Indias First Civilizations and Empires

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Indias First Civilizations and Empires

• Where do most civilizations begin?

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Indias First Civilization

• Ancient India is not different than Egyptian and
  Roman Civilizations that began near a river
• Indias first civilizations began in 3000 B.C.E.
  near the Indus River Valley
• More than a thousand villages and towns were part
  of this civilizations

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Indias First Civilizations Cont.

• Indias first civilizations grew quickly
  because people had plenty of fertile soil and
  food they could spend time making tools and
  building houses.
• People began trading food and goods with other
  people. Their wealth grew and this allowed them
  to build larger cities.

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Two Major Cities

• Harappa

• Mohenjo-Daro

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Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro

• These were well-planned cities
• They had a population of about 35,000 people
• Fortresses were used to keep guard over the
  people.
• They had main roads and side streets
• Houses were made from mud bricks.
• Most houses had
• Wells
• Indoor bathrooms
• Drainage systems
• Garbage chutes

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Harappa Society

• Because the Harappans left no written records, we
  dont know much about their society or
  government.
• From their ancient architecture we can tell that
  they had palaces and temples in their city.
• What does that tell us about their civilization?

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Harappa Society Cont.

• Most Harappans were farmers. They grew rice,
  wheat, barley, peas, and cotton.
• People who lived in the city made copper and
  bronze tools, pottery, clothing, jewelry, and
  toys.
• Archeologist rarely found weapons in city ruins.
  This shows that they were a peaceful society.
• Harappan civilization traded with the
  Mesopotamians.

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Aryans

• Use your textbook to fill in these notes
• Stop when it says Stop and Discuss
• Questions
• What led to the downfall of the Harappan cities?
• How did the Aryans help with farming?
• What was the written language created?

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Society in Ancient India

• Use your textbook to fill in these notes
• Stop when it says Stop and Discuss
• What is a caste system?
• How many castes are there?
• Why do you think the caste system was created?

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Indias First Empires

• Use your textbook to fill in these notes
• Stop when it says Stop and Discuss
• What empire created a postal system and why?
• Who is known as the greatest king?
• What religion did he believe in and spread?
• In the Gupta empire, what routes did pilgrims
  use?
• What is the offical religion of the Gupta Empire?
  

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Indian Culture

• The Golden Age of Art and Learning in India was
  during the Gupta Empire.
• The Invention of Zero -Indian mathematicians
  invented the symbol of 0 and connected it with
  the idea of nothing
• Astronomy -mapped the movements of planets and
  stars. They understood that the Earth revolved
  around the sun. They also understood gravity.
• Algorithms -a series of steps to solve a problem.
  Computer programmers today often use algorithms
  to tell computers what to do
• Medicine -They could set broken bones, perform
  operations, and created early forms of plastic
  surgery. Indian doctors used herbs to treat
  illnesses.

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Discussion Questions

• Why do archeologist think the Harappans were
  peaceful?
• Under the caste system, what aspects of life are
  affected by a persons caste?
• What happened as a result of Alexander the
  Greats invasion of India?
• What advancements in medicine and mathematics
  were made by the Gupta Empire?