History of Ancient India

In order to understand Hinduism, you need to understand the history of ancient India. The following curriculum plans are designed to work together and include lecture notes, activities, images and assessments for covering the ancient history of India.

Lesson One- Big Map of Asia . An interactive introduction to the geography of the region. Can be used as one segment of a large world map that, in a world history course, can be added to and revisited as the course develops.

Lesson Two - The Importance of Place: Geography and Civilization. This class will ask students to consider the interaction between people and their environments with the goal of generating discussion and an answer to the question- Why did the first civilizations in India develop in the Indus Valley?

Lesson Three - Archaeology in the Indus Valley. This lesson includes a slide lecture that aims to introduce students to the importance of material sources for ancient history and the difficulties of the archaeological process.

Lesson Four - The Rig Veda. This lesson encourages students to do a close reading of three hymns from the Rig Veda and discover for themselves what these hymns might reveal about ancient Indian culture and the impact of the Aryan migration.