Warm up

What happened in
class yesterday?

Central Historical Question

How did the Aryans

influence Hinduism?

Aryan Invasion Theory

The debate Two centuries old!
Argument 1 Aryans came to India from
outside and wrote the Rig Veda around
1200-1000 B.C.E.
Evidence: Language
Argument 2 Aryans were indigenous to
India and from India they spread to
different lands in the west. These
historians say the Rig Veda was written
around 5000 B.C.E.
Evidence: Archaeology

Where did the Aryan Invasion Theory come from?

In 1584 an Italian merchant in Goa, India,

learned Sanskrit and recognized that it was
similar to Greek and Latin
Aryan Invasion Theory created by historians in
the 19th century
Some critics argue the issue was exploited
for political reasons
Ex. British colonial rulers in India

The Research
Linguists (language scholars) dominated Vedic
studies in the 19th century
Archaeologists began researching this topic in
the 20th century
Archaeological discoveries in recent years has
made the debate
more interesting

Meet the historians!

Dr. Peter Stearns
American Historian

Born 1936
Received his PhD in History from Harvard

Professor at George Mason University

Founded the Journal of Social History
Developed a pioneering approach to teaching world
history

Dr. Padma Manian

B.A. from Madras University, India and Ph.D.
in History from Miami University

Professor of history, San Jose City College

Professor of history, San Jose State
University
Contributor to The History Teacher
peer-reviewed journal

No
Photo
Available

Dr. M. K. Dhavalikar
Born 1930, India.
Ph.D. in Archaeology from University of Poona
in Ancient Indian Culture and Archaeology
Lecturer at the Nagpur University in Ancient
Indian History Culture and Archaeology
Professor at Deccan College in Ancient Indian
History Culture and Archaeology
No
Photo
Available

Dr. Klaus Klostermaier

Born 1933, Munich, Germany

Nationality Canadian
PhD in philosophy from the Gregorian
University in Rome and PhD in Ancient
Indian History and Culture from the
University of Bombay

Researcher on Hinduism and Indian history

and culture
Known for: Sanskrit and Hindu Scholar

Title: University Distinguished Professor

Emeritus

Recognizing Perspective
Which Aryan theory does this historian believe?
India was the motherland of our race, and Sanskrit
the mother of Europes languages: she was the
mother of our philosophy; mother, through the
Arabs, of much of our mathematics; mother,
through the Buddha, of the ideals embodied in
Christianity; mother, through the village community,
of self-government and democracy. Mother India is
in many ways the mother of us all.Will Durant,
American Historian

Synthesizing Historians Perspectives

Write a 5-7 sentence
Prompt: How did the Aryans influence

Hinduism? Answer this question by

explaining the Aryan Invasion Theory and
citing evidence from at least two
historians you learned about today.

Rubric 10 points possible

Definition of
the Aryan
Invasion
Theory

Strong
definition (2)

Definition
needs
improvement
(1)

No definition
(0)

Incorporation
of two
historians
perspectives
and quotes

Incorporated
two historians
(2)

Incorporated
one historian
(1)

Did not
incorporate
historians (0)

Use of evidence
to support
claims

Strong use of
evidence (2)

Needs more
evidence (1)

Included no
evidence (0)

Academic
language

Strong
academic
language (2)

Academic
language
needs
improvement
(1)

No academic
language (0)

Grammar

Less than two

grammar
mistakes (2)

Two-five
grammar
mistakes (1)

More than five

grammar
mistakes (0)

Wrap-up
Why does it matter who started
Hinduism?
How does todays lesson illustrate
cultural diffusion?

Think about it
How can thinking critically about
the source of information you read
or hear help you outside the
classroom?