Student's Book – Dec 2009 (5.9mb) - The Curriculum Project

discussioninferringpreviewinferring,predictingHow do you think Mohenjo-Daro compared with other human settlements at the time?What civilisations do you know that have gone into decline (decreased)?What can cause the decline of a civilisation?KEY WORDSalongside (prep) – side by side, nearcattle (n) – cows or buffalo raised by people for fooderosion (n) – when soil is destroyed gradually by rain and wind, usually because ofdeforestationpasture (v) – to put animals is a place where they can eat grassremains (n) – what is left after something or somebody has been destroyed or diedsevere (adj) – very strong and badThe end of the Harrappan civilisation and the AryansThe Harrappans built the first Indus cities around 2400 BC. Archaeologists have discovered theremains of about 60 cities including Harrappa and Mahenjo-Daro.By 1500 BC, the Indus Civilisation had declined. Some historians believe that the civilisationwas weakened and finally wiped out by severe floods. These floods could have killed manypeople and forced the rest to leave the Indus plains. The floods may have been caused by erosionbecause the nearby forests were cut down for fuel.Others believe that wars were the reason cities like Mohenjo-Daro were abandoned. It is thoughtthat around 1500 BC, people called the Aryans came from western and central Asia, possiblyfrom the area near present-day Iran. They kept sheep, cattle and goats and were most likelylooking for a place to pasture their animals.Some historians believe the ancient cities were abandoned because the Indus River may havechanged its course. A series of earthquakes might have changed the course of the Indus River.exercisecompareand contrast,summarisingA. How were the Aryans different from the Harrappans?B. Summarise the three main theories for the disappearance of Harappa andMohenjo-Daro.Some Harrappans stayed and lived alongsidethe Aryans (ahr-y-ans), adopting their language– Sanskrit. Others moved to the south of thesubcontinent.Today, the northern languages in India are still calledAryan languages and the southern languages arecalled Dravidian languages. Scholars still debate ifthere were really a separate race of people calledthe Dravidians, or if the southern people were justAryans who developed a very different language.Ancient seal found in Mohenjo-Daro27