U N I T 3 G E O G R A P H Y C H A L L E N G E ANSWER KEY

Ancient India

H
USSH
UU KKU
NDD
HIIN
H

H
Indus River

I
M
Brahmaputra
A River
L A
Indus A Y
rt
se Ganges
River De
ha
r River
T Brahmaputra
River
Ganges
River

DECCAN
S
AT

P L AT E A U
H
WE

Arabian
N

Sea
R
ST

TE
ER

Bay of
EA
N G

Bengal
HA
TS

W E

S
INDIAN OCEAN
0 250 500 miles

0 250 500 kilometers

Lambert Azimuthal Equal-Area Projection

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Geography Skills
Analyze the maps in Setting the Stage for Unit 3 in the Student Text. Then answer
the following questions and fill out the map as directed.

1. Which bodies of water surround the southern part of ancient India? Label
them on your map.
Students labels should show the southern part of ancient India as surrounded by the
Arabian Sea to the west, the Indian Ocean to the south, and the Bay of Bengal to the east.
2. India is part of which continent?
India is part of the continent of Asia.
3. Locate the Indus, Ganges, and Brahmaputra rivers on your map and label
them.
Use the annotated map to check students labels for the Indus, Ganges, and
Brahmaputra rivers.
4. Between what two mountain ranges is the Deccan Plateau located? Label these
mountains and the plateau.
The Deccan Plateau is located between the Eastern Ghats and and the Western Ghats.

5. Locate the Himalayas on your map and circle the label. What makes this
mountain range unique?
Students should circle the label for the Himalayas. The Himalayas are unique because they
are the highest mountains in the world.
6. Look at the large map of ancient India in the Unit 3 Setting the Stage in
the Student Text. Also look at the small map that shows the Mauryan Empire,
an empire in ancient India. Describe the geographical boundaries of the
Mauryan Empire.
The Mauryan Empire was bordered in the north by the Himalayan and the Hindu Kush
mountain ranges. Its northwestern border was located to the northwest of the Indus
River. Its southern portion, comprising all of ancient India, with the exception of the
southern tip of the subcontinent, was bordered by the Arabian Sea to the west and the
Bay of Bengal to the east.
7. Now look in your the Student Text at the small map of the Gupta Empire.
Which empire was larger, the Mauryan or the Gupta?
The Mauryan Empire was larger than the Gupta Empire.

8. Into what body of water does the Indus River empty? The Ganges River?
The Indus empties into the Arabian Sea. The Ganges empties into the Bay of Bengal.

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Critical Thinking
Answer the following questions in complete sentences.
9. What geographic factors do you think encouraged the growth of civilization
in the Indus River valley?
Land in the Indus River valley was fertile, and fresh water was readily available. These
factors made it possible to produce food. The river also provided a route for travel
and trade.

10. Predict how the location of the Himalayas, as well as their height, affected the
development of civilization in ancient India.
The location of the Himalayas, as well as their forbidding height, made them an extremely
effective barrier between ancient India and the rest of Asia, allowing the cultures of
ancient India to develop without influence from outsiders.

11. What advantages would there have been to settling along the Indus River near
its mouth at the Arabian Sea, as opposed to farther inland? What disadvan-
tages might there have been to this location?
Living near the sea would have enabled settlers to have the added advantages of using the
resources of the sea, as well as the land and river. Such resources would have included fish
and shellfish, salt, and seaweed. Access to sea travel would have also provided a possible
link to other cultures in faraway lands. Possible disadvantages might have included the
vulnerability of a coastal settlement to attack from outsiders, as well as to potentially
hazardous weather conditions.

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Geography and the Early

Settlement of India
How did geography affect early settlement in India?

P R E V I E W

You are part of a group of people living in ancient times. Your group needs to move,
and you have been chosen to find a new location for resettlement. You travel until
you find the perfect spot. No one lives there, and it has everything your group
needs. What a location! Now you have to convince the others that this is the right
place for your groups new home.

In the space below, draw and label a picture of the place you have chosen. Show the
types of features and characteristics that make this an ideal place to settle.
Answers will vary. Students may draw an environment by a body of
water for easy access to water and fish. They may draw trees to build
dwellings or animals to hunt.

R E A D I N G N O T E S

Social Studies Vocabulary

As you complete the Reading Notes, use these terms in your answers.
subcontinent monsoon plateau

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Sections 1 to 8

1. Read Sections 1 to 8. Each section describes a different physical feature in India.

As you read about each physical feature, label the feature on the appropriate
place on the map.

Physical Features of India

Hindu Kush

Indus River Himalayas

Thar Desert Brahmaputra River

Ganges River

Deccan Plateau

Western Ghats Eastern Ghats

AW_ISN_13_01 Indias Physical Features

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2. Work with your group to complete the table. Write a brief description of each
physical feature. Then, in each box, rate the feature on a scale of 1 to 5.
(1 = unsuitable for settlement, 5 = very suitable for settlement)

Physical Feature Description Rating

Brahmaputra River The Brahmaputra River begins in the Himalayas. 4 or

It joins the Ganges River, on the plains, and 5
makes the land here very fertile.

