Chapter 3 Section 1
India
Geography: The Indian Subcontinent
(DNWTD)
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Subcontinent- A large landmass that juts
out from a continent
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The Indian continent is divided into three regions:
1. Indus River keeps the northern watered plaindefined by mighty rivers, and fertile land
2. Dry triangular Deccan Plateau- arid,
unproductive, and sparsely populated
3. Coastal plains on either side of the Deccan- Coastal
people used the sea for fishing, and the highways for
trade.
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Climate
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Monsoons- A seasonal wind, that brings
rain.
defining feature of Indian life
people welcome the rains they need for their
crops
if rains are too heavy, they could cause deadly
floods
Indus Valley Civilization (DNWTD)
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Archeologists have not
uncovered many Indus
Valley sites
-No names of King
and Queens
-No tax records
-No literature
Two Main Cities
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Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro
both were large (3 miles in circumference)
Huge warehouses to store grain
both carefully planned, each city was laid out in a
grid pattern
-There were city blocks like we have today
All houses were built in uniform
using ovenfired clay bricks
-Houses had plumbing systems, with baths, and
drains
Harappa
Indian Cities:
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Well organized Government
Powerful leaders
Many Indus people were farmers
-grew a wide variety of crops
-wheat, barley, melons and dates
-were first people to cultivate cotton and
weave its fiber into cloth
Indian Religion
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Religious Beliefs
Polytheistic
Mother goddess seems
to be the center of their
creation
Worshipped sacred
animals such as the bull
Decline and Disappearance
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Ecological disasters
may have contributed to
the decline of the Indus
people
-Too many trees were
cut down
-devastating
earthquake possibly