Lesson 18 The Achievements of the Gupta...

310 Lesson 18

The Achievements of the Gupta Empire OverviewIn this Writing for Understanding activity, students assume the role ofwriters in ancient India to create books commemorating the achievementsof the Gupta Empire during the period known as India’s Golden Age.Working in pairs, they visit seven stations to record notes about Guptaachievements in such fields as mathematics, metalwork, and literature.Afterward, students use their notes to write and illustrate palm-leaf booksfrom the point of view of a fifth-century Indian writer.

Objectives Students will • describe and discuss the achievements of the Gupta Empire, which

include important aesthetic and intellectual traditions in the areas ofliterature, medicine, metallurgy, and mathematics.

• write a palm-leaf book commemorating Gupta achievements. • explain why the period of Gupta rule is called India’s Golden Age.• map seven locations in the Gupta Empire.

Materials• History Alive! The Ancient World• Interactive Student Notebooks• Station Directions 18A–18G (3 copies of each)• Information Masters 18A and 18B (1 transparency of each)• sticky notes• heavyweight paper • scissors• string• colored markers or pencils

Lesson 18

The Achievements of the Gupta Empire 311

PreviewAsk students to complete Preview 18 in their Interactive

Student Notebooks. Then quickly place students in groups of four and ask them to take turns sharing about their “golden age” with their groupmembers. Afterward, tell students that there was a golden age in ancientIndia too, a period from 320 to 550 C.E., during which society and cultureflourished. During this period of Indian history, many innovative ideas in the arts and sciences improved Indian life and left a lasting mark onworld civilization. In this lesson, students will learn about the achieve-ments of this time in order to understand life in India’s Golden Age.

Graphic Organizer1 Introduce Chapter 18 in History Alive! The Ancient World.

Have students read Section 18.1. Make sure they understand the meaningsof the boldfaced key terms, which are defined in the Glossary. (Note: Youmay want to have students use the Prereading Handout on page xvii ofthis Lesson Guide to conduct a prereading of the chapter.)

2 Introduce the graphic organizer. Ask students to examine the graphicorganizer on page 167. Ask, What do you see here? What sort of book isthis? What is the book about? What might the symbols represent? Howmight someone read this book? Explain that this is an illustration of apalm-leaf book. Archeologists have discovered palm-leaf books fromIndia that date from around 550 C.E., near the end of India’s Golden Age.Ancient bookmakers carved writing into the leaf or bark and then rubbedink on the carving to fill it in. Painters added illustrations. The bookswere held together by a string that ran through a hole in the center of thepages. To read palm-leaf books, people placed them on a flat surface andturned each page from top to bottom. In this activity, students will pretendto be writers who are traveling through India, collecting notes and draw-ing sketches for a palm-leaf book that they will write and illustrate.

Writing for Understanding1 Before class, post three sets of Station Directions

18A–18G: Stations A–G on the walls of your classroom. Hang the three copies of Station Directions 18A in one area, the copies of StationDirections 18B in another, and so on. Use sticky notes to create flaps tocover the answers at the bottom of each page. You may want to place acopy of History Alive! The Ancient World on a table or desk at each sta-tion; otherwise, students will have to carry their texts and InteractiveStudent Notebooks to each station.

Lesson 18

312 Lesson 18

2 Have students read Section 18.2. Discuss this background informa-tion about the Gupta Empire, and answer any questions students have.

3 Divide students into mixed-ability pairs. You may want to project atransparency that shows students where they will sit and with whom theywill work.

4 Talk with the class about the “tour” they will now take of Indiaduring its Golden Age. Use a transparency of Information Master 18A:Tour Directions to give directions for the activity. Keep the transparencyprojected during the activity.

5 Monitor students during the activity. Use Guide to Reading Notes 18to give students feedback during their tour. Make sure pairs have properlymatched scenes on the wall with the appropriate sections of History Alive!The Ancient World.

6 Debrief the activity. Ask these questions: What new things did youlearn about ancient India while on your trip? What do you think was theGupta Empire’s most important accomplishment? Why do many histori-ans call the period of Gupta rule India’s Golden Age?

