1. Social Studies India Study GuideBy
Duncan Winburn

2. Vocabulary
Subcontinent – a big piece of land that is smaller than a continent but bigger than a country
Monsoon – winds that cause wet and non-wet seasons
Sanskrit – the most important language in India
The Vedas – India ritual / spiritual texts

3. Vocabulary
Caste – a system that divided the people in the Indian society by their birth or occupation
Reincarnation – the process of being reborn
Meditation – the act of focusing your mind on spiritual things
Ascetic – a person who believes you need to get rid of all desires

4. Vocabulary Epic – deep stories and poems
Metallurgy – the scientific way of handling metal
Alloys – mixtures of at least two kinds of metal
Hindu-Arabic numerals – the number system we still use
Inoculation – injecting someone with a little bit of a virus
Astronomy – studying planets and stars

5. Describe the geography of ancient India
Why are the major landforms and rivers important?
The water helped Mohenjo Daro have indoor plumbing, and because it was in a valley it must have been well protected

6. Describe the geography of ancient India
In which modern-day country would you find the ancient Indus River Valley Civilization?
Pakistan

7. Describe the geography of ancient India
The rivers include the Indus River.
The cities include Mohenjo Daro and Harappa
The mountain ranges include the Himalayas

8. Describe the major characteristics of the Indus River Valley cities like Mohenjo Daro and Harappa
Mohenjo Daro created indoor plumbing
Both cities were well planned
Both were near a huge fortress
Using these fortresses, people could defend their city

9. Compare and contrast Aryan society to Harappan society
Both thrived for a while
The Aryan wrote vedas while the Harappan did not
Both civilizations eventually developed writing

10. Describe each of the Varnas in the Indian Caste system
The Brahmins were priests. They were the highest caste.
The Kshatriyas were warriors and rulers.
The Vaisyas were traders, farmers and craftspeople.
The Sudras were servants and workers
The Untouchables were below everyone else. The other people weren’t supposed to talk to them. They didn’t really belong to any caste. Another name for this group is Pariahs.

11. What is Hinduism, and how did it develop?
Hinduism is a blend of religious ideas, based on the ancient religious texts like Upanishads and Vedas.
When these ideas combined, Hinduism was formed.

12. What is Jainism
Jainism is a religion that developed around non-violence
Because of their beliefs, some people try not to hurt anything. Because of this some people have gone vegetarian because they don’t want to kill animals.

13. Detail the main events in Prince Siddhartha Gautama’s life
Siddhartha gave up being a prince and became a monk when he saw human suffering when he was 29
He wanted answers about true life, but no one could help him
He meditated under a tree on a hill until he became enlightened and became the Buddha
He spread his findings and Buddhism was born
He also created the four noble truths and the eight-fold path

14. What is Buddhism Buddhism is another blend of religious beliefs
Buddhism taught that you had to give up all desires before you can reach enlightenment
Buddhism also believes in non-violence

15. What is the Mauryan Empire? What religion is it help to spread?
The Mauryan Empire was led by Candergupta Maurya
It’s ruler was very military minded
He took control over all of northern India
When he did that, he founded the Mauryan Empire
First it spread Hinduism, then it spread Buddhism, then it spread Hinduism again

16. What was the Gupta Dynasty? How did it differ from the Mauryan Empire?
500 years later, Candra Gupta the First took over, and thus began the Gupta Dynasty
Differing from the Mauryan Empire, the Gupta Dynasty mostly believed in Hinduism.

17. Why was the Gupta Dynasty called the Golden Age
Because the Gupta Dynasty prospered so much, and everything about it strengthened

18. Name two significant epics of Indian literature. Why are they important?
They are the Mahabharata and the Ramayana.
The Mahabharata is one of the worlds longest writings. It is about two families fighting for control of a kingdom.
The Ramayana is a story that helps us learn about an Indian god named Vishnu.

19. Describe Indian advancements in medicine and mathematics
Describe Indian advancements in medicine and mathematics. How does this affect us today?
The very number system we still use today is called the Hindu-Arabic numerals.
They developed inoculation, which is where a doctor injects someone with a little bit of a virus to help the person learn to fight it.