 Just
like in Mesopotamia
and Egypt, early
civilization in India
emerged in river valleys.
Technology: Water
& sewage systems,
Trash collection
 1500
BC: Group of Indo-European nomads
moved in from north
3
3
 They
conquered the Indus Valley civilization
and extended their control throughout most
of India
 Out
of the clash between conqueror and
conquered came a set of class divisions
that has lasted in India.
 What
is this called?
 Caste system
 Discuss
with your
neighbor where you
think each social class
fits 
Servants, laborers
Warriors
Priests
Farmers, merchants
 Caste
System – set of rigid
categories that determined a
person’s occupation and position
in society. A person was born into
a certain caste and remained in
that caste.
 emerged
from divisions
between conquerors
(light skinned Aryans) and
conquered (dark skinned
Indus Valley)
 Brahmans
 Kshatriyas
 Vaisyas
 Sudras
= priests
= warriors
= commoners, merchants, farmers
= peasants (Indus Valley peoples)
 Untouchables
= considered inhuman
 How
is the caste
system reinforced by
Hindu beliefs?
• Reincarnation justified the
privileges of those on the
higher end of the scale
• Reincarnation gave hope
to those in the lower
castes
 What
are two major world religions that
originated in ancient India?
 Hinduism and Buddhism
 Hinduism, the
world's oldest religion,
has no beginning--it precedes recorded
history. It has no human founder.
 Brahman
– single force in
the universe/god
 Ultimate
goal is to find
union with Brahman
 Yoga
– meditation/training
to achieve union
 Polytheistic
– 100s of gods,
but 3 main
• Brahma = creator
• Vishnu = preserver
• Siva = destroyer
 Reincarnation
–
belief that the
individual soul is
reborn in a different
form after death.
 After
a number of
existences in the
Earthly world, the soul
reaches its final goal in
a union with Brahman.
 Karma
– force made by a person’s
actions that determines how the person
will be reborn in the next life
 Dharma
– divine law, requires that all
people do their duty
 People
who fulfill their dharma earn
good karma and may be reborn as
persons of higher status
 Founded
by Siddhartha
Gautama (aka Buddha,
The Enlightened One)
around 500 BC.
 Siddhartha
accepted
reincarnation but rejected
the caste system
• this appealed to the
lower castes.
 The
story of Buddha…
 Nirvana: By
following the
Buddha’s teachings, one can
achieve Enlightenment and
be freed from the cycle of
reincarnation
 Buddha’s
teachings
are the basic
principles of
Buddhism
• Four Noble Truths
• Eightfold Path
(aka Middle Path)
 How
are Buddhism and Hinduism similar
and/or different? Use the Venn diagram to
help form your answer.
1.
Ordinary life is full of suffering.
* “I’m so upset! I don’t have money for the iphone
6!”
2.
Suffering is caused by desire to satisfy
ourselves.
* “I want the iphone 6.”
3.
To end suffering, end desire for selfish
goals.
* In other words, if you don’t want the iphone 6, you
won’t be upset about it.
4.
The way to end desire is to follow the
Middle Path.
 Your
task:
 Create
a fictional story about a person
following the “12-Steps” (Four Noble
Truths and Eight-Fold Path)
On your warm up sheet for today, answer
the following question in a paragraph:
If you had to give up one of the five
freedoms from the First Amendment,
which would it be and why?
(Speech, Religion, Press, Assembly,
Petition)
 Chinese
civilization
began with the Xia
(pronounced SYAH)
dynasty over 4000
years ago.
 Dynasty
– a family of
rulers whose right to
rule is passed on
within the family
SHANG DYNASTY: 1750-1122 B.C.
QIN DYNASTY: 221 – 206 B.C.
ZHOU DYNASTY: 1045-256 B.C.
HAN DYNASTY: 202 BC – AD 220
 Pattern:
• New Dynasty establishes power
• Ruled successfully for many years
• Power of the central govt declines, giving rise to
rebellions and invasion
• Dynasty collapsed, new dynasty takes over
• Dynasty Song!
 Legacies
 Oracle
bones
• Complex writing system
• Advanced bronze work
 The
Zhou Dynasty
claimed that it ruled
China because it
possessed the
Mandate of Heaven
• The Zhou king was given
authority to rule from
heaven
• If the king failed to rule
effectively, he could be
overthrown (loses the
Mandate of Heaven)
 The
Qin gained control during the period
known as the “Era of Warring States”
 Qin (pronounced CHIN) dynasty was the
first unified Chinese empire
 They adopted the ideas of legalism and
imposed absolute rule over all people
 Nomadic
peoples from Gobi (north) were a
threat because they were skilled fighters on
horseback
 What
do you do??
 Northern
Chinese states began to build
walls
• Qin Shihuangdi ordered a wall to connect
existing walls  start of the Great Wall of China
• http://www.history.com/topics/great-wall-ofchina/videos/deconstructing-history-great-wallof-china
 http://video.nationalgeographic.com/vid
eo/exploreorg/china-terra-cottawarriors-eorg?source=relatedvideo
• Every family member had his
or her place
Patriarchal - Male
• _________________
dominated society
• considered so important
because he was responsible
for providing food for his
family
 What
is a philosophy?
 While
Hindus and Buddhists focused on
freeing the human soul from the cycle of
rebirth, Chinese philosophers were more
concerned about the immediate world in
which people lived and how to create a
stable order in that world.
 How
should the
people be
ruled?
 Your
Assignment:
Fortune Cookie
Messages
 Write
a positive message on the paper
provided.
 Then
fold it into an origami shape. There
are instructions for a cat, penguin, and
little packet. (If you know any origami,
use that instead.)
 Turn
it in once you are done!
 Han
dynasty (202
BC – AD 220)
adopted Confucian
ideas
 What
Confucian
ideas do you see
represented here?
 Introduced
civil
service
examination
(government
officials had to pass
tests)
 Legalism
• Human beings are evil by nature.
• The only way people will follow the correct path
is if they are threatened with punishment.
• A strong ruler creates an orderly society.
 Daoism
• Let nature take its course.
• Do not spend time
thinking about spiritual
questions.

Confucianism
• The family and the community come before the
individual.
• Everyone should follow the Five Constant Relationships:
parent/child, husband/wife, older sibling/younger
sibling, older friend/younger friend, ruler/subject.
• If you work hard to fulfill your duty, society will prosper.
• A ruler must follow the path of goodness. The people will
respect him, and society will prosper.
• Government positions should be open to all superior
men.

 Han
dynasty adopted
Confucian ideas
• Introduced civil
service examination
(government officials
had to pass tests)
 Besides
two major world religions, what
are some legacies of ancient India?
 Science
& Math
• First to use algebra
• Created the decimal system – increments of ten
 Scientists
known for astronomy,
charted star movement, recognized
Earth as a sphere, & believed Earth
rotated on axis & revolved around the
sun.
 Mathematicians
of zero.
introduced concept
 Silk
Road – route between the Roman
Empire and China; silk was China’s most
valuable product