1. Ancient India

2. Geography & Indian Life

3. Physical Geography of India
 Subcontinent
 Large landmass that is part of a continent, but
considered a separate region
 Includes: Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, & most of
Pakistan
 Referred to a South Asia
 Used to be a separate landmass
 Collided with Asia & mts. were pushed up where the two lands
met

4. Mountains & Waterways
 Mountains
 Hindu Kush Mts.
 Himalayas
 Stretch along northern India & separate it from China and
Asia
 Rivers
 Ganges & Indus Rivers
 Carry water for irrigation
 Deposit silt which makes land fertile
 Arabian Sea, Indian Ocean, & Bay of Bengal surround India
 Ancient people sailed waters to other lands for trade

5. Climate
 Mts. help block cold north winds
 Temps are warm
 Seasonal wind systems (Monsoons) shape climate
 Produce wet or dry season
 Monsoons can provide rain for crops or cause floods

6. Cities in the Indus Valley
 Earth mounds cover Indus Valley
 Bricks & tiny stone seals were found
 Ancient civilizations discovered

7. Early Inhabitants
 Civilization began with agriculture
 Raised wheat, barley, & eventually cotton that was made
into fabric
 Domesticated cattle, sheep, goats, & chickens
 Made copper & bronze tools
 People traded with each other & eventually with other
civilizations further away
 Developed into more complex culture

8. Great Cities
 Mohenjo-Daro & Harappa
 Harappa is the name given to entire culture; called Harappan
civilization
 Harappa
 Good city planning
 Partially built of mud-brick platforms to protect from
flooding
 Thick wall 3 ½ miles long surrounded city
 Citadel located inside for royal family & served as a temple
 Wide streets were laid out in grid system
 Houses laid out in blocks

9. Dealing with Problems
 Big problem of removing human waste
 Harappan cities
 Every house had bathroom & toilet
 Underground sewers carries waste away
 Good planning to accomplish this task
 Must have had powerful leaders

10. Harappan Culture
 Mysterious form of writing was discovered
 500 pictographs may stand for words, sounds, or both
 Not known how to read writing yet
 Only learn about Harappan culture through the study
of artifacts

11. Harappan Religion
 No temples of specific deities, or gods, found yet
 Public baths, figures of animals, & clay figurines have
been found
 Possible religious ties
 Priests
 Probably prayed for good harvests & safety from floods
 Religious objects show links to modern Hindu culture

12. A Widespread and Prosperous
Culture
 People shared Harappan culture
 Cities spread
 Common design of cities shared

13. Culture & Trade
 People used standard weights & measures
 Made similar bronze statues & clay toys
 Showed Harappans could afford more than just the
necessities
 Wealth gained through agriculture & trade
 Traded as far away as Mesopotamia
 Harappans traded timber, ivory, & beads for silver, tin, &
woolen cloth

14. Indus Valley Culture Ends
 1700 B.C.
 Quality of buildings in Indus Valley declined
 Cities fell to decay
 May Indus River changed course & floods no longer
fertilized the land or people wore out the land
 1970s
 Satellite images revealed evidence of ancient movements
in the earth’s crust
 Probably caused earthquakes & floods
 Altered course of the Indus River

15. Impact of Disaster
 Some cities along the Indus River survived disasters
while others were destroyed
 Saraswati River might have also dried up
 Trade became impossible & cities died
 Agriculture was also influenced
 Could not produce large quantities of food

16. Influence of Nomads
 Nomadic people from the north of the Hindu Kush
mts. came into region
 May have been a factor on Indian subcontinent

17. The Origins of Hinduism

18. Aryans Move Into India
 Indo-Europeans
 Nomads
 Lived in clans (family groups)
 Herded cattle, sheep, & goats
 Warriors who used horse-driven chariots
 Fought w/ long bows & arrows and axes

19. The Indo-European Migrations
 2,000 B.C.
 Drought, a plague, or invasion forced I-E to leave
homeland
 Different groups went to different areas
 Hittites = Southwest Asia
 Others = parts of Europe

