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Ancient India Review Sheet
This review sheet covers many of the topics that will be seen on the test this Wednesday. Please take some
time to study from the sheet and come in for coach class if you have questions about the exam. Good luck!!!
Part One: Indian Geography
 The country pictured to the right is called India
 India is called a sub-continent because it is part of Asia, but it is still somewhat separate
 The Himalayan mountains that form the northern border of India includes Mount
Everest, the tallest mountain in the world
 The Indus and Ganges rivers form that area called the Indus River Valley, where the first Aryans settled
 Know where the following locations are on a map of India: China, the Himalayan Mountains,
the Indian Ocean, the Indus River, the Ganges River
Part Two: Arrival of the Aryans
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The Aryans most likely migrated from the grasslands of Eastern Europe
To migrate means to move to a new place and settle down
The Aryans wrote and spoke in a language called Sanskrit
The early Aryans first migrated in around 2000 BC
Part Three: The Vedas and the Indian Caste System
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The Vedas are a collection of ancient hymns and poems
The Vedas are important because they tell us information about early Aryan culture
The Vedas explain about Aryan beliefs, rituals, and cultural practices
The Indian social system is divided into four groups called castes
The most powerful caste called the Brahmins were the priests and church leaders, next came the warrior
class, than the merchant class, and finally came the ‘untouchables’ who were the lowest on the social ladder
 The Aryans felt like this well defined caste system brought order and harmony to society
 Indians are required to stay their lifetime within the caste they are born into
 Only by being reincarnated into a new caste can you move up and down the social ladder
 Reincarnation is the belief that when you die your spirit is brought to life in a new body
Part Four: Buddhism in India
 The founder of Buddhism was a man named Siddhartha Gautama
 Siddhartha was a prince of India who gave up all worldly possessions after seeing a sick
man, an old man, and a dead man and wondering what it would take to end suffering in the world
 Buddhism is now one of the world’s three major religions
 Buddha means ‘enlightened one’ and was the name given Siddhartha after discovering life’s meaning
 Siddhartha called for a life of moderation, meaning not to much of something and not to little of it
 Siddhartha called a life of moderation ‘the middle way’
 Many Buddhist meditate as a way to clear the mind and focus on thinking
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Part Five: A Great Buddhist Ruler
Asoka was a faithful follower of Buddhism and an emperor of India
Asoka ruled a people called the Mauryas who built the first empire of India
A missionary is someone who is sent to spread the word about a religion
Asoka converted to Buddhism and sent missionaries around India and Asia to spread word about the religion
An edict is a public announcement used to inform people about rules
 Asoka had rock pillars placed around the empire with different edicts about Buddhism
 Asoka advocated Buddhist values like nonviolence, happiness, and moderation
Part Six: Hinduism
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The major religion in India today is Hinduism
Hinduism takes its roots in the Vedic religion of the early Aryan people
Hindus follow very strict rules about where and when they eat, pray, and bathe
Dharma means duty, justice, and social obligation
Dharma has kept Hindu society running smoothly and helps reinforce the importance of caste divisions
Karma is the belief that your actions in this life will be considered when your soul is reborn in the next life
Hindu’s follow four life stages, the first stage a young boy learns with a guru, the second stage
a young man marries, the third stage men and women live in the forest and meditate, and the
forth stage Hindus decide to give up everything
 Hindu boys study with teachers called a guru
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Part Seven: Hindu Gods and Achievements
Hindus believe in the trinity or three persons in one god
The Hindu trinity consists of Brahman- the creator, Vishnu- the preserver, and Shiva- the destroyer
The Hindus were polytheistic and believed in many gods
Hindus read about their gods in epics like the Mahabhartha
Epics are long poems in fine language
Oral tradition is the passing down of stories from one generation to the next without writing it down
The most famous section of the Mahabhartha is called the Bhagavad Gita
Aryabhata was a famous Indian astronomer
Aryabhata discovered that the world was round and that there were 365 days in a solar year
Indians invented the modern day numbering system we use in mathematics
Indians were among some of the first people to use high quality iron
Part Eight: Indian Architecture
The Taj Mahal was built by an Indian emperor to honor his wife
Inside the Taj Mahal is the tomb of Memtaz Mehal for whom the building was constructed
Most of the Taj Mahal is built out of a type of stone called marble
The Taj Mahal is considered one of the seven wonders of the world
The city of Mohenjo-Daro was built by the early Aryans
Mohenjo-Daro means ‘mound of the dead’
The city is approximately one mile square and is made almost entirely of mud brick and wood bricks
The city contains large ritual baths that were used to bathe in before religious ceremonies
Mohenjo-Daro is one of the earliest cities with an elaborate system of roads and sewers