During the period 2000–500 BCE, in terms of culture, many regions of the subcontinent transitioned from the Chalcolithic to the Iron Age.[41] The Vedas, the oldest scriptures of Hinduism,[42] were composed during this period,[43] and historians have analysed these to posit a Vedic culture in the Punjab region and the upper Gangetic Plain.[41] Most historians also consider this period to have encompassed several waves of Indo-Aryan migration into the subcontinent.[44][42] The caste system arose during this period, creating a hierarchy of priests, warriors, free peasants and traders, and lastly the indigenous peoples who were regarded as impure; and small tribal units gradually coalesced into monarchical, state-level polities.[45][46] On the Deccan Plateau, archaeological evidence from this period suggests the existence of a chiefdom stage of political organisation.[41] In southern India, a progression to sedentary life is indicated by the large number of megalithic monuments dating from this period,[47] as well as by nearby traces of agriculture, irrigation tanks, and craft traditions.The Sangam literature of the Tamil language reveals that, between 200 BCE and 200 CE, the southern peninsula was being ruled by the Cheras, the Cholas, and the Pandyas, dynasties that traded extensively with the Roman Empire and with West and South-East Asia.[60][61] In North India, Hinduism asserted patriarchal control within the family, leading to increased subordination of women.[62][55] By the 4th and 5th centuries, the Gupta Empire had created in the greater Ganges Plain a complex system of administration and taxation that became a model for later Indian kingdoms.[63][64] Under the Guptas, a renewed Hinduism based on devotion rather than the management of ritual began to assert itself.[65] The renewal was reflected in a flowering of sculpture and architecture, which found patrons among an urban elite.[64] Classical Sanskrit literature flowered as well, and Indian science, astronomy, medicine, and mathematics made significant advances.The Indian early medieval age, 600 CE to 1200 CE, is defined by regional kingdoms and cultural diversity.[66] When Harsha of Kannauj, who ruled much of the Indo-Gangetic Plain from 606 to 647 CE, attempted to expand southwards, he was defeated by the Chalukya ruler of the Deccan.[67] When his successor attempted to expand eastwards, he was defeated by the Pala king of Bengal.[67] When the Chalukyas attempted to expand southwards, they were defeated by the Pallavas from farther south, who in turn were opposed by the Pandyas and the Cholas from still farther south.[67] No ruler of this period was able to create an empire and consistently control lands much beyond his core region.[66] During this time, pastoral peoples whose land had been cleared to make way for the growing agricultural economy were accommodated within caste society, as were new non-traditional ruling classes.[68] The caste system consequently began to show regional differences.
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