ANCIENT INDIACh.5

SECTION 1: GEOGRAPHY AND EARLY INDIA

Subcontinent – a large landmass that is smaller than a continent Himalayas Hindu Kush

Major rivers: Indus and Ganges Monsoons – seasonal wind patterns

that cause wet and dry seasons

HARAPPAN CIVILIZATION

Developed in the Indus River valley Cities: Harappa and Mohenjo Daro Achievements:

Indoor plumbing Writing system

Mysteriously disappeared

ARYAN INVASION

Vedas – collection of poems, hymns, myths and rituals

Raja – leader who ruled a village and the land around it

Sanskrit – most important language of ancient India

SECTION 2: ORIGINS OF HINDUISM

Varnas – social divisions Brahmins – priests Kshatriyas – rulers and warriors Vaisyas – farmers, craftspeople, traders Sudras – laborers and non-Aryans Untouchables

Caste system – divided Indian society into groups based on a person’s birth, wealth, or occupation

RELIGION

Hinduism – largest religion in India today Polytheism

Reincarnation – process of rebirth Karma – the effects that good and bad

actions have on a person’s soul Jainism – teaches all life is sacred Nonviolence – avoidance of violent

actions

FOUR PRINCIPLES (JAINISM)

Injure no life Tell the truth Do not steal Own no property

SECTION 3: ORIGINS OF BUDDHISM

Founded by Siddhartha Gautama Fasting – going w/out food Meditation – the focusing of the mind

on spiritual beliefs Buddha – “Enlightened One” Teachings became known as

Buddhism

Four Noble Truths – guiding principles Nirvana – state of perfect peace

Frees the soul from suffering and from the need to further reincarnation

Missionaries – people who work to spread their religious beliefs

SECTION 4: INDIAN EMPIRE

Mauryan Empire – ruled India for 150 years United India

Asoka – strongest emperor Gupta Empire – reunited India

India flourished under their rule

Defeated by the Huns

SECTION 5: INDIAN ACHIEVEMENTS

Scientific Advances Metallurgy – science of working with

metals Alloys – mixtures of two or more metals Hindu-Arabic numerals – the very

numbers we use today Inoculation – injecting a person with a

small does of a virus to help him or her build up defenses to a disease

Astronomy – study of stars and planets Seven of nine planets Sun was a star and that the earth revolved

around it The earth was a sphere that rotated on its axis Predict eclipses of the sun and the moon