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What are the Vedas, Ramayana, and Mahabharata?
They are ancient Indian sacred texts (verses, hymns, prayers, teachings, and stories of heroic deeds). The Vedas, in particular, are some of the oldest writings in world history.
How did ancient Indians use music?
People danced, sang, & ate good food at festivals—instruments included tambourines, flutes, drums, and lutes.
What happened with ancient Indian art?
Sadly, early Indian art was made of materials that haven’t survived.
Fortunately, what has survived is religious art in stone (sculptures of the Buddha, stupas, temples, Hindu carvings, amazing detailed engravings on buildings).
What does the Gupta Empire have to do with all of this art, math, science, technology, and medicine?
The Gupta Empire (A.D. 320–A.D. 543) was the Golden Age of learning where all of these amazing works/discoveries/inventions took place.
What did Shushruta contribute to ancient Indian and modern-day medicine?
He worked to restore damaged noses by using an early form of plastic surgery.
He described and performed the first cataract (eye) surgery.
He is sometimes called the "father of surgery".
Why do we even care about what ancient Indians did for math, science, technology, and medicine?
Without them we wouldn't have knowledge of those subjects or we might be far behind where we should be. These discoveries have saved lives, made life safer and more comfortable, and help unlock the knowledge of God's creation. Think of all the things you might not have without the discoveries by ancient Indians.
What's the Bhagavad Gita?
It's the most famous section of the Mahabharata. It tells the story of the god Krishna going with Prince Arjuna into a great battle. Krishna's sermon and the entire section provide important religious and moral lessons that still influence Indians today.
Do your best to think of five things ancient Indians contributed to medicine. You can also include what Shushruta did because that was medical too.
they set broken bones
they performed operations
they invented many medical tools
they used herbs to treat illnesses
they believed it was important to remove the causes of diseases, not just find the cure for a disease
Shushruta worked to restore damaged noses by using an early form of plastic surgery. He also described and performed the first cataract (eye) surgery. He is sometimes called the "father of surgery".
Do your best to think of five important things in mathematics that the ancient Indians came up with/invented.
They invented:
algebra
the concept of zero & its symbol
"Arabic" Numerals (#s 1-9)
the concept of infinity
algorithms
What did Aryabhata contribute to ancient Indian and modern-day mathematics?
He was one of the first scientists known to have used algebra (he might have invented it).
Do your best to think of four things ancient Indians contributed to astronomy in science?
they mapped the movement of planets and stars
they understood that the Earth was round
they knew the Earth revolved around the sun
they understood gravity
Aryabhata was one of the world's first great astronomers
Do your best to think of four things ancient Indians contributed to metallurgy technology in science.
they made iron tools and weapons
they crafted steel tools (but the ancient Chinese invented steel)
they manufactured gold coins
they composed metal mirrors
they made an iron pillar in Delhi in A.D. 400 that still stands today and has hardly rusted