1. India

2. India Himalaya Mountain Range Arabian Sea Bay of Bengal
Rivers: Indus, Ganges

3. Early cities in the river valleys (Indus and Ganges)
Floods are unpredictable and can be dangerous

4. This is to show the locations of the four early civilization centers

5. Harappan Civilization (2500-1500 BC) Indus River Valley

6. Mohenjodaro: Harappan city

7. Mohenjodaro What can you say about the city by looking at this plan?

8. Challenges to our understanding!
We have seen development of elites, social differentiation in Egypt and Mesopotamia
Hierarchy is shown in architecture: Temples, Tombs, Palaces
None here!

9. Harappan Writing
450 Symbols
Inscriptions usually 5 symbols long

10. Harappan Seals
Sacred cow in
India today

11. What happened to this early Indus Civilization. Economic collapse
What happened to this early Indus Civilization? Economic collapse? Environment? Invasion? Aryans establish new cities along the Ganges river

12. Caste System Priests (Brahmins) Warriors (Kshatriyas)
Traders, merchants, artisans, free farmers (Vaisya)
Slaves, servants (Sudra)
Untouchables

13. Caste-based discrimination is now illegal in India but people still often marry within their caste
Brahmin Wedding

14. Hinduism mixture of Aryan and earlier Indian gods and practices
no single founder or doctrine—long process of development (1500 BC – 500 BC)
Third largest world religion after Christianity and Islam

15. Teachings of Hinduism
Traditionally Hindus must abide by caste laws (dharma) by accumulating good deeds (karma) so that when one is reborn / reincarnated (samsara) you find yourself in a better position in the caste system. Eventually – with enough Karma you may experience moksha - a release of cycle of rebirth and reincarnation

16. Ahimsa - non-violence Important for good karma
Principle used by Ghandi in peacefully resisting the British rule of India

17. Hindu Gods
major gods: Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva

18. Hindu Devotional Practices
acquiring religious learning (  guru)
asceticism
meditation
yoga

19. Bhagavad Gita - world’s longest epic story

20. Diwali (= festival commemorating the return of Rama and Sita after defeating the demon king Ravana, from Ramayana)

21. There are two major types of Hindu temples The Northern Style looks like a mountain

22. The Southern Indian temple looks like a multi-level pyramid

23. Where is this temple? Northern or Southern India ?

24. North or South ?

25. Mauryan Dynasty (321-185 B.C.) first dynasty to rule all of India
Ashoka (= first Buddhist emperor)

26. Buddhism Siddharta Gautama (563-483 BCE) = Buddha
lived in great luxury and isolation; however, one day he encountered a sick person, an old person, and a dying person, and he started to think about human misery and how to escape this misery.

27. Buddhism Spent years wandering, fasting, meditating
Siddharta became Buddha - “the enlightened one”
preached for rest of life, founded Buddhist order of monks

28. Teachings of Buddhism
cause of all human suffering is desire for worldly things
worldly things are illusory
ultimate spiritual reality of things = nirvana
possible to reach nirvana
-by turning away from evil
-by denying the human body
-by deep meditation

29. Buddhist Shrines

30. Spread of Buddhism India: attractive to low castes
spread by monks and pilgrims

31. Buddhism in Different Parts of the World