History remedial,s question answers

Q1.Turn to page 126, look at the map, make an inference and blog it.
Ans:The map tells us that the Mauryan dynasty focused on trade as there are many trade routes which could have been built during the Mauryan dynasty.
Q2.What was the result of this interaction?
Ans:This interaction had shown that maritime trade was possible and made everyone think about maritime trading.

How Hinduism and Buddhism spread to Southeast Asia

Hinduism spread to Southeast Asia around the 1st century CE. It was believed that Hindu priest were invited to teach Indian culture., Many historians concluded that because India was one of the most advanced civilisations of the ancient world, the kings of Southeast Asia wanted to learn from the Indians. The Hindu kings also built impressive Hindu monuments like the Angkor Wat in Cambodia. However, the Hinduism that was introduced by the ancient Indians only survived on the Indonesian island of Bali.

Buddhism spread to Southeast Asia c. 300CE. It was brought there by Indian and Chinese traders, and also the Missionaries that travelled with the traders. Many impressive Buddhism monuments were built like the famous Borobudur complex in Indonesia, and the Ananda temple in Myanmar. Although Buddhism did not survive in the Indonesian islands. It is still an important religion in Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam.

Impacts that different religions had on ancient Southeast Asia

Hinduism, Buddhism and Islam had a great impact on the way the people of Southeast Asia lived. These three religions guided many rulers in Southeast Asia in the way they governed. For example, in the mainland, Khmer kings became Hindu devarajas(Divine kings) and had their people construct capital cities in which their palace would represent the home of the Gods. Rulers of the Islands of Southeast Asia did not adopt Hinduism, instead they adopted Islam and the kings were called sultans. Their kingdoms that they ruled were called sultanates.

However, the people did not abandon their older beliefs.Instead, they combined their older beliefs with the teachings of their new religions. For example, when the rulers of maritime kingdoms in Southeast Asia converted to Islam, they no longer saw themselves as Gods but they still continued to use emblems of kingship, which were usually used by divine Hindu kings.

Today, Hinduism, Buddhism and Islam still shape the lives of people in Southeast Asia. The majority of muslims are in Malaysia and Brunei while the majority of Buddhists are in Cambodia, Vietnam, Thailand and Myanmar.

The downfall of the Indus Valley Civilisation

Climate change could be associated with the downfall of the Indus Valley Civilisation. The climate grew cooler and drier from about 1800 BCE, which could be linked to a general weakening of the monsoon at that time. Another crucial factor may have been the disappearance of many portions of the river system. However, like any other decline of a civilisation, will have been due to a combination of various reasons such as it might have been to dry or that the river was running out of fish. Some researchers are trying to find out how the rivers in that region has changed since 8000 years ago.

Indus Valley Civilisation question 3

The Unicorn Seal

This seal is measured at 5.08 x 5.08 cm which was found at the Indus Valley Civilisation city of harappa, it is called the "unicorn seal".On the top are five pictographs. Pictographs are words which are written in the form of various pictures. However, we still have not managed to decipher the meaning of these pictographs but we know that the unicorn is a very common motif on Indus seals. We also know that there is a ritual offering stand in front of the unicorn with a sacred liquid inside. This seal proves that the people of Indus had developed a complex system of communication made up of pictographs.

Indus valley civilisation question 2

FISHERMEN

Fishing is essential as the people of indus are very near a river and that fish is an important source of food.

Craftsmen

Craftsmen make various pots and also tablets for various writings such as this.

BUILDERS

Builders are essential as they construct new wells and various other structures in the Indus valley civilisation.

Indus Civilisation Question 1

A well at Mohenjo-Daro,Indus valley civilisation
Used to collect water.

Granary
Used to store grains such as rice.



THE GREAT BATH
Used for religious bathing.

Recap questions chapter 2

Q1.Primary sources are pieces of information from that particular time the activity occurred in. It provides a clearer view to the events.
Secondary sources are pieces of information provided by people who have not been in through the activity in the past but still know something about it.

Q2.They make use of the 3C's test:Credibility,Consistency and Corroboration.

Credibility:To test whether the person is trustworthy and not exaggerating.

Consistency:To test if the evidence is consistent by checking to see if it means something.

Corroboration:To test if the evidence is correct by matching it against other similar pieces of evidence

Q3.As new pieces of evidence are found each passing day, historians must make sure they are updated by reading any new pieces of evidence and also revise their interpretations.

The downfall of the Shang Dynasty

The downfall of the Shang Civilisation happened at around 1150-1050BCE. The Shang Civilisation had ended when conquerors from the state of Zhou invaded the capital of Shang and successfully overthrown the Shang Dynasty. The Zhou conquerors had said that they had overthrown the Shang Dynasty because the king of the Shang Dynasty was evil and that he had lost the mandate of heaven and that heaven no longer wanted him to rule. They blamed the Shang's downfall on it's kings excessive drinking, indulgent lifestyle and his immoral behaviour.

There is evidence which is a novel called "Fengshen Yanyi"(translated as The Creation of the Gods), which was written in the Ming Dynasty. The story is about the decline of the Shang Dynasty and rise of the Zhou Dynasty. It is, to an extent, a representative and descriptive book of life in China at the time where religion had played a major part in daily life.

Religion of the Shang Civilisation

The people in the Shang Civilisation worshiped the "Shang Di," who was the supreme god that ruled over the lesser gods of the sun, the moon, the wind, the rain, and other natural forces and places. They also worshiped their ancestors because they believed that they lived in heaven after death and were still involved in their family's affairs. The kings talked to them through oracle bones and also made frequent sacrifices to them. They are used to ask the ancestors or gods for help and to feed the ancestors or gods to keep them strong. They believed that if they did not worship them properly, their family and the kingdom would experience many disasters.

The Shang thought very seriously about burial as they believed in the afterlife.The elaborate tombs of the Shang royal family showed their strong beliefs, while other tombs house lower-ranked people but still show their strong beliefs but could not be as elaborate as they are not very rich. This practice of burying lower-ranked people reflected the Shang's belief that a king's relative were expected to continue their relationship even in death.