Sean

Sean

India Geography-

The massive area of land to the south of the Himalayas is called the Indian Subcontinent. The Himalayas stop the cold and dry air from coming into the Indian Subcontinent which helps regulate the climate. Most of the population that live in South Asia work in agriculture, but the farms that they work on are usually small so they work in subsistence farming. Subsistence farming means they grow crops to feed themselves and their families, but only some of it is sent to the store.The southwest monsoons of South Asia can sometimes bring intense storms and floods to the region.Two problems that South Asia have that could go together are that their population keeps on growing and almost half of the worlds population that are in poverty live here. If the population keeps on growing then the percentage of poverty will keep on rising.

Early History-

The nomadic people who lived in what is now called central Asia were the Arryans. When they moved into the Indus Valley historians think they merged with the Harrapan civilization. Some of the crops that the Harrapan farmers grew were barley, wheat, melons, dates, and cotton, the cotton was used as cloth in clothes. These crops were then traded with Mesopotamia, or modern day Iraq. Copper and tin were mined in the Himalayan Mountains, and were used to make saws and axes. The handles were provided by the forests to the West, the forests also provided firewood. The Harrapans exchanged grain, copper pots and pans, mirrors, elephant ivory, cotton cloth, lapis lazuli, shells, and ceramic jewelry for silver from Persia and Afghanistan, and gold and dried fish from Mesopotamia. For a long time the people of the Indus Valley used a barter instead of money, a barter is basically a swapping system. In the Indus Valley civilization, trading was vital, they traded among themselves as well as with Mesopotamia.

Aryans- The houses that the Aryans lived in were were called ganas, which means collections. the ganas were usually lived in by many families, the houses were normally small, made out of wood and straw, and only had one room. The Caste System was a very important part in the Aryan culture. The Aryan priests were the brahmans, the highest social level. Warriors and rulers were kshatriyas. Farmers were members of the vaisyas caste. Servants and laborers were sudras. the indigenous people were dasas, the dasas were consider the lowest ranking in the caste. Most of the Arryan children started to do work in the earlier stage of their life. The daughters of the family did housework and fetched water, the boys, who were the sons of farmers, herded animals. Boys of the brahaman caste went to school to learn the sacred Vedas from gurus. boys that came from a wealthy family were taught mathematics and astronomy at school, girls were not educated. the word Aryan comes from the term a rya, which means "noble" it was named this to be referenced to their dominant place in society when they invaded a long time ago. In the Aryan culture there was no organized government that could control the land throughout India, instead, there were numerous ruling chieftains.



Fun Facts- 1. The tallest building in the world is located in Dubai, India, it is called the Burg Khalifa (to see a video on the Burg Khalifa click below.) media type="youtube" key="xmVaZA-5n8E" height="315" width="560" 2. India is about 1/3 the size of the United States yet it's the second most populated country in the world. 3. It is illegal to take India currency (rupees) out of India. 4. More than a million Indians are millionaires, but most Indians live on less than two hours a day. 5. India is the largest democracy in the world. 6. Dancing is India's most highly developed art. 7. India is leading the world in most people being born.

Architecture- The earliest architecture from India dates back to about 2500 B.C. The Harrapans built big cities with walls around them with public baths and warehouses and paved streets. Literature- The main body of classic sanskrit was used to writhe the famous poems know as the Vedas, the poetry style that was used to write the poems is called kavya. Musical instruments- India have invented many musical instruments, the instruments that they invented are the rudra vina, sitar, surbahar, sarod, santur, tanpura, sarangi, bansuri, tabla, mridangham, sreekhole, and the gotham. Food-About half the amount of Indians in the country eat rice as their staple, others eat wheat, barley, maize, and millet.

Culture- The Indian society was divided into 4 great classes, life was basically divided into four stages. The stages were student, householder, hermit, and wanderer. These stages were reserved for men of the three upper classes. Very few Indians completed them exactly as outlined in the sacred texts, but many men accecpted the stages as a way fro living, and many tried to follow the whole idea. The student life generally started at 8 years old if you were a Brahman boy, 11 for a Kshatriya, and 12 for a Vaisyha. During the initiation of becoming a student, each boy received a "sacred thread" it is basically a woven cord placed over ones shoulder, across the chest, and under the opposite. This would happen to everyone of the students no matter what cast you were. after initiation a Brahman or a Kshatriya boy went to live in the home of the guru. There the boy would study the Vedas learning thousands of verses by heart. Kshatriyas boys learned the skill of a archery, swordmanship and hand-to-hand combat, they also practiced one of the earliest forms of martial arts. Martial arts was a wrestling style that combined wrestling, throws, and deadly hand strikes. some of the students studied in buddhist schools instead of the home of founded Gupta times at Nalanda. According to a Chinese Buddhist monk Faxian, the teachers at Nalanda gave lessons on grammar, medicine, Hindu philosophy, and buddhist principle. If you were a Kshatriya boy you finished your studies at around age 16, and at that point you were expected to go home and marry a girl chosen by your parents. Having the marriage made the young man a householder. Only a son would work to carry on the family line an perform the sacred rituals that his ancestors followed as well. If the nobleman's wife did not produce a son, he bring one or two concubines into the household, these secondary wives usually cam from a lower caste.The householders were expected to devote themselves to the three traditional aims for life. the first aim, the most important one, was righteousness, the second one was wealth, and the third one was pleasure. these were the aims for life that every householder was expected to follow.media type="youtube" key="eL7wDzBpOho" height="315" width="420"

