Indus River Valley Notes #17 Due for a stamp: Ch. 2 Reading guide Indus River Valley Notes #17 Due for a stamp: Ch.2 Reading guide ?’s 16-20 HW-Reading: Hinduism

Indus River Valley Civilization Who? Indus River People Where? Indus River Valley What? Started a civilization When? About 2500 BC Why Rich soil and water provieded by the Indus River Largest cities: Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro (population = 30,000)

The well-planned cities had: N-S, E-W grid for streets Drainage system, gutters “garbage disposal” Standardized building materials (bricks) Publics storehouses for grain

What happened? From about 1750-1500 BC, historians think one or more of the following happened: River changed course – no more water or good soil Poor land management – overgrazing, overfarming Earlier invasion by Aryans or others.

Aryans Who? Where? Why What? When? Nomadic Herders from the north Indus River Valley Why Food (especially cattle) What? Invade When? About 1500 BC Hinduism is a major development of the blending of the beliefs of the beliefs of Aryans and early Indus River people.

Indus River Civilization Leaders No real leader like a Pharaohs or Hammurabi Writing Too hard to decipher There are about 400 symbols Religion Shiva is the main god There are links to modern Hindu They worshiped the bull Cities They were building planned cities while Egypt was building pyramids. They were the first to use oven fired bricks. Cities were laid out in a grid. Monsoon Change in wind direction. Too much rain=flooding Too little rain=drought Makes farming hard. The end Movement in tectonic plates moved rivers, caused others to dry up and flattened cities.