evrett+india

Home Page

GEOGRAPHY: - wall of highest mountian of the world - has the worlds tallest moutains - fertile plain devoloped by 2 rivers - farming areas= directly watered by the Indus - Indian Ocean - Deccan - tropical land= southern India - Monsoons, dominate climate

ENVIRONMENTAL CHALLENGES: - yearly floods= rich soil - unpredictable flooding - rivers may change course - unpredictable cycle of wet and dry seasons

CIVILIZATIONS: - became a civilization at about 2500 BC - language and culture has NOT been translate - Harappan civilization - building pyramids

TIME PERIOD: - 2500 BC = civilization began

TECHNOLOGY: - written language - mud-brick platforms= prevent from flooding - plumbing - sewage systems

LITERATURE: - devoloped a written language - cunieform - hieroglyphics - language is impossible to dechiper - 400 symbols make up language - some signs stand alone, some seem to be combined

RELIGION: - theocracy - yet no temple was found - worship of bull, mother goddess, fertitlity, images, etc.

TRADE: - traded with people in the region - gold and silver - stones= made into jewelry - link to sea= trade with distant people - began to 2600 BC, continued til 1800 BC

CULTURE: - housing shows not great social divisions - clay and wooden toys= prosperious society - animals were apart of nature - 7 different animals= head of man, elephant trunk and tusks, horns of a bull, rump of a tiger - those images remain a mystery - 1750 BC = quality of buildings in the Indus Valley cities declined - cities fell into decay - 1970's = cities remain a mystery - plate movement, altered course of Indus River - shifts caused the Sarwati River to dry up - trade on the river became impossible - cities die out - environmental challenges prevent production of food - agriculture suffered, soil exhausted by over use - forced to leave cities to survive
 * decline of culture...**



SOCIAL CLASS: - Brahmins (priest) (non-violent and spiritual) - Kshatriyas (warriors & kings) (protect others) (strong fighters) - Vaishyas (traders & farmers) - Shudras (laborers & artisans) - Untouchable (lowest) (Scheduled Castes) (138 million of them, 16% of population)

CASTE SYSTEM: - 5 groups - Karma (what happens to you when you do bad things) - Dharma (duty) - Caste are ranked and named - The word //caste// derives from the Portuguese, //casta//. Meaning breed, race, or kind. - many Caste are traditionally associated with an occupation - lower level Caste people live in conditions of poverty and a lot of disadvantage - many groups had Tribes - Varna is not a Caste - feasts and ceremonies given by Dalits are not attended by higher ranking castes - punishments like fines and outcasting can be enforced - farming and trading can be carried out by anyone - associated with a lower person while your a higher person can result in dropping down a class - each caste has its own Dharma - Dalits cant enter temples