What was life like in ancient India? THE BRONZE AGE

Thousands of years ago, man's life was not limited to hunting. Crops began to grow on the banks of rivers, and the first cities were born from those fields. But the real question is, how did this change happen? The answer to this is hidden in a metal, bronze. It was this bronze that strengthened the tools, made farming easier, organized the war, and divided society into sects and powers. It was this bronze that shone in the streets of Dhatu Harappa in the form of jewellery and statues, where art and beauty became the identity of every household. It was this bronze that reached the graves of the Pharaohs of Egypt and was offered to the gods in the temples of China. This story will take you back 5,000 years, where bronze was not just a metal, but a rule of culture. Therefore, see this mysterious journey to the end, because you will find a wonderful gift ahead. And if you like such deeply researched documentaries, then do subscribe to the channel. Because we work day and night to make such stories come to life. It was the year 1920. A group of laborers were removing the soil from their wells and wells on the scorching sand of Iraq. They were being watched by the British archaeologist, Leonard Woolley. As the soil was removed, a scene emerged that stunned everyone. The graves decorated with gold and silver ornaments were not made of wood, but were made of metal. And the shining weapons buried with the soldiers. When Woolley picked them up and looked at them, he understood that this was not an ordinary copper. It was a mixture of copper and tin. Bronze. The same metal that gave man such strength that he did not become a hunter of forests, but became the ruler who made the empire. But this story does not start from here. It was sown thousands of years ago. In a settlement called Satlayak on the Anatolian soil, the ancients found small copper pearls, about 7,500 years old. These were not just pearls, but those were the moments when man touched the shine of metal for the first time beyond stones and bones. Then, about 3,300 years ago, a worker accidentally mixed tin with copper in a field in Mesopotamia. When the mixture came out of the tin, its shine and hardness changed history. This was the first bronze, the mixture of metals, which turned the course of human civilization. But its real strength was not limited to just tools or weapons. It gave man the courage to move from villages to cities. And that is where the new chapter of human civilization began. About 3,000 years ago, man saw a new shine in different corners of the earth. The shine of bronze. Cities settled on the banks of rivers began to glow with light. Cities like Uruk and Ur on the land of Mesopotamia rose to the world map for the first time. High Jiggurat temples, crowded markets, and cities surrounded by strong walls. All this became the identity of that era when bronze tools and new techniques turned creation into an art. This is where urban civilization began. That is, the real story of cities. On the other hand, in Egypt, Pharaoh was building pyramids in the sky to immortalize his name. The miracle of cutting, breaking, and joining large stones was made possible with the help of bronze tools. At the same time, heavy bronze vessels, statues, and royal symbols were being collected in the Shang dynasty of China. They were proof of power and faith. The carvings of these artifacts were so fine that they communicated with gods like Har Rekha. Whether it was the burning sand of West Asia, the pyramids standing in the middle of the desert of Egypt, or the ancient palaces of China, bronze taught everywhere that cities are not only made of bricks and soil, but also of the shine of metal and intelligence. So far, you have seen how bronze gave birth to Mesopotamia, erected Egypt, and gave power to China. But the question is, was this story limited only to that? Or was this shine suppressed in the soil of our own land, the Indian continent? In 1921, in Punjab, now the Montgomery district of Pakistan, Indian archaeologists were excavating the Dayaram Sahni. The walls of an ancient city began to crackle from beneath the soil. This was Harappa. And the very next year, in 1922, in the Larkana district of Sindh, Rakhaldas Banerjee discovered another mystery in another excavation. A vast city sleeping beneath the soil, Mohenjodaro. John Marshall, the director of the British Antiquities Department, who announced this in front of the world, said that even on the land of India, there was an ancient urban civilization like Mesopotamia or Egypt. And then history gave India a new identity of the Bronze Age. The statue of a famous dancing girl. Only 10 cm high, but so alive that you could see the life in her coins. This statue made with the Lost Wax Method is still the pride of Indian bronze art. The bones of her hands, the body's flexibility and the confidence of her face, all tell us that this was not an ordinary ritual. This was the testimony of the workers of that age, who were far ahead of the world in technique and beauty. But friends, not only statues were found in the soil of Harappa. There was something else too. Something that has forced historians to think to this day. Bronze tools, mirrors, jewellery and toys were not just objects. They were the heartbeat of that age. These things tell us how deep this metal was in the daily life of man. Its influence was not limited to cities, but it had spread to villages and towns. Thousands of bronze and copper tools found in the excavations of Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan, which historians call the Copper Horde culture, testify that the brilliance of civilization