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- A Few Considerations
- Prehistory
- The Indus Valley Civilization
- The Vedic Period
- Buddhism
- Jainism
- The Mauryas
- Buddhist Monastic Sites
- The Kushans
- The Golden Age
South Asia (according to the modern designation of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation), includes the following countries: In this brief introduction to the art and cultures of South Asia from prehistory to c. 500 of the Common Era, we refer to these countries to aid in geographically orienting you to the material culture discussed...
Archaeology can help us understand much about prehistoric civilizations. Astone tool, discovered in Isampur in India (see inset in the map below), for instance, confirms human settlement in the region as early as 1.1 million years ago. Some of the earliest portrayals of ancient peoples in South Asia are found in the Bhimbetka caves, dated c. 9000 B...
Between 2600 and 1900 B.C.E., several settlements (see map 2 above) thrived around the river Indus which extends from the Tibetan plateau and flows into the Arabian Sea. These settlements—Indus cities have been excavated in Afghanistan, India, and Pakistan—are known collectively as the Indus Valley Civilization. Large sites such as Mohenjo-daro and...
By c. 1300 B.C.E., speakers of Sanskrit (known as the Aryas) had settled in the northwest region of the Indian subcontinent. The Rigveda, the earliest of four Vedas(Sanskrit for “knowledge”)—a compendium of sacred scriptures on ritual, liturgy, and moral principles—is dated to this period. The Vedas were a significant influence on the development o...
The Magadha region (roughly centered around Bihar and northeastern India, see map 5 below) would become a place of socio-religious debate and the birthplace of two major religions—Buddhism and Jainism—that were born in critical reaction to Vedic traditions. Some scholars have suggested that existing spiritual traditions in Magadha—the belief in reb...
The founder of the Jain religion, Mahavira, is believed to be a contemporary of the Buddha. Like Buddhism, Jainism offered a path to salvation that was unencumbered by ritual. In Jain tradition, the twenty-four Jinas(Sanskrit for “victor”) who have overcome karma(the sum of a person’s actions) through a life of spirituality and goodness serve as ro...
In c. 326 B.C.E., Alexander of Macedonia invaded the Indian subcontinent. Alexander reached as far as the river Beas in present-day Punjab, India (see map 3) before he was forced to acquiesce the exhaustion of his army and their wish to return home. Alexander’s incursions had a lasting impact on South Asian history. One of his generals, Seleucus Ni...
A now broken Ashokan pillar at the great stupa at Sanchi, a Buddhist complex associated with the patronage of the emperor, was retained when the stupa was expanded to twice its size and faced with stone in the first century B.C.E. Stupas are quintessential monuments to the memory of the Buddha and are burial mounds for the relics of other important...
Between the second century B.C.E. and the third century C.E., the Kushan empire became a dominant force in the northwestern part of the subcontinent. The Kushans were active in both sea and land trade and had capitals in Kapisa (near Kabul, Afghanistan), Peshawar, Pakistan and in Mathura, India. Kushan territory under the rule of the third emperor ...
By the early centuries of the first millennium, the Vedic religion had evolved into the Hindu religion. While a core tenet of Hinduism—the concept of the Brahman (omnipresent consciousness)—had already been formulated in the Upanishads, many of the gods and goddesses that we see in Hindu art are found in the Puranas (ancient stories) that were comp...
Aug 14, 2022 · Henri Cartier-Bresson/Magnum Photos India’s Partition: A History in Photos The division set off communal violence and displaced millions, changing the face and geopolitics of South Asia.
The Rise of Modernity in South Asia; Tibetan Buddhist Art; Venice’s Principal Muslim Trading Partners: The Mamluks, the Ottomans, and the Safavids; Chronology. Himalayan Region, 1000–1400 A.D. South Asia, 1000 B.C.–1 A.D. South Asia, 1400–1600 A.D. South Asia, 1–500 A.D. South Asia, 2000–1000 B.C. South Asia: North, 1000–1400 A.D.
Nov 19, 2019 · In September I compiled a list of stunning images of the Middle East (linked right above this paragraph) and a reader (“Aman” to be exact) asked for a list on South Asia. Unlike the Middle East which is dominated by Islam, South Asia is a real hodge podge of religions, peoples, and environments.
1 day ago · South Asia, subregion of Asia, consisting of the Indo-Gangetic Plain and peninsular India and often synonymous with ‘Indian subcontinent.’ It is bounded to the north by a series of mountain ranges and is home to one of the earliest known civilizations.
Dec 6, 2023 · South Asia is an expansive region with incredible cultural, religious, and artistic diversity. Challenges, opportunities, and approaches for studying South Asian art. Geographic regions of South Asia. Textiles from the Indian Subcontinent (from The MAP Academy) Understanding divine “blueness” in South Asia. Representations of Krishna.
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Nov 21, 2023 · Author Christy Jean View bio. Instructor David Wood View bio. Learn about South Asia and its geography and culture. Learn about how the geographical features influenced the type of culture and...
