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Essential Question:
 What were the important characteristics of the
civilizations in the Indus River Valley?
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Warm-Up Question:
 Name 2 similarities between Egypt &
Mesopotamian civilizations
 Name 2 differences
The Indus River
Valley (India)
Class Activity:
Take a diamond shaped schematic
map and use the ancient India map in
the blue World History textbook pg. 53
to help you fill out the schematic map
What can you learn about a
civilization by looking at its cities?
Provide at least 3 examples.
India began along
the Indus River,
which flooded & left
behind fertile soil
Seasonal monsoons
caused summer
rains & floods
The people were well
protected on the Indian
subcontinent by the
oceans, mountains, &
deserts that surrounded
the Indus River Valley
9H - Do-Now:
When you think of an advanced
civilization/society, what images
or ideas come to mind? Make a
list of 5-10 elements of an
advanced civilization.
 Advanced cities:
Two of its most
famous cities
were Harappa
and
Mohenjo-Daro
 Indus cities were laid out in a
grid system with high walls
& citadel of major buildings
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Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro were possible
twin capitals of the civilization.
Baked clay bricks were common building
materials
Had a complex plumbing system – sewers,
drains, baths, etc.
Merchants had a uniform system of weights
and measures.
Well organized government  Urban
Planning
 Technology:
 Advanced plumbing; Most
houses had toilets & private
bathrooms connected to
underground sewer systems
 Standard, oven-baked bricks
Making a Living by Farming and Trading
Most were farmers
Variety of crops: wheat, barley, melons, and
dates.
 Others were merchants and traders
 Ships carried the following: cotton cloth, grain,
copper, pearls, and ivory
 Reached the city-states of Sumer
 Indus valley developed their own writing system
(not yet deciphered) and religious beliefs.
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Polytheistic
Mother goddess, a source of creation, was
widely honored – there was also a male god
Viewed certain animals sacred: buffalo, bull,
and cattle
Veneration – special regard for cattle
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1900 BC Indus Valley declines
Crude pottery, use of writing declined, cities
abandoned, populations decreased.
Scholars do not know what happened,
however there are various possibilities:
invaders, damage to local environment,
major flooding, and/or an earthquake.
Nomads migrated to Central Asia
Traveled through mountain passes in Northwest
India
 Aryans Emerge in India
 Nomads intermarried with local peoples to form
a group called Aryans
 Acculturation – blending of two or more cultures
 Combined the cultural traditions of the nomads
with those of earlier Indian peoples.
 Left behind very little archaeological evidence
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Vedas – collection of hymns, chants, ritual
instructions, and other religious teachings.
 Measured wealth in cows and bulls
 From Nomadic Life to Farming
 Settled into villages to cultivate crops and breed
cattle
 Learned how to make tools out of iron
 Rajahs – Aryan tribes were led by chiefs; skilled
war leader, elected to his position by an
assembly of warriors.
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Divided society into ranks based on
occupation: Early Caste system
Highest group was Brahmins (priests),
Kshatriyas (warriors), Vaisyas (herders,
farmers, artisans, and merchants).
Sudras were those who were not of Aryan
heritage. This also includes: farm workers,
servants, and other laborers.
 Specialized Workers:
 Indian society was divided
by the “caste system” which
divided people based on
their purity in Hinduism
 Government:
 Little is known about Indus
government other than
they were ruled by kings
 Writing:
 Indus writing has not been
fully translated so much of
Indus life is still a mystery
 Writing contained about
400 symbols that were
both pictograms &
phonetic characters
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Polytheistic
Worshipped gods and goddesses who embodied
natural forces like the: sky, sun, storm, and fire.
Indra – the god of war
Varuna – god of order and creation
Agni – god of fire and the messenger who
communicated wishes to the gods
Brahmins offered sacrifices of food and drink to the
gods.
Brahman – a single spiritual power that existed beyond
the many gods and resided in all things
Mystics – people who seek direct communion with
divine forces.
Epic Literature Tells About Aryan Life
Sanskrit – priests used this written language to
write sacred texts.
 Maintained a strong oral tradition – memorize
and recite ancient hymns
 Mahabharata Tells of Warfare and Religion
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 India’s greatest epic
 Bhagavad-Gita – reflects important Indian religious
beliefs about the immortality of the soul and the value
of performing one’s duty.
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Ramayana Teaches Values of Behavior
Priest-poets added new morals to the tales to
teach different lessons.
 Religion:
 Believed in a polytheistic
religion called Hinduism
 Hindus believe that one’s
soul is reborn until moksha
is achieved (reincarnation)
 Moksha (enlightenment or
nirvana) is the spiritual
release from human form
 A soul’s karma (good or bad
deeds) effect reincarnation
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Hinduism does not have one founder and no
single sacred text.
All Hindus share certain basic beliefs
One Force Underlies Everything
Major Gods include:
 Brahma – the creator
 Vishnu – the preserver
 Shiva – the destroyer
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Sacred Texts Reveal Hindu Beliefs
 Hindu teachings were recorded in the sacred texts of Vedas
 Upanishads are a section of Vedas that address mystical
questions related to Hinduism
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Achieving Moksha Is the Goal of Life (State of perfect
understanding)
 Atman – individual soul of a living being
 Brahman – the world soul that contains and unites all atmans.
