The Forenoon of Life, Aryans entering India (litho)

The Forenoon of Life, Aryans entering India. About 3500 BC tribes of Aryan origin - tall, fair, long-nosed, long-haired and refined of feature - flowed over into India through the great northern mountains into Sindhukhela, the land where the Indus rises. They immigrated rather than invaded, and fought with the Dravidians and others in occupation only when obliged, gradually mingling with them until they became an inhabiting race as far as the Mahakantara, or great central forest of the Deccan. About 2800 BC their traditional history begins as tribes fighting amongst themselves and with strangers. Much of it is preserved in two great epics, the Mahabharata and the Ramayana. Illustration for Hutchinson's History of the Nations (Hutchinson, c.1920). Note: Image has been digitally enhanced to facilitate repro.