Varna, the 4 main castes. Within Varna, there was also Jati, which are subgroups within each of the major castes, each with distinctive occupations. At first, the Kshatryias were considered the highest rank, but once religion became more important to Indian culture, the Brahmins rose up and became the supreme caste, due to the fact they were considered closest to Brahma. The Vaishya included merchants and landowning farmers, whose lives were considerably more difficult than those of the Brahmins or Kshatyia. The lowest caste was the Sudra caste, which consisted of peasants, commoners, and servants, who were at the bottom of the social rank. However, the lowest of all were the Untouchables, who didn't even belong to a caste. Simply coming into physical contact with an Untouchable would demote one from their caste. Untouchables lived in poverty and were forced into jobs that included hauling human feces and animal carcasses. The caste system promoted public order and was very rigid, with a few exceptions. The chart to the left illustrates the hierarchy of the caste system, and it provides an idea of how many people were in each caste compared to another.
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