3-1 Geography of India

Essential Questions

1. How might geography and climate have affected early settlement in the Indian subcontinent?

2. What does the size of Harappa’s grain storehouses tell us about the city’s population?

3. How did the people of the valley adapt to and modify their environment to meet their basic economic (food, clothing, shelter) needs.

9.1 DEVELOPMENT OF CIVILIZATION:

 Major Ideas

• The development of agriculture enabled the rise of the first civilizations, located primarily along river valleys  Remember the water allowed for fertile land.  Irrigation systems increased the amount of arable (land that can be farmed).

• These complex societies were influenced by geographic conditions and shared a number of defining political, social, and economic characteristics.  Do you remember what the characteristics of civilizations were?

• Complex societies and civilizations adapted to and modified their environment to meet the needs of their population.

• • Students will explore how the Indus River valley civilization adapted to and modified their environments to meet their need for food, clothing, and shelter.

Key Vocabulary:

• Subcontinent

• Himalaya Mountain Range

• Hindu Kush Mountain Range

• Kyber Pass

• Indus River

• Ganges River

• Summer Monsoons

• Winter Monsoons

• Geographic Barriers

• Cultural Diversity

Writing Task:  How has the geography of South Asia affected its economic, social, political and/or history development?

What happens if the monsoons come too early?  What about too late?

South Asia’s Geography

South Asia as a “Subcontinent” -  Since South Asia is separated from the rest of the continent by tremendous mountain ranges it, is referred to as the “subcontinent”

Topography (study of the earth’s surface ex. elevation, mountains, valleys)

·         Himalayas (including Mt. Everest 28,029 ft.)

·         Hindu Kush, Khyber Pass

·         Ghats,  Deccan Plateau

River Systems – Indus, Ganges, Bramaputra rivers

The Ganges River

·         Headwaters stem from the Himalayas & Vindya mountain ranges

·         Sacred to Hindus, Source of irrigation, food

·         Highly polluted today

·         High population density along the river

Resources

·         Cotton, Rice, Rubber, Jute

Monsoons

·         The summer monsoons bring much needed water.

·         If they come too soon, there are floods, if they come too late there is drought.

The World’s Largest Democracy

·         India’s population has passed the 1,000,000,000 person mark.

·         Two out of every five people in the world are either Indian or Chinese.

·         Cultural diversity - there are over 800 languages/dialects spoken in India.

Characteristics of the Early Civilizations

·         Cities (favorite regents concept)

·         Organized religion - polytheistic

·         Population increases in the cities (urbanization)

·         Appearance of Social Classes

Indus River Valley

·         3,000 - 1,000 B.C. Harappan Civilization develops along the Indus River Valley due to its fertile land.

·         The two major cities  were Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro.  -They showed evidence of complex urban planning.

·         Both cities had wide streets laid out on a grid pattern. They also had public baths and a covered brick sewer system. The early Indus River valley people also developed their own written language.

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Answers to the essential Questions 

1. How might geography and climate have affected early settlement in the Indian subcontinent?

•  High mountains provided protection from invasion and restrict new settlers from immigrating. Mountains, deserts, and high temperatures made settlement in many areas difficult. Settlement occurred in the fertile river valleys, where the monsoons delivered sufficient rainfall.

2. What does the size of Harappa’s grain storehouses tell us about the city’s population?

•  The storehouse in Harappa could hold enough grain to feed about 35,000 people, so the city population was probably at least half of this number.