Stiefel's+India

Stiefel's Domain

poop.


 * __Geography:__**
 * A wall of the highest mountains in the world (the Hindu Kush, Karakorum, and Himalyan ranges) seprarates this region from the rest of the Asian continent.
 * Landmass that includes India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh as the Indian subcontinent.
 * Indus River flows southwest from the Himalayas to the Arabian Sea.
 * Much of the lower Indus Valley is occupied by the Thar Desert.

__**Time:**__
 * __Environmental Challenges:__**
 * Yearly floods spread deposits of rich soil over a wide area. However, the floods along the Indus were uppredictable.
 * The rivers sometimes changed course.
 * The cycle of wet and dry seasons broguht by the monsoon winds was unpredictable. If there was too little rain, plants withered in the fields and people went hungry. If there was too much rain, floods swept away whole villages.
 * Civilization rose about 2,500 B.C.
 * Archaeologists found evidence in the highlands of agriculture and domesticated sheep and goats dating to about 7,000 B.C.
 * About 3,200 B.C. people were farming in villages along Indus River.
 * Trading began as early as 2,600 B.C. and continued until 1,800 B.C.
 * Around 1,750 B.C., the quality of building in the Indus Valley cities declined.
 * __Technology:__**
 * Language is found on stamps and seals made of carved stone used for trading pottery and tools. About 400 symbols make up the language.
 * Built sophisticated plumbing and sweage systems, these could rival any urban drainage systems built before the 19th century.
 * __Structures:__**
 * Citadels (contained the major buildings of the City)
 * Peple of the Indus laid out their citites on a precise grid system
 * Buildings were constructed of oven-baked bricks cut in standard sizes.
 * The city was partially built on mud-brick platforms to protect it from flooding.
 * A thick brick wall about three and a half miles long surrounded city.
 * __Religion:__**
 * Priests likely prayed for good harvests and safety from floods.
 * Religious artifacts (figures of Shiva, a major Hindu god, other figures related to a mother goddess, fertility images, and the worship of the bull.)
 * __Economy:__**
 * Gold and silver came from the north in Afghanistan.
 * Semi precious stones from Persia and the Deccan Plateau were crafted into jewelry.
 * Brightly colored cotton cloth was a desirable trade item since few people at the tikme knew how to grow cotton.
 * Oerland rouites moved goods from Persia to the Caspian Sea.
 * __Culture:__**
 * Artifacts such as clay and wooden children's toys suggest a relatively prosperous society that could afford to produce non-essential goods.
 * Few weapons opf warfare have been fouind, suggesting that conflict was limited.
 * The presence of animal images on many types of artifacts suggests that animals were an important part of the culture.
 * Animals are seen on pottery, small statues, childrne's toys, and seals used to mark trade items.
 * __End of civilization:__**
 * Evidence of shifts in tectonic plates, plates altered couirse of Indus River.
 * River's dried up - food decreased, trade ceased.
 * Soil overused - couldn't replant