OUR OWN HIGH SCHOOL, DUBAI

Answer Key Revision Worksheet- 1

Lesson 1- The Geography of South Asia

Lesson 2- Ancient Civilizations of South Asia
Lesson 3-Ancient India- Mauryan to Gupta Empire

Subject: UAE Social Studies Grade: 7

Name: Date:

I. Locate the following physiographic divisions in the map given below.

a. The Himalayas b. The Northern Plains c. The Thar Desert
d. Vindhya and Satpura Mountain Ranges e. Western and Eastern Coastal Plain
f. Aravalli Mountains g. The Islands

II. Fill in the blanks

1. During the invasion of Alexander the great in around 326 BCE, the Greeks named the region Indos , in reference
to the Indus River.

2. In the Far North, there is the chain of mountains that include the the Hindukush, the Karakorum and the
Himalaya Mountains
3. The mountains have glaciers that feed the major River systems, that originate the Indus River that fall into the
Arabia Sea in the west and the Ganges river in the Bay of Bengal to the east.

4. The Gomal and Khyber passes in the north-west were used by invaders over many centuries to enter
the Indus river valley.

5. The passes through the Chitral valley and through the Karakorum mountains allowed communication and trade
with central Asia over the valuable silk road.

6. In the plains of the Indus and Ganges rivers as well as the Brahmaputra river, there are concentrations of
farms and rivers.

7. European fleets entered from the 16th century.

8. Vindhya Mountain range lies to the south of the river plains and separates the north from the south of the Indian
Sub-continent.

9. Towards the south of Vindhya Mountain range lies the great Deccan plateau. It is a drier land that is dependent
of seasonal rains during the monsoon season.

10. The annual monsoons come from the winds off the Indian Ocean.

11. Due to the limited supply of water in the south, agriculture in the southern peninsula depends greatly on
systems of irrigation.

12. Volcanic rock of the Deccan plateau in the south was used to build temples and other structures.

13. A group of people arrived in India around 1700 BCE who influenced the cultural development in the Indian
subcontinent through 600 BCE, this is called the Vedic Age.

14. During this period, a specialized class of people called the Brahmins came to power. The Brahmins were
literate people and became interpreters of a series of written texts. The texts called Vedas, were the basis of
their religion, social structure and political systems.

15. Alexander invaded India in 326 BCE.

16. The study of Indian history is based on archeological evidence dated back to around 7,000 BCE, when evidence of
settled agriculture on the northern river plains and deltas appears.

17. The cities of Harappa and Mohen jo Daro were discovered through extensive archeological work in the 1920’s.

18. The Indus Civilization, also called the Harappan Civilization was a cluster of urban and agricultural areas that
spread along the major river valleys of the Indus river.

19. These cities exhibit considerable evidence of urban planning and cooperative civic life.

20. The term ‘Mauryan’ is derived from the name of the founder Chandragupta Maurya.

21. Ashoka ordered pillars of stone s to be built throughout his empire. The pillars became token or symbols
of his power.
22. In North west India, the Greek governors dominated the border regions of Bactria(Modern day Afghanistan).

23. During this period Central Asia came under the influence of the Kushanas, a trans-Asiatic empire that was
situated between the newly emerged regions and trade routes.

24. Around 320 CE, the Gupta Empire was established when its third ruler Chandragupta I consolidated power.

III. Answer the following questions.

1. Describe the Physiographic divisions of India.

Ans. The physical geography of the Indian sub-continent includes four types of landscapes.

a. The Himalayas - In the far north, there is the chain of mountains that include the Hindukush, the Karakorum
and the Himalaya Mountains. The world’s highest peaks are found in these mountains. The mountains have
glaciers that feed the major river systems
b. The Great Gangetic Plains – The Indo-Gangetic Plain, also known as the Indus-Ganga Plain and the North
Indian River Plain, is a 2.5-million km2 fertile plain encompassing northern regions of the Indian subcontinent.

c. The Thar Desert- The Thar Desert, also known as the Great Indian Desert, is a large arid region in the north
western part of the Indian subcontinent that covers an area of 200,000 km2 and forms a natural boundary
between India and Pakistan.

d. Vindhya Mountain Range - It lies to the south of the river plains and separates the north from the south of the
Indian Sub-continent.

e. The Deccan Plateau- Towards it’s south lies the great Deccan plateau. It is a drier land that is dependent of
seasonal rains during the monsoon season

f. The coast lines- The Coastal Plains of India lie on either side of the Peninsular Plateau, along the western
and eastern coasts of India. They are broadly divided into the Western Coastal Plains and the Eastern Coastal
Plains.

2. Why do you think that some of the earliest civilizations in the world arose along the rivers?

Ans. (Research Work)

3. Where do you find the Indus Valley Civilization? List the prominent cities of Indus Valley Civilization.

Ans. The Harappan Civilization, also called the Indus Civilization was a cluster of urban and agricultural areas

that spread along the major river valleys of the Indus river. These cities exhibit considerable evidence of

urban planning and cooperative civic life. The prominent cities of Indus Valley Civilization are Harappa,

Mohenjo daro and Mahrgarh found in present Pakistan and Dholavira and Lothal in the western part of India.

IV. Observe the pictures given below and answer the questions that follow.
4. What do the image tell you about the construction of the city? What is the material used to construct the
houses? Are there streets or passages between the buildings? What does the rectangular layout of the buildings
in the picture on the left suggest?
a. A regular plan of laying out of the city and its buildings.
b. There is no real plan. It looks irregular

Ans. Own Answer (Based on picture Interpretation and Research work)

5. What do you think these sunken structures are? Write four sentences about each.

Ans. Own Answer ( Based on picture Interpretation and Research work)

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