WARM UP

Here are some important events in the early history of India. Use them to create a vertical timeline.

●3200-1600 BCE The Indus Valley civilization

●1600-1500 BCE Aryans invade Indus Valley

●1600-1000 BCE Early Vedic Period

●1000-600 BCE Late Vedic Period

●563 BCE Gautama Siddhartha Buddha is born

●323 BCE Chandragupta Maurya founds the Maurya

Empire

●273-232 BCE Ashoka, grandson of Chandragupta

Maurya, rules; becomes devout Buddhist and seeks

peace, moral reforms.

●185 BCE The Maurya dynasty ends.

LANGUAGE

LITERATURE

●Vedas-collection of ancient

sacred verses, hymns and

prayers

●Mahabharata- long sacred

text about 88,000 verses.

Contains the Bhagavad

Gita.

●Ramayana- another ancient

story about brave warriors

and heroic deeds.

MUSIC

●Music was important in the religious and social

lives of Indians.

●Early literature was probably sung rather than read

●Musical instruments included tambourines, flutes,

drums and lutes

ART

●Much of early Indian art was made of materials that

have not survived.

●Most that have survived are stone religious statues.

●Many are statues of Buddha

Pair of gold earrings 1st Century B.C Ajanta Padmapani

The Mahabodhi Temple,the location where Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha, attained enlightenment

MATH

●Aryabhata- First to use Algebra

●Concept of zero and a symbol to represent it.

●Explained the concept of infinity.

●Symbols for numbers 1-9.

●Invented Algorithm or a process that uses steps to

solve a problem.

SCIENCE

●Astronomy-mapped planets and stars.

●Understood that the Earth was round and revolved

around the sun.

●Understood gravity.

●Under Gupta dynasty, India made advancements in

metallurgy, even making steel

●Gupta doctors could set bones, and perform

operations.

●Shushruta carried out early plastic surgery

restoring noses.