Warm Up: Sentence Correction Like ancient china and japan, ancient india was land seperated from its neighbers because of mountains and seas Like ancient China and Japan, ancient India was a land separated from its neighbors because of mountains and seas.

Ancient India

Location and Geography India is a subcontinent, or a large landmass that juts out from a continent. The Hindu Kush and Himalaya Mountains, along with the Indian Ocean, are the main natural barriers separating India from its neighbors.

Location and Geography The Himalaya Mountain range is the highest mountain range in the world. Nearly 5 miles high.

Location and Geography Small passes in the Hindu Kush mountain range allowed the earliest people to enter into India. The Indus and Ganges Rivers provided fresh water from the mountains to these early inhabitants allowing the earliest Indus River Valley civilizations to form.

The Aryans in Ancient India Around 2000 B.C., Indus valley farmers began to abandon their land though the exact reason why is unknown. Between 2000 and 1500 B.C. Aryans migrated from central Asia (Europe) into India conquering remaining Indus valley populations.

The Aryans in Ancient India Aryans wrote books called Vedas that tells about how they lived, their religion, and their unique caste system.

The Caste System The Caste System- A strict division of classes that people always had to stay in. Brahmans- The priests Kshatriyas- The warriors and government officials Vaisyas- The artisans, merchants, and commoners Sudras- (NOT Aryans) Farm workers, laborers, and servants The Untouchables- Performed the “dirty work” collecting trash, skinning animals, handling dead bodies, etc.

The Caste System

Warm Up- Analogies Indus is to River as Himalaya is to ____?___ Subcontinent is to India as Archipelago is to ____?___ One is to Monotheism as Multiple is to _____?_____ Answers: Mountain Japan Polytheism

Hinduism in Ancient India Hinduism is a mix of Aryan beliefs from the Vedas and existing Indus Valley cultures. Hinduism has one single spiritual power called Brahman, which lives in everything. But there is more than one path to truth in the Hindu religion.

The Caste System with Purusha A cosmic man whose sacrifice by the gods created all life.

Hinduism in Ancient India Hindus worship many gods and goddesses. (Polytheism) The gods and goddesses make up the different parts of Brahman. The most important Hindu gods are: Brahma- the creator Vishnu- the preserver Shiva- the destroyer

Brahma- The Creator

Vishnu- The Preserver

Shiva- The Destroyer

Hinduism in Ancient India One of the most important beliefs of Hindus is reincarnation, or rebirth of the soul. Hindus believe when a person dies, the soul is reborn in the body of another living thing. The way you act in your current life will affect your fate in the next life. Every living thing has a soul.

Hinduism in Ancient India To get out of the cycle of death a rebirth a person must obey their Dharma, or the religious and moral duties of each person. Hindu practice yoga to help connect with Brahman and free the soul.

A social class of people Word of the Day A social class of people Synonyms Caste Sentence Picture

A social class of people Word of the Day A social class of people Classes Social Order Caste In ancient India, the Aryans organized their society in four special castes.

Warm Up: Respect Opinion Why is it sometime easier to respect what someone else does after you’ve done it yourself? In other words, why is it sometimes difficult to respect what someone else does if you’ve never done it yourself?

The Beginnings of Buddhism A young Hindu prince named Siddhartha Gautama set out to find the causes of human suffering after seeing old age, sickness, and death for the first time. After deciding the Hindu belief could not help Gautama meditated, focused in his own mind to find spiritual awareness, for the cause of suffering.

The Beginnings of Buddhism After 49 days of meditating Gautama found his answer and shared with those around him. His followers called him the Buddha or “Enlightened One” and Buddhism began.

The Eightfold Path or The Middle Way An eight step way of living that Buddha believed would end suffering for those who followed it. Upon death those following the Middle Way would find nirvana and end their reincarnation. Under Buddhism all people were equal regardless of social class. Anyone could be a Buddhist priest or monk and spread the religious teaching to others.

Buddhism after Buddha In India, Buddhism almost died out completely with Hinduism being very popular. In China, Korea, and Japan Buddhism was greatly accepted and continued to spread across Asia.