7 Explain the process of writing the palm-leaf books. Project a trans-parency of Information Master 18B: Guidelines for Palm-Leaf Books andreview the steps with students. Alternatively, you may want to make acopy of the master for each student.

8 Allow students ample time to draft, edit, and revise their palm-leafbooks.

9 Have students share their palm-leaf books in groups of three. Askthem to offer feedback about these two topics for each of their partner’sprojects:• what they liked about the writing or illustrations in this palm-leaf book • one thing they learned from this palm-leaf book

ProcessingThere is no Processing assignment for this activity. The creation

of the palm-leaf books functions as a Processing assignment.

Lesson 18


AssessmentMasters for assessment appear on the next three pages.

9. Students may identify general categories, specific advances, or both.General categories: literature, mathematics, sculpture, painting, met-alwork, roads, universities. Specific advances: writing down Hindulegends and laws, writing poetry and plays, creating cave paintingsand detailed and beautiful sculpture, coins, rust-free iron, calculatedthe length of a year and the size of the Earth, decimal system, complexarchitecture, good system of roads.

10. The bulleted points can provide a rubric for this item.

Online ResourcesFurther resources for Lesson 18: The Achievements of the

Gupta Empire can be found at Online Resources for History Alive! The Ancient World at www.teachtci.com/historyalive/.• Investigating Primary Sources: Travels in India• Internet Connections: Ancient India• Enrichment Essay: Duty and Devotion in the Bhagavad Gita

Options for Students with Diverse NeedsSee page 368 for tips on adapting this lesson to meet the needs of

• English language learners.• learners reading and writing below grade level.• learners with special education needs.• advanced learners.

Lesson 18

1. A

6. B

2. C

7. C

3. C

8. A

4. D 5. B

1. What happened during the time period betweenthe Mauryan Empire and the Gupta Empire?

0 A. The subcontinent was filled with small kingdoms.

0 B. The subcontinent was conquered by theSumerians.

0 C. The subcontinent went through a goldenage.

0 D. The subcontinent went through a greatfamine.

2. How was the Gupta Empire different from theMauryan Empire?

0 A. It was made up of small kingdoms.

0 B. It was governed with harsh laws.

0 C. It gave a lot of control to the provinces.

0 D. It gave a lot of freedom to the lower castes.

3. What strategy helped the Gupta Empire survivefor a long time?

0 A. keeping the army posted at the borders

0 B. having the king keep all the wealth

0 C. letting provinces make some decisions

0 D. giving local rulers jewels and cattle

4. What might an archeologist find that would beevidence of a golden age?

0 A. advanced weapons

0 B. walled cities

0 C. animal skeletons

0 D. beautiful sculpture

5. What happened to Hinduism during the GuptaEmpire?

0 A. Many of its rituals were thrown out.

0 B. Many of its legends were written down.

0 C. Many of its laws were improved.

0 D. Many of its followers became Buddhists.

6. The items on this list are evidence of what?

• painting

• literature

• sculpture

• scientific advances

0 A. a popular emperor

0 B. a stable society

0 C. a nation of warriors

0 D. a kingdom of farmers

7. What made it possible to build complex buildingslike this one?

0 A. slaves

0 B. priests

0 C. mathematicians

0 D. astrologers

8. People in the Gupta Empire traded with eachother and with faraway people. What did theGupta Empire provide that made trade easier?

0 A. roads

0 B. ships

0 C. metalwork

0 D. weapons

314 Lesson 18 © Teachers’ Curriculum Institute

Assessment 18

Fill in the bubble beside the best answer to each question.

? Gupta EmpireMauryan Empire

300B.C.E.

200B.C.E.

100B.C.E.

500C.E.

100C.E.

200C.E.

300C.E.

400C.E.

400B.C.E.

600C.E.

0

© Teachers’ Curriculum Institute The Achievements of the Gupta Empire 315

9. During a golden age, a society makes many advances. Fill in theblanks below to show examples of the advances made during theGupta Empire’s Golden Age.

Assessment 18

Use your knowledge of social studies to complete the item below.

b. c.

d.

e.

f.

g.

a.

h.


Assessment 18

10. Archeologists have discovered beautiful cave paintings made duringthe Gupta Empire. Pretend you are a Gupta artist.

• Make a picture that shows what some part of your life was like.

