1. Ancient India – Indus Valley
Study Guide

2. Why did people of the Indus Valley choose to settle where they did?
Great conditions for agriculture!
fertile soil
Water source

3. What is unique about Indus Valley cities? (Hint** layout description)
Cities in the Indus Valley were built with similar layouts
Straight, wide streets
Rectangular city blocks for buildings
Brick buildings
City fortress

4. What is a possible explanation for the disappearance of the Mohenjo-Daro people?
Earthquake
Flood
Attack from invaders

5. How were the Aryans able to take farmland away from native people?
They were stronger fighters because they had horses

6. What is another name for “Enlightened One”?
Buddha

7. Who was Zarathustra? Bonus Question! The creator of Zoroastrianism
He changed the religious beliefs of the Persians

8. Know the difference between the three religions.
Hinduism – teaches that people live many lives until they reach spiritual perfection
Buddhism – people should seek love, truth, knowledge, and a calm mind
Zoroastrianism – life on Earth is a struggle between the forces of light and the forces of darkness (two gods – one good, one evil)

9. Know about different leaders.
Chandragupta Maurya- cruel and harsh ruler
Ashoka - Buddhism
Chandragupta II – enlarged empire, ruled during the Golden Age
Cyrus the Great – built the Persian Empire
Darius – organizer, developed the courier system

10. The Golden Age of India - Acheivements
In the lives of People – pony express, sewage system, arabic numerals, traded West of Mediterranean
Literature – wrote folktales (Sinbad the Sailor, Jack the Giant Killer), holy books( Vedas), wrote plays and poems (Kalidasa)
Medicine – way to set broken bones, inoculation, sterilized tools, dentistry

11. Caste System What was it? – a way to organize social classes
How did it operate? –born into a caste, could only marry someone in their caste, couldn’t become a member of another caste, people would have the job their parents had, lowest class called the “untouchables” who couldn’t allow their shadow to fall on people in other classes