British Museum Ancient India Webquest

 

1. Fill in the blanks: The people of ancient India lived in a ____________ extremes. The terrain was varied and often presented great challenges. Occasional extremes of weather such as ______________ and monsoons were also part of life in this land. However, great _____________developed and flourished amidst the ____________, mountains, plains and deserts of the subcontinent.

 

2. Story: Read the animated story and answer the questions below.

a. Who was Vritra and what did he wish to steal? ____________ / _________

b. What happened to the people without the cloud-cattle? ________________ c. Which god heard their cries for help? ___________________

d. What weapons were used against Vritra? ____________________________

 

3. Explore: Indus Valley

a. List three natural resources found in the Indus valley ANSWER: 1._______________ 2._______________ 3._______________

b. Describe the TERRAIN in the Indus Valley? ANSWER: _________________________________________________________________

 

4. In your notes, draw a simple sketch of the Indus Valley:

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Early Hinduism:  WEB LINK

It is unclear if the residents of Mohenjo-Dara and Harappa practiced modern Hindu beliefs. However, we will learn more about the early Hindu myths, which may have been apart of the religious beliefs in the ancient Indus Valley

1. Story: Read the animated story and answer the questions below.

a. Who is Narayana and what did he create? __________________________________

b. What did Narayana create from his body?

To answer “b”, Draw a table with the following headings.

Mouth         Mind        Tongue        Nose       Pupils        Ears          Hair        Beard        Nails                Bones

 

2. Explore: Choose one Early Hindu God. Describe the god and explain WHY this god is your favorite?

 

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Indus Valley:  WEB LINK

1. Fill in the blanks:

Around ____________ years ago, an important civilization developed on the Indus

River _______________. From about 2600 B.C. to 1700 B.C. a vast number of

____________ were built on the banks of the ________________ and surrounding

areas. These settlements cover a remarkable region, almost 1.25 million kilometres of

land which is today part of Afghanistan, _____________ and north-western India.

2. Answer the following questions:

a. What were these early cites built of? _____________________________

b. What was “sophisticated” about this early civilization?

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

c. Why do we not know much about the lives of the people who lived in the Indus

Valley?

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

 

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Time:  WEB LINK

 

1. Fill in the blanks

People have been living in the _____________ subcontinent for thousands of years, building some

of the greatest civilizations in the world. Writing and __________ systems as well as __________

developed, some of which survive in one form or another to this day. Additionally, great works of

art, architecture and ________demonstrate the richness of the enduring culture of this land.

 

2. Explore: Choose the Indus AND Writing timelines from the dropdown menu. In the time line

below create your own an timeline of the period from 3100 BCE to 1700BCE.

 

3100 BCE                                                                                                                                                                                                                      1500 BCE

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Writing: WEB LINK

Challenge: You are a young epigrapher studying the Indus script. The scholar you work with has gone away and left you with a partially completed sign list. Your job is to look at a fresh batch of Indus seals and add the signs on the seals to your list. You will need to decide whether each sign you 'take off' a seal is a new sign, or is the same as one which is already on the list. BE PREPARED TO SHARE YOUR RESULTS WITH THE CLASS. ENJOY!