The Social System of Aryans

1.  Explain the origins of the caste system

-          The origins of the caste system are unknown, but it was related to Hinduism. The word 'caste' is came from England or Portugal or Spain, 'Casta,' which means 'pure.' However the system was abused and became a system of racist segregation.

 2.  What does the Aryan term “varna” means?

-          The name for the original social division of Vedic people into four groups, which are subdivided into thousands of jatis in Hinduism

3.   Briefly explain or identify who was in each of the four main varnas

-          Brahman comprises the priests and teachers in society.

-          Warriors and rulers belong to the Kshatriya.

-         resembles the modern American middle class. Merchants, farmers, and artisans make up the Vaishya.

-          Sudra is the lowest of the four, people who do hard work and labor.

4.   What was the fifth varna that was eventually added and what was their role in society?

-      The people of this "fifth varna" are now called Dalits or Harijians who were formerly known as "untouchables" or "pariahs". However, this last strada is not a part of Hinduism.

5.  What does the term “jati” means?

-       Jati means a Hindu caste or distinctive social group of which there are thousands throughout India.

6.  What were some of the general rules of jati?

-      The general rule of jati is that they can only marry with jati, and also when you were born u belong to jati because your parents belong to jati, which you can’t change.

7.  What was the punishment for violating these rules?

-      For violating the rules, you get expelled from jati.

8.  What was the believed benefit of having castes and jatis in Aryan society?

-     

9.  What were the “Upanishads”?

-      The Upanishads are philosophical texts considered to be an early source of Hindu religion. There are more than 200 known.

10.  Explain the term “Brahman”

-      Brahman is the one supreme, universal Spirit that is the origin and support of the phenomenal universe in Hinduism. Brahman is sometimes referred to as the Absolute or Godhead which is the Divine Ground of all being. Brahman is conceived as personal ("with qualities"), impersonal ("without qualities") and supreme depending on the philosophical school.

11.  Explain the term “Samsara”

-     Samsara is the cycle of birth, life, death, rebirth or reincarnation within Hinduism, Buddhism and the other Indian religion.

12.  Explain the term “Karma”

-     Karma in Indian religions is the concept of "action" or "deed", understood as that which causes the entire cycle of cause and effect originating in ancient India and treated in Hindu, Jain, Buddhist and Sikh philosophies.

13.  What was “moksha” and what two things were required in order to attain it?

-     Within Indian religions, moksha is the liberation from samsara and thee concomitant suffering involved in being subject to the cycle of repeated death and reincarnation or rebirth.

14.  Briefly explain how the Upanishads explained the caste system.

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#2 Assignment

Babylon was an Akkadiancity-state of ancient Mesopotamia, the remains of which are found in present-day Al Hillah, Babil Province, Iraq, about 85 kilometers south of Baghdad. The city itself was built upon the Euphrates, and divided in equal parts along its left and right banks, with steep embankments to contain the river's seasonal floods. Available historical resources suggest that Babylon was at first a small town which had sprung up by the beginning of the 3rd millennium BC.

Artistic- Under Hammurabi's rule, the Babylonians developed to perfection one of their most striking arts: the great polychrome-glazed brick walls modeled in relief, the foremost example of which is the Ishtar gates of Babylon.

Society- The Babylonian society was roughly divided into three classes: Awilu (upper class), Musheknu (free, but of little means) and Wardu (slaves). All groups were protected by law, and enjoyed a minimum of rights. The Awilus were officials, Priests, wealthy landowners and the the more affluent traders. This group owned much of Babylonia's land, the other great land-owning group being the temples. The Musheknus were usually craftsmen, clerks and farmers. 

Politic- The society was governed by an absolute monarch, the king, who was active in all fields of life, both as a legislator, judge, administrator and warlord. The king was directly in charge of governing the system below him. 

Intellectual- They made the letters to describe the numbers and the language. They were good at mathematics. The Babylonians were also available to create a calender. 

Religion- Babylonian religion is usually referred to as Babylonian and Assyrian Religion, as there are few changes between the Babylonians and the Assyrians in concepts and organization. There are still a few differences, then mainly in which gods were favored. In Babylonian religion, the most prominent god was Marduk, who was not revered by the Assyrians. The Babylonians also had a strong concept relating to the god of the dead, Nergal.


Economy- The most important industry of Babylonia was agriculture, but other industries were fairly well developed too. Babylonia was involved in foreign trade, and exported manufactured goods, while the country had to import metal, wood and stone — materials that the country lacked.

#1 Assignment

 This week, we watched a video called 'Did Cooking Make Us Human?'  I think this video was supposed to show us if we humans were born to cook or the opposite. Cooking and eating physically developed them. Contrasting the Australopithecus' teeth and Homo Erectus' teeth. Putting a small piece of meat between their own teeth, it showed Homo Erectus' teeth is stronger and more developed to chew the raw meat. They also used a snake for the demonstration with raw meat and cooked meat. Snake digested cooked meat faster. This is showing eating cooking food also developed that people’s digestive system. Homo Erectuses even made some tools to hunt animals, which means, they were also developed on making tools. Double bigger brains than Australopithecus, Homo Erectuses could also use more words and descriptive ability to others. I'm not quite sure about cooking made us human, but i can say because of cooking, us humans became so much developed.