20. The Aryan Migrations
 1500 B.C.
 Aryans migrated to India
 Simple herders who lived in simple houses
 Spoke Sanskrit
 Not believed to have caused Harappans to flee

21. Changes to Indian Life
 Aryans
 Entered India gradually
 Practiced a religion that Dravidians liked
 Dravidians were people already living in India
 Aryan language & religion spread
 Dravidians taught Aryans about city life
 Complex blended culture developed

22. Social Structure
 Aryan society at first
 Warriors
 Priests
 Commoners
 As society became more complex became known as the caste system
(caste = a social class that a person belongs to by birth)
 Brahmans = priests, scholars, & teachers
 Ksatriya = rulers, nobles, & warriors
 Vaisya = bankers, farmers, & merchants
 Sudra = artisans & laborers
 Later another group was added
 Untouchables = below all other groups; did jobs no one else wanted
(i.e. disposing of dead bodies)

23. Aryan Beliefs & Brahmanism
 Early Aryans religion now called Brahmanism
 Named after Aryan priests or Brahmins
 Worshiped many nature deities
 Sacrificed animals on sacred fire
 Ceremonies became more complex over time
 Rituals & hymns found in ancient Sankrit sacred texts
called the Vedas
 4 collections of prayers & instruction for rituals
 most important is Rig Veda

24.  Religion changed over time
 Began to question how world came to be
 Began to believe that all deities were really the
expression of one deity
 Indians wrote about ancient history in works like the
Mahabharata
 An epic poem that retells many legends

25. Hinduism: The Religion of India
 Bhagavad Gita is sacred text of Hinduism
 Modern name of religion developed from Brahmanism
 Many Deities
 Many are worshipped, but one supreme God or life force
is recognized
 3 most important: Brahma (the creator), Vishnu (the
protector), & Shiva (the destroyer)

26. Many Lives
 Hindus believe in reincarnation
 Each person has many lives
 What a person does in each life determines what he or
she will be in the next life (known as Karma)
 Consequences determine fate
 Reincarnation is a cycle of birth, life, death, & rebirth
 Cycle ends when a mystical union w/ God is created
 Person must realize their soul & God’s soul are one

27. Many Paths to God
 Connect w/ God by following their own individual
path
 Part of path deals w/ one’s job (linked to the caste
system)
 Must faithfully carry out assigned duties in life
 Choices of spiritual practices to grow closer to God
 Meditation: making the mind calm
 Yoga: complex practice including exercise, breathing
tech., & diet

28. Buddhism and India’s Golden Age

29. The Rise of Buddhism
 Based on teachings of Siddhartha Gautama
 Prince who gave up wealth & position to understand
meaning of life
 Became Buddha (enlightened one) later

30. The Buddha’s life and Teachings
 A priests predicted Siddhartha would become holy man
 His father sheltered him from seeing illness, death & poverty
to prevent this
 At 29 Siddhartha did finally see such troubles & fled his home
in search of peace
 Starved himself for 6 years (did not find answers he sought)
 Then sat under a fig tree & meditated for understanding
 Gained insight into reality called them the Four Noble Truths
 1st: existence is suffering
 2nd: condition comes from wanting what one doesn’t have or
from wanting life to be different
 3rd: people can stop suffering by not wanting
 4th: people can stop wanting by following the Eightfold Path

31.  The Eightfold Path
 Right
opinions, desires, speech, actions, job, effort, concentrat
ion, and meditation
 Path could lead to nirvana (the end of suffering)
 Reaching nirvana broke the cycle of reincarnation
 Buddha believed in the practice of ahimsa, but didn’t
worship Hindu deities
 After Buddha’s death
 Followers gathered teaching to pass on to others
 Collections called the dharma

