Ancient India Guided Notes

I.  Indus Valley Civilization

  1. One of the oldest civilizations in the Indus River Valley is in modern day______.
  2. The three geographical barriers are ______, ______, and ______.
  3. The fertile soil of the Indus Valley is due to ______.
  4. Farming began in the Indus Valley around ______.
  5. ______made farming more productive leading to the development of towns and cities.
  6. The annual flooding of the Indus Valley is due to the ______climate.
  7. If the rains are too early or too late; or too light or too heavy, ______are destroyed and thousands will ______.

II.  Cities of the Indus Valley

  1. ______and ______are ancient cities that flourished between 2500 and 1500 BC.
  2. The cities were planned in ______with districts for ______, ______, and ______.
  3. The ______was at the center of the city.
  4. At its peak, ______had roughly 35,000 inhabitants.
  5. Such intricate cities could have only been maintained by a ______government.
  6. Governments/ rulers based their power on ______assistance.
  7. Religion and political powers were closely linked.
  8. ______is where the royal palace and the holy temple were.
  9. Their economies were based on ______.
  10. The cities were abandoned around 1500 BC.
  11. Little is known about them because their writing has never been ______.
  12. The ______(Noble Ones) were light skinned people from the Caucasus Mountains.
  13. They drove the Dravidians south of ______Mountains.
  14. The Aryans were ruled by ______(princes).
  15. Aryans spoke and wrote in ______.
  16. Daily life centered around the ______unit.
  17. The family unit was ______.

III.  Hinduism

  1. Hinduism was developed by the ______.
  2. The ______, books of poems about the gods are the most ______books of Hinduism.
  3. The ______said the four classes came from the body of ______, the main god.
  4. The main gods are ______(the creator), ______(the preserver) and ______(the destroyer).
  5. ______are rules to live by and ______is divine law.
  6. ______is practiced to build a oneness with Brahman.

IV.  Buddhism

  1. Buddhism was begun by ______.
  2. Buddah’s teachings were written down in the ______.
  3. The Four Noble truths are:
  4. ______
  5. ______.
  6. ______.
  7. ______.
  8. The Eightfold Path

  1. ______.
  2. ______.
  3. ______.
  4. ______.
  5. ______.
  6. ______.
  7. ______.
  8. ______.

V.  The Maurya Empire

  1. Chadragupta Maurya unitnes all of ______India.
  2. ______defeated southern India and killed ______to celebrate.
  3. Asoka then converted to ______.
  4. Chandragupta was a very ______leader.
  5. He always feared ______.
  6. Asoka had a policy of ______“all faiths should be honored.”
  7. The ______Empire rose to power following the decline of the Maurya.
  8. The Kushan grew wealthy from trade along the ______.

VI.  The Gupta Empire

  1. It was founded by ______.
  2. Under the reign of the Gupta, India experienced its ______.
  3. The military relied heavily on ______wielding ______bows.
  4. The Guptas were also masters of ______.
  5. Gupta scholars proposed that the ______revolved around the ______almost ______years before the Europeans did.