caste

Examples of caste in the following topics:

• The Caste System

  • A caste system developed among Indo-Aryans of the Vedic Period, splitting society into four major groups.
  • These social distinctions may have been more fluid in ancient Aryan civilizations than in modern India, where castes still exist but sociologists are observing inter-caste marriages and interactions becoming more fluid and less rigid.
  • These distinct gender roles may have contributed to the social stratification of the caste system.
  • The Rig-Veda influenced the development of the patriarchal society and the caste systems in Aryan India.
  • A page from the manuscript Seventy-two Specimens of Castes in India, which consists of 72 full-color hand-painted images of men and women of the various castes and religious and ethnic groups found in Madura, India at that time.

• Advancements Under the Shang

  • During the Shang Dynasty, bronze casting became more sophisticated.
  • The Shang ruled China during its Bronze Age; perhaps the most important technology at the time was bronze casting.
  • The Shang cast bronze objects by creating molds out of clay, carving a design into the clay, and then pouring molten bronze into the mold.

• The Vedas

  • The Caste System, or groups based on birth or employment status, has been part of the social fabric of the Indian Subcontinent since ancient times.
  • The passage describing the classes of people derived from the sacrifice of Purusha is the first indication of a caste system.
  • Today the castes still exist in the form of varna, or class system, based on the original four castes described in the Vedas.
  • The caste system as it exists today is thought to be a product of developments following the collapse of British colonial rule in India.
  • During his appearances Gandhi frequently spoke out against the discrimination of the Indian caste system.

• Art Under the Zhou Dynasty

  • Chinese script cast onto bronzeware, such as bells and cauldrons, carried over from the Shang Dynasty into the Zhou; it showed continued changes in style over time, and by region.
  • The casting process itself was improved by a new technique, called the lost wax method of production.
  • This example of bronze inscription was cast on the Song ding, ca. 800 BCE.

• River Valley Civilizations

  • The first civilizations formed in river valleys, and were characterized by a caste system and a strong government that controlled water access and resources.
  • This political structure is commonly characterized by a system of hierarchy and control based around class or caste.

• Eruptions of Vesuvius and Pompeii

  • By 2003 around 1,044 casts made from impressions of bodies in the ash deposits had been recovered in and around Pompeii, with the scattered bones of another 100.
  • Plaster casts of victims still in situ; many casts are in the Archaeological Museum of Naples.

• The Sramana Movement

  • Brahmin is a caste, or social group, in Vedic Hinduism consisting of priests and teachers who are held as intermediaries between deities and followers.
  • As it spread, this new Hinduism assimilated popular non-Vedic gods and other traditions from local cultures, as well as the integrated societal divisions, called the caste system.

• Sanskrit

  • Knowledge of Sanskrit was a marker of social class and educational attainment in ancient India, and it was taught mainly to members of the higher castes (social groups based on birth and employment status).
  • In the medieval era, Sanskrit continued to be spoken and written, particularly by Brahmins (the name for Hindu priests of the highest caste) for scholarly communication.

• Rise of the Gupta Empire

  • The Gupta Empire was believed to be a dynasty of the Vaishya caste, the third of the four Hindu castes representing merchants and farmers.

• Women in Pre-Islamic Arabia

  • Tell thy wives and daughters, and the believing women, that they should cast their outer garments over their persons, that are most convenient, that they should be known and not molested.