Overview

By 1000 B.C. India and China had both developed civilizations that were independent of and would ultimately outlive those of their neighbors in Egypt and Mesopotamia. Objects of daily life found in villages in India today, such as the bullock cart and potter's wheel, are identical to those used thousands of years ago and testify to the continuity of Indian life despite a wave of invasions over millenia. Religion is also part of that continuity: it has consistently formed the basis of the social structure in the country. That reality is reflected in the art and architecture of India, which are a genuine expression of its civilization.

Background

The earliest Indian art and architecture emerged from the valley of the Indus River around 2500 B.C. The best-known sites are Harappa, which was destroyed in the...