Indus River Valley
Big Ideas
1. River begins in the ______. The culture of India has its beginnings on the banks of this great river.
2. In ______, archaeologists find the remains of a 4,5000 year old culture.
3. ______blends Harappan religious beliefs with those of the ______who migrated to the subcontinent about 3,500 years ago.
4. About 2,500 years ago Siddhartha Gautama set out to find answers to the world’s problems. The answers he found are the beginning of ______.
5. A powerful ruler creates a large empire in northern India around 300 BC. His grandson, Asoka, spreads Buddhism.
Lesson 1 – The Indus River Valley
High in the Mountains
A ______is a large landmass that is geographically separated from the rest of a continent. The land of ______is a subcontinent of ______.
A towering mountain range separates the Indian subcontinent from the rest of Asia. These mountains are the ______. Its highest peak is called Mount Everest. It stands ______feet high. The Indus River begins as an icy ______high in the Himalaya.
The River’s Gift
In the spring the Indus fills with melting mountain ______. It flows from the Himalaya south to the ______Sea, a 1,800-mile journey through what are today ______, ______and ______. The Indus flows swiftly through mountain passes, joined by other rivers before finally slowing down on the flat, dry ______.
During the spring flood season, the swollen river spills across the plain, spreading fertile ______. The Indus actually caries ______as much silt as the might Nile in Egypt. Like the Nile, the Indus branches into a huge ______before it reaches the Arabian Sea.
The people of the Indus River valley lived like the people of other river valley cultures in many ways. Like the people of Egypt, they counted on ______to bring rich silt to their fields. Like Mesopotamians, they built cities with ______and ______.
Indus Valley Agriculture
Around 6000 BC people learned to ______the rich soil of the Indus Valley. This was some 1,000 years before Egyptians began planting crops. Indus Valley farmers grew ______, ______, ______and ______. Sesame seeds are used for flavor and to make ______. Indus farmers were also among the first to plant ______, bananas, black pepper, mustard and cotton plants.
Crops grew quickly in the hot climate. Using ______, farmers were able to plant and harvest crops ______each year. Wheat and barley were planted in the ______and harvested just before the melting snow caused spring floods. Then, farmers planted fields with cotton and sesame. ______protected these crops from the Indus floods. By the following fall, the second crops were ready for harvest.
Working with the Environment
Harvests were not ______in the Indus River valley. ______did not always hold the river waters. When the walls collapsed, fields and entire ______could be flooded.
______in the valley could also bring problems. Tigers, jackals, and wild pigs threatened the ______of farmers. Deer and birds often ate farmers’ ______. To have a successful harvest, Indus Valley farmers had to be alert to many dangers.
Putting it together
The Indus River enabled farmers to ______and ______their fields, just as other rivers helped farmers in Egypt and Mesopotamia. Indus Valley farmers were able to plant ______crops throughout the year. However, the river could also be cruel. Floodwaters could topple the earth walls and flood the countryside, ruining the farmers’ fields. Around 3,000 BC farmers villages and towns had spread across the Indus Valley. The region was about to see great changes with the birth of a rich and varied civilization.