1. Indus River Valley Global History I: Spiconardi

2. Geography & It’s Impact • Location: Northernmost part of the Indian subcontinent & modern day Pakistan

3. The Monsoons Seasonal winds in the winter and summer. If easterly winter winds prevailed, then there was drought If westerly summer winds prevailed, then there was severe flooding Geography & It’s Impact

4. Monsoons

5. Monsoons

6. Geography & It’s Impact • Geographic Isolation • The Indus River runs between the Himalayan and Hindu Kush mountains • The mountain ranges often limited contact with other cultures • Protected Harappan civilization from invasion (until Aryans in 1500 B.C.E.)

7. Planned urban centers of Mohenjo-Daro & Harappa Cities laid out on a grid (Like Manhattan above 14th Street) Both cities’ blocks, structures, and buildings were almost identical What does this suggest? Planned Cities on the Indus

8. Mohenjo-Daro

9. Mohenjo-Daro

10. Harappa

12. Planned Cities on the Indus • Layout of Harappa & Mohenjo-Daro • Homes • At least two stories • All had a courtyard with a balcony • Most had a small well and bathtub • Water • In Mohenjo-Daro a basin known as the Great Bath was built • Running water • Shows emphasis on cleanliness & purification

13. Sewers & baths Almost every home had a small bathroom Drainage in the streets to clear waste Achievements & Contributions

14. First to weave cotton Used bricks to build structures Mud bricks Wood bricks Achievements & Contributions

15. Interesting Tidbit • Archaeologists have uncovered more TOYS than WEAPONS in their excavations of Harappan cultures.

16. Aryans  nomads who most likely originated in modern Iran Eventually many Aryan tribes settled in the Indus Valley forgoing their nomadic ways Aryan Invasion

17. Aryan Invasion • Religion • Not much is known about Indus religion • Seals that cannot be deciphered suggest a polytheistic & nature worshipping religion • Under Aryans, the religion is mixed with the Aryan and Indus beliefs and Hinduism forms over a period of time

18. Aryan Invasion • The Vedic Period (1900 – 500 BCE) • The Vedas  books in which Aryans record their beliefs • Development of a caste system • Emerged to subjugate the native people of India to Aryan rule • Term Aryan comes from the Sanskrit word “Arya,” which means “noble”