MLK-India

Home Page




 * __Geography-__**
 * Worlds tallest mountains
 * Large desert to the east
 * Flat and fertile plains by 2 rives; The Indus and The Ganges
 * Peninsula
 * Deccan Plateau; dry region
 * Tropical lands arouhnd coasts- southern asia
 * __Environmental Challenges-__**
 * Monsoons (seasonal winds)
 * Yearly floods spread deposits overf wide area- however they're unpredictable
 * Rives sometimes change courses.
 * Cycle of wet and dry seasons (too much rain-floods swept away villages; too little rain- went hungry)
 * Winds brought by Monsoons were unpredictable
 * __Writing-__**
 * Not yet decifered indus system of writing
 * __Time Period-__**
 * Highlands of agriculture and domestication (sheep+goats) date back to 7000BC
 * 3200BC- people were farming in villages along Indus River
 * 2500BC-people started laying bricks for Indias first cities
 * __Institutions-__**
 * 2500BC- first bricks layed to build cities
 * found ruins of more than 100 settlements
 * Sophisticated city building
 * Largest cities were Kalibangan, Mohenjo-Daro, and Harappa
 * Plumbing/Sewage system
 * Laid out cities on a precise grid
 * Citadel- fortified area
 * Streets- 30 ft wide
 * __Language-__**
 * Harappan language has been impossible to decifer
 * about 400 symbols make up the language
 * __Culture-__**
 * Remarkable uniformity in religion and culture
 * relatively prosperous society
 * suggests limited conflict
 * Animals are an important part of culture
 * __Religion-__**
 * Class ties with religion
 * Theocracy
 * Linked to Hindu Religion
 * Shiva- major hindu god
 * Priests likely prayed for good harvest and safety from floods
 * Mother goddess, fertility images, worship of bull
 * __Trade-__**
 * Thriving Trade
 * Indus river provided excellent means of transportation for trade goods
 * Indus river- linked to the sea, trade with distant people
 * Trading began:2600BC-1800BC
 * gold, silver, stones, jewelery, cloth, copper, lumber, and luxury goods were traded
 * __Decline-__**
 * 1750BC- quality of building declined
 * Shifts in tectonic plate- earthquakes and floods
 * Sarswati river- impossible for trade
 * Aryans- nomadic people, came around 1500BC
 * __Social Class(caste)-__**
 * Caste
 * social class locked in
 * Brahmins (priests)
 * Kshatriyas (warriors and kings)
 * Vaishyas (traders and farmers)
 * Shudras (laborers and artisans)
 * Untouchables (lowest ranking)
 * __Caste System-__**
 * 5 groups
 * Locked in.
 * Karma (the consequences of past deeds)
 * Dharma (duty)
 * they believed that what you do in your past life leads to what caste you belong to in your next life
 * Cannot have a relationship outside your caste or you will be moved to the member of the lower castes, caste.
 * Each group had a function in sustaining the life of society (social body)
 * The word caste derives from the portuguese casta, meaning breed, race, or kind