Geography
Name one major river in ancient South Asia.
The Indus River, Ganges River, or Brahmaputra River.
What was the first civilization in South Asia?
The Indus Valley Civilization
What was the first written language in South Asia?
Sanskrit
What was the name of the social class system in ancient India?
The caste system, or varna system.
What mountain range is found in northern South Asia and includes Mount Everest?
The Himalayas
Name one of the two major Indus Valley cities.
Mohenjo-Daro or Harappa.
What are the Vedas?
a collection of sacred writings that include prayers, hymns, stories, and poems
Which varna included warriors and governors?
Kshatriyas
What are two effects of monsoons that could be harmful to people?
Flooding and drought.
Give one example of advanced city planning in Mohenjo-Daro or Harappa.
grid-pattern streets, indoor plumbing, drainage systems, public wells, or granaries
What rights did men generally have compared with women in ancient India?
property rights, right to education
Which varna was made up of manual workers and servants?
Sudras
How did rivers and fertile plains help ancient South Asian civilizations grow?
Rivers and fertile plains provided water and rich soil for farming, which helped people grow crops and build civilizations.
Why do archaeologists have to rely heavily on ruins to study the Indus Valley Civilization?
because the Indus Valley writing system has not been fully understood, so there are few written records to explain their civilization
What was a raja, and what did he do?
A raja was a prince or tribal leader who ruled and led people.
How was a person’s varna decided?
A person’s varna was decided by birth by the caste of their parent.
How could monsoons be both helpful and dangerous?
Monsoons were helpful because they brought rain for crops, but dangerous because they could cause flooding or, if they failed, drought.
What is one similarity between the early Indus Valley settlers and the Aryans?
Both were nomads who eventually settled down near river systems.
How did the development of Sanskrit change life in ancient India?
it allowed people to write down religious texts and preserve important ideas and traditions
Who were the Dalits, and where did they fit in the social system?
The Dalits were people outside the varna system and were treated as the lowest social group.