ISS LIFE IN VILLAGES AND TOWNS

• The Aryans, unlike the Harappans, were rural people. The first urban civilisation in India was established by the Indus Valley Civilisation. It was destroyed and the Aryans lived in villages and for nearly 1000 years there were no towns or cities.
• It was during the age of the Buddha in sixth century BCE, that new towns and cities began to be built. In the period between sixth and fourth century BCE, we hear about towns like Kausambi, Shravasti, Ayodhya, Kapilavastu, Vaishali, Rajgir, and Pataliputra etc.
• The discovery of iron, about 3000 years ago, helped a lot in the production of new iron tools. These iron tools like axes, ploughshare, sickles helped in clearing the forests and increasing agricultural production.
• More and more land was brought under cultivation by clearing large tracts of forests.
• There was increase in new varieties of crops and Fruits. The iron ploughshare helped to produce more even from feilds which were barren and waste lands by deep ploughing . Surplus production led to the rise of towns and cities .
• Various means of irrigation were widely used to increase production. Irrigation work was carried out by building canals, wells, tanks and artificial lakes. This helped kings both in the North and the South India to establish large kingdoms because irrigation helped in surplus production and hence more revenue.
• The new system of transplantation of saplings of paddy led to increase in production of rice which became the staple food of the Gangetic people. In this system, farmers first sowed seeds in a field. After saplings grew they were uprooted and planted in different fields . This enhanced the production of rice.
• A second urbanisation now began in India due to increased production of foodgrains, growth of crafts, wide circulation of coins and more trade and commerce. Both literary and archaelogical evidences reveal there was a great development of towns.
• In the beginning towns were small. But gradually they grew in size and numbers. Each town was famous for a particular activity. For example:

  Madurai was famous for cotton textiles.

  • Pottery, jewellery, ivory and textiles were manufactured at Varanasi.

  Broach, Sopara and Tamralipti were famous port towns and trading centres.

  • Art and craft also flourished. Gandhara, Varanasi and Shividesha were popular for silk, woollen and cotton cloth.
• Coin minting, ivory carving and bead-making were other popular crafts.

  Last point .
• Even though a large number of towns had sprung up, the village life had not changed much. Villagers cooperated with one another. They built roads, parks and public places. Villages were interconnected with one another by roads and waterways. Paddy, maize, sugarcane, cotton, fruits and vegetables were grown.
• There were three main classes of people living in the villages in South India. They were :

  •Rich landowners or vellalars

  •Ordinary ploughmen or uzhavars

  •landless labourers and slaves called kadaisiyar and adimai.
• In the northern part of India, the socio-economic arrangement was slightly different. Each village had a village headman, called gramabhojaka. He collected taxes from the villagers on behalf of the king. He had many workers to cultivate his vast lands. On many occasions he performed the duties of a policeman and a legal judge.
• Besides the gramabhojaka, there were smaller landowners called grihapatis. Below them were the dasa karmakaras who earned their living by working in the fields of others.
• The earliest coins of India were known as punch marked coins. They were called so, because of their manufacturing technique. They were made of silver or copper. The motifs found on these coins were those of nature like the sun, trees, hills etc. Some had animal motifs on them, while some had geometrical symbols.
• Each village had potters, blacksmiths, weaven dyers, carpenters and basket makers and other craftsmen. Archaeologists have found Painted Grey Ware (PGW) and other kinds of pottery belonging to this period. One such type of mud vessels are called Black and Red Ware. Another important type of pottery is the Northern Black Polished Wat (NBPW). It is black in colour and exhibits a fin polish or sheen.
• During this period there were many traders and craftsmen. They formed themselves into an association or guild called shreni. The guilds were of two types: merchant guilds and craft guilds The merchants guilds were guilds of traders or merchants. The craft guilds were guilds of weavers and goldsmith. The shrenis (guilds) of craftspersons provided training, procured raw material, and distributed the finished products. Then shrenis of merchants organised the trade.
• During this period there were many traders and craftsmen. They formed themselves into an association or guild called shreni. The guilds were of two types: merchant guilds and craft guilds The merchants guilds were guilds of traders or merchants. The craft guilds were guilds of weavers and goldsmith. The shrenis (guilds) of craftspersons provided training, procured raw material, and distributed the finished products. Then shrenis of merchants organised the trade.
• The shrenis served as banks where wealthy people invested money. This money was used to provide loans to traders and craftsmen. They also gave liberal donations to temples and monasteries Archaeologists have excavated thousands of coins belonging to this period. They were called punch- marked coins.