Achievements of Ancient India

Chapter 5 Section 5-Ancient India

Indian Achievements

Religious Art

• Many paintings and sculptures illustrated Hindu and Buddhist teachings.

• The temples are still some of the most beautiful buildings in the world today.

Stupas

• Another type of Buddhist temple.

• They had domed roofs and were built to house sacred items from the life of the Buddha.

• Many of the stupas were covered with detailed carvings.

Multiple Choice

Which other civilization built a structure for an important person in their kingdom?

• Mesopotamians

• Greeks

• Egyptians

Paintings and Sculpture

• The Gupta period was a very artistic period in Indian history. Painting was a very respected profession, but we don't know the names of the artists.

• The colorful paintings show us how the Indians lived. Many of the great paintings are found in temples.

• Sculptors made statues for Buddhist cave temples. Many walls are completely covered with carvings and images!

Sanskrit Literature

• Sanskrit was the main language of the ancient Aryans. Many works were written in this language and later translated into other languages.

• There were two religious epics called: Mahabharata and Ramayana.

• Writers during the Gupta period also created plays and poetry!

Scientific Advances

Other achievements were in metalworking, math and the sciences. The ancient Indians were pioneers in metallurgy. They were able to create high-quality tools and weapons. They also knew how to mix metals and create alloys. They made their strongest products out of iron. In math and science the Indians used the Hindu-Arabic numerals and were the first to create zero. Modern math would not be possible without the zero. Doctors wrote down their knowledge in textbooks. They made medicines from plants and minerals. They also knew how to protect people from disease. They practiced inoculation to fight off diseases. They could perform surgery. In astronomy, they knew of seven planets in our solar system. They knew the sun was a star! They knew the planets revolved around the sun. They also knew the Earth was a sphere!

Multiple Select

What were two Indian achievements in mathematics?

• They knew about negative numbers

• They created the zero

• They knew about radius and diameter

• They created the Hindu-Arabic numerals we use today

Open Ended

What is the Bhagavad Gita?