Vedic Aryans
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| Geographical range | Indian subcontinent |
|---|---|
| Period | Iron Age |
| Dates | c. 1500 – c. 1100 BCE (uncertain) |
| Preceded by | Indus Valley Civilisation |
| Followed by | Late Vedic Culture, Kuru Kingdom, Panchala |
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| Geographical range | Indian subcontinent |
|---|---|
| Period | Iron Age |
| Dates | c. 1100 – c. 500 BCE (uncertain) |
| Preceded by | Early Vedic culture |
| Followed by | Brihadrathas dynasty, Haryanka dynasty, Mahajanapadas |
The Vedic period (or Vedic age) (c. 1500 – c. 600 BCE) is the period of South Asian history intervening between the end of the urban Indus Valley Civilization, and a second urbanisation which began in 600 BCE. It gets its name from the Vedas, which are liturgical texts containing details of life during this period that have been interpreted to be historical and constitute the primary sources for understanding the period.
The Vedas were composed and orally transmitted by speakers of an Old Indo-Aryan language who had migrated into the northwestern regions of South Asia early in this period. The associated culture, also called the Vedic culture, was tribal and pastoral until 1200 BCE, and centred in the Punjab. It then spread eastward to the Ganges Plain, becoming more agricultural and settled. The Vedic period saw the emergence of a hierarchy of social classes and later of monarchical, state-level polities. Archaeological cultures identified with phases of Vedic material culture include the Ochre Coloured Pottery culture, the Gandhara Grave culture, the Black and red ware culture and the Painted Grey Ware culture.
The end of the Vedic period witnessed the rise of large, urbanised states as well as shramana movements (including Jainism and Buddhism) which challenged the Vedic orthodoxy. Around the beginning of the Common Era, the Vedic tradition formed one of the main constituents of the so-called "Hindu synthesis".
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