Deccan Plateau The Deccan Plateau is an elevated, flat area of 3

Eastern and Western Ghats
Ganges River
Himalaya Mountains
land between two mountain ranges in southern
India. The plateau is fairly dry but is watered by
monsoons. Some of the land is fertile.
The Eastern and Western Ghats are long 5
mountain ranges near Indias coasts. The
Western Ghats are high and very wet, whereas
the Eastern Ghats are lower and not so wet.
The Ganges River begins in the Himalayas. It 4 or
leaves sediment on the northern plains, making 5
that area fertile. The river can flood its banks in
the rainy season.
This mountain range is the highest in the world. 1 or
The tallest peaks are always covered in snow 2
and ice.

Hindu Kush Mountains The Hindu Kush are high mountains that form 1 or
a barrier between India and Afghanistan. 2
The Khyber Pass through these mountains
connects central Asia to India.
Indus River The Indus River begins in the Himalayas and 4 or
empties into the Arabian Sea. It deposits 5
sediment in the Indus River valley. It is also a
source of water for farming.
Thar Desert The Thar Desert is a hot area of sand and 1 or
stones, with little water. It is a home for lizards, 2
snakes, gazelles, and birds.

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Section 9

1. On the map, shade in the areas Early Settlements in India

where early settlements in India
were located. You may use the map SH
KU
in this section of the Student Text HI ND U
as a guide.

H
iver
Indus R

I
M Brahmaputra River
2. Why did the first people in India A
L A
most likely choose to settle near THAR
A Y

Ga
ge
rivers? DESERT

n
s River

The first people in India most

likely chose to settle near S

WESTE
DECCAN AT
rivers because the rivers PLATEAU G
H
provided plenty of water. N

R
TE
RN

The fertile soil was ideal for Arabian

EAS
Sea Bay of
farming. The rivers could also
GH

Bengal
be used for travel and trade.
AT
S

W E

S
INDIAN OCEAN

P R O C E S S I N G

Use thistherubric
Answer to evaluate
following question the
in a Processing assignment.
well-written paragraph:

Score
Why Description
were the Indus and Ganges river valleys ideal locations for early settlement?

The
Support your paragraph
answer answers
by providing theonquestion.
details these twoThe writing accurately and clearly
points:
how explains how the Indus and Ganges rivers affected nearby land and why two
3 the Indus and Ganges rivers affected the land nearby
or more other physical features in India were unsuitable for settlement. The
why two or more other physical features of India were unsuitable for settlement
writing is free from spelling and grammatical errors.
The paragraph answers the question. The writing addresses the effects of
the Indus and Ganges rivers on nearby land and explains why one or more
2
other physical feature in India was unsuitable for settlement. The writing
may contain a few spelling and grammatical errors.
The paragraph fails to answer the question. The writing does not address
1 the Indus or Ganges rivers or other physical features in India. The writing
has many spelling and grammatical errors.
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R E A D I N G F U R T H E R

Preparing to Write: Finding Accurate Information

The article Saving the Ganges contains both facts and opinions. Facts are
statements that can be proved or verified to be true. Opinions are statements
of belief or judgment that cannot be proved and that differ among people.
List five facts the article tells you about the Ganges (not the opinions of the
author or of the people mentioned in the article). For each fact, suggest some
possible sources where the information might be found and verified.
Example: The Ganges begins where a number of small streams form from
melting glaciers in the Himalaya Mountains. (maps, photographs)

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

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Planning a Research Report

Suppose that you wanted to write an environmental report on the water used by your
community. Think about the article you have just read about the Ganges River. What
important questions would you ask? What would be your sources of information?
How could you evaluate the accuracy of the different sources?

Add three questions to the left column of the chart. In the right column, list source(s)
that could most accurately help you find the answers. Two examples are provided.

What do you want to know? What sources could you use for information?
How clean is the water in your Longtime residents of your community
community for drinking, cooking, City water department
and bathing? City, county, or state health department
Water-system engineers
Web sites
Maps

Where does our water supply come City or town water department, maps
from?

Use this rubric to evaluate your questions. Make changes to your work if you need to.

Score Description
3 Each question is very relevant to the research topic. The source or sources
will provide a reliable, factual answer to each question. There are no spelling
or grammar errors.
2 The questions are somewhat relevant to the topic. Sources may be helpful in
answering the question. There are some spelling or grammar errors.
1 Few or none of the questions are relevant to the topic. Sources are randomly
chosen and may not reliably answer the questions. There are many spelling
or grammar errors.

9 Geography and the Early Settlement of India Teachers Curriculum Institute