What was significant about the first settlers of India?
1 Answer
The first settlers of India forged one of the oldest civilizations in the world. By settlers, I believe you mean the "Aryans"
Explanation:
The Indian civilization started in the Indus River Valley; highly advanced cities like Mohenjo Daro and Harappa formed tangent to the river. Not much is known about this first civilization, other than the fact that it was reasonably sophisticated and had a small resemblance to the society that would form in that area. Why?
By 1500 BCE, the Indus River Valley civilization would fall apart, thanks to invasions by the Aryans, a group of Indo-Europeans. These people would travel inland into the Indian sub-continent, going as far as South India in their journeys.
The Aryan invasion would soon start the Formative Age, a time period when Indian culture is solidified, and Hinduism is born. The caste system is also born, and a tightly-knit, patriarchal society is formed. These beginnings would allow India to flourish, and this would eventually spark the formation of the Mauryan Empire, and the Southern kingdoms.
So, the Aryans were quintessential in developing Indian culture, and this would set the course of not just the sub-continent's history, but also world history.
