India, Early Civilizations

We are currently working on chapter 7 of Bob Jones University World History.  The chapter is called The Civilizations of Asia and Africa.  First stop, India.


~Harappa was the ancient name for present day India.

~Harappa was located in the Indus River Valley.  This is also

known as the Indus River Valley Civilization.

~The Indus River Valley Civilization was a very advanced civilization.

~Ancient India was the largest ancient civilization.

Indus River Civilization.
Image from the web.

~The written language of Ancient India was called Indus Script.  This is a mystery language as it has never been translated.

~The Great Bath is one of the largest structures discovered in Ancient India.  Historians believe it could be used as a form of Baptism.

~It is believed that people of Ancient India worshiped a Mother Goddess.  This is unclear due to the fact that the language used was not translated.

The Great Bath.
Image from the web.

~It is believed that slavery did not exist in Ancient India.

~Hinduism is the major religion of India.  Here are a few facts about Hinduism.

~More than 80% of the population in India practice Hinduism.

~Hinduism is the world's third largest religion.

~This religion possibly dates back to prehistoric times.

image from the web

~In Hinduism, one can be a monotheist (one god), a polytheist (multiple gods), or an atheist (does not believe in any god).  They had complete freedom in their beliefs.

~The Hindu religion is based on the concept of reincarnation.

~They believe life is determined by the laws of karma and daily morality.

Holy cow! 

~A few animals that are considered holy and sacred and why. The cow has always been sacred to the Hindus.  Milk and milk products are used for worship.  Peacocks are holy and sacred because Kartikeya rides a peacock.  Elephants are holy and sacred because of their association with Ganesh and Indra, and mice are holy and sacred because Ganesh had a pet mouse.

~A very extreme practice is the drinking of cow urine.  Don't believe it?  Click here for a video of just that.  They believe it can cure disease.  I think I would rather just have the disease.

On that note, I will wrap it up.  Next up is another trek through Ancient China.

Check out Indus Valley Civilization-John Green/Khan Academy here.
Read more about Hinduism here.