| A | B |
|---|
| subcontinent | a large landmass that forms a distinct part of a continent |
| monsoon | a wind that shifts in direction at certain times of each year |
| Indo- Europeans | a group of seminomadic peoples who, about 1700 B.C. began to migrate from what is now southern Russia to the Indian subcontinent, Europe and Southwest Asia |
| steppes | dry, grass-covered plains |
| migration | the act of moving from one place to settle in another |
| Hittites | an Indo-European people who settled in Anatolia around 2000 B.C. |
| Anatolia | The Southwest Asian peninsula now occupied by the Asian part of Turkey - also called Asia Minor |
| Vedas | four collections of sacred writings produced by the Aryans during an early stage of their settlement in India |
| Brahmin | in Aryan society, a member of the social class made up of priests |
| Caste | one of the four classes of people in the social system of the Aryans who settled in India - priests, warriors, peasants or traders, and non-Aryan laborers or craftsmen |
| Mahabharata | a great Indian epic poem, reflecting the struggles of the Aryans as they moved south into India |
