2. Indus Valley Bellwork
What forms natural borders of the Indus Valley Civ?
Why are the winter monsoons so dry?

3. Indus Valley Bellwork
What forms natural borders of the Indus Valley Civ?
Hindu Kush & Himalayan Mountains, Thar Desert, Indus River, and Arabian Sea
Why are the winter monsoons so dry?
Not coming off the ocean, Coming off the Gobi Desert

4. Objective
WWBAT: Introduce and discuss the development and social and economics systems of the Indus Valley Civilization

5. Interactive Notebook Set-Up
8/26/2015
Indus Valley Civilizations notes
This will be on one page

6. Background
Geography
Cities
Society

7. Background Earliest Arrivals about 7000 B.C.E.
evidence of agricultural and domesticated animals
Farming began in this region around 3,200 BCE
Settled an early larger than Egypt or Mesopotamia
Both Population wise and geographical space wise
Civilization really began to flourish around 2,500 BCE until 1,700 BCE

8. Background Called either Indus or Harappan Civilization
To this date the Harappan script has not been deciphered
This limits the amount information that can be gathered about this civilization
Most understanding is based on physical artifacts and information passed along in oral histories

9. Harappan Civilization aka Indus River Civilizations
The ruins of the city of Mohenjo-Daro

10. Harappan Civilization aka Indus River Civilizations

11. The Geography of the Indian Subcontinent
Landmass that includes India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh
Himalayan Mountains separate it from the rest of Asia

12. The Geography of the Indian Subcontinent
Extremely dependent on the monsoons
Monsoons dominate India’s climate
Winter winds are dry; summer winds bring rain—can cause flooding
If monsoons come too early, there is flooding, if too late there is drought

13. The Geography of the Indian Subcontinent
Environmental Challenges
Floods along the Indus unpredictable
River can change course
Rainfall unpredictable; could have droughts or floods

15. Cities Two largest cities were Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro
Hundreds of other urban sites have been found!
Cities were incredibly well planned
Streets were organized in a grid system with streets uniformly 30 feet wide
Demonstrates an understanding of urban planning
Bricks are uniformly sized throughout cities

16. Cities Must have had a strong and well organized government
In order to construct well planned cities there must have been a very high functioning government
Cities seemed to have had their own ruler unified under some central power
There is no evidence to support construction of large palaces or fortresses in any city

18. Cities
Cities built on mud-brick platform to protect against flood waters
Built brick walls to protect city and citadel
Engineers created a public plumbing and sewage systems that connected most houses in cities
HAD FLUSH TOILETS!

21. Indus Society Cities were occupied by artisans and merchants/traders
City houses appear to be uniform
Implies there are no significant social distinctions
People lived in well-defined neighborhoods that seemed to be based on occupations

22. Indus Society
The majority of people were involved in agricultural production
Most important crops were wheat, barley, and cotton
However rye, peas, cotton, and rice were also grown frequently

23. Indus Society Religion was key aspect of life
Religious leaders are thought to have close ties/involvements with political leaders
The religion is the foundations of the modern Hinduism

24. Indus Society Very few weapons have been found
This implies they were generally a peaceful people
However there is overwhelming evidence the Indus interacted with foreign cultures

25. Indus Society Traded with parts of the region of Mesopotamia
Mostly traded for precious materials, especially bronze not native in their region
Exported cotton cloth throughout Asia Minor and The Indian Subcontinent

26. Indus Society One of the best sources of information come from seals
Seals were used to mark traded goods
By workshop, family, social standing, ect
They depict humans, animals, and super natural beings
Suggests there was a religion based on a belief on the supernatural

30. Theories for Collapse
The river may have changed course, natural disaster
(caused by heavy monsoons or an earthquake)
The people may have overworked the land
(overcutting trees, overgrazed, over farmed land depleting nutrients)
Invaders
(Aryan invaders destroyed the Indus River Society)

32. Today’s Class
The remainder of the class will be dedicated to completing a chart comparing the three civilizations we have learned about so far this year
You can gather information from a couple different sources:
Your interactive notebook
Your Textbook

33. Indus Civilization Bellwork
Why is much of the Indus Civilizations somewhat mysterious?
The script has not been translated
What were two characteristics of the Indus Civilization cities?
Well planned cities, uniform bricks, same sized streets

34. Objective
WWBAT: Introduce and discuss the development and social and economics systems of the Indus Valley Civilization
WWBAT: Compare the characteristics of 3 major regional civilizations

35. Today’s Class
The remainder of class will dedicated to working on your first essay of the school year
I will give you the essay prompt, make sure to address all aspects of the prompt
Look to the resources I gave you about writing a quality compare and contrast essay

36. The Geography of the Indian Subcontinent
Rivers, Mountains, and Plains
Mountains to north, desert to east, protect Indus Valley from invasion
Southern India, a dry plateau flanked by mountains
Narrow strip of tropical land along coast

37. Indus Civ Bellwork What was the greatest export of the Indus Valley?
Cotton/Cotton Cloth
Why do we assume that he Indus people were peaceful?
Little to no weapons found

38. Objective
WWBAT: Discuss creating effective thesis statements and constructing successful comparative essay
WWBAT: Begin constructing a compare and contrast essay on two ancient civilization