Civilizations of the Eastern Hemisphere Unit 3 Indus Valley/India, China, & Persia

Part 1 Indus River Valley & Indian Civilization (WHI.4b)

GeographyGeography

Indian Civilization: Located in the Indus River Valley (South Asia) Indian civilization had two important rivers. They were the Indus and the Ganges. 4

Classical Indian civilization began in the Indus River Valley, spread to the Ganges River Valley, and then spread throughout the Indian subcontinent. This spread continued with little interruption because of the geographic location.

Physical barriers, such as the Himalayas, the Hindu Kush, and the Indian Ocean, made invasion difficult. 6 Mountain passes in the Hindu Kush mountains provided migration routes into the Indian subcontinent.

Indian civilization began in the Indus River Valley, spread to the Ganges River Valley, and then spread throughout the Indian subcontinent. 7

Civilization began between 3, B.C. Cities were laid out in a grid design. Oven-baked bricks, plumbing & sewage systems 8

Harappa & Mohenjo-Daro were important cities in the Indus River Valley Civilization. 9

Indus Valley culture ended mysteriously in about 1500 B.C. as cities fell into decay Possible causes for end of Indus Valley civilization Indus River changed course (loss of silt) Overuse of fields, farms & forests Sudden attack by enemies or natural disaster 10

Aryan Migration 11

Aryans invaded/migrated into the area About 1500 B.C., Aryans crossed through mountain passes and migrated into the Indian subcontinent Created a structured society based on the caste system. This let them assert dominance over native people. 12

Aryans created a rigid class system. This system was based on heredity. This system was called the caste system. Caste System allowed Aryans to assert dominance 13

The caste system determined peoples choices of occupations. (occupations = jobs) Heredity determined a person’s place in caste system; people were born into caste system for life and caste membership determined: Work they did Who they could marry People with whom they could eat 14

Four major castes emerged Priests Rulers and warriors Peasants and traders Laborers “Untouchables” lived outside caste system Their touch endangered ritual purity of others Included butchers, gravediggers, and trash collectors 15

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Aryans left little archeological record, but their sacred writings, the Vedas, left fairly reliable record Vedas and Upanishads are the holy texts for Hinduism. 17

About 321 B.C., Chandragupta Mauryan used his army to unite northern India Chandragupta Mauryan was succeeded by son, then a grandson, Asoka Asoka became king in 269 B.C. and waged war to politically unify much of India; later he became a Buddhist and ruled using nonviolent means. 18

Contributions of Mauryan Empire and Asoka 1.Constructed good roads to expand & connect empire 2.Built free hospitals & created veterinary clinics 3.Asoka & missionaries helped spread of Buddhism 19

Gupta Empire is the “Golden Age” of classical Indian culture Followed demise of Mauryan Empire Unified much of India During the Golden Age of classical Indian culture, Indians made significant contributions to world civilization 20

Key contributions of Gupta empire: 1.Mathematics: concept of zero, Hindu- Arabic numerals, and decimals 2.Medicine: setting of bones and surgery 3.Astronomy: concept of round earth 4.New textiles: exported cotton cloth and traded in silk 5.Literature: plays, poetry, dramas and academic writings 21