Chapter 3

People and Ideas on the Move

The Indo Europeans

Nomadic people from

steppes (dry

grasslands) of Russia
Indo European language (chart p. 61)
ancestors of many modern languages
Migrated to India
Hittites used chariots, iron

Aryans

Settled in Indus Valley

Unlike previous Indus dwellers, Aryans were
lighter, had no writing, were pastoral, not city
dwellers
Caste (class) system develops
4 groups (priests, rulers & warriors, peasants &
traders, laborers)
Determined how they lived, who they married,
etc.
Outcasts or untouchables butchers,
gravediggers, trash collectors, etc.

Hinduism Evolves
Collection of beliefs;

no specific founder or
single set of ideas; many gods
Brahman world soul
Moksha perfect understanding
Reincarnation rebirth until understanding
is achieved
Karma good or bad deeds
Vedas collection of stories

Buddhism

Siddhartha Gautama noble family

Age 29 saw suffering outside palace source of
suffering was desire for material things
Sought enlightenment (wisdom)
Wandered 6 years to achieve understanding
became known as Buddha (the enlightened one)
4 Noble Truths (p.69)
Eightfold Path (p. 69)
Could reach Nirvana release from selfishness and
pain

Buddhism cont.
Rejected caste system
Followers included laborers and

craftspeople
Trade allowed teachings to spread
throughout India & all over Southeast Asia,
Korea, Japan, China

Seafaring Traders
Minoans

Aegean Sea (lived on Crete)

Traded over wide area
Knossos discovered late 19th C
Revealed Minoans as artistic, athletic,
women had high rank, religious, peaceful
Mysterious ending probably earthquake
& tidal wave

Seafaring Traders - Phoenicians

Most powerful traders

Modern day Lebanon in Middle East
Remarkable shipbuilders & seafarers
Outposts all over Mediterranean
Carthage greatest colony (N. Africa)
Famous for purple dye from snail!
Alphabet great legacy symbols represented
sounds
Phonetic one sign for one sound (p.74)

Judaism

From Palestine in eastern Med. (Canaan)

History contained in first 5 books of Bible ( Torah)
Old Testament
God chose Abraham as father of Hebrews
Monotheistic one god
Covenant promise between god/Hebrews
Enslaved in Egypt Moses led Hebrews out
Sinai received Ten Commandments (p. 79)
Wandered 40 years settled in Palestine

Judaism cont.
Goal is to live a

moral life according to

God
Ethical monotheism influenced behavior
for thousands of years through Judaism,
Christianity, Islam
Later called Jews (Judah one of 12
tribes); chosen people
New kingdom Israel