1. World Foundations River Valleys Unit 1
India
World Foundations
River Valleys Unit 1

2. Geography/Interaction with the Environment
Location:
Asia
Subcontinent:
India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh

3. Geography Mountains: Deccan: Hindu Kush, Karakorum, and Himalayas
Plateau at the center of the Indian peninsula

4. Geography/Interaction with the Environment
Indus River
Flows SW from Himalayas to the Arabian Sea
Ganges River
Flows E from Himalayas to the Bay of Bengal

5. Interaction with the Environment
Monsoons:
Seasonal winds
Oct – Feb, NE-W (Dry)
June – Sept, E-SW (Wet/Floods)
Challenges
Solutions
Yearly floods are unpredictable
Built villages up high (man-made islands)
Monsoons are unpredictable

6. Geography/Interaction with the Environment
Khyber Pass:
Hindu Kush mountain range
Mountain pass between Pakistan and Afghanistan
Isolated India from the rest of the world
Along with oceans/seas

7. Power and Authority Harrapan Civilization: Planned Communities:
City in India where the most artifacts have been found
Planned Communities:
Grid: built towns on a “grid” much like modern cities
Kiln Fired Bricks: oven baked bricks, made them stronger and a uniform size
Plumbing: pipes connected each house removing waste

8. Power and Authority Central Government:
Uniformity of city planning and construction suggests that the Indus River Valley Civilization had a strong central government

9. Religious and Ethical Systems
Polytheistic:
Belief in many gods
Animism:
Belief that living things have spirits
Linked to Hinduism:
Artifacts found suggests a connection to a Hindu god Shiva

10. Cultural Interaction/Economics/Empire Building
Diverse Trade:
Gold/silver from Afghanistan
Semiprecious stones from Persia
Contact with Mesopotamia:
Found seals in Sumer which they also found in Harrapa
Stamps and Seals:
Picture of animal and writing =
used for trading

11. Cultural Interaction/Economics/Empire Building
Geography Limits Expansion
East and West = rivers
North = mountains
Seas on three sides
Aryans:
Nomadic people from the North

12. Science and Technology
Written Language:
No bilingual text = unable to translate language
Planned Communities and Plumbing
Cotton:
Grew, popular trading item
Mathematics:
Dimension of bricks (4:2:1)
Geometry (planned cities)
Systems of weights

13. Review Quiz
1. Why don’t we know a lot about the Indus River Valley Civilizations?
2. What three countries make up the Indian SUBCONTINENT?
3. What direction does the Indus River flow and where does it flow to and from?
4. What are monsoons?
5. Name one environmental challenge of the Indus River Valley Civilizations.

14. Review continued 6. What is significant about Harappan cities?
7. How did Harappans make their mud bricks? (Hint different from every other civilization.)
8. What religion is linked to the Harappan civilization?
9. What city-state did archaeologist find Harappan seals?