was not only in cities, but also in rural areas. In the words of historian Stuart Pigott, the Indus Valley culture was impossible without bronze. In fact, this metal was the backbone of that society. Surprisingly, it was also found in the mines of Sindhu Ghati and Manke Mesopotamia. That is, both cultures were breathing at the same time and were tied to an invisible global trade network, when the world was not even calling itself a world. But the question arises, who were the people living in those cities? What was their family like? How did their life go? And how did the new shine of this bronze change their society? The excavations of Sindhu Ghati show that people did not live in slums, but in shared houses. Many times, a whole family lived in the same house. This meant that this society was not only based on blood relations, but also on the tradition of living together. The statues of jewellery and clay found in these houses show that the role of women was very important. Hadappa's fertility figure, as it is said, was not only a giver of life, but also an embodiment of prosperity and strength. At the same time, when we look into the world of children, we see clay toys playing in their hands. Small cars, animal figures, dolls, and even anklets on wheels. All this shows that the innocence of childhood was alive in the struggles and wars of the Bronze Age. But this picture was not completely illuminated. The Bronze Age gave man strength for the first time and also created a deep hole of inequality in society. In the excavation of the Royal Tombs of Anfur in Iraq, the graves of kings and queens were found. Not only that, but their servants and soldiers were also buried alive as if they had to serve even after death. But the graves of ordinary people were also found near those graves, without jewellery, without metal, only clay and bones. This picture is a bitter truth. The Bronze Age gave man strength, but along with it, it also created a deep hole of wealth and poverty. The farmer kept ploughing the fields, the worker kept ploughing the fields, but what was shining in the cities never reached their lives. The real taste of power and prosperity came only to the kings and queens. Ordinary people stayed there, worked hard, and looked like a shadow. Historian Jad Diamond writes, Agriculture and metal gave man food and tools, but this production gradually became a seed of inequality and exploitation. This seed later became the root of the great civilizations like Hadappa and Mesopotamia. We will see this mystery in detail in the next part of the video. But now the question arises, were the people of the Bronze Age limited only to living and earning, or did they also create a world of faith and divinity? Before this, it is important to understand how the society was fed, how the daily life was, and how the power of bronze changed their economy. The biggest boon of the Bronze Age was the plough, saws, and axes made of bronze. These tools increased the yield of clay, and man began to collect grains not only to live, but also for the future. In the mining of Hadappa and Mohenjo-daro, the large grain stores and Mesopotamia-like godowns are proof that man was now planning for the future. When surplus grain started coming out of the fields, it was not necessary for every person to remain a farmer. Some became a craftsman, some a trader, some an artist. The glass mirrors, ornaments, and tools found in Mohenjo-daro show that specialization had begun in the society. In the same way, Mesopotamia's craftsmanship and metalwork were proof of the various professions of this age. But bronze was not just a plough. To make it, you needed tin, which was not found everywhere. And from here, man began the most courageous journey of history, the long-distance trade. This was the first global trade network in human history that began to connect civilizations. And this brings us back to the question, were the people of the Bronze Age only after wealth and wealth? Or did they also conquer the world of their gods? Just as we light lamps in temples, celebrate festivals, and offer offerings with devotion, in the same way, in that age, people believed that bronze was not only a tool for agriculture and warfare, but also a symbol of devotion. Now, let's go back to India, where we find small statues of Hadappa and Mohenjo-daro. Some scholars call these small statues the Proto-Shiva, while others consider them to be a symbol of the goddess of fertility. Interestingly, the people of Hadappa may not have worshipped in a large temple, but in their homes and streets, as if every courtyard was a small temple. In Egypt, the meaning of bronze was different. The pharaohs believed that this metal would protect their souls even after death. This is why they kept tools, statues, and jewellery in their graves. Many bronze relics found in Tutankhamun's grave tell us that this metal was a companion for the pharaohs in other worlds as well. In China, bronze became the most sacred medium for worshipping. It was used to offer sacrifices for the souls of the bronze utensils of the ancestors. But now the question is, did this metal remain limited to worship only, or did man use it for art and beauty? The famous dancing girl statue of Mohenjo-daro still amazes the world. This statue is only 10 cm tall, but looking at her wavy waist and shining hands, it seems as if she will dance all her life. Thousands of years ago, people used to use a comb and a mirror to comb their hair. Now look at Mesopotamia, where artists made wonderful bronze statues and fine seals. The statues of gods and kings were carved on them. It was not just a symbol of business, but also a symbol of identity and