32. The Maurya Empire
 Buddhism became influential because famous Indian king
ruled by its teachings
 A United India
 Separate Aryan kingdoms battled each other
 Magadha gained strength around 550 B.C.
 321 B.C. Chandragupta Maurya became king of Magaha
 Formed Maurya Empire
 Controlled empire using spies to learn what people did &
army to keep order (600,000 soldiers, 30,000 cavalary, &
9,000 elephants)
 Many officials ran gov’t
 Heavily taxed land and crops of people

33. Asoka, the Buddhist King
 Asoka
 Grandson of Chandragupta
 Became emperor in 272 B.C.
 Ruled by Buddhist teachings
 Gave up warfare; ruled peacefully & by law
 Policies were carved on rocks and stone pillars along main roads
 One edict was for people to show obedience to mother and father
 Others joined Buddhism
 Missionaries were also sent to carry the ideas of Buddhism to other
parts of Asia
 Asoka’s officials planted trees, dug wells, set up hospitals, & built rest
houses along roads
 Improvements allowed more comfort for travelers
 Policies were noble, but they failed to hold the empire together after
his death

34. Changes to Hinduism
 Hindu deities were not worshiped by as many people
anymore
 People turned to Buddhism instead
 Shift back to Hinduism began
 Poets wrote hymns of praise to deities Vishnu & Shiva
 Wrote in languages of common people (instead of Sanskrit)
 Renewed love for Hindu deities followed

35. The Golden Age of the Guptas
 Gupta family took control five centuries after Asoka
died
 The Gupta Empire
 Began as leaders in Magadha
 Chandra Gupta I became king in A.D. 320
 Fun expanded empire by fighting wars
 His grandson Chandra Gupta II was greatest ruler of family
 Gupta II
 During reign India experienced a golden age or a time of
great accomplishment

36. Art & Literature
 Flourished under Gupta II
 Gracefully designed temples
 Murals & statues were created
 Plays were written
 Poetry flourished

37. Mathematics & Science
 Math: number system still used today; developed
decimal system & symbol for zero; figured out length
of a year, estimated value of pi
 Astronomy increased; proved earth was round
 Doctors promoted health through diet and exercise

38. Metal Working
 Advanced methods of metallurgy
 Large iron pillars were erected

39. Trade Spreads Indian Culture
 Gupta royal court was a place of excitement & growth
 More territory was added to empire
 Expansion & profits from foreign trade was a result
 Merchants bought Chinese silk & resold them to traders
traveling west
 Traders & Missionaries spread Indian culture & beliefs
 Hinduism spread to Southeast Asia, Buddhism spread

40. The Legacy of India

41. Hinduism & Buddhism Today
 4 out of 5 people in India are Hindus
 Also found in Nepal, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, & many other
countries
 1 million in the U.S.
 Buddhism didn’t remain strong in India
 Not even 1% of people are Buddhists
 Religion is popular in Asia, Western Europe, & the U.S.

42. Hindu & Buddhist Influences
 Mid 1900s
 Mohandas Gandhi used ahimsa (nonviolence) to
fighting against British rule
 Martin Luther King Jr. was inspired by Gandhi
 Today many influences present like religious
meditation & yoga

43. India’s Artistic Legacy Literature
 Kalidasa: great writer of India; possibly the court poet for Chandra
Gupta II; created many skillfully written & emotionally stirring
plays
 Drama
 Popular in ancient India
 Traveling actors put on performances across the region
 Combined drama & dance (many are basis of techniques used today)
 Art & Sculpture
 Has influenced art in other cultures
 Differences in Buddhist & Hindu art
 Related to subject matter
 Buddhist: often portrayed the Buddha
 Hindu: portrayed Hindu deities
 Artistic styles not influenced by Hindu or Buddhist beliefs

44. Architecture
 Influenced by Hindu traditions
 Many began in Gupta times
 Buildings with stone rather than wood, erecting a high
pyramid roof instead of a flat one, & sculpting elaborate
decorations on the roof

45. The Legacy of Indian
Mathematics
 Numeral we use originated in India
 Used numerals 1 to 9 for more than 2,000 years
 Decimal system originated in India
 Would not work without a symbol for zero
 This goes back 1,400 years in India