• Under the picture, sign your name and identify yourself by whatyou do.

Follow the directions to complete the item below.


The Site: You are in northeast India in Sarnath, a city with many famousworks of art. You can even hear the sounds of artists using chisels nearby.Sarnath is near India’s holiest river, the Ganges. The land here is flat andgreen, and you can see crops growing nearby. Heavy rains come each day.At night, breezes from the distant Himalaya Mountains in the north bringcooler air to relieve you from the heat of the day.

1. Find your location on the map above. Turn to Reading Notes 18 inyour Interactive Student Notebook. On the “Sarnath” palm leaf, labelthe city on the map.

2. On the “Sarnath” palm leaf, draw a sketch or write a few words thatdescribe the setting.

3. In Sarnath, you will discover one of the achievements of the GuptaEmpire. In the text above, you can find a clue about which one. Locatethe clue, and match it to one of the achievements described in Sections18.3 to 18.9 of History Alive! The Ancient World. Then lift the flap to check your answer. Read that section of your book. Record notesabout the achievement on the “Sarnath” palm leaf. Also draw a symbolto represent the achievement.

Station A: Sarnath Station Directions 18A

Lift the flap to check your answer.

Sculpture

Sarnath


The Site: You are in the northwest corner of the Gupta Empire, inBakshali, near the shores of the Indus River. You are surrounded by threemountain ranges, and the land here in the foothills is rocky. Everythingaround you is hot and dry. Nearby you hear two Gupta officials dis-cussing how they will collect one fourth of the local peasants’ harvest as taxes.

1. Find your location on the map above. Turn to Reading Notes 18 inyour Interactive Student Notebook. On the “Bakshali” palm leaf, labelthe city on the map.

2. On the “Bakshali” palm leaf, draw a sketch or write a few words thatdescribe the setting.

3. In Bakshali, you will discover one of the achievements of the GuptaEmpire. In the text above, you can find a clue about which one. Locatethe clue, and match it to one of the achievements described in Sections18.3 to 18.9 of History Alive! The Ancient World. Then lift the flap to check your answer. Read that section of your book. Record notesabout the achievement on the “Bakshali” palm leaf. Also draw a sym-bol to represent the achievement.

Station B: BakshaliStation Directions 18B


Mathematics

Bakshali


The Site: You are standing before an enormous pillar made of solid ironin the city of Meharauli in northern India. The city is between India’smost fertile plain and the great Thar Desert. The landscape is dry andbrown from the heat, and much of the land is flat. Today it is hot andhumid, but in the winter this region grows very cold.

1. Find your location on the map above. Turn to Reading Notes 18 inyour Interactive Student Notebook. On the “Meharauli” palm leaf,label the city on the map.

2. On the “Meharauli” palm leaf, draw a sketch or write a few words thatdescribe the setting.

3. In Meharauli, you will discover one of the achievements of the GuptaEmpire. In the text above, you can find a clue about which one. Locatethe clue, and match it to one of the achievements described in Sections18.3 to 18.9 of History Alive! The Ancient World. Then lift the flap to check your answer. Read that section of your book. Record notesabout the achievement on the “Meharauli” palm leaf. Also draw asymbol to represent the achievement.

Station C: Meharauli Station Directions 18C


Metalwork

Meharauli


The Site: You are in Nalanda, in northeast India. Nalanda is home tosome of the Gupta Empire’s brightest individuals, many of whom studyhere. The flat land is part of a fertile plain of the Ganges River. Today,after a long, dry spell, the land is green from the rainy season. The tem-perature is over 100 degrees Fahrenheit, and it is very humid. There arehuge, dark thunderheads rising overhead. People are taking shelter forfear of a drenching rainstorm.

1. Find your location on the map above. Turn to Reading Notes 18 inyour Interactive Student Notebook. On the “Nalanda” palm leaf, labelthe city on the map.

2. On the “Nalanda” palm leaf, draw a sketch or write a few words thatdescribe the setting.

3. In Nalanda, you will discover one of the achievements of the GuptaEmpire. In the text above, you can find a clue about which one. Locatethe clue, and match it to one of the achievements described in Sections18.3 to 18.9 of History Alive! The Ancient World. Then lift the flap to check your answer. Read that section of your book. Record notesabout the achievement on the “Nalanda” palm leaf. Also draw a sym-bol to represent the achievement.

