Indus House
What is the shape of South Asia, where India is located?
Triangle
Describe the many reasons why the Indus Valley people began to abandon their cities, causing the civilization to rapidly decline.
- Standing water in drains bred mosquitos that spread disease
- Stripped forest of trees, leaving them without wood for building or fuel (for fire)
- Severe floods (damaged cities)
- Cattle overgrazed, leaving bare soil. Smaller herds led to starvation
- Salt in the soil made it difficult to grow crops
- Earthquake wiped out population
- Climate change
- Drought dried up rivers, impossible to feed city dwellers
- Moved toward Ganges, where rain grows more regularly
What is a varna?
Groupings based on one’s skill
What is Hinduism's #1 core belief?
one supreme cosmic consciousness/god = Brahman
What was Siddhartha’s life like in the beginning? How did it change once he left home? Contrast the two.
Rich. Protected from realities of the world. Gave up wealth. Wore poor clothes to devote himself to meditation. Became enlightened.
What separates India from the rest of Asia?
Himalayas and Hindu Kush
What were the Vedas?
Religious hymns (and poetry)
What is a jati?
Groupings based on occupation (means = “birth group”)
Define reincarnation.
Rebirth of a soul in a new body
Why did Siddhartha leave his comfortable life and become poor? What did he gain by doing so?
Saw great suffering in the world and wanted to do something about it. Envied a homeless, holy man. Gained peace, enlightenment, and the joy of helping others. Became the Buddha
Compare and contrast India’s monsoons in the winter and the summer. How do these monsoons affect India’s rainfall in each season?
Winter: dry winds, from land out to sea / little rain
Summer: Wet wind, from ocean onto the land / brings rain for crops
What is the caste system?
Social classes based on birth
Who were the Untouchables, or Dalits?
Did impure, low social status
People who performed dirty jobs
Define karma.
One’s actions in life affects their next life
In what way was the Buddha’s enlightenment unique?
Enlightenment means the ability to leave behind the physical world. Though he had that ability, the Buddha chose to stay in the world to lead, or teach, others to the path of enlightenment
How did Indus Valley traders identify their goods? Explain.
Used stone seals, stamped seals on soft clay squares attached to their goods
Describe the life of the Indo-Aryans as described within the Vedas in regards to their livelihood, farming, and entertainment.
Lived as herders. Raised cattle, horses, goats, and sheep
Cattle provided food and clothing
Measured wealthy by the size of their cattle herds
Practice agriculture (farming)
Grew barley, wheat, lentils
Dug water channel to irrigate crops
Milk important part of diet
Gave up dairy farming as main food source, when focused more on growing crops
Joy: music, dancing, chariot races, gambling, questioning the meaning of life and existence (why are we all here?)
What were some of the costs of the caste system?
Limited people’s individual freedoms, lives fixed at birth
Define moksha.
liberation from reincarnation
What beliefs did Buddhism carry over from Hinduism?
Karma, reincarnation
Why did scholars believe the people of the Indus Valley Civilization had a strong central government?
Well organized, cities show surprising level of planning
Common system of weights and measures
How does the caste system work?
Influences specific rules of behavior: where people lived, how they earned a living, whom they could eat with, whom they could marry
What were some of the benefits of the caste system?
Perfect their skills, brought stability to Indian society, allowed different groups to follow their own beliefs, helped India develop
What are two reasons why so many of the Indian people accepted Hinduism? (4)
- Choose your own god
- Can worship at home
- Doesn't demand regular attendance
- Combines with other religions
Define and give examples of ahimsa.
Ahimsa means nonviolence to all life
Examples: Refuse to kill animals for food, release an insect outdoors instead of killing it