Key Terms – Indus Valley Civilization

Subcontinent Hindu Kush Mts. Himalayas Three Geographic

Zones of the Indus Valley

Indus River Ganges River

Winter Monsoon Summer Monsoon Harappa and

Mohenjo-Daro Veneration Aryans Hinduism Caste system

Geography of India

India is considered a subcontinent within the region of South Asia.

Subcontinent → large landmass that juts out of a continent.

It is bordered on the southeast by the Bay of Bengal, the southwest by the Indian Ocean, the north by two mountain ranges.

Himalayas → large mountain range that borders the northeastern part of India.

Hindu Kush → large mountain range that borders the northwestern part of India.

Three Geographic Zones of India

Indus Valley is broken into three zones: The well watered

northern plains The dry, triangular

Deccan The coastal plains on

the east and west.

The Indus and Ganges

Two rivers serve as the main waterways of the Indus Valley. The Indus → river that

runs on the northeastern portion of India, used as primary source of water.

The Ganges → river that runs across the northern plains, holds great cultural significance for the people of India today.

The Monsoons The monsoons shaped the

daily lives of the people of the Indus Valley, failure to properly prepare for them could lead to terrible consequences.

Winter monsoon → winds blown in from Siberia and bring dry, colder weather, wet weather stays over the oceans.

Summer monsoon → winds blown in from Africa, bringing in hot and moist air to the area and large amounts of rain to northeastern India

Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro

Civilization in the Indus Valley would be centered around two twin capitals.

Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro → two major cities with very advanced amenities that disappeared within 1000 years of its construction.

Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro (cont.)

The two cities were considered twin capitals are were less than 10 miles away from each other.

The cities had advanced amenities such as: A grid system setting up the first city blocks A running water system that provided water to each

individual block.

Cultural Attributes

Indus Valley culture would be greatly shaped by their interactions with the Aryans.

Aryans → warrior group that entered the Indus Valley region via the steppes through the Hindu Kush Mountain range.

Aryans brought with them a veneration (special regard for/worship) for cattle and a rigid social structure.

The Aryan ideals in combination with the ideals of the Indus Valley people led to the creation of the Hindu faith and the caste system.

Hinduism

Hinduism → religion with no single founder based on a cycle of rebirth until one achieves union with the universal spirit.

Hinduism established the caste system → system of ranks in which one is born into a class and cannot change it until rebirth.

Results The Indus Valley brought many advancements to future

civilizations:

Carts Advanced city structures Accuracy in measuring length and time System of weights and measures

As advanced as the civilization was, it fell apart around 1500 B.C.

The reasons for the disappearance or collapse of the civilization is still unknown.

Possible reasons: Earthquakes Massive floods Invasion