Station D: NalandaStation Directions 18D


Universities

Nalanda


The Site: You are in the Ajanta caves in central India. You are looking atthe murals showing scenes of the lives of nobles (wealthy people). Highon the Deccan Plateau, land here is fairly flat and you are surrounded bymountains. Everything around you is brown and dry from the intensesummer heat. You have entered a cave to escape the heat and humidity.

1. Find your location on the map above. Turn to Reading Notes 18 inyour Interactive Student Notebook. On the “Ajanta” palm leaf, labelthe city on the map.

2. On the “Ajanta” palm leaf, draw a sketch or write a few words thatdescribe the setting.

3. In Ajanta, you will discover one of the achievements of the GuptaEmpire. In the text above, you can find a clue about which one. Locatethe clue, and match it to one of the achievements described in Sections18.3 to 18.9 of History Alive! The Ancient World. Then lift the flap to check your answer. Read that section of your book. Record notesabout the achievement on the “Ajanta” palm leaf. Also draw a symbolto represent the achievement.

Station E: Ajanta Station Directions 18E


Painting

Ajanta


The Site: You are on a road between the Gupta capital of Pataliputra andthe port town of Tamralipti on the Bay of Bengal. The road is made ofhard-packed dirt and is raised a little higher than the surrounding land.You can see that the flat plains near the Ganges River are covered withgreen crops. It is very hot and humid.

1. Find your location on the map above. Turn to Reading Notes 18 inyour Interactive Student Notebook. On the “Pataliputra” palm leaf,label the city on the map.

2. On the “Pataliputra” palm leaf, draw a sketch or write a few wordsthat describe the setting.

3. In Pataliputra, you will discover one of the achievements of the GuptaEmpire. In the text above, you can find a clue about which one. Locatethe clue, and match it to one of the achievements described in Sections18.3 to 18.9 of History Alive! The Ancient World. Then lift the flap to check your answer. Read that section of your book. Record notesabout the achievement on the “Pataliputra” palm leaf. Also draw asymbol to represent the achievement.

Station F: PataliputraStation Directions 18F


Roads

Pataliputra


The Site: You are in Ujjain, a city in central India, where many plays areperformed. Today it is humid and warm, with a cloudless, sunny sky. Theland is hilly and rocky, and to the south you can see the high mountainsof the Vindhya Range. The earth is dry and brown as the people wait forthe rains of the summer monsoons.

1. Find your location on the map above. Turn to Reading Notes 18 inyour Interactive Student Notebook. On the “Ujjain” palm leaf, labelthe city on the map.

2. On the “Ujjain” palm leaf, draw a sketch or write a few words thatdescribe the setting.

3. In Ujjain, you will discover one of the achievements of the GuptaEmpire. In the text above, you can find a clue about which one. Locatethe clue, and match it to one of the achievements described in Sections18.3 to 18.9 of History Alive! The Ancient World. Then lift the flap to check your answer. Read that section of your book. Record notesabout the achievement on the “Ujjain” palm leaf. Also draw a symbolto represent the achievement.

Station G: Ujjain Station Directions 18G


Literature

Ujjain


In this activity, you will pretend to be writers on a research trip aroundthe Gupta Empire during India’s Golden Age. On your trip, you will takenotes and draw sketches of the places you visit and the Gupta achieve-ments you discover. You will use your notes and illustrations later whenyou write and publish a palm-leaf book about India’s Golden Age.

Follow these steps to conduct your tour:

1. “Travel” with your partner to one of India’s cities during the GuptaEmpire (the seven station readings posted on the classroom walls).

2. At each city, examine the map and read the text at the top of the Station Directions. Then complete these tasks: • Find your location on the map. Label the city on the appropriate

map in your Reading Notes.• On the appropriate palm-leaf page in your Reading Notes, draw

a sketch or write a few words that describe the setting you find yourself in.

