World History: Chapter 3: First Citiesa & States in Asia
Sometimes, Mesopotamia, Egypt, China & India are known as __ for their cities and states developing around river valleys.
"River civilizations"
What are the theories that archaeologists and historians have about why Harappan cities were abandoned?
1) People started to live in smaller villages instead 2) Conquest 3) Earthquake changing course of river 4) Prolonged drought 5) Disease
By ___, Harappan cities were abandoned.
1900s BCE
The first cities developed along the Yellow River in China around...
2000s BCE
The Indus River culture developed the first cities in India from...
2600 BCE - 1900 BCE
There was spread of Indo-European speakers by...
3000 BCE
How many Vedas are there?
4
How many inhabitants lived in Mohenjo-Doro?
40,000
The Vedas were told from generation to generations of priests for hundreds of years before being written down in __, towards the end of the Vedic period.
500 BCE
Farming villages developed along the Yellow River around....
7000s BCE
When did the Arya begin arriving in Northern India?
Around 1500s BCE
The Vedic Era was a mixture of both __ and __ traditions.
Arya and indigenious
Explain the story of how the city of Harappa was discovered.
As railroads were being built in India during the late 19th century, a foreman noticed that local workers were filling in the rail bed with old looking bricks. When he asked where they were getting it, they pointed to some hills full of broken bones. When experts took a closer look at the hills, they discovered ancient bricks of a Harappan city.
Why is the "Verdic Era" called the "Verdic Era"?
Because the Vedas are the earliest texts we have in India
Who is at the top of the caste system?
Brahims (priests)
What religion developed during the Veldic area?
Brahmanism
The Harappans were skilled metal workers. What kinds of metal did they use and not use?
Copper and bronze, but not iron
What place appeared in 3000 BCE?
Egypt (Northeastern Africa)
Most modern-day European languages, like __, is an example of an Indo-European language.
English
True or False: The earliest cities and states in India and China did NOT develop around river valleys.
False
True or False. The caste system originally starting with six main castes, but later became very complex.
False. It's four.
True or False. Mohenjo-Doro consisted of single-story buildings.
False. Multiple storied buildings.
True or False. Historians and archaeologists found the city of Harrapa intentionally.
False. They found it by accident.
True or False. If a person of a caste came into contact with an intouchable, they could go about their day.
False. They had to ritually purify themselves, as they believed the untouchables were unclean
True or False: Once the Arya settled down, they heavily influenced the local culture around them.
False. When the Arya settle down, they were heavily influenced BY the culture of the local populations
True or False. If you had bad karma in your life, you could still be reborn into a higher caste.
False. You could get reborn into a lower caste or even as an animal
Mohenjo-Doro was an example of a __ city.
Harappan
The Indus River Valley culture is also know as the...
Harappan Civilization
As early as 6500s BCE, farming communities developed in this country along the Indus River.
India
Indians believed in reincarnation, another basic principle of the religion, Brahmanism. Describe it.
Indians believed that bodies were only temporary abodes for the atman, or the soul, which was permanent
What place appeared in 2600 BCE?
Indus Valley (India)
When the Arya came to Northern India, was it a military invasion or a simple population movement?
It's not clear which one it is
Who was second in the caste system?
Kshatriya (warriors)
What place appeared in 1200 BCE?
Mesoamerica
What place appeared in 3200 BCE?
Mesopotamia
Describe the polytheistic concept of Brahmanism.
Multiple gods and goddesses who, along with humans, were all tied together by Braham, a sort of universal divine soul
Were Harappan cities isolated?
No
Have modern historians and archeologists been able to decipher Harappan text?
No, not yet
Is there certainty about the cause of decline of Harappan cities?
No, there isn't any evidence of destruction of the cities
True or False. The Hittites invented how to smelt iron in 1500s BCE. After that, Harappan cities began to flourish.
No. Harappan cities flourished BEFORE the Hitties had invented how to smelt iron in 1500s BCE.
What place appeared in 2000 BCE?
Northern China
What place appeared in 1500 BCE?
Nubia
Why do we not know as much about the Harappan culture as we do about Mesopotamia, China, and Egypt?
One main reason is because we have not been able to decipher Harappan texts. Archeologists use text to understand more about a place's culture.
Who made up Central Asia?
Pastoral nomads
Define pastoral nomads.
People who domesticated animals like horses, goats, sheep, and kept herds of them
Who are Indo-Europeans?
People who spoke various related languages, or Indo-European languages
What religion did Mohenjo-Doro believe in?
Possibly theocracy but we do not know what the political system looked like in the Harappan culture. We can only guess.
