| A | B |
|---|
| Indus River Valley | site of the ancient Harappan and Aryan civilizations; in modern-day Pakistan |
| Harappa | city in modern-day Pakistan that is near the ruins of the ancient Harappan civilization |
| Mohenjo Daro | one of the largest cities of the ancient Harappan civilization |
| archaeologist | person who studies prehistoric people and their culture |
| Aryan | people from Central Asia who migrated to the Indus River Valley whose civilization thrived after the Harappan civilization |
| migration | movement of people from one location to another |
| Vedas | collection of religious writings including poems, hymns, myths, and rituals that were written by Aryan priests |
| nomad | someone with no permanent home who travels around |
| raja | leader who ruled a village and the land around it |
| Sanskrit | most important language of ancient India; not spoken today |
| varnas | social divisions in Aryan society |
| Brahmins | priests; highest rank in the caste system |
| caste system | divided Indian society into groups based on a person's birth, wealth, or occupation |
| untouchable | person who didn't belong to any caste |
| Brahmanism | religion practiced by the Aryans |
| Hinduism | largest religion in India today; a blending of many religious traditions of Central Asia and India |
| polytheism | belief in many gods |
| Brahman | single universal spirit in Hinduism; Brahma, Siva, and Vishnu are important aspects |
| reincarnation | process of rebirth; Hindus believe souls are born and reborn many times |
| karma | effects that good or bad actions have on a person's soul |
| Ganges River | sacred pilgrimage site in northeast India |
| Jainism | religion based on four principles: injure no life, tell the truth, do not steal, and own no property |
| nonviolence | avoidance of violent actions |
| Siddhartha Gautama | a spiritual teacher in the northern region of the Indian subcontinent who founded Buddhism |
| Kshatriya | a member of the warrior class in the caste system |
| enlightenment | in Buddhism, the highest spiritual state that can be achieved |
| fasting | going without food |
| meditation | the focusing of the mind on spiritual ideas |
| Buddha | founder of Buddhism; the “Enlightened One” |
| Buddhism | a religion growing out of the teaching of Gautama Buddha that suffering is inherent in life and that one can be liberated from it by mental and moral self-purification |
| Four Noble Truths | four guiding principles at the heart of Buddhism [1. Suffering and unhappiness are a part of human life. 2. Suffering comes from our desires for pleasure and material goods. 3. People can overcome their desires and ignorance and reach nirvana. 4. People can overcome ignorance and desire by following an eightfold path.] |
| nirvana | In Buddhism, a state of perfect peace that frees a person’s soul from suffering and from the need for further reincarnation |
| Eightfold Path | in Buddhism, eight right ways leading to the ending of sufferings |
| moderation | an avoidance of extremes |
| Middle Way | in Buddhism, a path of moderation between human desires and denying oneself any pleasure |
| Asoka | a powerful king in India who worked to spread Buddhism outside of India |
| missionaries | people who work to spread their religious beliefs |
| metallurgy | the science of working with metals |
| alloys | mixtures of two or more metals |
| Hindu-Arabic numerals | the numbers we use today |
| inoculation | the practice of injecting a person with a small dose of a virus to help him or her build a defense to a disease |
| astronomy | the study of stars and planets |
| mercenaries | hired soldiers |
| edicts | laws |
| establish | to set up or create |
| metallurgy | the science of working with metals |
| alloys | mixtures of two or more metals |
| Hindu-Arabic numerals | the numbers we use today |
| inoculation | the practice of injecting a person with a small dose of a virus to help him or her build a defense to a disease |
| astronomy | the study of stars and planets |
| subcontinent | a large landmass that is smaller than a continent |
| Himalayas | enormous mountains that stretch along the northern border of the Indian Subcontinent |
| tectonic plates | the dozen or so plates that make up the surface of the Earth (two massive one collided to form the Himalayas) |
| Mount Everest | highest mountain in the world (29,035 ft.), on the border between Nepal and China |
| delta | a landform at the mouth of a river created by sediment deposits |
| monsoons | seasonal winds that bring either moist or dry air to an area |
| primary source | an artifact, document, or other source of information that was created at the time under study; if created by a person, then the person had direct knowledge of the events being described |
