Key Terms

1
Key Terms Indus Valley Civilization

• Subcontinent
• Hindu Kush Mts.
• Himalayas
• Three Geographic Zones of the Indus Valley
• Indus River
• Ganges River

• Winter Monsoon
• Summer Monsoon
• Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro
• Veneration
• Aryans
• Hinduism
• Caste system

2
(No Transcript)
3
(No Transcript)
4
Geography of India

• India is considered a subcontinent within the
  region of South Asia.
• Subcontinent ? large landmass that juts out of a
  continent.
• It is bordered on the southeast by the Bay of
  Bengal, the southwest by the Indian Ocean, the
  north by two mountain ranges.
• Himalayas ? large mountain range that borders the
  northeastern part of India.
• Hindu Kush ? large mountain range that borders
  the northwestern part of India.

5
Three Geographic Zones of India

• Indus Valley is broken into three zones
• The well watered northern plains
• The dry, triangular Deccan
• The coastal plains on the east and west.

6
The Indus and Ganges

• Two rivers serve as the main waterways of the
  Indus Valley.
• The Indus ? river that runs on the northeastern
  portion of India, used as primary source of
  water.
• The Ganges ? river that runs across the northern
  plains, holds great cultural significance for the
  people of India today.

7
The Monsoons

• The monsoons shaped the daily lives of the people
  of the Indus Valley, failure to properly prepare
  for them could lead to terrible consequences.
• Winter monsoon ? winds blown in from Siberia and
  bring dry, colder weather, wet weather stays over
  the oceans.
• Summer monsoon ? winds blown in from Africa,
  bringing in hot and moist air to the area and
  large amounts of rain to northeastern India

8
Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro

• Civilization in the Indus Valley would be
  centered around two twin capitals.
• Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro ? two major cities with
  very advanced amenities that disappeared within
  1000 years of its construction.

9
Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro (cont.)

• The two cities were considered twin capitals are
  were less than 10 miles away from each other.
• The cities had advanced amenities such as
• A grid system setting up the first city blocks
• A running water system that provided water to
  each individual block.

10
Cultural Attributes

• Indus Valley culture would be greatly shaped by
  their interactions with the Aryans.
• Aryans ? warrior group that entered the Indus
  Valley region via the steppes through the Hindu
  Kush Mountain range.
• Aryans brought with them a veneration (special
  regard for/worship) for cattle and a rigid social
  structure.
• The Aryan ideals in combination with the ideals
  of the Indus Valley people led to the creation of
  the Hindu faith and the caste system.

11
Hinduism

• Hinduism ? religion with no single founder based
  on a cycle of rebirth until one achieves union
  with the universal spirit.
• Hinduism established the caste system ? system of
  ranks in which one is born into a class and
  cannot change it until rebirth.

12
Results

• The Indus Valley brought many advancements to
  future civilizations
• Carts
• Advanced city structures
• Accuracy in measuring length and time
• System of weights and measures
• As advanced as the civilization was, it fell
  apart around 1500 B.C.
• The reasons for the disappearance or collapse of
  the civilization is still unknown.
• Possible reasons
• Earthquakes
• Massive floods
• Invasion