• Find a clue in the station reading that matches one of seven GuptaEmpire accomplishments: universities, literature, painting, sculp-ture, metalwork, mathematics, or roads. Match the clue to one ofSections 18.3 to 18.9 in History Alive! The Ancient World. Checkyour answer by lifting the flap at the bottom of the station reading.Read the section. Record notes about the achievement, and draw asymbol to represent it on the appropriate palm-leaf page in yourReading Notes.

Information Master 18A Tour Directions


Imagine that you are a writer who has spent a month in the summer traveling in India in fifth-century C.E. You want to describe the remarkableand impressive Gupta achievements you discovered on your journey during India’s Golden Age.

Use the ideas and illustrations you recorded in your Reading Notes towrite and illustrate a palm-leaf book describing your travels. Follow these guidelines:

1. Give your book an appropriate title and illustrated cover.

2. Write your book for an audience that has never been to India andknows little about life in the Gupta Empire.

3. The first page in your palm-leaf book should contain a paragraph intro-ducing the Gupta Empire and stating the purpose of your book.

4. The next pages in your book should each contain a one-paragraphsummary of the seven Gupta achievements: universities, literature,painting, sculpture, metalwork, mathematics, and roads. Each para-graph should • briefly describe the place you visited. Use precise, descriptive

words to create a visual image in the mind of the reader. • clearly explain, with supporting detail, the Gupta Empire achieve-

ment you encountered. For example, one entry might begin, “Today I visited the amazing Ajanta caves and saw one of theGupta Empire’s most incredible achievements: large, colorfulmurals painted on the walls! The paintings showed.…”

Illustrate each page with a symbol for the Gupta achievement. Youmay also include drawings of the geographic settings you encounteredon your trip.

5. The last page in your book should contain a paragraph restating thepurpose of your book and summarizing your main points.

6. Make your final draft look like a real palm-leaf book. Examine theillustration on page 167 of History Alive! The Ancient World. Noticethat a palm-leaf book has these features: • horizontal pages with a hole in the center• decorative touches• a string through the book to hold the pages together

Organize the pages on the Gupta achievements in order of importance,starting with the most significant achievement.

Guidelines for Palm-Leaf Books Information Master 18B

326 Lesson 18

GUIDE TO READING NOTES 18

Perform the tasks at each station and then complete the palm leaves for Sections 18.3–18.9.

Sarnath

Words orsketchesabout the setting:flat, green farmlandheavy rainfallhot days, cool nightsnear Ganges

Sketches will vary.

Notes about the achievement:Statues were made out of bronze, wood, stone, and terra-cotta. Buddha, Hindu gods, and famous people were sub-jects of sculptures. Sculptures stood on their own or were carved into the walls of caves and temples.

Symbol for the achievement:Symbols will vary.

Notes about the achievement:The decimal system was developed during the Gupta period.A famous astronomer, Aryabhata, determined the number ofdays in a year, calculated the size of Earth, said the plan-ets were spheres, and suggested Earth spins on its axis.


Bakshali

Words orsketchesabout the setting:hot, dry, rocky areasurrounded by moun-tains

Sketches will vary.

SarnathÁ

ÁBakshali



Notes about the achievement:Metalworkers were famous for their engraved gold andcopper coins. An iron pillar at Meharauli stands 25 feet talland weighs about 13,000 pounds. The iron is almost rustfree.


Notes about the achievement:Guptas built many colleges and universities. Universities wereHindu or Buddhist. Only males and teachers’ daughterscould enroll in schools. Universities trained students in reli-gion, mathematics, astronomy, chemistry, Sanskrit, sculpture,painting, music, dancing, logic, grammar, and medicine.


Meharauli

Words orsketchesabout the setting:flat, dry areahot and humid insummer, cold in winter

Sketches will vary.

Nalanda

Words orsketchesabout the setting:fertile Ganges plainflat, dry plain in the dry seasonheavy rains duringthe wet seasonhot and humid

Sketches will vary.

ÁMeharauli

ÁNalanda

328 Lesson 18


Notes about the achievement:Painting was an important part of the lives of nobles.Subjects included gods, religious stories, and rich or royalfamilies and their wealth and luxury. The most famousGupta paintings are in the Ajanta caves.


