Download Ancient India Geography and Early Cultures PowerPoint

8 December 2015
~Fill out your planners~
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Pass out New India Packets
Bellringer – India is a river valley civilization. What
can you assume knowing this?
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Essential Quetsions for unit
Geography of Ancient India & First People
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HW: Read pages 124 – 129
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Ancient India Geography
and Early Cultures
PowerPoint
Packet pages 2 & 3
What river valley civilizations have we studied so far? What do all
have in common? What assumptions can you make about India?
India is so large that it is
considered to be a subcontinent.
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What is a
subcontinent?
A large landmass that
is smaller than a
continent.
Scientists believe that
India crashed into
modern day Asia when
____Pangea________
broke up millions of
years ago.
India’s Mountains and Landforms
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What mountain range runs along the
Northeast border of Modern India?
The Himalayan Mountains
What mountain range runs along the
Northwest border of Modern India?
The Hindu Kush
What landforms cover most of India?
Fertile plains and Plateaus
More information:
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What River Valley did Indian civilization
originate from?
The Indus River Valley
When heavy snows in the Himalayas melted,
the Indus River would flood leaving behind a
layer of silt. This is just like the flooding in
Mesopotamia and Egypt.
What kind of climate does India experience?
Hot and Humid
Harappan Civilization
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The first Indian civilization was called the
Harappan
We do not know much, as we can not
read their writing
• We do not have a “Rosetta Stone”
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Focused on trade & religion rather
than military might
• Artifacts to not focus on war
Harappan Civilization
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What we can tell from primary sources is
that they were very advanced
2 major cities were: Mohenjo Doro and
Harappa
They were well planned! Examples:
• Stood near a towering fortress (defenders
could look down on the cities streets from
these fortresses)
• Brick Streets
• Streets crossed at right angles
• Many public wells
Artist’s drawing to show layout based off of found artifacts.
Harappan Primary Sources
Notice the attention to detail that was given. What assumptions can be
made based off of this?
What inferences can be made based off of these primary sources?
Aryan Invasion
The Aryans
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They (Harappan) were conquered by the
Aryans.
At first the Aryans were nomads that took
control of the river valley. What caused
them to create permanent settlements?
• FARMING
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At first the Aryan settlers did NOT read or
write.
The important poems and hymns in Aryan
culture had to be memorized. They were
called the Vedas.
Eventually Sanskrit records were written
down.
The most important language of Ancient
India was Sanskrit.