Technology in Ancient Civilizations: India

Technology in Ancient Civilizations: India

The Maurya Empire [1] (322 BC – 185 BC) and the Gupta Empire[22] (320 AD – 550 AD) were the first Empires in India and stretched during the period of the Iron Age. The Maurya Empire occupied the region that is now known as India, expanding to Bangladesh, Nepal, Afghanistan, etc. Chandragupta Maurya is the ruler that unifies North India, creating a bureaucratic system were the empire into provinces and districts for tax assessment and law enforcement. Ashoka was one the most important rulers of Maurya. Witnessing great destruction, he turns to religion by converting to Buddhism. He patronizes Buddhist religion art, architecture and culture, putting pillars all over India declaring the peaceful intent of the empire. The Empire expands to it’s height. After his death, the empire was broken up into several kingdoms. After several centuries, the Gupta Empire came to reunite the region. It built it’s foundation on exports of cotton and pepper. They were Hindus, but tolerant to Buddhism by incorporating Buddha one of their Gods. They were less centralized and smaller than Mauryan, and established a cultural dominance and golden age. The Caste System sees it’s first signs. Gupta art was very big, including the construction of Buddhist temples.   The Varna (Social Hierarchy), is the cast system which justifies inequality in Indian culture and is mainly based on religion (Hynduism). The hierarchy, from tops-down, goes as follows: the Brahmins are the priests, people who conducted religious rituals; Kshatriyas, they are the Kings and Queens; Vaisyas, the artisans, businessmen, traders and internal orders; Sudras, people that engaged in services, peasant farmers, carpenters, blacksmiths, etc; Pariah, the untouchables or outsiders, the lowest in the scale of society, doomed to lower class labor.

Ancient India was leading and innovating in several fields, which are unknown to mankind. Some of these were the following:

1.     Rock Cutting Technology: The Indians were able to cut rock into beautiful sculptures, by using chisel and hammer. They were able to convert a mountain into beautifully carved temples, by doing an extraordinary amount of rock cutting. Rock cutting technology dates to 200 BC, but reached it’s high on 600 AD.

2.     Medicine: Printed medicinal guide, inoculations (for diseases like small pox), the were the fathers of surgery, they performed C-sections and plastic surgery, they identified 500 healing plants.

3.     Astronomy: Solar Calendar, they were the first to give the exact distance between the Earth and the Moon, and they figured out that the Earth is round and knew that the Earth circulated around the Sun a 1000 years before Europe!

4.     Mathematics: their greatest achievement was in this field, including: Decimal system, the concept of zero, PI number (3.1416). The Guptas had their decline in the 500s when they were invaded by the White Huns, marking the end of the Gupta Golden Age. North India was then broken into many separate Hindu Kingdoms ruled by rajputs (Hindu princes).