Geography
The two major rivers where early civilizations in ancient India developed.
What are the Indus River and the Ganges River?
The primary occupation for most people in ancient India that involved growing crops.
What is farming or agriculture?
The social system used in ancient India that divided people into groups based on birth and job.
What is the caste system?
The founder of Buddhism who taught the Four Noble Truths.
Who is Siddhartha Gautama (the Buddha)?
The religion of most people in ancient India that includes many gods and belief in reincarnation.
What is Hinduism?
The mountain range that forms the northern border of the Indian subcontinent.
What are the Himalayas?
A prince who left his royal life to seek understanding and later became the Buddha.
Who is Siddhartha Gautama?
The highest caste traditionally made up of priests and teachers.
Who are the Brahmins?
The teaching that says life includes suffering and explains how to end it.
What are the Four Noble Truths?
The cycle of birth, death, and rebirth; the idea that souls are reborn.
What is reincarnation?
Explain how natural barriers like mountains and rivers affected movement and settlement in ancient India.
what is made travel harder and limited large-scale farming in some areas, so settlements were sparser and trade/communication between northern and southern regions was more difficult
Clue: A common language used by scholars and in religious texts in ancient India.
What is Sanskrit?
The caste traditionally made up of warriors and rulers.
Who are the Kshatriyas?
The path of eight practices (right view, right speech, etc.) that leads to ending suffering.
What is the Noble Eightfold Path?
The moral law of cause and effect; good actions lead to good outcomes in this life or the next.
What is karma?
Describe how the Himalaya Mountains influenced ancient India’s development and contact with other regions.
What is: The Himalayas formed a strong northern barrier that protected against many invasions, encouraged unique cultural development, but also limited overland trade routes, pushing trade to pass through mountain passes or by sea?
A famous emperor of the Maurya Empire who converted to Buddhism and helped spread its teachings.
Who is Ashoka (the Great)?
he caste that included farmers, traders, and merchants.
Who are the Vaishyas?
The word for a state of perfect peace and freedom from suffering that Buddhists seek.
What is Nirvana?
A sacred social and religious duty; in Hindu belief it is the code of conduct you follow based on your position in life.
What is dharma?
Explain how India’s rivers and coastal geography worked together to shape trade networks and the growth of cities. Include how natural barriers directed trade routes.
What is: Rivers like the Indus and Ganges provided fertile land for agriculture and transport routes that supported cities; coastal access and safe harbors enabled Indian Ocean trade with Africa, Arabia, and Southeast Asia, while mountains and plateaus directed inland trade corridors toward river plains and ports, concentrating economic growth in those areas?
The trade route network across the Indian Ocean and land routes that connected India with other civilizations and helped spread goods and ideas.
What is the Silk Road
The lowest group outside the main caste ranks who performed work others considered impure; they had few rights.
Who are the Untouchables (also known as Dalits)?
The core teaching of Buddhism
What is all people suffer but through Buddhism people can understand and reduce suffering?
One of the major Hindu gods often called the preserver; often pictured with a conch, discus, and mace.
Who is Vishnu?