<P> Hinduism is a fusion or synthesis of various Indian cultures and traditions . Among the roots of Hinduism are the historical Vedic religion of Iron Age India, itself already the product of "a composite of the indo - Aryan and Harappan cultures and civilizations", but also the Sramana or renouncer traditions of northeast India, and mesolithic and neolithic cultures of India, such as the religions of the Indus Valley Civilisation, Dravidian traditions, and the local traditions and tribal religions . </P> <P> This "Hindu synthesis" emerged after the Vedic period, between 500 - 200 BCE and c. 300 CE, the beginning of the "Epic and Puranic" c.q. "Preclassical" period, and incorporated śramaṇic and Buddhist influences and the emerging bhakti tradition into the Brahmanical fold via the Smriti literature . From northern India this "Hindu synthesis", and its societal divisions, spread to southern India and parts of Southeast Asia . </P> <P> The earliest prehistoric religion in India that may have left its traces in Hinduism comes from mesolithic as observed in the sites such as the rock paintings of Bhimbetka rock shelters dating to a period of 30,000 BCE or older, as well as neolithic times . Some of the religious practices can be considered to have originated in 4000 BCE . Several tribal religions still exist, though their practices may not resemble those of prehistoric religions . </P> <P> According to anthropologist Possehl, the Indus Valley Civilization "provides a logical, if somewhat arbitrary, starting point for some aspects of the later Hindu tradition". The religion of this period included worship of a Great male god, which is compared to a proto - Shiva, and probably a Mother Goddess, that may prefigure Shakti . However these links of deities and practices of the Indus religion to later - day Hinduism are subject to both political contention and scholarly dispute . </P>

From what two sources is the hindu religion based