Ancient Indian skin tone

[deadtorius]

Just wondering, I have noticed from the many East Indians I have seen that their skin can range from dark complexion to very light. I know that India has been invaded by many different races in the past and their caste system was based on your ethnic origin so I was wondering if anyone had an idea whether the ancient Indians might have been the darker skin tone or some of the lighter shade.
My own guess would be the lighter skin would have come from the invaders mixing with the original native population but it might have to do with the region where the individuals were living
Getting ready to buy some Indians and I wanted some ideas on the skin tone for them
Thank you

[lawrenceg]

You might as well ask what is the skin tone for Europeans: The further from the equator you get, the lighter you get. The more time you spend exposed to the sun, the darker you get.

So a south European peasant farmer would be quite dark. A south Indian farmer would be almost black. A North Indian noble would be almost white.

[deadtorius]

Never thought of it that way, guess its a mix of region as well as whether you are descended from some invader
thanks for the insight

[gozerius]

I ran across a site that had photos of some Maurya era paintings. These paintings had individuals depicted in varying shades, so even then there was apparently a lot of diversity.

[deadtorius]

thanks for the tip. The Indians are still a bit in the offing but I think I know how I will do the skin tones now.

[wkeyser]

From all that I have read which is not much!!! But the lowest ranks where very dark skinned, almost black and the higher up the lighter the skin.

So I am painting my lowly infantry a very dark skin color almost black but not the same as African (a warmer tone), then the cavaly troops are little lighter, with the Chariots and Elephant crews the lightest, and the generals and officers also very light.

From what I under stand the invasion of the Arians from the north became the rulers, then as now there was a very strict class structure which I belive would be very apparent in the army.
William

[deadtorius]

Thank your for that insight, I had suspected something along those lines from much later invasions but was not sure it would have been present so far in the past. Guess all those Greek invaders etc set themselves up as the new ruling class and kept the locals down in the gutters, seems to be a trend you find in many cultures.

[Ghaznavid]

From all that I have read which is not much!!! But the lowest ranks where very dark skinned, almost black and the higher up the lighter the skin.

Not sure on that, usually only Kshatrias (the 2nd highest caste) were allowed to fight back then. The lower castes usually had no right to bear arms. Very dark skinned sounds more like camp servants then combatants to me.

[deadtorius]

Thats something to keep in mind, guess they wanted to keep the mobs in line by not letting them have arms and getting organized. I suppose if you have enough higher caste types you don't need to endanger your lives by arming those you have been keeping down all that time.

[LambertSimnel]

From all that I have read which is not much!!! But the lowest ranks where very dark skinned, almost black and the higher up the lighter the skin.

Not sure on that, usually only Kshatrias (the 2nd highest caste) were allowed to fight back then. The lower castes usually had no right to bear arms. Very dark skinned sounds more like camp servants then combatants to me.

In Stephen Welch's notes for his boardgame Chandragupta (http://www.gmtgames.com/t-ChandraNotes9.aspx) he states:

'...both soldiers and commanders seemed to have been recruited from all the castes, not exclusively the warrior Kshatriyas. Brahmanas (the priestly caste, including Chanakya himself) were known to both serve and lead, and Sudras (laborers) and Vaishyas (merchants) were apt to have joined the rank and file, particularly the militia levies.'

[daleivan]

From all that I have read which is not much!!! But the lowest ranks where very dark skinned, almost black and the higher up the lighter the skin.

Not sure on that, usually only Kshatrias (the 2nd highest caste) were allowed to fight back then. The lower castes usually had no right to bear arms. Very dark skinned sounds more like camp servants then combatants to me.

In Stephen Welch's notes for his boardgame Chandragupta (http://www.gmtgames.com/t-ChandraNotes9.aspx) he states:

'...both soldiers and commanders seemed to have been recruited from all the castes, not exclusively the warrior Kshatriyas. Brahmanas (the priestly caste, including Chanakya himself) were known to both serve and lead, and Sudras (laborers) and Vaishyas (merchants) were apt to have joined the rank and file, particularly the militia levies.'

A fellow wargamer and friend of mine made a similar observation based on his studies. Good to know

Cheers,

Dale