What language were the Vedas written in?
Sanskrit
Where are Indo-European speakers believed to have orginiated?
Somewhere in West/Central Asia, then migrated both into Europe and India by around the 1500s
What place appeared in 1000 CE?
Sub-Saharan East Africa
What place appeared in 100 CE?
Sub-Saharan West Africa
Who was fourth in the caste system?
Sudras (laborers, serfs, great majority of population)
1500-500 BCE is when this era began.
The Verdic Era
Name a river in China.
The Yellow River
What river valley did China's earliest cities and states develop around?
The Yellow River, and a little later, the Yangtze.
Who performed the sacrifices in Brahmanism?
The priests (brahims)
Describe the Kshatriya (warriors).
The ruling classes (rajas (chiefs or kings)) and their families were of the Kshatriya castle
Who was fifth (last) in the caste system?
The untouchables, pariahs, or "outcastes"
Describe the untouchables.
These were the unfortunates at the very bottom of society. They did most menial tasks of society, and people of other castes did not want to have to do anything to do with them.
Why were cities developed earlier in India and China?
They were able to produce enough food for more people
Describe the Brahims (priests).
They were at the top of Indian society especially during the Vedic Era. This is the reason why some people have guessed that the Harappah cities were ruled by priests.
Pastoral nomads regularly moved with their herds to new grazing areas. True or False.
True
The Caste System still matters in rural area in Modern India, although it is technically outlawed nowadays. True or False.
True
True or False. Brahmanism is polytheistic, or the belief in multiple gods and goddesses.
True
True or False. If you had good karma in your life, you could get reborn into a higher caste.
True
True or False. Mohenjo-Doro was a very well planned city with street grid.
True
True or False. Sanskrit became the sacred text for Hinduism. and therefore, has survived as a religious written language.
True
True or False. The largest cities of the Indus Valley developed along the Indus River.
True
True or False: Harappan cities were very advanced when it came to the cleanliness of themselves and their cities.
True
How does the plumbing of a Harappan toilet work?
Underneath the toilet, there would be a channel to take the sewage out of the house and dump it into a larger sewage canal
Who was third in the caste system?
Vaisya (commoners: merchants, freeman, farmers)
What is another name for the caste system?
Varna
Are historians able to read the Vedas?
Yes
Did the Harappans develop a writing system?
Yes
Is Sanskrit an Indo-European lanaguage?
Yes
Were sacrifices important to get the gods on your side in Brahmanism?
Yes
Would you generally marry a person of the same caste?
Yes
Was Mohenjo-Doro big for an ancient city?
Yes! It was about the sane size as the largest Mesopotamian cities.
Was China geographically isolated? If so, what isolated it?
Yes. The Himalaya Mountains and the Gobi dessert.
In the religion of Brahmanism, when a person died, their body decayed, but their __ was reborn into a new body.
atman
India and China developed their agriculture early, utilizing the rivers to...
build irrigation systems
What are the Vedas?
certain epic stories of gods, goddesses, hymns, songs. prayers. also tells the tales of the Aryas warning with, and winning, over others
During the Verdic, we see the return of...
city building
The Harappans had __ plumbing skills
good
When did historians and archaeologists learn about the Harappan civilization in India?
in the early 20th century
Who were "The Arya"?
initially nomadic Indo-European speaking people from west-central Asia.
Like all other ancient cities, Mohenjo-Doro depended on effective agriculture, which required...
irrigation systems
Your __, or the tally of good and/or bad deeds you had done over the course of your life determined what caste you were reborn into.
karma
Pastoral nomads' herds provided...
meat, dairy, wool, textile, etc.
In other places like the more arid grass-lands of Central Asia, people lived a little differently because...
nature did not allow for agriculture there
The Vedas were first an __ tradition
oral
Define theocracy.
ruled by religious leaders or priests
In addition to copper and bronze, the Harappans were also expert...
silver and gold-smiths
The caste system, or the varna, was a system of...
social classes in which you are born into
During the Vedic era, this system was created which would become a major mainstay of Indian culture for centuries to come.
the Caste system
Before discovering the Harappan civilization, historians and archaeologists used to think the earliest civilization in India was this period.
the Veldic period
What is the term "Harappan Civilization" named after?
the city of Harappa, one of the earliest of these cities to be discovered in modern times
Harappan cities were in close contact with each other, as well as other civilizations, like Mesopotamia (which happens to be the closest one). This allowed them to...
trade
What is another word for soul?
ttman
The urban planning that took place in Harappan cities, as well as the large public buildings. seems to point to a...
well-organized society with pretty powerful leadership
