India Study Guide
Vocabulary to Study:
Word
Monsoon
Raja
caste
Plateau
Hinduism
Stupa
Migrate
Definition
Seasonal winds that bring lots of rain
A leader of India; an Indian prince
The Indian term for your social class in society
A wide flat area of high land
A major religion in India that believes in polytheism and reincarnation
A Buddhist holy building; it has a dome top
To move from one place to another; example: geese fly south for the winter
Vocabulary Flashcards Quizlet Games: https://quizlet.com/63920614/ancient-india-flash-cards/
Vocab Visuals PowerPoint :
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1GcPedWWvdN_0t7FsXKAdzEyiLJE_T7YVXCmYocH8ax4/prese
nt?pli=1&ueb=true&slide=id.p
Culture:
Need to know:
1) Ancient India is made up of many groups of people that moved into the area.
a. The first people settled by Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa
b. The group then moved, joining the Aryans. The Aryans settled in central India
c. After being attacked by Persia and Greece, India became the Mauryan Empire.
d. After fighting for over 500 years, the Gupta Empire gained power.
2) India invented many things
a. The number system including the zero
b. They created the first plumbing system.
3) They had three major religions in Ancient India
a. Hinduism – polytheism, reincarnation; started by the Aryans; gods Brahma, Vishnu, and
Shiva are important; cows are sacred animals
b. Buddhism – started by Siddhartha Gutama; lead a good life following the 8 Fold Path
and 4 Noble Truths to earn your way to Nirvana.
c. Jainism – no violence; absolute peace
4) Government
a. Rajas ruled kingdoms. Raja is the Indian word for ruler (Indian prince)
b. There were many kingdoms during most of Ancient times
c. Only the Mauryan Empire and Gupta Empire unified the kingdoms to be together.
Economy
d. The traded on the Silk Road
e. Known for their spices
f. They had advanced jobs such as mailmen, dentists, doctors, and plumbers.
g. Priests, soldiers, merchants, traders, government officials, unskilled workers (using their
body instead of their mind to do their job)
5) Caste System – Social Classes
a. You were born part of the same social class
as your parents and you stayed in that caste
for the rest of your life. (Think of a caste as
a cast for a broken arm . . . but you are
stuck there!)
b. See chart on the right. You do NOT need to
memorize the names of the groups, but
remember who is on top and who is on
bottom
Geography – Need to know






The size of India changed over time
Started in the Indus Valley area (Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa) by the Indus River
Migrated to the Ganges River and central India
Himalayan Mountains and Thar Desert separates India from the rest of the world; this protects
them but also isolates them.
India use to be a subcontinent (India is on a moving plate that is slowly ramming into Asia.
Earthquakes still are common in this area.
Read a Chart and answer questions:
(The chart looks like the one you completed in class – similar to the one below)
Detail
Mohenjo-Daro
and Harappa
Pages to use in
textbook
Textbook pp 250-252
Years
flourished
2600 BC – 1900 BC
Location
Geography
Indus Valley
Area now called Pakistan
Settled by the Indus River
Society: What
would be
found in cities
Houses with flat roofs made
of oven-baked bricks
35, 00 people
Dozens of streets
Wall surrounding the city
Buildings to store grain
Aryan
Textbook pp 252254
1900 BC Migration
started
1500 BC – 1000 BC
People migrated because
of earthquakes, floods or
starvation
Moved to central India by
Ganges River and Deccan
Plateau
Irrigation systems
Sanskrit writing
People raiding areas for
food at times
Mauryan
Empire
Gupta
Empire
Textbook pp 265268
Textbook p
268; 270-271
321 BC – 183 BC
320 AD -
Indus River Valley and
most of India
(NOT the southern tip
or Sri Lanka)
Stupas built in cities
(Buddhist shrines
Roads
Ganges River
Valley
Northern India
Hindu temples
Sculptures of
deities (gods)