1. Ancient India

2. Geography: What is a subcontinent?
Large landmass that juts out from a continent
Contains 1 ½ million square miles
Bhutan, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka
Less than 1/3 is arable (fertile)

3. What are the three major zones of the Indian Subcontinent?
The well-watered northern plain
The dry triangular Deccan Plateau
The coastal plains on either side of the Deccan

4. Northern Plain Lies just south of the mountains Very fertile
Watered by the Indus, Ganges, and Brahmaputra Rivers

5. The Deccan Plateau
Triangular raised area of level land that juts into the Indian Ocean
Arid, unproductive, and sparsely populated

6. Coastal Plains
Separated from the Deccan by low lying mountains-Eastern and Western Ghats
Rivers and heavy seasonal rains provide water for farmers
Seas available for fishing & trade

7. The Monsoon Significant impact on daily life Rain needed for crops
If late, famine and starvation
If too heavy, deadly floods occur
In October, the winter monsoons blow from the NE & bring hot, dry air that withers crops
May/June, the wet summer monsoons blow from the SW, pick up moisture from the Indian Ocean & drench the land with daily downpours

9. Barriers: The Himalayas
World’s highest mountain range
North of the 1500-mile wide Hindustani plain
Restricts overland entry into subcontinent

10. Barriers: Jungles

11. Barriers: Hindu Kush

12. Pathway: Khyber Pass Passes provided the main link with Eurasia
Allowed numerous invaders to enter and settle
Contributed to the cultural, racial, linguistic diversity

13. Indus River Valley Western region of the Indus valley
India’s Neolithic revolution &1st civilization
100,000 square miles
Drained by the snow-fed Indus River and four main tributaries
the Punjab
the Sind

14. Ganges Plains Much wetter
Snow-fed by the Ganges-Brahmaputra river valleys
115,000 square miles of India’s best agricultural land
Most populous region
Rice

15. Deccan Semi-tropical peninsula
Large triangular plateau that extends into the India Ocean
Agriculturally inferior to North India
infertile soil and limited water
Crops totally dependent on unpredictable monsoon rains
Rain is reduced because of the Western and Eastern Ghats
Navigation on the Deccan rivers very difficult in dry season
Few good natural harbors
Proximity to SE Asia helped it to have influence
Distance from Northern India enabled it to preserve its own political & cultural identity

16. What was the Indus Valley Civilization?
Emerged in the Indus River Valley in present-day Pakistan about 2500 BCE
Flourished for about 1000 years and then vanished
Cities only recently excavated

17. Life in the Indus River Valley
Rich soil provided surplus wheat and other grains
Food surplus=population increased
Population increased=cities
2500 BCE-1500BCE, well planned cities flourished
Mohenjo-Daro
Harappa

18. Harappa & Mohenjo-Daro
Large, well-planned, dominated by hill-top structure
Fortress, or temple?
Huge warehouses to store grain
Well-organized government
Powerful Priests-kings?
Mathematics, surveying skills
Uniform weights & measures
Houses built with uniform oven-fired clay bricks
Modern Indoor plumbing systems
Baths, drains, and water chutes that led to sewers.

19. Mohenjo-Daro & Harappa
Contemporary to Egypt’s Middle Kingdom & Mesopotamia’s Ur Dynasty
Covered about ½ million square miles
Discovered in the 1920’s
Very wealthy
Bronze tools, copper, pottery, gold and silver

20. How did people make a living? -Farming and Trade
Barley, melons, dates
Cultivated cotton for cloth
Merchants
Traders
Ships carried cotton cloth, grain, copper, pearls, and ivory combs
Contact with Sumer inspired them to develop writing system

21. Religion Polytheistic Mother goddess Sacred animals Bull
Veneration of cattle begun here?

22. Why did this civilization disappear?
Around 1750 BCE, quality of life declined
Cities fell into disorder
Crude pottery
Volcanic eruption?
mud found in the streets indicates the Indus may have flooded
Earthquake?
Environmental damage?
-trees cut down to fuel the ovens for bricks

23. The Aryans
By 1500 BCE, nomadic people from southern Russia migrated into the area
Cattle, sheep, goats
Horse-drawn chariots and superior weapons overran the Indus region
Warrior culture
Destroyed and looted the weakened Indus Valley civilization

24. The Aryans Rose in the NE along the Ganges
One of many groups of Indo-Europeans who migrated across Europe and Asia seeking water and pasture for their horses and cattle
No cities
no statues
No stone seals
What we know comes from the Vedas

25. The Vedic Age: BCE
Collection of prayers, hymns, and other religious teachings
Priests memorized and recited the Vedas for a thousand years before they were written down
Aryans portrayed as warriors who loved drinking, music, chariot races, dice games
Valued cattle

26. Aryan Society At first, warriors enjoyed the most prestige
Later, priests gained respect and power because they claimed only they could conduct the ceremonies needed to win the favor of the gods
Aryans felt superior to the Dravidians-conquered people who may have been the original Indus valley descendants

27. Aryan Society Divided people by occupation Brahmins = priests
Kshatriyas = Warriors
Vaisyas = herders, farmers, artisans, merchants
Sudras = farmworkers, servants, laborers

28. Aryan Society: Jati (Caste System)
Class divisions were social and economic not ethnic
Eventually developed into the complex caste system
People were born into their caste and could not change

29. Aryan Religious Beliefs
Polytheistic
Gods and goddesses embodied natural forces such as the sky, sun, storm, fire
Brahmins sacrificed food and drink
Rituals and prayers call on the gods for health, wealth and victory in war
Later evolved into a single power of the brahman, that resided in all things
Mystics devoted their lives to spiritual truth-meditation, yoga, spiritual and bodily discipline
Sought direct communion with divine forces

30. Expansion and Change
Over many centuries, waves of Aryans went through the mountain passes into NW India
Tribes were led by rajahs
Most skilled war leader
Elected by an assembly of warriors
Ruled with the advice of a council of elders made up of heads of families

31. Aryans: From Nomads to Farmers
Aryans mingled with people they conquered
Gave up nomadic ways and settle into villages
Spread east to the Ganges
By 800BCE, they learned to make tools of iron
Iron axes and weapons helped them create villages in the rainforests of the NE
Tribal leaders fought to control trade & territory
Some rajahs became powerful hereditary rulers
Walled cities arose in the jungles

32. Expansion and Change New civilization emerged in about 500 BCE
Many rival kingdoms
Aryan and Dravidian cultures blended together
Common written language-Sanskrit
Priests began writing down the sacred texts.

33. Epic Literature: The Mahabharata & The Ramayana
Despite the development of written language, the Aryans continued their strong oral tradition
Continued to memorize and recite ancient hymns and long, epic poems
Mix of mythology, adventure, and religion

34. The Mahabharata Greatest epic with 100,000 verses
Battles of Aryan tribes and how they won control over the Ganges region
Five royal brothers, the Pandavs, lose their kingdom to their cousins
18 day battle, they regain their kingdom and restore peace to India
Bhagavad-Gita reflects important Indian religious beliefs about the immortality of the soul and the importance of duty

35. The Ramayana Hero Rama and his beautiful bride Sita
Sita is kidnapped by the demon-king Ravan
Rama rescues Sita with the aid of the monkey general Hanuman

36. What role do these epics play in Indian society?
Over the years, priests added new morals to the tales to teach different lessons
Rama = virtuous, brave = ideal king
Sita = virtuous, loyal, obedient = ideal woman

37. What was the impact of the Aryans?
Religious beliefs evolved into major world religions
Hinduism
Buddhism
Caste System