ANCIENT INDIA 6 th Grade Oxford Preparatory Academy

CA SOCIAL STUDIES STANDARDS  6.5 – Students analyze the geographic, political, economic, religious. And social structures of the early civilizations of India  CHAPTER 6  …major river systems  – Discuss the significance of the Aryan invasions  – Outline the social structure of the caste system  CHAPTER 7  … Brahmanism in India and how they evolved into early Hinduism  aesthetic and intellectual traditions

GEOGRAPHY  Many natural barriers  Mountain ranges – Himalayas  Bodies of water – Indian Ocean, Arabian Sea, Bay of Bengal  Rivers – Indus river and Ganges River  Tropical climate  Monsoons were important weather patterns that dictated agriculture, travel, and trade.

INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION  Due to the geographic features, India’s first civilization developed  The people relied on the Indus River to sustain life  Learned to manage floods and planted their crops in rich soil after the flooding of the rivers  Developed sophisticated cities  Large mounds of earth in order to avoid the floods  Grid-like patterns, built form oven0fired brick  Sewage, plumbing, and drainage systems were developed  Efficient economy based on surplus of farming and trade

ARYAN CULTURE  Biggest influence on India – Social Class System aka Varna  Caste system: fixed social classes  Each person is born into their caste  Brought stability to India society because everyone had a place in society  Brought limitations to freedom because individuals could not develop talents, interests, or friendships based on their caste  A more complex caste system still effects Pakistan and India today

BRAHMANISM  Vedas are India’s oldest religious texts  Vedic age religion is known as Brahmanism  Brahmanism was a religion ruled by priests and rituals  The highest ‘social class’ was known as Brahmins  Only Brahmins could perform rituals described in the Vedas  Impacted Hinduism

VEDAS TEXT

HINDUISM  Began more than 2500 years ago in India and is the third largest religion in the world  Southeast Asia, South Africa, Great Britain, and United States  Hinduism does not have a single founder, a single set of beliefs, or a central religious organization  Recognizes a supreme god and creator, followers worship a large number of deities

HINDUISM  Hinduism is characterized by great acceptance and tolerance  Keys to success throughout its long history  Hinduism has impacted literature, philosophy, art, and architecture of the world

4 GOALS OF LIFE  Hindus believed that people are born wanted 4 basic things  Pleasure and Success  Dharma – moral life  Moksha – release from life  Reincarnation – rebirth

4 GOALS OF LIFE  Hindus believed that people are born wanted 4 basic things  Pleasure and Success  Dharma – moral life  Moksha – release from life  Reincarnation – rebirth  Law of Karma  How a person is reborn is determined by the law of karma  Hindus believed that bad karma will bring rebirth in a lower form of life