Chap 4.1 Slides

Question 1

India’s geography is a ____________, that includes 3 major geographic zones

Answer 1

Subcontinent: Large landmass that is part of a continent. Indian subcontinent includes three major geographic zones

Question 2

What are the 3 major geographic zones in the India subcontinent?

Answer 2

–Far north: Himalaya, Hindu Kush mountain systems, separating India from rest of Asia

–South: Deccan Plateau, high plateau receiving less rain than other parts of subcontinent

–Between mountains, plateau are Northern Plains, where society first developed in India

Question 3

What is the fertile region of India like?

What weather is common?

Answer 3

• Heavy rains also add to fertility of plains
• Much of rain brought to India by seasonal winds, monsoons

Question 4

What is a monsoon?

Answer 4

•Summer, monsoon winds from southwest bring warm air, heavy rains from Indian Ocean; most of annual rainfall at this time

Question 5

Why was water a critical factor in India’s development?

Answer 5

The people of India’s first civilizations depended upon the monsoons to bring the water that their crops needed

Question 6

What was impact of monsoon rains on India?

Answer 6

• Monsoon rains flooded rivers; rivers deposited fertile silt in which farmers could grow crops
• With abundance of rainfall came threat of devastation and major floods

Question 7

Where did people live the longest in India?

Answer 7

People have lived in the northern parts of the Indian subcontinent for thousands of years

Question 8

Where did India’s first civilization arise?

Answer 8

• Farm communities gave rise to India’s first civilization
• Developed in valley of Indus River

Question 9

When did India’s first civilization begin?

What did this first civilization have?

Answer 9

Began 2500 BC, when people first developed writing system

Question 10

In the 1920s, remains of these 2 large cities were found: __________ and ________.

The civilization was called __________

Answer 10

1920s,remains of two large cities found

–Harappa

–Mohenjo Daro

Civilization called Harappan

Question 11

What was Indus society like?

Answer 11

Indus Society

Settlements well planned, carefully laid out

Question 12

What was life in towns and cities like?

What structure was built?

Answer 12

• Water came from community wells.
• Public drainage systems carried away wastewater
• Walled, elevated citadel—fortress
• Homes, workshops, shrines built outside citadel

Question 13

What was the economy based on?

Give 3 examples of the economic activity happening

Answer 13

• Economy likely based on agriculture, trade, livestock
• In cities, many specialized in crafts like pottery, metalwork, jewelry
• Indus traded goods

Question 14

How much details are there about Indus society?

Answer 14

• Archaeologists, historians not able to learn many details about Indus society
• Had writing system, but historians not able to read it

Question 15

What happened to the Indus civilization?

How do we know?

Answer 15

• Civilization thrived from about 2500 BC to 2000 BC, then began to decline
• No one knows what led to decline

Question 16

Around 2000 BC, a new civilization arose called _______, which meant _________

Answer 16

Sometime after 2000 BC, a new people took control of India.

Historians often refer to this group as the Aryans, meaning “noble.”

Eventually the Aryans ruled over most of India.

Question 17

Do we know where the Aryans came from?

Answer 17

•Historians not sure when Aryans arrived, where they came from

Question 18

What archaeological evidence is there of this civilization?

This evidence was called _________

Answer 18

• Little archaeological evidence remains to document early Aryan period in India
• Most comes from sacred writings called the Vedas

Question 19

This period in India was called the __________ period

Answer 19

This period in Indian history is often called the Vedic period.

Question 20

Vedic society had leaders called __________

What were these leaders responsible for? Give 3 examples

Answer 20

• Regional leaders known as rajas
• Raja primarily war leader responsible for protecting people; received payments of food, money in return

Question 21

What was the social structure in Vedic Society?

What were classes called?

Answer 21

• Divided into classes, varnas
• Each played particular role in society

Question 22

What were the 4 major classes of Varnas?

Answer 22

• Brahmins were priests
• Kshatriyas were warriors & rulers
• Vaisyas: common people, farmers
• Sudras: servants

Question 23

The 4 varnas were eventually divided into _______

What did these determine?

Answer 23

• Over centuries, four varnas of Vedic period divided into hundreds of smaller castes
• Membership in caste determined what jobs one could hold, whom one could marry

Question 24

What was the social hierarchy like?

What could people in castes do or not do?

Answer 24

• Social hierarchy developed, some castes had more privileges than others
• Not everyone belonged to a caste
• Untouchables had no protection of caste law, could perform only jobs that other castes did not

Question 25

What was the Vedic Religion like?

How did they practice this religion?

Answer 25

Fire Sacrifices

• People worshipped gods through fire sacrifices
• Priests offered food, drink by placing on roaring fire

Question 26

What was the prayer about?

Answer 26

Prayer

• single eternal spirit
• One aspect was Indra, who ruled over heaven

Question 27

What was religious rituals like?

What did priests do?

Answer 27

• Rituals grew more complex
• Priests said order in universe maintained only through rituals

Question 28

What group gained more influence in society?

Answer 28

Brahmin varna gained more influence in society