5.1 Indus River Valley

1. Geography of India Large peninsula Surrounded by water on 3 sides Arabian Sea Indian Ocean Bay of Bengal

Separated from rest of Asia by Himalaya Mts. Barriers to travel were Hindu Kush Mts. & Himalayas Allowed India’s civilization to develop on its own

Contains 3 great rivers Indus Ganges Brahmaputra

2. Indus River Valley 2500 BC Harrappans settled near Indus River River dominated their lives Rich soil Flooded often -built dikes and dams -built houses high -used mud bricks dried by sun and kilns

Grew barley, wheat, dates, peas, melon and cotton 1st to grow cotton Weaved it into cloth and dyed the cloth

3. Cities Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro About 400 miles apart Planned communities Street grid Shops Houses No windows Opened to court yard

-buildings contained wells, bathrooms, & drains (sanitation system) -citadel (fortress) -granaries

4. Religion Polytheistic Female gods

5. Information Not much is known about civilization Can’t decipher written language Most information found on jewelry (made of gold and lapis lazuli), tools, & weapons (made from stone & copper) Seals made from soap stone Government probably headed by priest-king

May have traded as far as Sumer Changes in civilization begin to occur around 1700BC

6. Natural Barriers Forced civilization to develop on its own Thar desert Hindu Kush Mts. Himalaya Mts. Arabian Sea

7. Decline Reasons Exhausted natural resources -not enough food used too many trees Lost protection from floods -Invaders