Later Vedic Period (1000 - 600 BC) - General Knowledge of Ancient History

Later Vedic period (1000 - 600 BC)

During the later Vedic period (1000–600 BCE) - General Knowledge of Ancient History, the Aryans had complete control over the irrigated fertile plains such as the Yamuna, the Ganges and the Sadnira.

More General Knowledge of Ancient History

(1) Arrival of Aryans in India
(2) Aryans Religion & Civilization
(3) Aryans Birthplace & Spread

EVENTS 

• The period between 1500 BCE and 600 BCE was divided as the Early Vedic period (Vedic period) and the Later Vedic period. 
• Vedic Period: 1500 BCE – 1000 BCE: It was during this period that the Aryans were about to invade India. 
• Later Vedic Period: 1000 - 600 BCE 

LATER VEDIC WORKS 

• This period was based on the Vedic texts compiled after the Vedas. 
• The collection of Vedic hymns or mantras was called Samhita.
• The Vedas were set to tunes after the hymns were sung and were thereafter named Sama Veda Samhita. 
• Two more collections of the Vedas, the Yajurveda Veda Samhita and the Atharvaveda Samhita, were also composed during this period. 
• The hymns in the Yajur Veda were accompanied by rituals that reflected the socio-political structure of the society. 
• In the Atharvaveda there were charms and mantras which protected from calamity. These reflected the beliefs and practices of the non-Aryans. 
• The Samhitas were followed by a series of texts called the Brahmanas which gave detailed information about the social and religious aspects of the rituals.

BROWN POTS 

• Excavations in the upper Ganga basin ensured the discovery of earthenware bowls and brown clay painted vessels.
• These products were part of the later Vedic assemblage, from the same region and the same period (c. 1000–600 BCE).
• Thus, these sites came to be known as Pentate Gray Ware (PGW) sites.
• These places can be found in western Uttar Pradesh and adjoining areas of Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan. 

IRON CULTURE 

• In Pakistan and Baluchistan around 1000 BC, large deposits of iron were found inside the soil. 
• Around 800 BC in Uttar Pradesh, iron was used to make weapons such as bow and arrows and spears.
• In later Vedic texts, the words 'Shyama' or 'Krishna Ayas' were used for iron. 
• Although agriculture was simple it was widespread and the prevalence of rice and wheat increased in the later Vedic period.
• There was an increase in the presentation of various arts and crafts of metals. Professions like smelters, iron and copper artisans and carpenters came into existence.
• There were four types of pottery in the later Vedic period (Black and Red-Ware, Black-Slaked Ware, Painted Brown Ware, and Red Ware).