social organization: Asia and the Pacific quest, trade was essential to life of the empire, with numerous trade routes extending as far as China and Africa This activity brought the rise of a merchant class whose members used their wealth to climb the social ladder by buying their way into government Government officials, like nobles, ranked higher than ordinary members of society ASIA AND THE PACIFIC BY KIRK H BEETZ INDIA The earliest-known civilization in India was that of the Harappans, named by modern archaeologists for a place near one of their major cities Although the Harappans had a written language, it survives mostly on seals, meaning that it is in fragments, and it has not yet been translated The ancient Sumerians made only a few written references to the Harappans Therefore, the social organization of the Harappans must be deduced from their physical remains, which consist of two or three cities and numerous towns and villages scattered throughout the valley of the Indus River, with some farther south and others farther west or north Mohenjo Daro seems to be the best preserved of the cities The city was well planned, with a grid pattern for streets, a well-maintained sewer system, and separate areas for public gatherings and residences The residential areas are divided distinctly into sections with big houses with brick walls that were laid in decorative, abstract patterns and sections with small houses with little or no fancy brickwork To some archaeologists, these divisions mean that the Harappans had class distinctions between rich and poor Archaeologists infer that those with small houses were oppressed by those with big houses Nevertheless, all residential areas had the same sort of narrow streets and the same high-quality sewers, with manholes giving access to sewer repair workers in all areas Th is evidence suggests that while there may have been a difference in wealth among the Harappans, the poorer Harappans had access to civic services equal to richer Harappans Further, public areas seem to have been accessible to all There was a large public swimming pool, perhaps for ritual bathing There were large buildings that may have been used for worship Archaeologists have also discovered foundations to a long building, with air ducts to keep its interior dry, which was a huge facility for storing grain The existence of this structure implies that food was collectively owned by the community, in turn implying that the land on which the grain was grown was collectively owned by the community From this information, some archaeologists surmise that the Harappans had a social elite who owned all the means of production and that most people were slaves or serfs who worked the land for the benefit of the elite Other archaeologists think the evidence indicates that the grain was kept in public trust and belonged to all 1023 Exactly when the Harappan culture began is not known, but it was thriving by 2600 b.c.e and began to decline between 1900 and 1700 b.c.e.; it was eclipsed by Aryan invaders by 1500 b.c.e These Aryans were nomadic cattle herders from central Asia who overwhelmed the Harappans, who had already been weakened by natural disasters The era from about 1500 to about 600 b.c.e is known as the Vedic because of the Vedas, sacred works of the Hindus that began as an oral tradition telling of the events of the Aryans’ migration into northern India The Vedic peoples were slow to settle, preferring for hundreds of years to move their herds across the land, especially the grassy plains near the Ganges River, which ran northwest to southeast across northern India Their culture mingled with the local cultures to become the Brahmanic social order, the basis of Hinduism Much of the history of India is the story of the Vedic culture spreading ever southward over thousands of years The Vedic people brought with them the caste system of social organization A caste was a class based on birth that restricted the professions, civil rights, and marriage possibilities of people born into it How many castes the Vedic peoples originally had is not known, but by the fourth century b.c.e., when the Vedas were written down, there were four The top caste was that of the Brahmans, followed by Kshatriyas, Vaishyas, and Shudras After these came the people without caste People born into the Brahman caste were priests and were expected to be spiritual leaders They could not be punished for many crimes and could not be put to death or physically harmed Even to annoy a Brahman was a crime Sometimes, however, even a Brahman could commit a crime so vile that it had to be punished, in which case the knot of hair on the head—which in Brahman tradition was tied at the age of three years old—was cut off This act made a Brahman a nonperson It cut off a Brahman from all family and friends and denied a Brahman any social rights Many Brahmans lived off donations from members of other castes It was considered a social obligation for members of lower castes to make gifts to Brahmans Social customs and religious laws forbade someone to give his family’s entire wealth to a Brahman, but Brahmans often received houses, even whole villages, as gifts Giving gifts to Brahmans was thought to improve a person’s karma, the spiritual energy that governed how many times a person would have to be reincarnated before becoming one with the universal spirit Many Brahmans worked at professions that were supposed to be outside their caste Brahmanic laws allowed them to take such jobs if they were in distress, a rule that applied to members of other castes as well The Kshatriyas were the caste of high government officials and warriors Kings and nobles belonged to this caste Such was the power of India’s social organization that even at the end of the ancient era, kings were bound by the rules of their caste and usually followed the rules Not to so could invalidate their right to rule, but if they followed the rules