Notes about the achievement:Roads were built of hard-packed dirt. They were built afew feet off the ground to allow for drainage during therainy season. Signs along the road indicated the distance tothe next location. Road helped internal trade and connect-ed India to China and lands east of the MediterraneanSea.


Ajanta

Words orsketchesabout the setting:dry, flat land surround-ed by mountainshot and humid summers

Sketches will vary.

Pataliputra

Words orsketches about the setting:flat plains, green cropshot and humid

Sketches will vary.

ÁAjanta

ÁPataliputra



Notes about the achievement:Gupta writers wrote poetry, fables, folktales, and plays.They wrote the Puranas, which describe many Hindu leg-ends that had been passed down orally before this time. Afamous Indian poem, the Mahabharata, reached its finalform during this period. It describes Hindu values and thebattle between good and evil.


Ujjain

Words orsketchesabout the setting:hilly, rocky landmountains to thesouthhumid and warmdry until summer monsoons

Sketches will vary.

ÁUjjain

330 Timeline Challenge 3

Timeline Challenge 3

Ancient India Timeline ChallengeOverviewThis activity challenges students to analyze a historical timeline. Working in pairs, studentsrespond to a series of questions that lead them to complete and analyze a timeline of keydates from the unit they just studied.

ObjectivesStudents will • complete a historical timeline to show how major events are related to one another in time.• identify and add key events, people, and periods from the unit to their timelines.• answer timeline challenge questions by analyzing their completed timelines.

Materials• History Alive! The Ancient World • Interactive Student Notebooks• Timeline Challenge Transparency 3

Timeline Challenge1 Place students in mixed-ability pairs. You may want to prepare a transparency

to show students where they will sit and with whom they will work.

2 Have students open their Interactive Student Notebooks to Timeline Challenge 3.Review the directions with them, and answer any questions. Complete Item A as a class tomake sure students understand the directions. Circulate as pairs complete their timelines.(Note: Students should not refer to their textbooks as they work on their timelines.)

3 Have students correct their timelines. Have students open to the Ancient India Timelineon pages 178 and 179 of History Alive! The Ancient World. Review the items one at a time,and have students check their timelines against the one in the book.

4 Have students add one or two more key items from the unit to their timelines. Allowstudents to look through the chapters in this unit and find one or two more key items to addto the timelines. For each item, students must include the following: • the date(s) and a short written description of the item• a simple visual symbol for the item, drawn inside the appropriate geometric shape• a dot or color bar on the timeline to represent the appropriate date or dates• a line connecting the dot or bar to the geometric shape

5 Reveal the first question on Timeline Challenge Transparency 3: Ancient IndiaTimeline Challenge Questions. Allow pairs to analyze their timelines and discuss the ques-tions. Select a Presenter for each pair, and have several Presenters share their answers withthe class. Repeat the process for each challenge question, rotating the role of Presenter.

Ancient India Timeline Challenge 331

Timeline Challenge 3

Guide to Timeline Challenge QuestionsThe timeline challenge questions appear on Timeline Challenge Transparency 3.

1. How many years lie between the beginning of the first item on this timeline (sewer systemin Mohenjodaro) and the end of the last (Gupta Empire)? Look at the timeline for Unit 1in History Alive! The Ancient World. Is this more or less time than between the first andlast items on the timeline for Unit 1? There are 3,250 years between the beginning of the first item and the end of the lastitem on this timeline. This is much less than the span for Unit 1.

2. Which Indian empire—the Mauryan Empire or the Gupta Empire—occurred closer to theyear 0? How can you tell? The Mauryan Empire existed closer to the year 0. It ended about 232 years before theyear 0, while the Gupta Empire began 320 years after the year 0.

3. Which sets of events on this timeline do you think might be connected to each other?What is the connection?Possible answers: C and D are connected because the Buddhist religion had its roots in Hinduism. B and D are connected because the Indians needed to develop a system of written Sanskrit before they could write down the Vedas. E and F are connectedbecause both the Mauryan and the Gupta empires peacefully ruled a united India.

4. Which events on this timeline are similar to events on the timelines of Unit 1 or Unit 2?Explain how the events you selected are similar.Answers will vary.

5. Which event on this timeline do you think is the most significant? Explain your answer.Answers will vary.

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