C Block Group A - Marblehead High School

Geography and Early
History of South Asia
By Team A: Meeghan Cronin, Sara Campbell, Cici
Doherty, Alex Henrich, and Lydia Bongiorno
Physical Location
● Indian Subcontinent
● Subcontinent: Large land
mass, smaller than a
continent
● Occupied by 8 regions
Afghanistan
Physical Location
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Large peninsula juts south from
Asia
Located between Arabian Sea,
Bay of Bengal, and Indian Ocean
Bordered North by the Hindu
Mountains and the Himalayasseparates South Asia from rest of
continent
Physical Regions
1.
Northern Mountains
2.
Northern Plains
3.
Deccan Plateau
Northern Mountains:
-Include Himalayas, Hindu Kush, Vindhya,
and Ghat mountain ranges
-Separates South Asia from rest of Asia
-Melted snow from mountains feed rivers
-Farmers work in high valleys, people
develop their own ways of life
-Tallest mountains in the world
-“Kush” means death-like
Hindu Kush
Northern Plains:
-Include Indus, Ganges, Brahmaputra Rivers,
& Thar desert
-Rivers fertilize farmland & provide reliable
water source
-Densely populated
-Thar Desert=scarce rainfall & a barren
landscape
-Stretches from Pakistan to Bangladesh
Deccan Plateau:
-Bordered by mountains on 3 sides
-Vindhya mountains separate plateau from plain
-This made travel & communication difficult
-Contributed to development of regional
cultures
Monsoon
Monsoon: seasonal wind that strongly affects the climate of South Asia
-Wet Monsoon of summer
-Dry Monsoon of winter
Positive: allows farmers to grow necessary crops
Negative: too much rain washes away crops
Wet Monsoon of Summer Dry Monsoon of Winter
Importance of Monsoons
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Monsoons are necessary for farmers in South Asia
Farmers wait for rain for months in order to grow the necessary crops
Influences culture
Climate
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Much of Asia has a tropical climate w/ warm temperatures all year
Temperatures can be cold in Northern mountains and Western Ghats
Rainfall directly affected by mountains, mountains can create rain shadow
(when one side of mountain receives more rain than other)
Natural Resources (Water)
Fertile Soil: Indo-Gangetic Plain
-Rain is plentiful during Wet
Monsoon. Farmers use rivers
and ground-water to irrigate
crops where water is scarce
-If a monsoon fails, India is left
in severe famines
Natural Resources (Minerals)
-Minerals: Iron-Ore, Copper, Manganese,
Bauxite
-Northern Plains: Coal, Mica, Limestone,
Gypsum
Copper
Manganese
-Few Oil Sources
Limestone
Coal
Population
-2nd most populated country in the world
-Population of 1.1 billion
-Occupies 2% of world’s land, supports more than
17% of world’s population
-1 out of every 5 people in the world live in India
-¾ are farmers
-Geographic features separate people into
different cultural groups
Population Groups
-Religions: Hindus, Muslims, Christians,
Sikhs & Buddhists
-Over 700 different languages/dialects used
in South Asia
-Cultural diversity has embellished South
Asia and caused problems for the gov’t
Indus River Valley Civilization
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Lasted 1,000 years; 2500 B.C - 1500 B.C
Extended about 1,000 miles inland
Located in present-day Pakistan and
northwest India along the Indus River
Archaeologists excavated important cities
Harappa and Mohenjo- Daro
Achievements of the Indus River Valley Civilization
Organized Infrastructure:
-Urban Planning
-Bathing Facility
-Districts
-Sewage System
-Warehouses
Achievements of the Indus River Valley Civilization
Farming:
-First to grow cotton, domesticate/tame
chickens
-Other Crops: Barley, wheat, peas, and
sesame
-Livestock: Cattle, sheep, goats, and Water
Buffaloes
Achievements of the Indus River Valley Civilization
Trade:
-Indus River Valley Merchants trade w/ people of Middle
East
-Brought goods to trade overland or by Sea
-Traded Cotton, food, and goods such as pots and beads
- Led to Cultural Diffusion
Decline of the Indus Valley Civilization
Evidence suggests decline began around 2000 B.C.
Possible Reasons for decline:
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Invaders conquered Indus Valley
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Environmental changes that couldn't support farming (Soil worn out, Indus River
changed, floods)
The Aryan Civilization
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Began approx. 1500 B.C.
Aryans came to India from Caucasus
Mountains, through pass of Hindu
Kush mountains
Created tools and weapons out of Iron
Took hundreds of years to migrate into
India
Overran cities of Indus Valley
civilization
Religious Beliefs & Culture of the Aryans
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Polytheistic religious beliefs (e.g. Indra,
Varuna)
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Had many hymns and prayers, called
“vedas”.
Worship centered around altar sacrifices.
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Wealth was measured in cattle.
Religion and Culture of the Aryans (cont.)
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Developed the language of Sanskrit.
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Merged w/ already present practices, formed basis of Hinduism.
Social Organization of the Aryans:
Rajah - Theocratic ruler of village
Varna: Four main social classes
Brahmans: priests
Kshatriyas: warriors
Vaisyas: landowners, merchants, and herders
Sudras: servants and peasants
Had highly successful farms
Current Event #1
The teaching of the Sanskrit language is becoming a controversial subject.
It is spoken by <1% of population (Uttarakhand).
Influenced many other Indian languages.
Some believe that teaching Sanskrit=Religious indoctrination.
Over 95% of writings are non-religious.
Current Event #2
-Archaeologists found clues to the Indus Valley civilization from human bones
-80,000 migrants came to live there
-Shows that the city was not as peaceful as it has been portrayed
-Pottery, antiques, & toys were found in addition to the skeletons
http://www.ancient-origins.net/news-history-archaeology/5000-year-old-skeletons-harappan-civilization
Current Event #3
Thousands acres of India's sugar crop have damage from a faltering monsoon
There is a risk that not enough sugar cane
will be being produced in order to meet
the amount being consumed
This lack of rainfall can cause
a huge problem in the sugarcane industry
Source:
http://zeenews.india.com/business/news/economy/as-indias-cane-crop-wilts-risksgrow-for-the-global-sugar-market_1800531.html
Questions?
If you have any questions or would like us to go
back to a slide please let us know