 Moksha – union with brahman; must separate themselves from
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selfish desires
Reincarnation – rebirth of the soul in another bodily form
Karma – all actions of a person’s life that affect his or her fate in the
next life.
Dharma – religious and moral duties of an individual
Ahimsa – nonviolence
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A religion that grew out of Hindu traditions
Emphasizes meditation, self-denial, and an
extreme form of ahimsa
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Aryans divided society into four groups
Castes – social groups into which people are born and
rarely change.
Complex Rules Uphold the Caste System
 Closely linked to Hindu beliefs
 Rules governed every aspect of life
 Untouchables
Caste Affects the Social Order
 Could achieve a higher state in life by faithfully
fulfilling their duties of their present caste
 Limit social and economic progress
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Siddhartha Gautama – a reformer; his teachings spread
across Asia to become core beliefs of Buddhism
From Boy to Buddha
 Early life known from various religious writings and
literature
 Born a prince
 Buddha – the enlightened one
Following the Four Noble Truths
 Four Noble Truths – heart of Buddhism
 Eightfold Path – the “right” way of living
 Nirvana – union with the universe and release from the cycle
of rebirth
What is the fundamental
cause of all suffering?
Desire!
 Therefore, get rid of selfish
desires, don’t obsess about
oneself.
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Middle Way between desires and self-denial.
By following the Eightfold Path, anyone
could reach nirvana, the Buddha’s word for
release from selfishness and pain.
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1. Know the truth
2. Resist evil
3. Say nothing to hurt others
4. Respect life
5. Work for the good of others
6. Free your mind of evil
7. Control your thoughts
8. Practice meditation
Eightfold Path
Nirvana
The ultimate goal of any
Buddhist
Escape from the cycle of
rebirth.
Buddhists also believe in
reincarnation and that it takes
many lifetimes to reach nirvana.
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Both religions stress nonviolence and
believed in karma, dharma, and a cycle of
rebirth.
Buddha urged each person to seek
enlightenment through meditation
Buddhists rejected the caste system
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Monasteries grew into centers of learning
 Collecting the Buddha’s Teachings throughout Asia
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Tripitaka – three baskets of wisdom
Buddhism Spreads and Divides
Missionaries and traders spread Buddhism
Sects – subgroups
 Theravada Buddhism closely follows Buddha’s original
teachings
 Mahayana made Buddhism easier for ordinary people
to follow
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Founded by Chandragupta Maurya in 324 BC
 Gained power in the Ganges Valley; conquered
northern India.
 He controlled a well-organized bureaucracy
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Divided empire into 4 provinces
 Each province had its own royal prince (governor)
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Terrified of being assassinated!!!
 Had food tasters and never slept two nights in a
row in the same bed!!!!
Chandragupta’s grandson
Ruled the empire at its height
Converted to Buddhism, rejected violence,
preached tolerance and resolved to rule by
moral example.
 Stone pillars set up across India, offering moral
advice.
 Built hospitals
 Expanded trade which led to prosperity
 After his death the empire started to decline
 183 BC the empire falls
 Division and Disunity Set In
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320 AD Chandra Gupta founded this new
empire
335AD Samudra Gupta assumes the throne
 Expanded the empire with war and conquest
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375AD Chandra Gupta II becomes king.
 Defeats Shakas to the west and negotiates peace
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Golden Age: time of peace and prosperity
and many achievements in math and science
Declined around 5th century AD with the
invasion of the Huns
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Everyday life revolved around the rules and
duties.
Joint Family Structure
 Joint family – parents, children, and their offspring
share a common dwelling.
 Families were patriarchal in Northern India, the father
or oldest male in the family headed the household.
 Families were matriarchal in Southern India, mother
or oldest female headed the household.
 Property belonged to whole family.
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The Family Performs Certain Duties
 Dowry – payment to the bridegroom; financed the weddings
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Role of Women Changes Over Time
 Shakti – a creative energy that men lacked
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Typical Village Structure
 Ran its affairs based on caste rules and traditions
 Village headman and council made decisions
 Women were once allowed to be a part of council, but as time
progressed, they were restricted from doing so.
 Organized villagers to cooperate on vital local projects
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Agriculture and Trade Shape Life
 Farming depended on the rains brought by the summer monsoons
 Communication with other villages allowed the sharing of common
ideas across the subcontinent.
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Literature
 Vedas, Mahabharata,
Ramayana, Bhagavad
Gita
Architecture
 Stone pillars: marked
events Buddha’s life
 Stupa: house relics of
Buddha
 Rock chamber: house
monks, place have
religious ceremonies
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Science and Mathematics
 Studied astronomy: knew earth was a sphere,
rotated around the sun
 Calendar based on the cycles of the sun, 7-day
week, and division of days into hours.
 Used algebra
 Invented the decimal system, concept of zero and
symbol (0) for it