Facts About India-

The Himalayas are the highest mountain range in the world, they form the northern border of the Indian subcontinent in Asia. They are important to India because they stop northern winds from coming into South Asia which regulates the climate. Republic Day in India is celebrated on January 26, to honor the date that the constitution of India came into effect and when India gained their independence from England. India attained independence on August 15, 1946, but until 1949 they didn't have a permanent constitution. Believe it or not yogurt is important to Indian people, every Indian person makestheir yogurt everyj day. India people could havemade it even if they haven't stepped into a kitchen once in their life.Bengal tigers live India and are sometimes referred to as the Indian tiger, bengal tigers are the most common tiger, they number almost half of the population of tigers in the wild.



Government-

The election of India's government officials is a long process. It first starts out with the voters who vote for the parliament, and the state assemblies. The parliament is the house of the people or the council of states. The parliament and the state assembles both vote for who should be president, but only the parliament votes for who should be the prime minister. The current prime minister of India is Manmohan Singh, the current president is Pranab Mukherjee, and the current vice president is Mohammad Hamid Ansari.

Take Home Quiz- One of the worlds first civilizations was in Mesopotamia. The civilization formed there because there are two rivers, the Tigris and the Euphrates, that run through Mesopotamia. The area between the Tigris and the Euphrates is arable land, which is one of the main reasons why they settled there.A civilization a lot like Mesopotamia is the Nile River Valley civilization. The Nile River Valley civilization took place right next to the Nile River. Every summer the Nile flooded. this left a layer of arable soil. The Egyptians later developed a way to trap the water to use later. The years between the fall of Rome and 1500 a.d. are called the Middle Ages. The early years of the Middle Ages were the hardest for people. Many leaders would fight for power and land. The signs of civilization that Rome had brought to Europe began to fall apart. From the 1300s to the 1400s Europeans heard stories about the continent if Africa. Yet the first Europeans that came to Africa did not know what to expect. when the European explorers brought news of Africa back to Europe, They talked about a land with great resources. The different Climate zones affected the Development of a civilization in Africa. The Mastery of farming made the first civilization of Africa rise. Africa has four different climate zones. The climate zones are the deserts, savannas, rain forests, and the North and Southern coast are mild.

Oceania- Oceania is made up of many thousand island, and Australia is the biggest out of all of them. Australia was first inhabited by the Aborigines, which means "first known people to live in a place." The Aborigines probably came 40,000 years ago from is;and in the South Pacific. The Aborigines did not farm or build villages. They traveled throughout Australia in small groups of families, as they hunted and gathered their food. The first people to live in New Zealand were the Maori. The Maori probably came to New Zealand from Polynesia. The Maori also hunted, just like the Aborigines. But, the Maori also had a lot of differences from the Aborigines. The Maori grew crops, unlike the Aborigines. Also, instead of moving from place to place like the Aborigines, the Maori built houses out of reeds. The Fiji Islands are also a part of Oceania, and they are an archipelago made of many islands. Fiji was first discovered by Abel Janszoon Tasman in about 500 B.C.

Canada- Canada is the second largest country in the world, it's a land with many mountains, plains, and forests. The vikings were the first European people to visit Canada. They traveled across the Atlantic Ocean in small sailing ships. The vikings, most likely, reached the region of Newfoundland in about a.d. 1000. The vikings settled there, but they did not stay for long. 500 years went by before another group of Europeans came to Canada. In 1497 an explorer named John Cabot claimed Newfoundland for England.He was later followed by several French Explorers. A Frenchman named Jacques Cartier sailed up the St. Lawrence RIver in 1534. The most famous explorer of Canada was an Englishman named Henry Hudson. He was one of the explorers trying to get around the Americas and into the Pacific Ocean. He sailed from the Netherlands up the Hudson River thinking that it would take him through the United States. When he realized that the river stopped, he turned around and went back down the river. He then tried going up North towards Canada. He sailed into the Hudson Bay and reached land. There he was greeted by Native Americans, who were the first people to live in Canada. After this he sailed back out the Hudson bay and planned to keep on going. HIs crew did not like this idea, so they deserted him and his son and went back home to the NEtherlands. When the rest of Henry Hudson's crew sailed back to the Netherlands, they most likely shared the things about the Native Americans that they saw.