power. Friends, today we are proud of technologies like mobile computers and rockets. But have you ever thought about the science and technology of the Bronze Age 5,000 years ago? Was their world really as simple as we think it was? Now let's talk about the art and science that led man to go beyond nature. The art of coal mining and mining. It is believed that around 3,300 BC, people learned how to increase the temperature of fire in the mines of Mesopotamia and Anatolia. By mixing copper and tin, they created bronze, which was neither as soft as copper, nor as heavy as stone, but much stronger than both. It was the first supermaterial in human history that gave man extraordinary power. Along with it, there was a magical technique called Lost Wax Casting. First, wax was cast, then covered with clay and heated in a furnace. This is how the art forms were born, which are still alive after thousands of years. When the clay-covered form was heated in the furnace, the wax inside would slowly melt and come out, and its place would be filled with melted wax. When the wax cooled, it would become so fine and alive that even today, the ancient sages are amazed to see it. With this technique, bronze increased the strength of man many times, from farms to battlefields. Bronze tools changed the direction of agriculture. Now, wax could dig deep into the ground, and the production of food increased many times. The huge grain storehouses of Hadappa and the high granary houses of Egypt bear witness to this prosperity. But as soon as man put bronze in arms, the world saw the face of an organized war for the first time. Now, it was not just a battle of hunting horses, but a game of kings, emperors, and armies. The bronze swords found in Mesopotamia and the spears and shields show that every kingdom used to shine its army with the gleam of bronze. And the biggest power was the war chariot, which had a bronze shield on its wheels. This chariot would run like lightning, terrorize the enemies, and speed up the war. The pharaohs of Egypt were also decorated with this metal. The most famous example of this is the Battle of Megiddo, 1457 B.C., the first ever recorded battle in history. Here, Pharaoh Thutmose III won a decisive victory with the help of the chariots and weapons of Kansai. Europe was also not unaffected by this. The thousands of stones, bronze swords, and arrowheads found in Germany's bear witness to the first ancient battlefield in history. Historian Thomas Terberger believes that this was the very battlefield where the biggest battle of the Bronze Age took place. Although there is no clear evidence of great wars in the Sindhu-Ghati the protective walls, fortifications, and bronze tools found in Mohenjodaro and Harappa show that people were alert to external threats. But friends, now the story turns. The same metal that took bronze from the jungles to villages, villages to cities, and cities to empires was one day the cause of its destruction. Around 1200 B.C., the world witnessed the first global collapse in history. Civilizations began to crumble, cities' lamps were extinguished, and the shine of bronze gradually turned to ash. Gradually, great civilizations began to crumble one by one. The cities of Mesopotamia became desolate, the Hittite Empire turned to ash, and the Mycenaean civilization of Greece was lost in the pages of history. The burnt buildings, the fallen walls, and the desolate settlements are enough to show that this was not an ordinary crisis. It was such a devastation that shook the foundations of the entire Bronze Age world. Historians still do not agree with this mystery. Some believe that it was caused by the mysterious Sea Peoples, unknown warriors from the sea who attacked the empires, burned the cities, and destroyed the entire civilization. But who were these Sea Peoples? Where did they come from? And why did they spread all over the world? This is still a mystery. Other historians believe that the real reason was the change in the water and air, and the terrible drought. The fields dried up, the rivers dried up, and when the crops died, hunger and rebellion broke the society from within. The trade went bankrupt, and when the trade fell, the empire also broke. The biggest shock was the lack of tin, because bronze was made from copper and tin, and when the supply of tin stopped, this metal, which was the strength of the entire civilization, suddenly disappeared from history. Imagine a world that was completely dependent on metal, that metal suddenly stopped being found, and along with it was buried the self-confidence of man, his empire, his pride. Historian Eric Klein writes in his book 1177 B.C. This was not the end of a single empire, but a story of the collapse of the entire world. And friends, even the Sindhu Ghati civilization did not remain untouched by this Approximately 1900 B.C., when the rivers changed their course, the crops went bankrupt, and the trade went bankrupt, then this great Indian civilization also began to scatter slowly. The streets of Harappa, which were once full of liveliness, were now deserted. This was the end of the era that had brought man from bronze age to iron age. And in this new era, the birthplace of India, the people, the small states, which moved forward and became the great people. One of them was the most powerful, Magadha, which moved forward and changed the course of India's history forever. Bronze gave man civilization, but it also kept the rule of its collapse. Cities burned, empires collapsed, and history turned. But this was the end of a new beginning. Iron age arose from the ashes of bronze age, where the birth of great people took place, and history wrote a new chapter.