Early Indian Civilizations Lesson 7 Essential Question: What affected India’s early civilizations?

Vocabulary Monsoon: A seasonal wind. Deities: Gods or goddesses. Reincarnation: The rebirth of a soul into a new body. Artisans: Skilled workers, farmers, and merchants. Caste: A social group into which a person is born.

The Geography of India India is separated from the rest of Asia by tall mountains. It is a subcontinent, a large landmass separated from the rest of a continent. The towering Himalaya to its North have some of the tallest mountains on Earth.

Two Rivers The Ganges and Indus Rivers begin in the snowy Himalaya peaks. The Ganges River flows southeast to the Bay of Bengal. The Indus River flows southwest to the Arabian Sea. South of these river valleys is the dry Deccan Plateau.

Seasonal Rains A monsoon is a seasonal rain. In winter it blows west bringing cool, dry air across the subcontinent. In summer it blows east carrying warm, wet air and heavy rains to the subcontinent. Too little rain brings drought. Too much rain brings floods.

The Indus Civilization Thousands of years ago, cities developed along several rivers that flowed through the Indus River region. These cities grew into a complex civilization called the Indus or Harappan civilization. Today two of these cities are called Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro.

Society, Agriculture, and Culture The Harappan civilization was well organized. It was ruled by priests or members of the merchant class. Farmers grew a variety of crops including: wheat, barley, and cotton.

Surplus food was dried and stored in case of a drought or a crop failure. Artisans created toys, furnishings, and jewelry from wood, stone, and ivory.

Centers of Trade The larger Harappan cities had as many as 35,000 people. They became centers of trade because people from other cultures were eager to trade for Harappan goods. Artifacts show that Harappan merchants traded with Mesopotamia and the people of Central Asia.

A Civilization Declines Harappan civilization lasted more than 1,000 years. Historians are not sure why the cities of the Indus Valley declines. Ideas: Climate change brought floods or drought An earthquake changed the course of the Indus River A new group of people moved into the region

Hinduism India is the birthplace of Hinduism, one of the world’s oldest religions. Hindu beliefs developed on the Indian subcontinent over thousands of years. Today more than 83o million people in India are Hindus.

The Roots of Hinduism The four Vedas, or “Books of Knowledge” are the oldest sacred texts of India. They contain hymns and prayers praising deities, or gods and goddesses. For many centuries the Vedas were only spoken. Eventually they were written out in Sanskrit, the language in which they had been memorized.

Beliefs of Hinduism Hindus believe that a soul survives death to be reborn in a new body. This rebirth is known as reincarnation. The soul carries karma from one life to the next. Karma is a force created by each person’s good and bad acts.

The Caste System Ancient India had four broad social classes called varnas. 1.Brahmins 2.Kshatriyas 3.Vaisyas 4. Sudras

The Brahmins were priests and scholars The Kshatriyas were warriors and rulers The Vaisyas were artisans, or skilled workers, farmers, and merchants The Sudras were servants and laborers

Over time a caste system developed within the varnas. A caste is a social group into which a person is born. Each person in the caste system had duties, called dharma.

A5th group of people called the Untouchables, was not part of the caste system. Members of this group performed the most undesirable tasks. Untouchables were forced to live apart from others.

The Caste System