Middle Ages-

The roman EMpire lasted for than one thousand years. Eventually, however, the Roman Empire began to grow weak. THere were many reasons why this happened though. Some of the emperors were cruel and dishonest. Warriors from the North attacked the borders of the empire. The yeasrs between the fall of rome and a.d. 1500 are called the Middle Ages. Middle Ages means "in between".The early years of the Middle Ages were the hardest for people. Many leaders were fight each other for power and land. Trade began to disappear because fierce warriors from the North still roamed the countryside. The warriors destroyed crops and robbed farms and homes. Finally, a system called feudalism brought order to Europe. Feudalism was a kind of government. under Feudalsim, powerful people agreed to protect less powerful people. The kings gave land to the nobles under him. THe nobles were rich men from the upper class. In return for the land, The nobles promised to help fight the kings enemies.The nobles were called vassals of the king. Sometimes one noble would give some of its land to another noble. After the fall of Rome there was no single state or government that united the people of Europe. Instead the catholic church became the most powerful institution of the medieval period. Kings and queens derived much of their power from their alliances with and protection of the church.

Ancient Egypt-

The Nile RIver is the longest river in the whole world. The Nile is more than 4,000 miles long. It starts from a lake deep in Africa and ends in the the hot desert land of Egypt. People began moving into the Nile RIver Valley in Egypt over 10,000 years ago. They stayed there because the land was fertile. Every summer the Nile would flood the land around it. This would leave a layer of fertile soil fro farmers to plant their crops in. Over time, the villages became much larger. About 5,000 years ago, a man named Menes ruled over several villages in Egypt. Menes brought all of the villages in Egypt together under his leadership. Menes eventually became the first king of Egypt Menes built a new capital city called Memphis. He also built a large palace for himself. Egypt's king was called the pharaoh, which mean "great place" or great house." The Egyptians believed that it was important to record and communicate about religion and government. So they invented written scripts to record this information.

Ancient Africa-

Egypt is located in Northern Africa. The area is seperated from the rest of Africa by a big desert called the Sahara. South of the Sahara, the land and climate of Africa are different. In some areas there are thick rain forests. In other areas, there are grassy plains that remind some tourists of the great plains in the U.S. Africa is the birthplace of humanity. Many scientists beleive that humanity first developed in Africa. THe ruined city of Zimbabwe or Great Zimbabwe is beleived by some archaeologists to be the biblical site of Ophir, where King Solomon's mines were located. The city was occupied at many different times by many different people. A thousand years ago, the city was surrounded by a great wall. Inside the wall the people built richly decorated buildings. There were a lot of invaders into the country of Africa. THE invaders could have saw the fancily decorated buildings and take them back to their own culture. When the Europeans came to AFrica, they saw it as a vast and dangerous place filled with savage people, but Africa has been home to many exotic civilizations. The Fertile Crescent-

One of the first civilizations was in Mesopotamia. Today this region is in the country of Iraq. TwO rivers run through Mesopotamia, they are the Tigris and the Euphrates. The patch of land that is in between the two rivers is fertile land. Fertile means land that is able to be farmed. The sumerians eventually learned how to irrigate their crops. The two rivers provided water for the crops. The land of Mesopotamia is called the fertile crescent. Sumer, a city in Mesopotamia, became the first large area of farming villages in Mesopotamia. The people of Sumer were known as the Sumerians. The Sumerians made of the first civilizations in Mesopotamia. One of the most important things that the Sumerians did was develop a written language. writing was invented to allow people to keep records and lists. little by little, a complete system of writing was invented in Sumer. The writing system was called cuneiform.Cuneiform aloud the Sumerians to keep accurate records of farm and business transactions, and spurred economic development. The civilization of Sumer reached its highest point about 4,000 years ago. Many different cultures invaded the city of Sumer. When the cultures saw the writing, they could think that it's a good idea, and they could bring it back to their own culture. Cultures could also take the Idea of the language back to their own culture, and it could eventually spread all over the world just by the invasion of one city.

Middle East- The Middle East is between three continents. Europe, Asia, and Africa all come together at the eastern end of the Mediterranean Sea. Saudi Arabia is the largest country in the middle east. The ancient Arabs were nomads, which means people who move from place to place searching for food and water. Some of the Arabs are still nomads today. However, most people who live in the Middle East live in cities and towns. Some of the countries that were in the Middle East were Yemen, Turkey, Sudan, Iraq, Oman, Egypt, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Iran, Cyprus, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Kuwait, and Bahrain. Most of the people that live in the middle east today follow the religion of Islam. Judaism, Christianity, and Islam all began in the Middle East. The people who follow Islam were known as Muslims. Like the Jews sand the Christians, Muslims only believed in one god. Islam was founded by a religious leader named Muhammad. Muhammad lived in Mecca in the 600s. Muhammad, one day, heard a voice tell him that there was only one god, the god's name was Allah. The voice also said that Muhammad was the messenger of Allah. In about 610, Muhammad began to teach the people in Mecca about Allah. Soon Muhammad had many followers. His religion was eventually called Islam, which means "surrender to god''. Allah is not only the god of the Muslims, even Arabic Christians use the term Allah. The different cultures of the Middle East would always merge with each other. Sometimes in a good way and sometimes in a bad way.