Ancient India

Do Now

• Identify the 2 River Valley Civilizations we have already covered in class

SWBAT

• Explain why the Himalayas did not completely prevent cultural diffusion

• Explain why monsoons are vital for Indians

DBQ Practice

• Complete the 3 DBQs individually and we will review as a class

Geography of India • Indus River Valley is in a region known as

South Asia • It is also referred to as part of the Indian

Subcontinent- a large land mass that is smaller than a continent, and usually split from the rest of the continent by a mountain range

• Mountains & water that surround India kept it isolated & protected from the rest of the world for many years

Indus River Valley Civilization

• The Indus River Valley is the birthplace of South Asia’s earliest civilization

The Indus River • The name “India” is derived from

the Indus River.

• An early civilization developed along the banks of the Indus River.

• Today, the Indus River flows mostly through Pakistan. (Pakistan was once part of India)

The Himalayas

• The Himalayas are a mountain chain in northern India and include the highest mountains on the surface of the Earth

• The Himalayas have not completely separated India from the rest of Asia because there are passes that exists in the mountain chain

• Himalayas separate India from China

• This is a photograph of the famous Khyber Pass- a valley that allowed travelers to enter India.

Monsoons •Seasonal winds that regularly blow from a certain direction during part of the year that are vital for farming. •Summer Monsoons blow from the southwest, pick up moisture and drench India with heavy rains •Winter Monsoons blow from the northeast and bring hot/dry air

• Winter or Summer?

Harappa & Mohenjo-Daro • Possibly twin capitals of the

civilizations or cities that ruled the area one after the other

• Grid Cities – organized pattern, with long & wide streets

• Complex plumbing system – baths, drains & water chutes that led into sewers beneath the streets.

A Familiar Grid City?

Aerial View of Mohenjo-Daro

Ruins at Mohenjo-Daro

Housing

• Houses were built with baked clay bricks of a standard size.

Farming & Trading • Most people were farmers. They grew

wheat, barley, melons & dates

• Others were merchants & traders. Their ships carried cargoes of cotton, cloth, grain, copper, pearls & ivory to distant lands

• Trade ships traveled the Arabian Sea to the Persian Gulf and reached Sumer

Indus Civilization Declines • Emerged as a civilization around 2500

B.C., flourished for 1,000 years then vanished!

• By 1900 BC, quality of life in the Indus Valley was declining

• Scholars do not know for sure what happened- they offer three theories: – Invaders attacked & overran cities – There was a major flood – There was a devastating earthquake

Archaeologists At Work • Remains found within last 100 years,

but still a work in progress

• Writing not deciphered yet -No names of kings, tax records, literature, famous victories, etc.

• We do know: Indus Valley civilization covered largest area of any civilization until the rise of Persia more than 1,000 years later!!

Wrap-Up

• Why did the Himalayas not completely prevent cultural diffusion?

• Why are monsoons vital for Indians?

Do Now

• 4 Practice Multiple Choice Questions

• YOU HAVE 4 MINUTES!

Task…

• Topics: Geography City’s Structure/Layout Government Economy Religious Beliefs Decline/Disappearance

• Groups are to create teaching posters on one topic for a gallery walk

• Use guiding questions, last night’s HW, and pages 50-53 in text to assist you

Task… • Your class is a museum today…

• As a group will travel from poster to poster gathering information from each feature of the early IRV civilization.

• You might need to extract the only the most important information so it fits in your graphic organizer.

• What to bring: graphic organizer, guiding questions, IRV notesheet, and something to write with

Wrap Up • What’s the most interesting information

you learned from the other groups? • If you were an architect working in the

Indus River Valley, what three items would you place on your “wish list’?

• What judgment would you make about this civilization?

• What information would you use to support your judgments?

Development of Hinduism in

Ancient India

Do Now

• What group of people took over the area once a part of Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro?

• HOMEWORK: Complete “Daily Life in Ancient India”

Activity • While watching “Crash Course:

The Indus Valley Civilization”:

- write down 1 piece of information you already knew

- write down 2 new pieces of information you learn from the video

Aryan Civilization of Ancient India

SWBAT:

- explain the caste system of India introduced by the Aryans

The Aryans • Migrated to India around 1500 BC

• 4 Vedas—a collection of hymns, prayers, and other religious teachings

• “The Vedic Age”

• Warlike people

• Tribes led by rajahs (chiefs)

Aryan Religion • Polytheistic—animal worship, offered

sacrifices of food & drink to the gods • Belief in Brahman—single, supreme,

spiritual power

Aryan Society • Divided people by occupation

into 4 groups (Castes) • Brahmins—priests • Kshatriyas—warriors • Vaisyas—herders, farmers,

artisans & merchants • Sudras—non-Aryans;

farmworkers, servants, and other laborers (many were Dravidians)

Hinduism

World Religions Today

Key Info • 3rd largest religion in the world today • One of the oldest & most complex

religions; countless gods & goddesses • No single founder--> combination of

Aryan and Indus peoples’ beliefs • Developed & changed over 3,500 years • Predominant religion on the Indian

Subcontinent today

Many gods, or one? • “God is one, but wise people know it by

many names.” brahman – unifying all-powerful spiritual force of the universe Very complex idea for most people to understand Hindus worship many gods to give a more concrete form to Brahman

Three Main Hindu Gods

• Brahma the Creator

• Vishnu the Preserver

• Shiva the Destroyer

The Goal of Life • Ultimate goal: achieve moksha

-union with Brahman

• Must free self from selfish desires -cannot be achieved in one lifetime

• Reincarnation: rebirth of a soul in another bodily form allows soul to work towards moksha

Moksha

Karma • All actions of a

person’s life affect their fate in the next life -people who live well (good deeds) reborn at higher level -people who don’t live well (evil deeds) reborn into suffering

Next Life

This Life

Person is born into

caste

Higher Caste Lower Caste

Cycle of Death & Rebirth

Dharma • The religious and moral duties of an

individual

• Duties vary according to class, occupation, gender or age -obeying dharma earn merit for next life

Ahimsa • Another key moral

principle of Hinduism

• Idea of Nonviolence

• All people & things are aspects of Brahman & should be respected

Sacred Texts • Teachings have been recorded in

-Vedas- collection of prayers, sacred verses -Upanishads- dialogues about Hindu beliefs

Other Facts • The Ganges River is sacred –Bathing in it can purify,

cleanse, and cure the sick

–Upon death many Hindus are cremated & have some of their ashes spread in the Ganges

Other Facts • Worship the cow (“The Sacred Cow”) –Seen as a symbol of life &

nourishment –Cow Dung •Used for energy, tilaks (religious markings), & fertilizer

Other Facts The Bindi

• Traditional forehead decoration symbolizing relationship status of a Hindu women –Red = Married –Black = Single •Black can also ward

off evil spirits

Wrap Up • Do you agree with the idea of a caste system?

Why? Why not? Can you propose an alternative to the caste system?

• What does the equation D+K=R stand for?

-explain D,K,R

• How is Hinduism related to the Aryan civilization?

• In what ways do you think Hinduism can affect the way of life for a group of people?

SWBAT

• Review Indus River Valley Civilization using an acrostic

• TEST on FRIDAY!

Wrap-Up: • What motive is there for creating a

caste system? • How will social problems arise from

the development of the caste system?

• Do you agree with the idea of a caste system? Why? Why not? Can you propose an alternative to the caste system?

India’s Traditional Ladder • Review “India’s Traditional

Corporate Ladder”

Your Task:

• Read and complete primary sources 1 and 2 on the Vedas

• We will discuss afterwards