Download silt created fertile farmland!

India is a subcontinent, a
large landmass that is
smaller than a continent
Mountains largely
separate India from the
rest of Asia
•The Himalaya Mountains, the
world’s highest, are in the north
•The Hindu Kush are in the west
•A vast desert is west of the
Himalayas
•The Indus River is where Indian
civilization began (silt created
fertile farmland!)
Most of India has a hot and
humid climate.
India’s climate is heavily
influenced by India’s
monsoons, seasonal wind
patterns that cause wet and
dry seasons.
In the summer, monsoon
winds blow into India from
the Indian Ocean,
bringing heavy rains
Some parts of India receive
as much as 100 or even
200 inches of rain during
this time.
In the winter, winds blow down from the
mountains. This forces moisture out of India
and creates warm, dry winters.
•Developed along both sides of
the Indus River
•Harappan civilization grew as
irrigation and agriculture
improved.
•One of two large
cities
•Located in what is now
Pakistan
•Covered over one square mile
•Very advanced, including
indoor plumbing
•300 miles from Mohenjo Daro
•Very similar in design
•Thrived from 2300 to 1700 BC
•Stood near a large fortress
•Had many public wells
•Indoor plumbing
•System of weights and measures
•India’s first known writing
system
•Came to an abrupt end in
1700 BC
•Perhaps helped end Harappan
civilization
•Came from the west through
the Hindu Kush mountains
•Using chariots, they controlled
all of Indus Valley by 1200 BC
•Religious writings
•Made up of poems, hymns,
myths, and rituals
•Most of what is known of the
Aryans comes from the Vedas
•At first, vedas all had to be
memorized
•Later, Sanskrit was developed
into a writing system
•It was the most important
language in ancient India
•It is the root for many South
Asia languages
•Very different from Harappan
•No big cities; small communities
•No single ruling authority existed
•Villages were ruled by rajas
(leaders)
•Villagers farmed for the rajas