Ancient India and Hinduism

a large landmass that is smaller than a continent, such as India

• subcontinent

• peninsula

• island

• archipelago

A river of South Asia that flows southeast from the Himalayas to the Bay of Bengal; sacred to Hindus.

• Indus River

• Ganges River

• Indus River

Large river that flows down from the Himalayas in Pakistan, near India.

• Nile River

• Indus River

• Ganges River

• Tigris River

seasonal wind patterns that cause wet and dry seasons

• typhoons

• monsoons

• cyclones

• hurricanes

nomads from Europe and Asia who migrated to India and finally settled; Vedas from this time suggest beginning of caste system

• Mongols

• Assyrians

• Aryans

Indus Valley city laid out in a grid pattern. Had a complex irrigation and sewer system

• Ur

• Memphis

• Mohenjo-Daro

• Umma

an ancient language of India, in which the Hindu scriptures and classical Indian epic poems are written and from which many northern Indian languages are derived.

• Oracle Bones

• cuneiform

• hieroglyphics

• Sanskrit

Priests, at the top of the caste system, in Hinduism.

• Untouchables

• Shudras

• Kshatriyas

• Brahmins

lowest class of people in the caste system of Hinduism, who performed the worst jobs in society

• Untouchables

• Brahmins

• Shudras

• Vaishyas

Movement of individuals or groups from one position in a society to another

• social rigidity

• social mobility

• social hierarchy