Indo-European Migration

Indo-Europeans•Who?• Nomads who migrated, or moved, into

Europe, India, and Asia

•Why?• No one is 100% sure (invaders, disease,

environment) • Article of study done 10 days ago

•How do we know?• Language—spoke ancient language that is

the basis for the language that we speak today (also Spanish, Persian, and Hindi) • Language tells us where people

settles• Archaeogenetics—the study of artifacts

and DNA to piece together migration routes

Empires Created Following the Move

• Hittite in Mesopotamia

– In Babylon, cultural diffusion takes place in their art, literature, and technology

– First to use iron weapons, spread through war and trade

• Aryans move into India, or Indus

– Vedas, or Aryan religious text, is the only thing we know about their way of life

– Take over the people and introduce “complex institution” that controls how people are organized and what they think, called caste system

– Aryans were less advanced (cows as $ and no written language) but take charge based on skin color

Caste System• Social hierarchy based on skin color

(“dadas” or dark)• Aryans insert themselves at the top

1. Brahmins or priests2. Kshatriyas or warriors3. Vaishyas or peasants/traders4. Shudras or laborers***non-Aryans

• Varnas, or skin color, determined class– Born into caste for life, determined your job,

who you marry, what you eat– “Untouchables” at bottom doing impure work

• Results: – Violence, struggle for power, and mixing of

cultures and caste system creates new things…